We here at Kotaku have…complicated, multifaceted feelings on Mega Starmie. The Mega Evolved starfish started out being seen as one of the silliest new transformations in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, then turned out to be one of the MVPs of the RPG. Despite all the endearment I feel toward Mega Starmie and its weird long legs and arms now, seeing the thing in the Pokémon anime series has reawakened my innermost disgust reflex. I have many questions about this creature, but as far as the show goes, one comes to the forefront: Why does it look like Mega Starmie has been oiled up?
The latest episode of Pokémon Horizons, titled “The Catcher in the Sky,” premiered in Japan last week, and in it, one the new series’ main characters, Friede, was revealed to have captured a Starmie that is capable of undergoing Mega Evolution. When the starfish is in this state, it stands as tall as its trainer and moves its arms and legs in a very uncomfortably human-like manner. Friede seems to be hamming up the human characteristics of Mega Starmie by calling it “Instructor Starmie,” though it’s unclear just what instructing it’s supposed to be doing.
Anyway, the creature is shiny, as if Friede oiled it up before he reunited with the rest of the cast, and Horizons does a great job of exaggerating its animations to make it unnerving. Put it all together, and you’ve got a Pokémon that is just awful to look at. Way to go, team. You nailed it.
I haven’t been keeping current with Horizons, but I really enjoyed what I saw of the show when it made its English debut. The series’ storylines have more of an arc compared to those in the previous series which was led by Ash Ketchum and kind of written for the series to have no real end goal and for episodes to stand alone. It seems like Horizons has been sticking with that storytelling approach as it enters its third season. The episodes that have been dubbed in English are streaming on Netflix.
