The Call of the Horizon

The Call of the Horizon is one of three main quests to partake in for players exploring the Hafod region. It relates to the eight Pokémon gyms, the Elite Four and the player's eventual battle against the champion of the region, Toby.

Taking on Hafod's finest

Hafod, like most Pokémon regions, has eight gym leaders, each with their own signature type. Each leader is the strongest trainer in their individual areas, scaling their teams for how many badges their opponent has collected.

The first three gym leaders the player encounters— Dai, Alaya and Laraine— are junior gym leaders, meaning they are new to their role and are relatively young. The final five— Olwen, Heron, Gwil, Gerardo and Martine— are fully fledged, renowned Pokémon battlers, each with their own Ancestral Form Pokemon.

After each battle, the gym leader will give the player a gym badge and their signature move. The final five will also give a scroll that allows the player to unlock the ancestral form the leader used in the battle.

The journey to the champion

Once the player has collected eight gym badges, they can make their way from Coda Island Village, through Route 15 and across the Victory Embankment to the Pokémon League Island where they can take on the Elite Four.

Like other regions, challengers can battle the members of the Elite Four in any order they wish but cannot leave in between battles and if KO'd, they lose any progress made.

The Elite Four are comprised of Barret (a poison type specialist and graffiti artist), Cyan (a flying type specialist and meteorologist), Ren (a dark type specialist and movie critic) and Pio (a psychic type specialist and chess grand master). Each have an ancestral form Pokémon.

A final showdown

After defeating all four members of the Elite Four, the player can move ahead, finally, to the Champion of the Hafod Region, Toby. Throughout the events of the 'A Wild Hearth' branch of the story, Toby comes to act as a guide and mentor to the player and their friends. So, they greet the player with warmth and excitement for their final battle.

Toby's team is varied and unexpected, featuring their ace Brawnaich, the Muscle Wing Pokémon, and their extremely powerful ancestral Ferrerin. Toby also uses Hafod Innovation's Pokémon creation, WE-i, opting for the flying form, a tricky type combination.

Once defeated, the player is inducted into the Hafod Hall of Fame and is proclaimed the new Champion of Hafod. With this title comes the responsibility to re-battle the gym leaders, now with their full rematch teams, and make sure they're up to scratch!