Warning: Spoilers for Pokémon Horizons Episode #48

Summary

• Roy secures his first official solo victory after 48 episodes, showcasing his growth as a trainer in Pokémon Horizons.
• Despite late success, Roy has shown dedication and adaptability in battles against more experienced opponents.
• The focus on Terastallization adds a unique twist to the traditional gym battles, setting Roy on a path to becoming a top-ranked trainer.

For the first time, Pokémon Horizons' Roy has won a gym battle, giving him a much-needed victory in the now year-old series. While Roy's battle wasn't a conventional battle for a badge, he still managed to defeat Brassius, the Paldea region's Grass-type Gym Leader.

Roy had previously battled Brassius way back in episode 10, taken by surprise when Brassius Terastallized his Sudowoodo and changed its typing, causing him to lose the battle. That, however, was just a match for fun, one that helped Brassius to find his artistic drive once again. Having this time enrolled formally in the Naranja Academy "Terastal Course," Roy was tasked with traveling to Brassius and battling against him to gain experience in the use of Terastallization.

Roy's first experience with Terastallizing proved to be a good one, and Roy understood how best to use the transformation quite intuitively.

48 Episodes In, Roy Secures A Fair and Square Win

Roy's victory isn't just notable for being against a skilled Gym Leader; it's actually his first official solo victory in the entire series. It may seem quite late in the series for Roy to only just now being getting his first win, especially compared with previous series focusing on Ash, but Horizons has been telling a very different type of story, where battling doesn't play as big of a role as it did for Ash. Roy has also had the misfortune of largely battling against far more experienced opponents, such as Amethio, or even Legendary Pokémon like the Black Rayquaza.

Despite this late victory, Roy has performed irably in the past, remaining dedicated to his training in the face of these losses. Even in this episode, Roy first had a battle with Nemona and lost, although once again, she's much more experienced than he is. Fuecoco has a full list of moves at its disposal now, thanks to their training, covering several different types that help it face any opponent in battle. Brassius put these moves to the test with his Terastallization changing Sudowoodo's weaknesses, forcing Roy to use all of his moves to win.

It's also noteworthy that winning wasn't necessarily part of the test that Roy was taking; Liko, in the previous episode, lost to Katy, but still ed her test anyway. The goal was simply to prove that he has a handle on Terastallizing, and a victory just happens to prove that quite conclusively.

Roy certainly seemed to enjoy his battle with Brassius, and may well find a love for the gym challenge as a result of this victory. It's not hard to imagine Roy attempting to become a champion-ranked trainer like Nemona, who's become the closest thing Roy has to a rival. It was implied that Roy, Liko, and Dot would have to battle against all the Gym Leaders at some point, so hopefully Roy is able to maintain this and turn it into a winning streak. Pokémon Horizons will be moving on to Dot's gym battle with Iono next, so with any luck Dot might be able to win her match as well.