HZ019

The Bittersweet Truth (Japanese: マホイップのホント 's Truth) is the 19th episode of Pokémon Horizons: The Series, and the 1,251st episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on August 25, 2023, in the United Kingdom on February 27, 2024, in Australia on March 25, 2024, in sub-Saharan Africa on April 18, 2024, and in the United States on May 10, 2024.
==Blurb==
Arriving in Motostoke in the Galar region, the Rising Volt Tacklers prepare for their journey to see Liko’s grandma. Murdock invites Liko and Roy to go shopping, but during a break at the Battle Café, he becomes flustered—he’s not on good terms with the café’s chef, Mitchell. Murdock explains that he and Mitchell used to work together alongside Alcremie when it was still a Milcery, but when it evolved, its cream no longer paired well with Mitchell’s style of sweets. Wanting to help, Liko asks Murdock to join her in a friendly battle against Mitchell—can the two chefs find a way to reconcile?
==Plot==
The Rising Volt Tacklers have finally arrived in the Galar region, ready to begin their search of Liko's grandmother. Not wanting to risk the Brave Olivine attracting too much attention and luring the Explorers to them, Friede parks the airship outside the city of Motostoke, from which they can take a train to Hammerlocke to begin their search. However, Friede learns after landing that the trains won't be running until the next day due to maintenance. While Orla heads out to buy some ship parts in the meantime, Dot requests Liko and Roy to visit the Battle Café at Motostoke to get her some cotton candy for use in a Nidothing video. Accompanied by Murdock, the two young s enter the city. While Liko helps Murdock with his shopping, Roy asks around in case anyone has seen the Black Rayquaza. Although no one has seen it, he is advised to talk with the local Gym Leader, Kabu, who is from Hoenn and could be able to help with matters regarding the legends of his native region.
At the Battle Café, Murdock notices that the Slurpuff cotton candy is not listed in the menu. Watching the café's be defeated by a customer, the group learns that the cotton candy is a reward for winning against the chef, who can only be fought once per day. Murdock recognizes the chef as a man named , who likewise recognizes him and refuses to battle him. Murdock's Alcremie tries to offer Mitchell some of her cream, but is left heartbroken when he refuses. Murdock explains that he and Mitchell used to be friends, but that was a long time ago. At Liko's urging, he goes into more detail, explaining that the two of them used to run a together while having a friendly rivalry between Murdock's ruby cream cakes and Mitchell's cakes. That changed, however, when the bakery's mascot Pokémon, , evolved into a Alcremie, which benefitted Murdock's pastries more than Mitchell's. This eventually led to an argument between the two, and Murdock left the bakery with Alcremie. While Murdock understands now that Mitchell would've wanted Milcery to evolve into a Alcremie, he's still not sure what to say to him to make up for what happened.
Noticing Mitchell listening in on their conversation and Alcremie still looking sad, Liko gains the confidence to speak up, insisting that she and Murdock battle Mitchell together. While hesitant, Murdock eventually agrees to this, and he and Liko issue a Double Battle challenge to Mitchell. Mitchell agrees to accept the challenge issued by the young lady, but warns them that, unlike with his customers, he won't go easy on them.
The battle begins, with Liko's Sprigatito and Murdock's Alcremie facing Mitchell's Slurpuff and . The battle is off to a less than optimal start, as Sprigatito gets immobilized by Slurpuff's and hit by Appletun's . Alcremie, though, manages to protect herself from Appletun's attack with , before proceeding to free Sprigatito from the cotton by absorbing it into herself. Beginning their counterattack, Murdock has Alcremie use on Sprigatito, powering her up and allowing her to deal notable damage on its opponents. Though they get back on their feet, instead of attacking back, Slurpuff and Appletun instead start pouring out ingredients for Mitchell, much to Liko's confusion. In response, Murdock also starts whisking some of Alcremie's cream, leaving both Liko and Roy baffled at how the battle suddenly transformed into a bake-off. However, seeing the chefs and their Pokémon looking happy is enough to make Liko happy too. At Murdock's request, she has Sprigatito add the finishing touch on their pastries by sprinkling leaves on them.
Calming down, even Murdock and Mitchell begin to notice how out-of-nowhere their sudden bake-off came. Liko points out to them how happy Alcremie is, as she had just wanted to make pastries with both of them again, just like they used to. Murdock finally finds himself able to apologize to Mitchell, who silently goes inside and comes back out with a slice of matcha cake, requesting that Alcremie pour some of her cream on it, which she happily does. Mitchell admits that his inability to blend Alcremie's cream with his pastries was simply due to his own inexperience at the time and offers the cake to Murdock as a sign of his own apology. The two men share a tearful hug to celebrate their rekindled friendship, before Mitchell suddenly notices that one of the customers present at the patio is none other than Gym Leader Kabu, much to Roy's excitement.
==Major events==
* Liko and Roy visit Galar for the first time.
* Murdock's past is revealed.
* Liko and Roy meet Motostoke Gym Leader Kabu for the first time.
===Debuts===
====Humans====
* Kabu
* 
====Pokémon debuts====
==Characters==
===Humans===
* Liko
* Roy
* Friede
* Mollie
* Orla
* Ludlow
* Murdock
* Dot
* Kabu 
* 
* Trainers
===Pokémon===
* ()
* (Liko's; Rotom Phone)
* ()
* (Roy's; Rotom Phone)
* (Friede's; Rotom Phone)
* ()
* (Orla's)
* ()
* (; flashback)
* (; )
* (Murdock's; Rotom Phone)
* ()
* (Dot's; Rotom Phone)
* ('s)
* ('s)
* ('s)
* (Rising Volt Tacklers')
* (Rising Volt Tacklers')
* (Rising Volt Tacklers')
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's; flashback)
* (Trainer's; flashback)
* (Trainer's; flashback)
* (Trainer's; flashback)
* (Trainer's; flashback)
* (Trainer's; flashback)
* (Trainer's; flashback)
* (Trainer's; flashback)
* (Galarian Form)
* 
==Trivia==
* Professor Friede's Pokémon Seminar: "What can produce?""
** Choices: Sugar, sponge, cream
** Answer: Cream
* The first eyecatch features Liko and her , and the second features Murdock and his .
* This is the first episode of Pokémon Horizons: The Series to feature an evolution.
* This episode marks the first physical appearance of a in the since A Riveting Rivalry!, 324 episodes earlier.
===Errors===
* was shown to affect Sprigatito, despite types being immune to .
===Dub edits===
==In other languages==
019
Category:Episodes written by Deko Akao
Category:Episodes storyboarded by Hiromasa Amano
Category:Episodes directed by Fumihiro Ueno
Category:Episodes animated by Takashi Shinohara
Category:Episodes which aired in the United Kingdom before the United States
Category:Episodes which aired in Australia before the United States
Category:Episodes which aired in South Africa before the United States
de:Die Wahrheit über Pokusan!
es:EP1255
fr:LH019
it:OP019
ja:2023年版第19話
zh:宝可梦 地平线 第19集