Pokemon Horizons Episode 20 Recap: Training with Kabu

Pokemon Horizons has begun its adventures in the Galar region courtesy of Episode 19, and now Liko, Roy, and the Rising Volt Tacklers are on the trail of the black Rayquaza. However, Episode 20 sees Liko and Roy continuing their growth as Pokemon trainers, meeting with the Gym Leader Kabu and learning to battle in innovative and unexpected ways.

Sure, Liko and Roy have learned their fair share of battle tactics throughout Pokemon Horizons, but their training with Kabu teaches them that they still have a long way to go. Nonetheless, both Liko and Roy take away some valuable lessons about Pokemon battles and bonding with their partners.

Pokemon Horizons fans who may have missed Episode 20, Kabu's Battle Training, can find a recap of the events here.

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What happened in Pokemon Horizons episode 20?

Kabu provided some tough lessons in Pokemon Horizons Episode 20 (Image via The Pokemon Company)

At the end of Pokemon Horizons Episode 19, Liko and Roy encounter Kabu, the Gym Leader of Motostoke City. They approach him, and he compliments Liko and Sprigatito's battle abilities. However, before Roy can ask him about the black Rayquaza he may have seen, Kabu kicks into high gear and decides to go for a run.

Liko and Roy give chase and find themselves at the Motostoke Gym, where they meet Wakaba, an apprentice at the gym. She brings the duo to the gym's battlefield, where Kabu is doing stretches, and Liko and Roy ask him about the black Rayquaza, believing he may have information as a native of the Hoenn region.

Kabu tasks Liko and Roy with lighting/extinguishing Litwick in Pokemon Horizons (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Before divulging what he knows, Kabu decides to task our Pokemon Horizons heroes with some training. He calls for Liko and Roy to either extinguish or light the flames of a group of Litwick running about the gym. The trainer who manages to do so will become the winner, leaving Liko on extinguishing duty while Roy attempts to light the flames.

Liko takes the lead, and Roy orders Fuecoco to pick up the pace, but the Pokemon tires out and stops to take a snack break. Fuecoco returns and begins turning the tables on Liko and Sprigatito, which momentarily pauses Liko as she's impressed with Roy and Fuecoco's progress, ultimately leading to the latter two winning the competition.

Liko and Roy follow up their competition with a tag battle in Pokemon Horizons (Image via The Pokemon Company)

With Liko and Roy's skills improving, Kabu challenges them to a mock tag battle, with the two Pokemon Horizons protagonists facing off against Kabu and Wakaba. Kabu's Centiskorch overwhelms Sprigatito and Fuecoco, and Liko holds Sprigatito back out of fear of the Pokemon getting hurt. Fuecoco fires a powerful Flamethrower attack but receives one in kind and is knocked out.

Kabu then steps aside and allows Liko/Sprigatito to battle Wakaba and her Rolycoly. Despite Sprigatito handling Rolycoly effectively, Liko notices Wakaba's determination to win and forfeits the match. However, this upsets Wakaba, and she runs off, having learned nothing from the battle and winning via Liko's surrender.

Centiskorch proves too much to overcome for the Pokemon Horizons heroes (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Kabu tells Liko that her consideration for the feelings of others is both an upside and a downside, as it can cause her to hesitate, as he saw during the Litwick competition and also during the battle with Wakaba. He states that she must take an opponent's (and Sprigatito's) dedication and willpower into account, as well as their desire to improve.

Liko takes this new information and seeks out Wakaba to apologize. Wakaba accepts the apology, and both of them promise to become more capable trainers. Upon reconvening with Kabu, the Gym Leader informs our heroes about what he knows about the black Rayquaza.

Kabu tells his story of witnessing the black Rayquaza (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Several days before Liko and Roy arrived in the Galar region, Kabu noticed the black Rayquaza as he was going out for one of his morning runs. The powerful creature flew over Motostoke City and began making its way to the Galar Mine. Liko and Roy return to the Brave Asagi and tell the Rising Volt Tacklers to postpone their trip to Hammerlocke.

As the gang prepares to make their way to the Galar Mine, Liko thinks deeply about what Kabu had told her about her compassion.