Pohjola's Trial (ポホヨラの試練 Pohoyora no Shiren?) is the 16 episode of the Little Witch Academia anime series.
Overview
After learning from Ursula and the Shiny Rod that she needs to find something she is lacking in order to unlock the fourth word, Akko joins Lotte and Sucy as they visit Lotte's home in a remote Finnish village. The next morning, however, they discover that Lotte's parents and their neighbor have become infected with the rare Greenman Disease, which will gradually turn them into moss until they wither away. Needing five particular ingredients to make an antidote, the girls set off in search for them, but Akko's lack of patience proves to be an issue. When Lotte and Sucy also succumb to the disease, only Akko is left to get the remaining ingredients and is forced to learn patience in order to deal with a spooked reindeer and a yeti artisan who is lacking in self-confidence. Realizing the importance of being patient, Akko manages to unlock the Shiny Rod's fourth word and finish the antidote, restoring everyone to normal.
Summary
Back at her dorm, Akko reveals the truth regarding the true purpose of the Shiny Rod which baffles Lotte and Sucy. Akko is determined to unlock the remaining words but is unable to understand them. Although Ursula helps out, she remains quiet what their actual meanings are as she reminds Akko that they can truly be unlocked if Akko take the lessons to heart. Suddenly, one of the Shiny Rod's stars activate and Ursula understands that they must head to a place somewhere in Finland.
The trio arrived to a town which is actually where Lotte lives. They went to a shop which belonged to Lotte's family who joyfully greeted their daughter and her friends.Everything seems in order other than Akko didn't like the pie and unable to wait in the sauna until the girls found Lotte's family trapped in some sort of moss which later learned to be an ancient disease that affect the pies. Lotte's mother revealed a book that contained all the ingredients needed to create an antidote.
The journey was long as Akko is unable to wait for the ingredients to fully mature. When they returned, Akko and Lotte found Sucy suffering the same effects as Mr and Mrs Yanson. Soon, the disease caught up to Lotte leaving Akko to create the antidote herself. Akko would get the ingredients from a reindeer belonged to a man named Nicholas who offered the same reindeer to transport her to the Yeti. After obtaining the final ingredient, Akko found the reindeer had left her. Akko began her travel back to the town with the thoughts of her friends and idol helping her to push forward. Thankfully, Nicholas brought back the Reindeer to help Akko.
Akko returned and by understanding that she has to be patient, the fourth star is unlocked curing everyone.
Order of appearances
| Characters | Tools | Spells | Creatures |
|---|---|---|---|
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Gallery
Trivia
- The episode makes some references to Finnish culture. For example, Lotte's neighbour in Finland appears to be based on the character Mymble from the Moomins series, which became extremely popular in Japan in the 1990s following the release of the 1990 anime Moomin. The episode's title refers to Pohjola from the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala, where the heroes Väinämöinen, Lemminkäinen and Ilmarinen each complete trials for the witch Louhi in order to win her daughters' hands in marriage.
- In episode 3, an item closely resembling the Yeti medicine base can be seen in the Magic Item Cafe.