Pokemon Horizons Episode 39 recap: Tinkatink and the Missing Iron

Pokemon Horizons Episode 39 brings the recent trend of character-building episodes back to the reclusive Dot, who meets a new Pokemon friend and must save it from being implicated in a mystery on the Brave Olivine. Along the way, Dot learns a little about standing up for what's right no matter how things might seem, and she even receives a new Pokemon companion.

Episode 39 of Pokemon Horizons continues the ongoing spate of episodes expanding on individual characters as opposed to the Rising Volt Tacklers actively pursuing Lucius' Six Heroes, but that doesn't make it a bad episode in the slightest. If anything, it broadens Dot, in particular, into a generally more relatable character.

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Recapping Pokemon Horizons Episode 39: Tinkatink and its Special Hammer

A shopping trip takes an interesting twist in Pokemon Horizons Episode 39 (Image via The Pokemon Company)

After Dot's streaming microphone breaks, she joins our Pokemon Horizons heroes, Liko and Roy, on a shopping excursion in the nearby Tetsuron Town while the Rising Volt Tacklers restock their supply stores. The industrial town has exactly what Dot is looking for, but as the group checks out the Specialty Shop District for nicknacks, Dot buys an analog metal microphone she could use as a prop.

On her way to find her fellow Pokemon Horizons protagonists, Dot wanders down a nearby alley and spots an industrial worker throwing aside a Tinkatink attempting to steal his iron. The Tinkatink cries and stumbles over before Dot hands it its hammer back. Tinkatink grabs the analog microphone prop near Dot's Quaxly and begins hammering away at it, molding it into shape.

Dot learns from her Pokedex that Tinkatink compulsively refines metal objects into hammers, but she doesn't stop the Pokemon from doing so as Liko and Roy finally find her. Dot leaves the Tinkatink to hammer away at the microphone as she rejoins her friends and returns to the Brave Olivine, while the Tinkatink successfully creates a new hammer and aims to find Dot to show her its fine work.

Tinkatink completes its new hammer in Pokemon Horizons Episode 39 (Image via The Pokemon Company)

The Pokemon Horizons protagonists reconvene on the Brave Olivine, but Ludlow mutters to himself that a storm is brewing. In the lower decks of the airship, an unseen Pokemon is shown eating iron beams in storage and scaring the Maushold spending time there. Orla heads below the deck to find the iron, only to notice that the iron is missing and a large hole has been found in the lower deck storage area.

Dot wonders if the iron consumption is connected to Tinkatink, but this isn't the case, as the Fairy/Steel-type Pokemon is shown boarding the airship moments later. It runs into Alolan Muk and runs away in tears at its presence before being scared by the Slugma and Carkol in the engine room. It also runs into Metagross and Elekid, which it flees from while crying.

Tinkatink's cries catch Dot and Quaxly's attention, and the two Pokemon Horizons heroes find it and realize it came to the airship to show Dot the new hammer it made from Dot's prop microphone. She praises it for the fine work, and it cuddles the hammer with love before Dot realizes that there's no way that Tinkatink could be responsible for consuming the iron on the Brave Olivine.

Tinkatink shares its new hammer with Dot in Pokemon Horizons Episode 39 (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Liko, Roy, and Murdock arrive to meet Tinkatink, but Murdock gets suspicious of the Pokemon when Dot mentions it loves iron. The Pokemon runs away back into the lower decks and the group gives chase, and additional members of the Rising Volt Tacklers arrive to surround Tinkatink, but Dot intervenes and defends the Pokemon. She tells her friends that Tinkatink can't be the culprit.

Friede and Captain Pikachu arrive and confirm Dot's assertion, stating that the iron was eaten, not stolen and crafted into hammers. Ergo, another Pokemon was aboard the Brave Olivine and was actively eating the ship's iron reserves. Suddenly, an explosion rocks the deck, and an Orthworm appears, breaking free of a rope trap that had been set for it.

The Orthworm launches itself at the Pokemon Horizons heroes, catching Tinkatink's hammer in its mouth and causing it to cry. Dot tells Tinkatink that she'll get the hammer back, and she hops out of the Brave Olivine and confronts the Orthworm alongside Quaxly and Tinkatink, realizing that the Orthworm also cut the anchor to the Brave Olivine and is causing it to drift away.

Dot, Tinkatink, and Quaxly confront Orthworm in Pokemon Horizons Episode 39 (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Orthworm then devours Tinkatink's hammer and taunts our Pokemon Horizons heroes while Friede and Charizard grab hold of the Brave Olivine to keep it from floating away. Dot pushes up her hair with an accessory and says, "Mental switch, on!" before ordering Quaxly to create a circle of wet sand around the Orthworm, which it avoids because it rusts easily when exposed to moisture.

This traps Orthworm in our Pokemon Horizons heroes' clutches, allowing Quaxly to use Pound and knock Tinkatink's hammer free from Orthworm's mouth. The tiny Steel/Fairy-type Pokemon catches its hammer midair and follows up with a crushing blow, knocking the Orthworm out temporarily and making it burrow away in fear. Later, at sunset, the Rising Volt Tacklers apologized to Tinkatink.

Tinkatink willingly wants to be caught by Dot in Pokemon Horizons Episode 39 (Image via The Pokemon Company)

As the group leaves, Tinkatink tears up again, not wanting Dot to leave. She's unsure whether to bring the Pokemon along at first, but Quaxly provides her a Poke Ball, and the Tinkatink willingly offers itself to be caught. Dot catches then releases Tinkatink out of its ball and hugs it, and Orla says that the airship needs more repairs, but Mollie replies, saying the group got something better.