The first season of Pokmon Horizons felt like a fresh start, a fun new frontier for a franchise well into its third decade of existence. With its second season, subtitled The Search for Laqua, Pokmon Horizons chickens out on committing to those changes and reverts to the old formula. While moments of humor, adventure, and heartwarming triumph break through, the result is largely disappointing and, in its noisy English-language dub, often a pain to the ears.Initially, Pokmon Horizons saw child protagonists Liko, Roy, and Dot journeying on an airship with its adult crew. They were seeking to understand the truth behind some mysterious relics, powerful enough that a rival team constantly pursued them. The airship truly felt like an exciting new frontier for Pokmon anime. It was the series equivalent of spending most of a video game traversing on foot and then suddenly well, getting an airship.But now, the airship is broken. Both the crew and the rival organization, the Explorers, are temporarily scattered. The kids are back in school. The Search for Laqua flips season 1's priorities, and Pokmon Horizons is worse for it. Instead of hunting down clues and training along the way, Liko and company are now training so that they can return to solving the core mystery down the road.And theyve enrolled in the most confounding school in the world, the Naranja Academy, in which Liko, Roy, and Dot are seemingly the only pupils in any given class. After a single day at Naranja, theyre sent off to journey across Paldea by twilight. Granted, the final two episodes of season 2 take place at the academy, but theyre just capstone battles. Not content with ditching one unique premise (at least for now), Horizons backs out of another, failing to fully explore what a Pokmon classroom drama could be.Happy Bday Pokmon Red & BlueAnd so, by episode 2, we have three teens traveling across the earth, endeavoring to become the best Pokmon trainers they can be by seeking out gym leaders. Occasionally, they come face-to-face with a villainous, male-female duo. Sound familiar?But that duo Cornbread and Seasoning, who are actually members of the Explorers fails to fulfill their promise. We barely see them after episode two. They dont have a chance to strike up any chemistry with our Pokmon-training heroes, to the point where I wondered why theyre part of the story at all.The Search for Laqua flips season ones priorities, and Pokmon Horizons is worse for it.There are ways that The Search for Laqua changes up the Pokmon formula. Likos Sprigatito the cute, curious feline who serves as Horizons primary Pokmon pal has evolved into the ninja-like Floragato. After years of Ashs Pikachu not evolving, one would think embracing this change would feel more exciting. While Floragatos Naruto run is amusing, trading an energetic little troublemaker for a distant, moody teen with a yo-yo is a major downgrade. But it doesnt have to be: Episode six puts some focus on the changing relationship between Liko and Floragato, specifically on how Floragato has become a reluctant babysitter who doesnt often get the attention it needs. This sincere subplot is one of the highlights of this batch of episodes.Such emotional honesty is Horizons secret weapon, and there are definitely moments where its expertly deployed. Dots struggles with her relationship to being filmed, and under what conditions, are engaging and relatable. Roy and his Fuecoco remain a delight, and any time Fuecoco uses Charming Voice is inherently funny. But these moments largely feel like they arise in spite of the overall direction of the English-language dub.During season 2 s first episode in particular, every character feels like theyre screaming. No character can finish their lines without another chiming in. The result is 20-odd minutes that feel like a deeply unpleasant vocal stampede. Fortunately, subsequent episodes chill out a bit. But theres still a feeling that no space, breath, or pause can be allowed.Pokmon is for kids, one might argue. Childrens media is loud and frantic. Except that we currently live in the age of Bluey, a childrens show defined as much by its gentleness as its wit and charm. Theres even a counterpoint to this notion within the Pokmon universe: The stop-motion Pokmon Concierge is a perfect nugget of a show that takes a Pixar-like approach of simultaneously holding its adult and child audiences in mind.What we said about Pokemon Horizons Season 1PlayPokmon Horizons is no Pokmon Concierge, and it very much has the energy of a childrens action-adventure series its the new mainline Pokmon show, so what can you expect? But with a delightful cast of new Pokmon (especially the grass cat and the screaming gator ball), a new mystery-driven plot, and a cast of characters with room to grow, at least the post-Ash era is off to a promising start. Kirsten CareyScore: 6Read the complete Pokmon Horizons: The Series Season 1 Review.Pokmon Horizons doesnt have to be like this. The Japanese version of season 2 which is not viewable in North America by legal means doesnt barrage its audiences quite as heavily as its English equivalent. In fact, the Japanese version can feel like an entirely different show and one I would give a higher score. As with Horizons first season, the sub and dub dont just differ in their voice performances, but in their music, too. Some of it stays in the English dub, but Japanese audiences are treated to a wider emotional variety in the score, plus more soaring, moving orchestral versions of familiar Pokmon themes. It all comes down to how the sound is mixed for each version: The Japanese Horizons audio prioritizes the music, while the English version puts the dialogue up top. This is why the episodes now streaming on Netflix so often feel like theyre screaming at you.They also feel subjected to multiple outdated interpretations of what people want from Pokmon, and who wants it in the first place. If this show is for kids, why do the new opening and ending riff so heavily on 1980s nostalgia? That being said, the new theme song, My Favorite Pokmon, is arguably the best part of The Search for Laqua particularly the instrumental version that plays over the end credits. With its Daft Punk-esque bassline, its a bonafide banger.Pokmon Horizons doesnt have to be like this.Its not all bad: When The Search for Laqua returns to the mystery-building of season 1, it restores some of the series lost luster. The seasons best episode focuses on one of the adult characters: airship commander Friede, who returns to the offices of an old corporate job to dig up some dirt. And Dots weariness of a mysterious teacher in the closing moments of the final episodes set up one of the seasons most interesting dynamics.All Horizons needs to do is commit to its own premise. If Sprigatito can evolve, so can the cornerstone Pokmon dub.