This Hunter x Hunter Couple Deserved a Lot More Than They Got in the Story

Yoshihiro Togashi's Hunter X Hunter features a wide cast of background characters, and it's always fun to see memorable side players pop back up unexpectedly. While romance is not the main focus of the story, a few memorable couples, implied or confirmed, have appeared. While fans may usually believe that the title of most tragic couple in Hunter X Hunter should go to Komugi and Meruem, another duo didn't even have the chance to portray their relationship before succumbing to a gruesome fate.

Neither of these characters had been part of the main plot since the 287th Hunter Exam until they return at the beginning of the Chimera Ant Arc to show how ruthless and terrifying the new antagonists are. Most tragic about the circumstances of their death is that the 2011 adaptation makes it clear that they are more than just friends before their grim demise.

Pokkle and Ponzu Were Sacrificed To Build Up The Threat Of The Chimera Ants

Togashi Wanted To Make A Big Emotional Impact

Pokkle and Ponzu's connection is subtle, but meaningful and not forced. Both are fond of nature and animals, prefer to stalk their prey and hunt from a distance, and have selfless motivations for using their gifts. Their relationship is first hinted at in a non-canonical filler arc of the 1999 anime adaptation, which fans embraced and Togashi rejected. Specifically using these two Rookie Hunters as an example of the horrors awaiting the main heroes seems like a calculated move on Togashi’s part, to make a big emotional impact on the audience, and wrest control of his characters back.

Ponzu’s most notable appearance is in episode #15, "Scramble × Of × Deception", as Leorio's target in the Exam’s Fourth Round. She specializes in chemical warfare and has a hive of bees concealed within her hat, which swarm and sting anything that disturbs her. When two fellow Hunters approach Pokkle about infiltrating the NGL, Ponzu insists on accompanying them and ignores their warnings of the danger. Despite not earning her license during either attempt at the Exam, she’s honed her skills to a point where she feels confident she’s essential to the mission.

It's unknown if Ponzu learns to use Nen, but she can see aura, and somehow control her bees at will now. At this point, the Chimera Ants don't know about Nen and assume humans pose little threat to them. This moment is likely Ponzu’s best shot at defeating one of them, but she smartly decides to turn and run for help. Ponzu is perceptive and analytical, avoiding risk when possible, like how she calmly waited for help when trapped in the cave during the Hunter Exam rather than risk injury from Bourbon's snakes.

Pokkle Never Got the Chance to Shine

His Nen Ability Is Teased But Never Fully Explored

Pokkle manages to pass the Hunter Exam along with Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio. Nothing is known about Pokkle's post-exam journey, but he at least finds someone to teach him about Nen and help develop his unique ability. Rainbow allows Pokkle to create a bow and seven types of arrows made of aura, one for each color of the rainbow, and each with a different power. Togashi sets up the expectation that each arrow's ability will be explored, but only the red and orange arrows’ effects are shown before he’s killed, and the rest will never be known.

While Pokkle’s Rainbow is demonstrably powerful, he lacks the quick thinking and strategic flexibility that make Gon and Killua such adept fighters. He fails to switch up his tactics or use his bow and arrows in a way other than direct shots, which Pike, an Ant with Nen perception, easily catches. Since his arrows are rendered useless, Pokkle turns to hand-to-hand combat. Also lacking physical conditioning like what Gon and Killua experienced in Biscuit’s boot camp on Greed Island, Pokkle is unable to inflict any damage and meets a swift end on the battlefield, but doesn’t die immediately.

Ponzu & Pokkle’s Deaths Are Pivotal Moments

Their Deaths Benefit Both Hunter and Chimera Ant Alike

Despite choosing to run for help, it’s not long before Ponzu gets shot in the face by a gun-toting Ant. At least her bees can get one final message to the nearest Hunter with the strongest aura, which happens to be Kite. Her last act warns the Hunters of how serious the Ant infestation is, which makes Kite reevaluate the urgency with which he needs to act, and he sends his students back to the border to alert the Hunter Association. Ponzu's heroic deed undoubtedly saved those students' lives but drew Kite, Gon, and Killua closer to danger.

Pokkle’s death is even more disturbing and impactful to the plot. Neferpitou uses an Ant's antennae to manipulate Pokkle's brain tissue and forcibly extracts everything he knows about Nen, Hunters, and their likely response to the threat of the Chimera Ants. Pokkle’s final moments are degrading, lying naked, visibly distraught, and having his thoughts violated with no ability to fight back.

The 2011 anime remake strongly hinted that Ponzu and Pokkle were more than just friends, but sadly audiences never got the chance to see their relationship develop. It's a shame Pokkle and Ponzu are not only robbed of a future together in Hunter X Hunter, but their deaths are brutal and dehumanizing, and they should have lived to see another hunt.