Pokémon Horizons Season 1: The Series

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Pokémon Horizons: The Series is the first season of Pokémon Horizons — Horizons Season 1, the 26th season of the Pokémon anime overall — and the first in which Ash and Pikachu are not the protagonists. It covers HZ001 to HZ045, the first 45 episodes of the new Japanese series Pocket Monsters (2023), which TV Tokyo broadcast on Friday evenings from 14 April 2023, when HZ001 and HZ002 premiered as a one-hour special, to 29 March 2024. The English dub, recorded by Iyuno and directed by Lisa Ortiz, premiered on BBC iPlayer in the UK on 1 December 2023; Netflix, the season’s only home in the US, released it three months later in four parts: twelve episodes on 7 March 2024 and eleven each on 10 May, 9 August and 22 November 2024. Haven Paschall’s “Becoming Me” is the English opening.

Liko, a shy girl from Paldea, enrols at Indigo Academy in Kanto, receives a moody Sprigatito as her first partner and is at once hunted by the mysterious Explorers for the pendant her grandmother gave her. Rescued by Professor Friede and the flying Captain Pikachu, she joins their Rising Volt Tacklers aboard the airship Brave Olivine (HZ003). On an island off Kanto they meet Roy, whose Ancient Poké Ball releases a Shiny Black Rayquaza before he catches the ship’s stowaway Fuecoco (HZ006); the crew’s reclusive programmer Dot turns out to be the streamer Nidothing and catches Quaxly (HZ016). The pendant holds Terapagos, which Liko’s grandmother Diana names in Galar (HZ024), and the friends set out to gather the Six Heroes of the Ancient Adventurer Lucius — Arboliva (HZ012), Galarian Moltres (HZ023) and Lapras (HZ032) are entrusted to Liko — so that Terapagos can reach the paradise of Laqua.

Back in Paldea, the season ends with the Explorers’ plan to capture the Black Rayquaza at the Levincia Lighthouse: Rayquaza crashes into the Brave Olivine, beats Liko, Roy, Dot, Friede and Amethio in turn, and is pushed back only when Sprigatito evolves into Floragato and Fuecoco learns Flame Charge, while the Explorers’ leader, Gibeon, is revealed beside a Shiny Zygarde (HZ044–HZ045). Along the way come Gym Leaders Brassius, Iono and Kabu, the Champion-ranked Nemona, Terastallization, Liko’s first catch, Hatenna, and Dot’s Tinkatink. Our complete episode guide below has a synopsis, both titles and the air dates for all 45 episodes.

• 45episodes — HZ001 to HZ045, released on Netflix in four parts of 12, 11, 11 and 11
• 4of Lucius’s Six Heroes found: the Black Rayquaza, Arboliva, Galarian Moltres and Lapras; Kleavor and Entei remain
• 11named recurring characters introduced in the first episode, the most in one episode since Showdown in Pewter City
• 8months between Terapagos’s anime debut (HZ002, 14 April 2023) and its game debut in The Indigo Disk (14 December 2023)
• 3months by which BBC iPlayer’s English premiere (1 December 2023) preceded Netflix’s in the US (7 March 2024)
• 0Gym Badges: Horizons is the first series in which no main character takes part in a major competition

Quick Answers

Story Arcs

Pokémon Horizons: The Series runs for 45 episodes and follows Liko, Roy and Dot from Indigo Academy and Roy’s island to Paldea, Galar and back, through the Explorers’ raids, the search for Lucius’s Six Heroes and the first battle with the Black Rayquaza. Here is how the season breaks down, with stills from our episode guide below.

The pendant that starts it allHZ001–HZ003

Liko, a shy girl from Paldea, enrols at Indigo Academy in Kanto, where her roommate Ann chooses Oshawott and Liko a moody Sprigatito that scratches her and runs away (HZ001). Amethio of the Explorers lures her with a fake letter to take the pendant her grandmother gave her; Sprigatito’s Leafage and soothing scent stop Zirc’s Rhydon, Friede swoops in on Charizard, and the pendant wraps Liko in a green barrier. Aboard the airship Brave Olivine she meets Captain Pikachu and the Rising Volt Tacklers and glimpses a strange Pokémon that shrinks back into the pendant; when she stands up to Amethio, Sprigatito unleashes a real Leafage at last, but the storm sweeps it overboard into the Explorers’ hands (HZ002). With Rockruff’s nose and Friede’s diversion, Liko rescues her partner from their warehouse hideout, learns that her mother hired the crew as her bodyguards and joins them on their course for Paldea (HZ003).

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Roy and the Ancient Poké BallHZ004–HZ008

The damaged airship lands on an island off Kanto, where Roy, a boy who dreams of becoming a Trainer, befriends the ship’s stowaway Fuecoco and shows Liko the Ancient Poké Ball his grandfather found (HZ004). When the Explorers’ submarine tracks the ship down, Bug-type Pokémon patch the gasbag, Liko wins her first battle off screen against Onia, and Fuecoco finds its first Ember to Roy’s song (HZ005). The pendant and the ball glow together, and the ball releases a Shiny Black Rayquaza whose Draco Meteor drives the Explorers off; Roy catches Fuecoco as his first partner and joins the crew, and the Explorers’ leader, Gibeon, gives the pendant mission to Spinel (HZ006). Training to land one hit on Captain Pikachu teaches Sprigatito Quick Attack, while viewers learn that the reclusive Dot is the streamer Nidothing (HZ007), whom Liko, a fan, keeps trying to befriend (HZ008).

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Paldea: home, Artazon & ArbolivaHZ009–HZ012

In Paldea Liko visits her father, Alex, and chooses to keep travelling with the Tacklers (HZ009). In Artazon she and Roy meet the Champion-ranked Nemona and the slumping Gym Leader Brassius, who has seen the Black Rayquaza; Fuecoco learns Stomping Tantrum, but Brassius’s Sudowoodo Terastallizes into a Grass type — Roy’s first sight of Terastallization — and wins (HZ010). In a forest ravaged by wildfire, Mollie reveals why she left her family of Pokémon doctors, and a giant Arboliva guarding a second Ancient Poké Ball rises up (HZ011). Replanting the forest wins its trust: Arboliva enters its ball and is entrusted to Liko, Liko’s mother, Lucca — Friede’s former teacher — names the Ancient Adventurer as Lucius, and the team sets course for Galar to find Liko’s grandmother (HZ012).

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Spinel’s heistHZ013–HZ018

During a sandwich picnic near Levincia, Roy meets a feisty Wattrel while Spinel’s Magneton black out the airship (HZ013). Friede Terastallizes Charizard into a Dark type with his Tera Orb, Roy helps the timid Wattrel fly and catches it, and Spinel’s Beheeyem hypnotises Liko so that he can steal her pendant (HZ014). With her memories wiped, Liko is found through a live-streamed chase run by Gym Leader Iono and Nidothing (HZ015); Dot catches Quaxly, the three Trainers corner Spinel on a cargo ship, Arboliva bursts out to protect Liko, and Dot confesses that she is Nidothing (HZ016). Wattrel learns Spark and, with Fuecoco, knocks off Captain Pikachu’s hat (HZ017), and Friede tells how he met a Pikachu that could fly and founded the Rising Volt Tacklers (HZ018).

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Galar & the Galarian MoltresHZ019–HZ023

In Motostoke a Double Battle at the Battle Café becomes a bake-off that reconciles Murdock with his old bakery partner (HZ019), and Gym Leader Kabu teaches Liko that holding back out of kindness is no kindness to her opponent or her partner, while Fuecoco learns Flamethrower (HZ020). Liko takes in a frightened Hatenna and catches it, finding her own path as a Trainer (HZ021). In the Galar Mine the trio meets Lucius’s third hero, an enraged Galarian Moltres whose Fiery Wrath drains everyone (HZ022); Liko calms it with Sprigatito’s scented Leafage and Arboliva’s Grassy Terrain, receives its Ancient Poké Ball, and the pendant Pokémon emerges and stays out (HZ023).

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Diana’s castleHZ024–HZ026

At her hidden castle in the Wild Area, Liko’s grandmother Diana names the pendant Pokémon Terapagos and explains Lucius and the paradise Laqua, until Amethio storms in (HZ024). Friede’s Tera Dark Charizard beats Amethio’s Ceruledge — their first finished battle — Coral’s Glalie Self-Destructs, Captain Pikachu and the Brave Olivine rescue everyone, and Diana joins the ship and names the Six Heroes: the Black Rayquaza, Arboliva, Galarian Moltres, Lapras, Kleavor and Entei (HZ025). The Sparkling of Terapagos begins as Liko studies her curious new companion, receives Lucius’s belt and resolves to take Terapagos to Laqua (HZ026).

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Interludes & the Lapras PiratesHZ027–HZ034

Dot eats her first curry while the Explorers decide to make Rayquaza their priority (HZ027); Diana’s old partner Tepen steals Roy’s Ancient Poké Ball (HZ028); Orla helps the Poké Ball smith Karna and chooses the ship over a job (HZ029); and a Polteageist stowaway and a Sinistea join the crew (HZ030). A legendary singing Lapras turns out to lead a band of food pirates: it is Lucius’s scarred giant Lapras, which joins Liko after a shared vision of Lucius (HZ031–HZ032). The Black Rayquaza then crushes Amethio, and when its Draco Meteor threatens Liko, Terapagos takes its Terastal Form and answers with Tera Starstorm (HZ033). Diana leaves to investigate the Explorers, whose second-in-command, Hamber, is her old friend; Hamber’s Tera Ghost Dusknoir beats Amethio, who receives a Tera Orb, and the Explorers’ goal of Laqua is revealed (HZ034).

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The road back to PaldeaHZ035–HZ041

Friede and Captain Pikachu’s bickering hides perfect teamwork against Pokémon poachers, and Shine’s Bramblin evolves into Brambleghast (HZ035); a Pigton Town matchmaking ends in a Multi Battle win for Yuno and Renta (HZ036); and Fuecoco learns Disarming Voice to calm a desert family of Krookodile (HZ037). Hatenna learns Heal Pulse in a cave rescue that brings a Maushold family aboard (HZ038), and Dot catches Tinkatink in Steelbound Town (HZ039). After hurting Liko, Sprigatito runs back to its childhood home, where the Breeder Marnya explains its fear of its own Leafage, and learns Magical Leaf (HZ040). Dot’s mother, Franka, comes to take her home, but Quaxly learns Low Kick and Dot wins the right to stay (HZ041).

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The plan to capture RayquazaHZ042–HZ045

Back in Paldea, a beach outing reveals a heroic Palafin and Ludlow’s secret identity as “Mighty G”, and photos show a suspicious new tower (HZ042). Coral’s challenge letter leads to a Multi Battle with Coral and Sidian that ends when Coral lets slip the Explorers’ plan to capture Rayquaza (HZ043). The admins lure Friede into a decoy tower and summon the Black Rayquaza to the Levincia Lighthouse with a machine that copies Terapagos’s resonance; Dot shuts it down, but Coral’s Self-Destruct knocks Rayquaza into the Brave Olivine (HZ044). Liko, Roy, Dot and Friede, joined by a Terastallizing Amethio, all lose to Rayquaza, until Sprigatito evolves into Floragato and Fuecoco learns Flame Charge; the trio resolve to train in Terastallization, and the Explorers’ leader, Gibeon, vows beside a Shiny Zygarde to return to Laqua for the Laquium (HZ045).

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Episode Guide

All 45 episodes of Pokémon Horizons: The Series are listed below in the official order, which is the same in Japan, on BBC iPlayer, on Netflix and on Bulbapedia. The # column is that season number — for Horizons also the Japanese episode number, since the new series restarted its count at 1 — and the orange code is the Bulbapedia number used by most fan sites. Every episode has its own page with our full synopsis, both titles, air dates, major events, Pokémon debuts, trivia and dub changes — click the title or the screenshot. US dates are the Netflix US releases: the season arrived in four parts, on 7 March 2024 (HZ001–HZ012), 10 May 2024 (HZ013–HZ023), 9 August 2024 (HZ024–HZ034) and 22 November 2024 (HZ035–HZ045), so every episode in a part shares its date, and each had already reached English-speaking viewers in the UK or Australia. Japanese dates are TV Tokyo’s Friday broadcasts from 14 April 2023 to 29 March 2024; six Fridays had no episode and one was given to a New Year special.

There is no Who’s That Pokémon? in Horizons, in either version. Japan’s mini-corner is instead Professor Friede’s Pokémon Seminar (フリード博士のポケモンゼミ), a multiple-choice question about a Pokémon from the episode, answered after the break, which replaced Journeys’ Poké Riddle from HZ002 onwards; it is missing from HZ018, gives way to the Terapagos short Terapagos’s Exploration Diary in HZ031–HZ033, and was left out of the first TV airings of HZ013, HZ014, HZ023, HZ024, HZ025, HZ030 and HZ034, appearing later on streaming. The English episodes keep Japan’s static eyecatches from HZ002 — a first for the dub — and Liko reads the title cards; whether the dub includes the Seminar has not been confirmed. In Japan the next-episode previews are narrated by Nidothing and Quaxly in the style of an internet video.

	#	Episode	First aired	In short
	1HZ001	The Pendant That Starts It All (Part One)はじまりのペンダント　前編	Japan 14 Apr 2023 US 7 Mar 2024	Liko, a shy girl from Paldea, enrols at Indigo Academy in Kanto, receives a moody Sprigatito as her first partner Pokémon, and suddenly finds… · Liko receives Sprigatito Episode guide →
	2HZ002	The Pendant That Starts It All (Part Two)はじまりのペンダント　後編	Japan 14 Apr 2023 US 7 Mar 2024	Rescued by Friede and brought aboard the airship Brave Olivine, Liko meets the Rising Volt Tacklers, but when the Explorers storm the ship she finds… · Terapagos glimpsed Episode guide →
	3HZ003	For Sure! ‘Cause Sprigatito’s with Me!ニャオハとなら、きっと	Japan 21 Apr 2023 US 7 Mar 2024	With the help of Friede, Captain Pikachu and Murdock’s Rockruff, Liko rescues Sprigatito from the Explorers’ warehouse hideout and… · Liko joins the Rising Volt Tacklers Episode guide →
	4HZ004	The Treasure After the Storm!ながれついた宝もの	Japan 28 Apr 2023 US 7 Mar 2024	When the damaged Brave Olivine lands on a small island, the ship’s runaway Fuecoco befriends Roy, a local boy who dreams of becoming a Trainer,… · Liko meets Roy Episode guide →
	5HZ005	Found You, Fuecoco!みつけたよ、ホゲータ	Japan 5 May 2023 US 7 Mar 2024	Roy sneaks aboard the Brave Olivine to spend more time with Fuecoco, and when the Explorers track the damaged airship to his island, he and Fuecoco… · Fuecoco learns Ember Episode guide →
	6HZ006	The Ancient Poké Ballいにしえのモンスターボール	Japan 12 May 2023 US 7 Mar 2024	When Amethio’s Ceruledge corners Liko and Roy, Roy’s Ancient Poké Ball bursts open and releases a Shiny Black Rayquaza, and in the… · Black Rayquaza released Episode guide →
	7HZ007	Special Training with Cap!特訓！キャプテンピカチュウ	Japan 19 May 2023 US 7 Mar 2024	Liko and Roy train with Captain Pikachu, trying to land a single hit on the lightning-fast Pokémon, and the lesson pays off when Sprigatito… · Sprigatito learns Quick Attack Episode guide →
	8HZ008	The Door That Never Opensあかずの扉のひみつ	Japan 26 May 2023 US 7 Mar 2024	While the Rising Volt Tacklers stop in a port town to restock their mysteriously vanishing supplies, Liko keeps reaching out to the reclusive Dot,… · Liko and Dot Episode guide →
	9HZ009	Welcome to Paldea!パルデア到着！	Japan 2 Jun 2023 US 7 Mar 2024	The Brave Olivine reaches Paldea, where Liko visits her father, Alex, and must decide whether to stay home or keep travelling with the Rising Volt… · Arrival in Paldea Episode guide →
	10HZ010	Nemona and Brassius and…ネモとコルサと	Japan 9 Jun 2023 US 7 Mar 2024	In Artazon, Liko and Roy meet the cheerful Champion-ranked Trainer Nemona and the slumping Gym Leader Brassius, who has seen the Black Rayquaza, and… · First Terastallization Episode guide →
	11HZ011	Arboliva’s Forestオリーヴァの森	Japan 16 Jun 2023 US 7 Mar 2024	Searching the forest where Brassius saw the Black Rayquaza, Liko, Roy and Mollie find it ravaged by wildfire and confront an enormous Arboliva… · The giant Arboliva Episode guide →
	12HZ012	The Future I Chooseわたしが選ぶ未来	Japan 23 Jun 2023 US 7 Mar 2024	Liko and her friends help the giant Arboliva restore its burned forest, after which it enters its Ancient Poké Ball, and a picture book about… · Arboliva joins Liko Episode guide →
	13HZ013	An Unexpected Picnic!ピクニックは突然に	Japan 14 Jul 2023 US 10 May 2024	While the Brave Olivine runs a system check near Levincia, the Rising Volt Tacklers hold a sandwich picnic, Roy meets a feisty, sandwich-stealing… · Roy meets Wattrel Episode guide →
	14HZ014	Fly! Wattrel!!とべ！カイデン！！	Japan 21 Jul 2023 US 10 May 2024	Roy helps a timid Wattrel that is too afraid to fly conquer its fear and catches it, while Friede uncovers a Magneton saboteur and Terastallizes… · Roy catches Wattrel Episode guide →
	15HZ015	Someone We Can’t See! Whosawhatsit?みえないヤツだ！何者なんじゃ？	Japan 28 Jul 2023 US 10 May 2024	Robbed of her pendant and her recent memories, Liko wanders Levincia believing she has just enrolled at Indigo Academy, until Dot, as Nidothing,… · Iono’s hide-and-seek Episode guide →
	16HZ016	Quaxly, We Can Do Itクワッスとなら、できるよ	Japan 4 Aug 2023 US 10 May 2024	Dot officially becomes Quaxly’s Trainer and, with Liko and Roy, confronts Spinel aboard a departing cargo ship, where the pendant’s light… · Dot catches Quaxly Episode guide →
	17HZ017	Special Training Time!カイデンとホゲータ　秘密の大特訓！	Japan 11 Aug 2023 US 10 May 2024	Roy’s squabbling Fuecoco and Wattrel learn to work together through a secret training plan that harnesses Wattrel’s Wind Power Ability,… · Wattrel learns Spark Episode guide →
	18HZ018	Flying Pikachu, Rising Higher and Higher!そらとぶピカチュウ、どこまでも高く!	Japan 18 Aug 2023 US 10 May 2024	Pressed by Liko, Roy and Dot, Friede tells the story of how he met a Pikachu that could fly, made it his partner, and founded the Rising Volt… · Captain Pikachu’s origin Episode guide →
	19HZ019	The Bittersweet Truthマホイップのホント	Japan 25 Aug 2023 US 10 May 2024	In Motostoke, Liko helps Murdock settle an old quarrel with his former bakery partner Mitchell, now the pastry chef of the Battle Café,… · Motostoke bake-off Episode guide →
	20HZ020	Kabu’s Battle Training!カブさんのバトル修行	Japan 1 Sep 2023 US 10 May 2024	Motostoke Gym Leader Kabu puts Liko and Roy through a test of creative training and a Multi Battle alongside his trainee Wakaba, teaching Liko that… · Fuecoco learns Flamethrower Episode guide →
	21HZ021	The Lonely Hatennaひとりぼっちのミブリム	Japan 8 Sep 2023 US 10 May 2024	On the way to the Galar Mine, Liko takes in a frightened, overly sensitive Hatenna, and by understanding its feelings she finds her own path as a… · Liko catches Hatenna Episode guide →
	22HZ022	Charge! Galar Mine!激突！ガラルこうざん	Japan 15 Sep 2023 US 10 May 2024	Searching the Galar Mine for the Black Rayquaza, Liko and Roy instead encounter a furious Galarian Moltres clutching one of Lucius’s Ancient… · Galarian Moltres Episode guide →
	23HZ023	Fiery Galarian Moltresもえあがるガラルファイヤー	Japan 22 Sep 2023 US 10 May 2024	Instead of defeating the enraged Galarian Moltres, Liko sets out to calm it with Sprigatito’s soothing scent, and with help from Arboliva,… · Moltres joins Liko Episode guide →
	24HZ024	Reunion at the Ancient Castle!古城での再会	Japan 13 Oct 2023 US 9 Aug 2024	Liko, Roy and Friede find Liko’s grandmother Diana at her hidden castle in the Wild Area, where she names the pendant Pokémon as… · Diana Episode guide →
	25HZ025	Rivals in the Dark of Night!闇夜の強敵（ライバル）	Japan 20 Oct 2023 US 9 Aug 2024	The Explorers lay siege to Diana’s castle as Friede and Charizard finally defeat Amethio’s Ceruledge, the admins Sidian and Coral join… · Friede beats Amethio Episode guide →
	26HZ026	Terapagos’s Adventureテラパゴスの冒険	Japan 27 Oct 2023 US 9 Aug 2024	As Liko gets to know the curious, newly awakened Terapagos and nearly falls from the Brave Olivine saving it, Diana entrusts her with Lucius’s… · Lucius’s belt Episode guide →
	27HZ027	As Long as I’m with My Friends仲間といっしょなら	Japan 3 Nov 2023 US 9 Aug 2024	When a false tip about the Black Rayquaza leaves Dot blaming herself, Liko drags her along on an outing to the Wild Area that ends with Dot’s… · Dot’s first curry Episode guide →
	28HZ028	The Stolen Treasureぬすまれた宝もの	Japan 10 Nov 2023 US 9 Aug 2024	Diana’s old adventuring partner Tepen, now a shady antique dealer, steals Roy’s Ancient Poké Ball for a mysterious buyer, and Liko… · Tepen Episode guide →
	29HZ029	Orla and the Poké Ball Smithオリオとモンスターボール職人	Japan 17 Nov 2023 US 9 Aug 2024	At the factory of the cheerful Poké Ball craftsman Karna, the overworked Orla repairs her neglected machinery, helps defeat an invasion of… · Orla’s episode Episode guide →
	30HZ030	Slip and Crash! A Mystery Pokémon?!ズル～っとガチャンで謎ポケモン！？	Japan 24 Nov 2023 US 9 Aug 2024	A trail of strange purple liquid and a mysterious clinking sound lead Liko and Roy on a night-time investigation aboard the Brave Olivine, which… · Polteageist and Sinistea join the ship Episode guide →
	31HZ031	Song Within the Mist白い霧の歌声	Japan 1 Dec 2023 US 9 Aug 2024	Hunting a legendary Lapras that sings to guide lost ships through the mist, the Rising Volt Tacklers discover that the rescues are a deception: the… · The singing Lapras Episode guide →
	32HZ032	Lapras’s Feelings for its Friendsラプラスの想い、仲間を想い	Japan 8 Dec 2023 US 9 Aug 2024	The Rising Volt Tacklers fend off the “Lapras Pirates,” track them to their hidden base, and learn through a shared vision of Lucius why… · Lapras joins Liko Episode guide →
	33HZ033	Roar of the Black Rayquaza咆吼の黒いレックウザ	Japan 15 Dec 2023 US 9 Aug 2024	Amethio’s attempt to catch the Black Rayquaza ends in crushing defeat, and when its Draco Meteor threatens Liko, Terapagos takes its Terastal… · Terapagos’s Terastal Form Episode guide →
	34HZ034	Respective Departuresそれぞれの旅立ち	Japan 22 Dec 2023 US 9 Aug 2024	Diana prepares to leave the Brave Olivine, and the crew throws her a farewell party, while at Explorers headquarters Amethio trains against Hamber,… · Diana leaves Episode guide →
	35HZ035	The Wild Pair, Friede and Cap!荒野のふたり　フリードとキャップ	Japan 12 Jan 2024 US 22 Nov 2024	Hoping to write a school report about Friede and Captain Pikachu, Liko and Roy join them in a desert to find a lost Bramblin for Friede’s old… · Bramblin evolves into Brambleghast Episode guide →
	36HZ036	Mission: Find Oinkologne’s Partner!パフュートン仲良し大作戦！	Japan 19 Jan 2024 US 22 Nov 2024	Answering a question on Nidothing’s livestream, Liko, Roy and Dot travel to Pigton Town to help a girl named Yuno, whose shy Oinkologne Twirly… · Pigton Town Episode guide →
	37HZ037	Fuecoco…Becomes a Crook?!ホゲータ、ワルになる！？	Japan 26 Jan 2024 US 22 Nov 2024	On a desert excavation job, Roy and Fuecoco fall into the nest of a supposedly savage Desert Croc family of Krookodile, Krokorok and newly hatched… · Fuecoco learns Disarming Voice Episode guide →
	38HZ038	The SOS is from Tandemaus?SOSはワッカネズミから？	Japan 2 Feb 2024 US 22 Nov 2024	While the storm-grounded Brave Olivine waits in a forest, Liko and Mollie follow an injured Tandemaus into a collapsing cave to rescue its trapped… · Hatenna learns Heal Pulse Episode guide →
	39HZ039	Tinkatink’s Ideal Hammerカヌチャンとこだわりのハンマー	Japan 9 Feb 2024 US 22 Nov 2024	While shopping in Steelbound Town, Dot meets a crybaby Tinkatink that forges her pink microphone into a hammer, defends it when the crew suspects it… · Dot catches Tinkatink Episode guide →
	40HZ040	Farewell, Sprigatito?さよなら、ニャオハ？	Japan 16 Feb 2024 US 22 Nov 2024	After accidentally hurting Liko’s wrist in a training battle, Sprigatito runs away to the forest house where it grew up, and as Liko learns… · Sprigatito learns Magical Leaf Episode guide →
	41HZ041	A Wild Mom Appears!キョーレツかーちゃん現る！	Japan 1 Mar 2024 US 22 Nov 2024	Dot’s mother, Franka, arrives aboard the Brave Olivine to take her daughter home because Dot’s “trial period” with the Rising… · Dot beats her mother Episode guide →
	42HZ042	Transform! Hero of the Seas, Palafin変身！海のヒーローイルカマン	Japan 8 Mar 2024 US 22 Nov 2024	At a Paldean beach, Liko protects the secret of a heroic Palafin, whose transformation a trio of photographers will do anything to capture, and… · Palafin Episode guide →
	43HZ043	A Challenge from the Explorersエクスプローラーズからの果たし状	Japan 15 Mar 2024 US 22 Nov 2024	An argument over a limited box of Wiglett sweet buns leads the disguised Explorer Coral to challenge Liko and Roy, and a Multi Battle against Coral… · Coral and Sidian Episode guide →
	44HZ044	The Plan to Capture Rayquazaレックウザ捕獲計画	Japan 22 Mar 2024 US 22 Nov 2024	The Explorers lure Friede into a decoy tower while their admins summon the Black Rayquaza to the Levincia Lighthouse with a machine that mimics… · Rayquaza hits the Brave Olivine Episode guide →
	45HZ045	From So Far Awayはるか、遠くまで	Japan 29 Mar 2024 US 22 Nov 2024	As the damaged Brave Olivine makes an emergency landing, Liko, Roy, Dot and Friede, joined by Amethio, battle the Black Rayquaza and are defeated,… · Sprigatito evolves into Floragato Episode guide →

Characters & Travelling Companions

Liko, from Paldea, chose Indigo Academy in Kanto because her parents once studied there. She receives Sprigatito (HZ001), joins the Rising Volt Tacklers to protect her grandmother’s pendant (HZ003), keeps up her classes remotely and posts on Nidothing’s streams as “Sprigatito Love”. She catches Hatenna, her first catch, deciding that her path as a Trainer is to understand how Pokémon feel (HZ021); takes Lucius’s Arboliva (HZ012), Galarian Moltres (HZ023) and Lapras (HZ032) into her care; wears Lucius’s belt (HZ026); and resolves to take Terapagos to Laqua. Her father, Alex, paints and makes picture books (HZ009), and her mother, Lucca, is a teacher who once taught Friede (HZ012, HZ018). Liko reads the episode titles. She is voiced by Minori Suzuki in Japanese and Alejandra Reynoso in English.

Roy lives with his grandfather on an island off Kanto where nobody owns Pokémon, takes classes online, and dreams of following the legendary Ancient Adventurer. The Ancient Poké Ball his grandfather found on the beach releases the Black Rayquaza, and Roy catches Fuecoco, the ship’s stowaway, as his first partner and leaves home with the crew, promising to come back riding Rayquaza (HZ006). He catches a timid Wattrel (HZ014), keeps the Brave Olivine’s flag, sings with Fuecoco to give it courage, and challenges Rayquaza whenever it appears. He is voiced by Yuka Terasaki in Japanese and Anjali Kunapaneni in English.

Dot, Murdock’s reclusive niece, built the Tacklers’ app and gathers their information from behind a door that never opens — and is secretly Nidothing, the popular streamer Liko adores. Viewers learn her secret in HZ007; she meets Liko and Roy in person in Levincia (HZ015), becomes Quaxly’s Trainer and tells Liko the truth (HZ016), eats her first curry (HZ027), catches Tinkatink (HZ039), beats her mother, Franka, to stay aboard for good (HZ041) and shuts down the Explorers’ generator at the Levincia Lighthouse (HZ044). Her Trainer ID, 230804, is HZ016’s air date. She is voiced by Yoshino Aoyama in Japanese and Faye Mata in English.

Friede, a Pokémon Professor and former company researcher, leads the Rising Volt Tacklers with his partner Captain Pikachu (“Cap”), a Paldean Pikachu that “flies” by launching itself with Volt Tackle and flapping its tail, whom he caught after watching it chase the horizon every dawn (HZ018). The crew of the airship Brave Olivine — Ludlow’s fishing boat, converted by Orla in Slateport City — are the chef Murdock, a former baker (HZ019); the healer Mollie, from a family of Pokémon doctors (HZ011); the engineer Orla, Friede’s childhood friend (HZ029); and the fisherman Ludlow, secretly the hero “Mighty G” (HZ042). Friede’s Charizard Terastallizes into a Dark type (HZ014) and beats Amethio (HZ025). Friede is voiced by Taku Yashiro and, in his first Pokémon role, Crispin Freeman; Captain Pikachu by Ikue Ōtani.

• Liko(official artwork), who receives Sprigatito in The Pendant That Starts It All (Part One) (HZ001)
• Roy(official artwork), whose Ancient Poké Ball releases the Black Rayquaza in The Ancient Poké Ball (HZ006)
• Dot(official artwork), secretly the streamer Nidothing, who catches Quaxly in Quaxly, We Can Do It (HZ016)
• Professor Friede(official artwork), leader of the Rising Volt Tacklers
• Captain Pikachu(official artwork), Friede’s flying partner, whose story is told in Flying Pikachu, Rising Higher and Higher! (HZ018)
• LikoLiko with Friede, Captain Pikachu, Orla, Murdock and Mollie in For Sure! ’Cause Sprigatito’s with Me! (HZ003)
• Captain PikachuCaptain Pikachu takes on Coral’s Glalie and Sidian’s Garganacl at Diana’s castle in Rivals in the Dark of Night! (HZ025)
• LikoSprigatito and the newly named Terapagos in Terapagos’s Adventure (HZ026)

Team Rocket

Team Rocket do not appear. Horizons is the first series in which the Team Rocket trio are not the antagonists — their farewell came at the end of Ash’s era — and the English dub is the first without James Carter Cathcart, who left after Journeys following a throat cancer diagnosis and treatment. Their place as the series’ antagonists is taken by the Explorers, below.

The Explorers, Lucius & recurring characters

The Explorers (エクスプローラーズ) are a secret organisation seeking Laqua and its Laquium. Amethio, with Ceruledge and Corviknight, hunts Liko with his subordinates Zirc (Rhydon and Skarmory; a Nidothing fan) and Onia (Skarmory and Golduck; smitten with Sprigatito); removed from the pendant mission (HZ006), he pursues the Black Rayquaza on his own, loses to Friede (HZ025), Rayquaza (HZ033) and Hamber (HZ034), and receives a Tera Orb. The scheming admin Spinel (Magneton, Beheeyem, Umbreon) steals the pendant (HZ014–HZ016) and traps Friede in a decoy tower (HZ044); Coral (Glalie) is reckless, Sidian (Garganacl, Aerodactyl) stoic and Chalce (Medicham) calm, all four first seen as holograms (HZ006). Hamber, the butler and second-in-command (HZ004), has a Dusknoir that Terastallizes into a Ghost type (HZ034), and the leader, Gibeon, heard in HZ006, appears in HZ045 with a Shiny Zygarde.

Diana, Liko’s grandmother, found the pendant and Lucius’s book in her attic as a child, hired the Tacklers to protect Liko, and hides from the Explorers in an ancient castle in Galar’s Wild Area (HZ024–HZ025); with her Arcanine and Squawkabilly she travels with the ship until learning that her old friend Hamber is with the Explorers, then leaves to investigate them (HZ025–HZ034). Lucius, the Ancient Adventurer of a century ago, appears in visions (HZ012, HZ023, HZ032); his Six Heroes are the Black Rayquaza, Arboliva, Galarian Moltres, Lapras, Kleavor and Entei. Liko’s parents, Alex and Lucca, Roy’s grandfather (HZ003–HZ006), Dot’s mother, Franka (HZ041), and Liko’s Indigo Academy roommate, Ann, who keeps in touch by video call with her Oshawott and a Sandshrew (HZ001, HZ021), complete the circle.

From the games come Nemona, a Champion-ranked student with her Pawmo (HZ010–HZ011); Brassius, the Artazon Gym Leader, whose Sudowoodo Terastallizes (HZ010); Iono, Levincia’s Gym Leader and streamer, with Bellibolt (HZ015); Kabu, the Motostoke Gym Leader, with Centiskorch (HZ019–HZ020, HZ023); Larry, in a flashback (HZ018); and Nurse Joy, the first character from a previous series (HZ003). The anime-original guests include Mitchell of the Battle Café (HZ019), Kabu’s trainee Wakaba (HZ020), Diana’s old partner Tepen (HZ028), the Poké Ball smith Karna (HZ029), Friede’s friend Shine (HZ035), Yuno and Renta of Pigton Town (HZ036), the Breeder Marnya (HZ040), and a Swimmer and the photographers known as the Snap Boys (HZ042).

• Amethio of the Explorers(official artwork), Friede’s rival from the first episode
• Amethio’s Ceruledge against the Black Rayquaza in Roar of the Black Rayquaza (HZ033)
• ZircAmethio’s subordinate and a Nidothing fan
• OniaAmethio’s subordinate
• SpinelExplorers researcher
• CoralExplorers admin
• SidianExplorers admin
• OrlaThe Brave Olivine’s mechanic
• MurdockThe crew’s cook and Dot’s uncle
• MollieThe crew’s nurse

Voice cast

Character	English voice actor	Japanese voice actor
Liko	Alejandra Reynoso	Minori Suzuki
Roy	Anjali Kunapaneni	Yuka Terasaki
Dot / Nidothing	Faye Mata	Yoshino Aoyama
Friede	Crispin Freeman (his first Pokémon role)	Taku Yashiro (young Friede: Yukako Kiuchi)
Captain Pikachu	— (no English credit found)	Ikue Ōtani
Sprigatito / Floragato (Liko’s)	Kira Buckland	Megumi Hayashibara
Fuecoco (Roy’s)	Zeno Robinson (also the Rotom Phone)	Daiki Yamashita
Quaxly (Dot’s)	Daman Mills	Daisuke Namikawa
Terapagos	Faye Mata	Yuka Terasaki
Murdock	Major Attaway (also Carkol)	Kenta Miyake
Mollie	Erica Mendez	Kei Shindō
Orla	Mara Junot	Ayane Sakura
Ludlow	Larry Kenney	Ikkyū Juku
Diana	Nancy Linari	Kiri Yoshizawa (young Diana: Yuna Ogata)
Lucius	Steve Blum	Daisuke Namikawa
Ann	Xanthe Huynh	Yuna Ogata
Amethio	Daman Mills	Shun Horie
Zirc	Michael Schneider	Kōsuke Tanabe
Onia	Lisa Ortiz	Arisa Shida
Spinel	Matthew Mercer	Makoto Furukawa
Coral	Lizzie Freeman	Ikue Ōtani
Sidian	SungWon Cho	Yuki Onodera
Chalce	Shara Kirby	Mimi Maihane
Hamber	Paul Mercier	Hironori Kondō
Gibeon	David Kaye	Shō Hayami
Nemona	Yolis Arroyo	Eri Kitamura
Brassius	J. Michael Tatum	Kazuya Nakai
Iono	Erika Harlacher-Stone	Kaede Hondo
Kabu	Clyde Kusatsu	Hiroki Tōchi
Lucca / Alex / Franka	—	Noriko Kuwashima / Tokuyoshi Kawashima / Motoko Kumai

Pokémon: Captures, Changes, Encounters & Evolutions

In brief:

• Liko receives Sprigatito at Indigo Academy (HZ001), a moody, fickle partner that scratches her at their first meeting; Leafage comes to life when she stands up to Amethio (HZ002), it learns Scratch and Quick Attack training against Captain Pikachu (HZ007) and Magical Leaf after running back to the Breeder Marnya’s house (HZ040), its Overgrow Ability is confirmed against Sidian (HZ043), and it evolves into Floragato against the Black Rayquaza (HZ045) — the first evolution of a main character’s Grass-type first partner since Ash’s Grotle, 645 episodes earlier. Liko catches a frightened Hatenna, her first catch (HZ021), which uses Confusion (HZ028) and learns Heal Pulse (HZ038), and three of Lucius’s Six Heroes — Arboliva (HZ012), Galarian Moltres (HZ023) and Lapras (HZ032) — enter their Ancient Poké Balls and are entrusted to her. Terapagos travels with her uncaught.
• Roy befriends the stowaway Fuecoco (HZ004), which finds its first Ember to his singing (HZ005) and becomes his first Pokémon (HZ006) — the first concurrent Fire-type first partner caught outside its native region. It learns Stomping Tantrum against Brassius (HZ010), Flamethrower against Kabu (HZ020), Disarming Voice with a family of Krookodile (HZ037) and Flame Charge against Rayquaza (HZ045), and does not evolve this season. Roy also catches Wattrel, too timid to fly until he helps it (HZ014) — the first catch by a main character of the concurrent regional bird since Ash’s Fletchling — which learns Peck (HZ016) and uses its Wind Power Ability to power Spark (HZ017). The Black Rayquaza from his Ancient Poké Ball flies free all season.
• Dot becomes Quaxly’s Trainer (HZ016) — her first Pokémon, after it had stayed by her side on the ship — and it uses Pound and Water Gun and learns Low Kick in her battle with her mother (HZ041). She catches a crybaby Tinkatink that forges her pink microphone into a hammer (HZ039). HZ036 confirms the genders of all three first partners — Sprigatito female, Fuecoco and Quaxly male — for the first time since BW007.
• Friede’s Charizard, his first Pokémon, Terastallizes into a Dark type with his Tera Orb (HZ014, HZ025, HZ045), making Charizard the first species in the anime to have used Mega Evolution, a Z-Move, Gigantamax and Terastallization; Captain Pikachu, caught in a flashback (HZ018), fights with Thunder Punch, Double Team, Volt Tackle and Thunderbolt. Brassius’s Sudowoodo (Grass, HZ010), Hamber’s Dusknoir (Ghost, HZ034) and Amethio’s Ceruledge (Ghost, HZ045) also Terastallize. Murdock’s Alcremie evolved from the bakery’s Milcery in a flashback, the first evolution of Horizons (HZ019), and Shine’s Bramblin evolves into Brambleghast (HZ035).

New Pokémon captured or hatched

• Sprigatito#0906 · Liko · her first partner, received at Indigo Academy · HZ001
• Fuecoco#0909 · Roy · his first Pokémon, the ship’s stowaway · HZ006
• Arboliva#0930 · Liko · Lucius’s giant Arboliva enters the second Ancient Poké Ball and is entrusted to her · HZ012
• Wattrel#0940 · Roy · after he helps it overcome its fear of flying · HZ014
• Quaxly#0912 · Dot · her first Pokémon · HZ016
• Pikachu#0025 · Friede · Captain Pikachu, caught in a flashback · HZ018
• Hatenna#0856 · Liko · her first caught Pokémon · HZ021
• Sandshrew#0027 · Ann · caught off screen · HZ021
• Lapras#0131 · Liko · Lucius’s scarred giant Lapras enters the fourth Ancient Poké Ball · HZ032
• Tinkatink#0957 · Dot · after defeating an Orthworm with Quaxly · HZ039

Evolutions

• Milcery → Alcremie#0869 · Murdock · the bakery’s Milcery, in a flashback; the first Horizons evolution · HZ019
• Bramblin → Brambleghast#0947 · Shine · with Rapid Spin, freeing the poachers’ captives · HZ035
• Sprigatito → Floragato#0907 · Liko · against the Black Rayquaza · HZ045

Releases, departures and returns

No main character releases or trades a Pokémon this season. Lucius’s Galarian Moltres is entrusted to Liko in its Ancient Poké Ball (HZ023) alongside Arboliva (HZ012) and Lapras (HZ032), and Arboliva bursts out of its ball to protect her twice (HZ016, HZ023); the Black Rayquaza, released from Roy’s ball, flies off after every encounter (HZ006, HZ033, HZ045), and Terapagos, which emerges from the pendant and stays out after HZ023, travels with Liko without being caught.

The Brave Olivine keeps gaining residents: the ship’s wild Pokémon — Pawmi, Shuckle, Snorunt, Noctowl, Carkol, Slugma, Muk and Nosepass — are joined by a Polteageist stowaway and a Sinistea born from Diana’s antique teacup (HZ030) and by a Maushold family rescued from a cave (HZ038). Diana leaves the ship with her Arcanine and Squawkabilly (HZ034), and the Lapras Pirates sail away on their Wailord once their captain has chosen Liko (HZ032).

Liko’s, Roy’s and Dot’s Pokémon this season

Pokémon	What happens	Episodes
Sprigatito → Floragato (Liko)	Received; Leafage; kidnapped by Amethio and rescued; Scratch and Quick Attack; Magical Leaf; Overgrow confirmed; evolves	HZ001–HZ003, HZ007, HZ040, HZ043, HZ045
Hatenna (Liko)	Caught, her first catch; Confusion; Heal Pulse	HZ021, HZ028, HZ038
Terapagos (with Liko)	Glimpsed in the pendant; emerges and stays out; named by Diana; Terastal Form and Tera Starstorm	HZ002, HZ012, HZ023, HZ024, HZ033
Fuecoco (Roy)	Befriended; Ember; caught, his first Pokémon; Stomping Tantrum; Flamethrower; Disarming Voice; Flame Charge	HZ004–HZ006, HZ010, HZ020, HZ037, HZ045
Wattrel (Roy)	Met at the picnic; caught; Peck; Spark with its Wind Power Ability	HZ013, HZ014, HZ016, HZ017
Quaxly (Dot)	Becomes her first Pokémon; Pound and Water Gun; Low Kick	HZ016, HZ041
Tinkatink (Dot)	Caught; Slam	HZ039, HZ044

Lucius’s Six Heroes

Hero	Where it is found	Status at the end of the season
Rayquaza (Shiny, the Black Rayquaza)	Released from Roy’s Ancient Poké Ball on his island (HZ006); returns in HZ032–HZ033 and HZ044–HZ045	Free; beats everyone in the finale
Arboliva	Guarding a burned forest in Paldea (HZ011)	In its Ancient Poké Ball, entrusted to Liko (HZ012)
Moltres (Galarian Form)	Enraged in the Galar Mine (HZ022)	In its Ancient Poké Ball, entrusted to Liko (HZ023)
Lapras	Captain of the “Lapras Pirates” at sea (HZ031)	In its Ancient Poké Ball, entrusted to Liko (HZ032)
Kleavor	Said to have lived in ancient Hisui (HZ026)	Not found this season
Entei	Named by Diana (HZ025)	Not found this season

Other Trainers’ Pokémon this season

Trainer	Pokémon	Episodes
Friede	Captain Pikachu, Charizard (Tera Dark)	HZ001–HZ045
Murdock / Mollie	Rockruff, Alcremie (Ruby Swirl) / Chansey	HZ002, HZ003, HZ019
Orla / Ludlow	Metagross, Elekid / Quagsire, Sharpedo	HZ003, HZ012, HZ029, HZ042
Diana	Arcanine, Squawkabilly	HZ024–HZ034
Ann	Oshawott, Sandshrew	HZ001, HZ021
Amethio / Zirc / Onia	Ceruledge (Tera Ghost), Corviknight / Rhydon, Skarmory / Skarmory, Golduck	HZ001–HZ006, HZ022–HZ025, HZ033, HZ045
Spinel	Magneton, Beheeyem, Umbreon	HZ012–HZ016, HZ044
Coral / Sidian / Chalce	Glalie / Garganacl, Aerodactyl / Medicham	HZ024–HZ025, HZ043–HZ044
Hamber / Gibeon	Dusknoir (Tera Ghost) / Zygarde (Shiny 10% Forme)	HZ004, HZ024–HZ025, HZ034, HZ045
Nemona / Brassius / Iono / Kabu	Pawmo / Sudowoodo (Tera Grass), Dolliv / Bellibolt / Centiskorch	HZ010, HZ015, HZ020
Mitchell / Wakaba	Slurpuff, Appletun / Rolycoly	HZ019, HZ020
Tepen	Lampent, Bronzor, Bronzong, Honedge, Foongus	HZ028
Karna	Magby	HZ029
Shine	Bramblin → Brambleghast	HZ035
Yuno / Renta	Oinkologne (Twirly) / Oinkologne (Prince)	HZ036
Franka	Lycanroc	HZ041

Pokémon making their anime debut this season

Most of the season’s debuts come from Paldea and Scarlet and Violet: the first episode brings Amethio’s Ceruledge, Pawmi and Finizen, Paldea itself Fidough, Lechonk, Cyclizar, the Paldean Tauros (Combat Breed) (HZ009) and the Paldean Wooper (HZ011), and later stops add Shroodle, Bellibolt, Wiglett, Toedscruel, Bramblin and Brambleghast, both Oinkologne, Maushold’s Family of Four, Orthworm, Spidops and, on one Paldean beach, Nacli, Palafin in both forms, Kilowattrel, Tadbulb and Klawf (HZ042). Terapagos debuts in HZ002, months before its game, and takes its Terastal Form in HZ033, the day after The Indigo Disk introduced it; Lucius’s Galarian Moltres debuts in HZ022, a Fancy Pattern Vivillon in HZ044, and Floragato through Liko’s Sprigatito (HZ045). Bulbapedia also lists individuals such as Liko’s Sprigatito, Roy’s Fuecoco, Lucius’s Black Rayquaza and Lapras and Gibeon’s Shiny Zygarde. Long-absent species return too — Bronzor after 686 episodes and Bronzong after 612 (HZ028), Ambipom after 673 (HZ031), Stunky after 636 (HZ035) and Munna after 533 (HZ027) — and Weezing gets its first anime Pokédex entry, 1,230 episodes after its debut (HZ029).

• Sprigatito#0906 · HZ001 · Liko’s first partner, an individual debut (the species was first seen in Journeys)
• Quaxly#0912 · HZ001 · on Nidothing’s video; later Dot’s first Pokémon
• Ceruledge#0937 · HZ001 · species debut: Amethio’s partner
• Pawmi#0921 · HZ001 · one of the Brave Olivine’s Pokémon
• Finizen#0963 · HZ001
• Terapagos#1024 · HZ002 · in its Normal Form, eight months before its game debut; its Terastal Form follows later in the season
• Fuecoco#0909 · HZ002 · the ship’s stowaway, later Roy’s first Pokémon
• Carkol#0838 · HZ002 · one of the Brave Olivine’s Pokémon
• Rayquaza#0384 · HZ006 · Lucius’s Shiny Black Rayquaza, with Rayquaza’s first anime Pokédex entry
• Fidough#0926 · HZ009 · in Liko’s home
• Lechonk#0915 · HZ009
• Cyclizar#0967 · HZ009 · ridden through Mesagoza
• Pawmo#0922 · HZ010 · Nemona’s
• Smoliv#0928 · HZ010
• Dolliv#0929 · HZ010 · Brassius’s
• Arboliva#0930 · HZ010 · anime debut, as Brassius’s sculpture; the giant Arboliva appears in the next episode
• Squawkabilly#0931 · HZ012 · Diana’s, in its Yellow Plumage; the Green and Blue Plumages follow in Levincia
• Wattrel#0940 · HZ013 · the Wattrel Roy catches in the next episode
• Shroodle#0944 · HZ013
• Corvisquire#0822 · HZ015
• Bellibolt#0939 · HZ015 · Iono’s
• Wiglett#0960 · HZ016
• Rolycoly#0837 · HZ020 · Wakaba’s
• Hatenna#0856 · HZ021 · Liko’s, an individual debut (the species was first seen in Journeys)
• Garganacl#0934 · HZ024 · Sidian’s
• Blipbug#0824 · HZ024 · TV-episode debut
• Boltund#0836 · HZ027 · TV-episode debut
• Polteageist#0855 · HZ030 · the ship’s tea-making stowaway
• Lapras#0131 · HZ031 · individual debut: Lucius’s scarred giant Lapras
• Toedscruel#0949 · HZ031 · one of the Lapras Pirates
• Bramblin#0946 · HZ035 · Shine’s
• Brambleghast#0947 · HZ035 · Shine’s Bramblin evolves
• Oinkologne#0916 · HZ036 · both forms: Renta’s male Prince and Yuno’s female Twirly
• Maushold#0925 · HZ038 · Family of Four, mistaken for Tandemaus
• Tinkatink#0957 · HZ039 · Dot’s
• Orthworm#0968 · HZ039
• Spidops#0918 · HZ040
• Nacli#0932 · HZ042
• Palafin#0964 · HZ042 · in both its Zero and Hero Forms
• Kilowattrel#0941 · HZ042
• Tadbulb#0938 · HZ042
• Klawf#0950 · HZ042
• Floragato#0907 · HZ045 · species debut, as Liko’s Sprigatito evolves
• Zygarde#0718 · HZ045 · Gibeon’s Shiny (white) 10% Forme; Zygarde’s first main-series appearance in 338 episodes

Key Events, Battles & Terastallization

Friede, Captain Pikachu & Amethio

Amethio’s Ceruledge first meets Friede’s Charizard on an Indigo Academy rooftop, where a deflected Psycho Cut sets off the pendant’s barrier (HZ001). On the Brave Olivine, Friede sends out Captain Pikachu, whose Double Team copies fool Psycho Cut and Bitter Blade before it calls down a lightning bolt for a mighty Volt Tackle (HZ002); in the port city their rematch is only a diversion while Liko frees Sprigatito (HZ003), and in the Galar Mine Ceruledge’s Phantom Force and Weak Armor keep Charizard under pressure until Galarian Moltres interrupts (HZ022). The rivalry is settled at Diana’s castle: keeping his distance to avoid triggering Weak Armor, Friede attacks with Air Slash and Flamethrower, Ceruledge answers with Phantom Force and a string of Night Slashes, and as Amethio charges a finishing Psycho Cut, Friede Terastallizes Charizard into a Dark type, shrugs off the Psychic move and wins with a super-effective Tera Blast — the first of their battles to finish (HZ025). Amethio then loses to the Black Rayquaza (HZ033) and to Hamber in training (HZ034), and in the finale fights alongside Friede until Rayquaza’s Dragon Ascent knocks out both their Pokémon (HZ045).

Terastallization

Scarlet and Violet’s battle mechanic runs through the season. Roy first sees it in Artazon, when Brassius Terastallizes his Sudowoodo into a Grass type — “From Fiction Comes Truth” — and finishes Fuecoco with Trailblaze, after which Nemona explains how Tera Types work (HZ010). Friede’s Tera Orb turns Charizard into a Dark type in a Levincia alley, blunting Beheeyem’s Meteor Beam and making it immune to Psychic before a Dark-type Tera Blast (HZ014), and again against Amethio at Diana’s castle, which shows that Terastallization works outside Paldea (HZ025). Terapagos takes its Terastal Form of its own accord against the Black Rayquaza (HZ033); Hamber Terastallizes Dusknoir into a Ghost type and gives Amethio a Tera Orb of his own (HZ034), and Amethio uses it on Ceruledge for the first time in the finale (HZ045). Spinel notes that the pendant’s crystal resembles the one inside a Tera Orb (HZ015), Friede heads back to Paldea partly because its ancient records mention Terapagos and may link it to the Terastal phenomenon (HZ034), and the season ends with Friede proposing Terastal training for all three children (HZ045).

The Explorers’ raids

Amethio, Zirc and Onia hunt Liko from her first week at Indigo Academy, carry off Sprigatito in the storm (HZ002) and hide a tracker on the Brave Olivine that leads their submarine to Roy’s island (HZ003–HZ005), until the Black Rayquaza’s Draco Meteor drives them away and Gibeon gives the pendant mission to Spinel (HZ006). Spinel works by stealth: his Magneton jam the ship’s systems (HZ012–HZ013), his Beheeyem hypnotises Liko so that he can take the pendant and her memories in Levincia (HZ014–HZ015), and Dot, Liko and Roy win it back from him on a cargo ship (HZ016); later he feeds Dot a false Rayquaza tip (HZ027). Amethio defies orders to pursue Rayquaza in Galar (HZ021–HZ023) and storms Diana’s castle as Hamber sends the admins Sidian and Coral to join him (HZ024–HZ025). Once the admins have made Rayquaza their priority (HZ027), Spinel and Chalce decide to pursue it on their own (HZ034); back in Paldea, Coral’s challenge letter leads to a Multi Battle that Sidian calls off when she lets their plan slip (HZ043), and the four admins lure Friede into a decoy tower and summon Rayquaza to the Levincia Lighthouse with a machine that copies Terapagos’s resonance (HZ044).

Gym Leaders, training & friendly battles

There are no Gyms, Badges or League: Horizons is the first series in which no main character takes part in a major competition. Liko and Roy learn instead from Captain Pikachu, whose training challenge is to land a single hit and teaches Sprigatito Quick Attack (HZ007); from Brassius, who shows Roy Terastallization (HZ010); and from Kabu, whose Litwick test and Multi Battle alongside his trainee Wakaba teach Liko that holding back out of kindness denies her opponent and her own partner the chance to grow (HZ020). Roy’s homemade launch lets Wattrel’s Spark knock off Captain Pikachu’s hat (HZ017), Diana’s Arcanine sets the one-hit challenge again before she leaves (HZ033), Liko wins her first battle off screen against Onia (HZ005) and beats Roy in one hit once Sprigatito has learned Magical Leaf (HZ040), and Dot earns her place on the ship by beating her mother’s Lycanroc with a newly learned Low Kick (HZ041). Yuno and Renta, who beat Liko and Roy in a practice Multi Battle, win the Pigton Town Multi Battle Tournament, which the protagonists do not enter (HZ036).

The Black Rayquaza

Lucius’s Shiny Black Rayquaza, the first of the Six Heroes, bursts from Roy’s Ancient Poké Ball when the pendant and the ball glow together, devastates the beach with Draco Meteor and flies off after a long look at Liko (HZ006); Roy vows to catch it, and sightings lead the Tacklers to Brassius in Paldea and Kabu in Galar. It finds them first (HZ032), crushes Amethio’s Ceruledge and Corviknight with Dragon Pulse, and when its Draco Meteor threatens Liko, Terapagos takes its Terastal Form and counters with Tera Starstorm; Friede and Diana suspect that Rayquaza was testing it (HZ033). Caught in ice and salt at the Levincia Lighthouse, it breaks free once Dot shuts down the generator, and Coral’s Self-Destruct knocks it into the Brave Olivine (HZ044). In the finale Liko and Roy challenge it with Dot and Friede: Fuecoco’s Disarming Voice lands, but Draco Meteor and Dragon Ascent beat everyone, Amethio’s Tera Ghost Ceruledge and Friede’s Tera Charizard included, until Sprigatito evolves into Floragato and Fuecoco learns Flame Charge to push it back. Rayquaza stares at Liko, roars and flies away (HZ045).

Movies & Specials Released During the Season

No new Pokémon film was released during the season, in Japan or in the US; the most recent remained the twenty-third movie, Secrets of the Jungle (Japan 25 December 2020, Netflix 8 October 2021). The season’s companions were instead web series and streaming specials — WIT Studio’s four-episode Pokémon: Paldean Winds on YouTube (September–December 2023) and the Netflix stop-motion series Pokémon Concierge (28 December 2023) — described under Side Stories below.

In Japan the anime’s slot also carried specials: the one-hour Anime Pokémon Music Festival (アニメ ポケットモンスター音楽祭) on 31 March 2023, with past theme artists and the live debut of the new opening Heart-Pounding Diary; a one-hour new-series preview special (新シリーズ「ポケットモンスター」ポケモンしらべ隊) on 7 April 2023; the one-hour premiere of HZ001 and HZ002 on 14 April 2023; and a New Year special on 5 January 2024. The official site also posted recap videos of episodes 1–12 (27 June 2023) and 13–25 (20 October 2023).

Side Stories, Specials & Crossovers

Side-story tie-ins

• Pokémon: Paldean Winds (放課後のブレス, “After-School Breath”). A four-episode web series by WIT Studio, directed by Ryōhei Takeshita and released on YouTube — “Breathe Out” on 6 September 2023, “Breathe In” on 18 October, “Take a Breath” on 22 November and “Breathe Together” on 13 December 2023. It follows the Uva Academy students Ohara, Aliquis and Hohma, with Nemona, Iono, Arven and Clavell among the recurring characters, voiced by a different cast from Horizons.
• Pokémon Concierge (ポケモンコンシェルジュ). A stop-motion series by dwarf studios, co-produced by Netflix and The Pokémon Company, directed by Iku Ogawa and written by Harumi Doki, with Non and Karen Fukuhara as Haru and themes by Mariya Takeuchi and Tatsuro Yamashita. Announced in the Pokémon Presents of 27 February 2023, its four episodes came to Netflix worldwide on 28 December 2023 (a second part followed only on 4 September 2025); it was dubbed under the same SAG-AFTRA arrangement as Horizons.
• The end of Ash’s era in the US. Pokémon: To Be a Pokémon Master, the last twelve episodes with Ash, reached Netflix US on 8 September 2023 — five months after Horizons began in Japan and three months before its English premiere.
• Pokémon Presents and the games. The Pokémon Company first teased Terapagos on 17 April 2023, three days after HZ002, and named it in the Pokémon Presents of 8 August 2023; another Pokémon Presents, on Pokémon Day, 27 February 2024, fell between HZ040 and HZ041. The Scarlet and Violet downloadable content The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero arrived during the Japanese run — The Teal Mask on 13 September 2023, between HZ021 and HZ022, and The Indigo Disk on 14 December 2023, between HZ032 and HZ033 — followed by the epilogue Mochi Mayhem on 11 January 2024, the day before HZ035.
• Companion programming. The Sunday-morning variety show Pokémon to Doko Iku!? (ポケモンとどこいく!?, “Pokédoko”) continued alongside the anime, and its hosts sang guest versions of the ending on the first airings of HZ015–HZ017. In summer 2023 Liko and Captain Pikachu appeared at meet-and-greets at an “Anipoke Summer Festival”, and Pikachu-themed fireworks lit the Sumida River Fireworks Festival on 29 July 2023.

Characters from the games, manga and specials

• Scarlet, Violet and Paldea. The series is built around the Generation IX games: Liko comes from Paldea, Sprigatito, Fuecoco and Quaxly are their first partners, and the Tacklers visit Mesagoza, Artazon and Levincia and meet Nemona, Brassius and Iono. Iono’s live-streamed hide-and-seek in HZ015 restages her Gym test from the games and reuses her lines, Brassius quotes his game lines (HZ010), Roy picks the “Heroic Sword Pick” for his picnic sandwich (HZ013), and Terapagos and its Terastal Form came to the anime before and alongside The Indigo Disk.
• Galar and older games. Kabu, the Motostoke Gym Leader from Sword and Shield, trains Liko and Roy (HZ019–HZ020), Larry appears in Friede’s flashback (HZ018), and Motostoke, the Galar Mine and the Wild Area are drawn from the games. Professor Willow of Pokémon GO appeared in a Japanese-only bonus scene announcing a collaboration (HZ042), and Liko’s father’s paintings of Arcanine and Rapidash reference the 1997 opening Aim to Be a Pokémon Master (HZ009).
• Echoes of Ash’s journey. Nurse Joy is the first character from a previous series to appear (HZ003); the Wild Area lake of HZ027 is the first place the Tacklers visit that Ash had visited in Journeys; Diana’s childhood home looks like Ash’s house (HZ024); and HZ036’s Oinkologne matchmaking closely parallels Wherefore Art Thou, Pokémon? Captain Pikachu shares Ikue Ōtani, the Japanese voice of Ash’s Pikachu, who also voices the Explorer Coral.
• In-game distributions. A Dark Tera Type “Friede’s Charizard” was distributed for Scarlet and Violet with a password announced in the anime, valid until 1 September 2023; codes for a Terastal Cap (shown in HZ034, valid until 30 November 2024) and a Terastal Sporty Cap (after HZ033, and worn by Coral in HZ043) followed, and Liko’s Sprigatito, Roy’s Fuecoco and Dot’s Quaxly were later distributed too — Horizons is the first series to give all of its concurrent first partners a game distribution.

Opening & Ending Themes

The new series brought new music. Heart-Pounding Diary (ドキメキダイアリー), written and produced by Chinozo and sung by asmi, made its live debut in the Anime Pokémon Music Festival on 31 March 2023, closed HZ002 and opened HZ003 to HZ025; for The Sparkling of Terapagos it gave way to Halo (ハロ) by yama and BotchiBoromaru (HZ026–HZ045). The ending, RVR ~Rising Volt Tacklers Rap~, is sung by Liko and Roy’s voice actresses, Minori Suzuki and Yuka Terasaki, with a verse by a different member of the crew in each version — Friede, Orla, Murdock, Mollie, Ludlow, Dot and Nidothing — and guest versions from the TV shows Pokédoko and Oha Suta on the first airings of HZ015 to HZ019. Conisch composed the Japanese background music, which the English dub largely replaces with its own score, produced by Madcap Labs; Ed Goldfarb wrote the English opening, Haven Paschall’s “Becoming Me”. In Asia the English release opens with aespa’s We Go (English Ver.).

The only Japanese insert song is Heart-Pounding Diary over the sunrise flight that closes HZ018; the English and other international dubs remove it, since no instrumental exists, leaving only the background score, and show the normal opening before the title card instead (Korea used We Go, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Thailand We Go (English Ver.), and mainland China “Set Sail”). The dub also changes Nidothing’s theme, although Liko still hums the original melody while cleaning in HZ008 in both versions, and Quaxly sings the Pokémon Center healing jingle in HZ004. Conisch’s 42-track original soundtrack, covering the episodes from the first to The Sparkling of Terapagos, came out on CD on 19 June 2024 (MHCL-30990), with his own track commentary in the booklet.

Becoming Me — Haven Paschall’s English opening, used from HZ002 to HZ045, in the sing-along video posted by The Official Pokémon YouTube channel; the full version was released on digital platforms on 1 March 2024.

TV Broadcasts & Original Airing Dates

Japan. TV Tokyo aired the season on Fridays from 6:55 to 7:25 p.m., the slot inherited from Journeys. Two specials preceded it — the Anime Pokémon Music Festival (31 March 2023) and a new-series preview (7 April) — and The Pendant That Starts It All (Part One) and The Pendant That Starts It All (Part Two) premiered together as a one-hour special on 14 April 2023, with no title card, eyecatches or “Part 1/2” in the title and one combined credits roll. Of the 51 Fridays from then to From So Far Away (HZ045) on 29 March 2024, 44 carried the 45 episodes; there was no broadcast on 30 June and 7 July, 29 September and 6 October, and 29 December 2023 and 23 February 2024 (TV Tokyo gave no reasons), and 5 January 2024 brought a New Year special. The first arc ended with HZ025 on 20 October 2023 and the second began a week later with the new opening Halo. HZ021 was the last episode before The Teal Mask and HZ032 the last before The Indigo Disk; Terapagos’s Terastal Form, introduced by that DLC, debuted in HZ033 the next day. No Japanese ratings have been found.

The US: Netflix. The English cast, a trailer and an eleven-minute clip of HZ001 were revealed at San Diego Comic-Con on 20 July 2023. On 29 November 2023 The Pokémon Company International announced that the season would premiere “exclusively on Netflix” in the US on 23 February 2024, for Pokémon Day; on 12 January 2024 the date moved to 7 March, “just a short time later than previously announced”, with no reason given. Part 1 (HZ001–HZ012) arrived on Thursday 7 March 2024, Part 2 (HZ013–HZ023), announced on 10 April with a second poster and a sneak peek, on Friday 10 May, Part 3 (HZ024–HZ034) on Friday 9 August and Part 4 (HZ035–HZ045), announced on 13 August, on Friday 22 November 2024 — each part with its own poster. Netflix launched the series the same day in Latin America, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Poland and Turkey, and in New Zealand from 15 April 2024. There was no US television broadcast, and no viewing figures have been published.

The UK: the English premiere. The dub was seen first on BBC iPlayer, three months before Netflix, in six drops: HZ001–HZ006 on 1 December 2023, HZ007–HZ016 on 15 January 2024, HZ017–HZ020 on 27 February, HZ021–HZ032 on 27 May, HZ033–HZ040 on 22 July and HZ041–HZ045 on 9 September 2024. CBBC broadcast the series from 4 December 2023 (English Wikipedia also names BBC Two). The BBC’s prints trim a few shots of imitable behaviour (see Dub Edits).

Canada, Australia, Africa and Asia. Canada’s Cartoon Network, with Télétoon in French, began on Saturday 2 March 2024 with HZ001 and HZ002 and ran weekly, reaching HZ039 on 16 November 2024. Australia’s 9Go! began on 27 February 2024 and stripped the season on weekdays from 11 March, airing HZ021–HZ023 on 27–29 March, before the UK; when the slots of 2–4 April went to reruns, HZ024–HZ028 appeared first on Australian iTunes and Google Play (1–10 April), and HZ035–HZ045 aired from 18 September to 2 October 2024. Cartoon Network Africa began on 25 March 2024 and reached HZ045 on 11 October 2024; the Pokémon Asia ENG YouTube channel streamed the dub from 8 March 2024 and released HZ035–HZ038 on 1, 8, 15 and 22 November 2024. In Asia the English release opens with aespa’s We Go (English Ver.).

Other premieres and numbering. The first broadcast outside Japan was South Korea’s Korean dub, on Tooniverse from 23 August 2023; English Wikipedia lists France (9 December 2023), Germany (9 February 2024), Spain (26 February), Italy (27 February), Portugal (18 March), India (25 May), Hong Kong (26 May), Thailand (30 August) and Singapore (7 September 2024) among the other premieres, and the Indonesian dub of HZ041–HZ045 (24 August – 7 September 2024) came before the English. The Pokémon Company International treats Horizons as the first season of a new series, numbering it Season 1 and calling the older episodes “Pokémon the Series”, while its Asian territories number it Season 26. Japan has no season break: HZ046 began the third arc, Terastal Debut, which opens Horizons Season 2.

Dub Edits

Changes in the English version

Nothing banned — a new kind of dub. All 45 episodes were dubbed and released in Japanese order. The English version was recorded by Iyuno at its Burbank studio, with Goldcrest Post in New York and Okratron 5000 in Dallas as satellite studios until HZ037; from The SOS is from Tandemaus? (HZ038) Iyuno took over remote dubbing entirely. Lisa Ortiz directed the voices, Barton Bishop and Rachel Robinson adapted the scripts, and it is the first unionised English Pokémon dub, under a SAG-AFTRA contract shared with Pokémon Concierge. The dub keeps Japan’s static eyecatches from HZ002, has Liko read the title cards, replaces most of the Japanese background music with a new score produced by Madcap Labs, lists its voice actors alphabetically by first name and translates most episode titles directly, with significantly fewer exclamation marks.

Cuts and changes. The dub removes the Japanese on-screen text with Captain Pikachu’s name and fixes a white-glove animation error (HZ002); redraws Spinel’s Umbreon with corrected proportions in its eyecatch, a version Japan later used in HZ044 (HZ016); drops the Heart-Pounding Diary insert song from the end of HZ018 and shows the normal opening before the title card; and gives Diana’s Squawkabilly more varied speech than its Japanese “Liko” and “ancient castle” (HZ024). In Transform! Hero of the Seas, Palafin (HZ042) Roy’s “We’re here!” becomes “A day at the beach!”, Liko’s guess that Palafin is a yacht becomes a submarine, the guesses about Mighty G become an “It’s a bird! It’s a plane!” joke, and the Japanese-only Professor Willow scene is left out of every dub; in HZ043 the pun bun “Sea Digdaman” — Umidigda, Wiglett’s Japanese name, plus manjū — becomes “Wiglett sweet buns”. On BBC iPlayer, Google Play and iTunes, Nidothing speaks of “Tag Battles” in HZ026, on Netflix of “Multi Battles”.

The BBC versions. The UK prints trim imitable behaviour: HZ001 loses the shot of Liko and Sprigatito jumping from the roof, HZ002 shortens and slows Captain Pikachu’s Volt Tackle, and HZ004 removes Roy eating an Oran Berry. The BBC print of the English opening lacked its staff credits, an error several European dubs copied, and the UK title card of HZ029 reads “ORLA AND THE Poké Ball SMITH”.

No Who’s That Pokémon? Neither version has the quiz. Japan’s mini-corner, Professor Friede’s Pokémon Seminar, asks a multiple-choice question about a Pokémon from the episode — what intensifies Sprigatito’s sweet scent (a sun bath, HZ002), what flows from Ceruledge’s swords (life force, HZ006), where Rayquaza lives (the ozone layer, HZ045) — and moved before the ending credits from HZ013. The Terapagos short Terapagos’s Exploration Diary replaced it in HZ031–HZ033, a Pokémon GO announcement with Professor Willow in HZ042’s first airing, and trailers for the arc-2 climax and for Terastal Debut in HZ043 and HZ045. Whether the English episodes include the Seminar has not been confirmed.

Names and voices. Riko becomes Liko, Orio Orla, Randō Ludlow, Gurumin Nidothing, Amejio Amethio, Sango Coral, Onyx Sidian, Agate Chalce, Konia Onia, Jiru Zirc and Blanca Franka — though TPCi’s English blurb for HZ041 still said “Blanca” — while Nemo, Colsa and Nanjamo take their game names, Nemona, Brassius and Iono, and Liko’s comment handle “Nyahoja Superfan” becomes “Sprigatito Love”. There is no narrator apart from a “World of Pokémon” introduction in HZ001; James Carter Cathcart is absent; Sarah Natochenny, Ash’s voice, appears only among the additional voices; and HZ011 is the first episode with no former 4Kids voice actors in the English cast.

Other dubs. Roy becomes Rory in German, Rod in Spanish, Rhod in French and Rain in Portuguese, to avoid a clash with those languages’ name for Raihan, and Rod in Korean, where his name would match James’s. In most dubs other than English, Japanese and some Asian releases, Liko reads HZ001’s title aloud; Netflix’s Turkish dub of HZ008 has Mollie speaking German; the Hindi dubs leave some Pokémon cries in English (HZ001, HZ017, HZ021); and the Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Bengali dubs use their own songs, “Let’s Get Started” and “Boom Kaboom”.

Episode titles explained

Horizons is the first season whose English titles are mostly direct translations of the Japanese ones. These are the titles that differ, or need a word of explanation:

• The Treasure After the Storm! — a freer rendering of the Japanese “A Washed-Ashore Treasure”; the treasure the storm brings Roy turns out to be Fuecoco
• Special Training with Cap! — “Cap” is the crew’s nickname for Captain Pikachu, whom the Japanese title names in full
• Nemona and Brassius and… — the Japanese “With Nemo and Colsa”, with the characters’ English game names
• An Unexpected Picnic! — the Japanese title is simply “A Sudden Picnic”
• Special Training Time! — shortened from the Japanese “Kaiden and Hogator’s Secret Big Training!” (Wattrel and Fuecoco)
• The Bittersweet Truth — replaces the Japanese “Mawhip’s Truth” (Mawhip is Alcremie’s Japanese name) for an episode about a bakers’ quarrel
• Charge! Galar Mine! — the Japanese title begins “Clash!”
• Orla and the Poké Ball Smith — the Japanese “Orio and the Monster Ball Craftsman”, with Orla’s English name
• Song Within the Mist — shortened from the Japanese “The Singing Voice in the White Mist”
• The Wild Pair, Friede and Cap! — the Japanese “A Duo in the Wilderness: Friede and Cap”
• Mission: Find Oinkologne’s Partner! — reworded from the Japanese “Operation Perfuton Friendship!” (Perfuton is Oinkologne’s Japanese name)
• Fuecoco…Becomes a Crook?! — “crook” renders the Japanese waru, a delinquent
• A Wild Mom Appears! — the message the games show when a wild Pokémon appears; the Japanese title is “Enter the Intense Mom!”
• Transform! Hero of the Seas, Palafin — the Japanese calls the hero “Irukaman”, Palafin’s Japanese name
• From So Far Away — reverses the direction of the Japanese “To a Place Far, Far Away”

DVD & Blu-ray / Streaming

No DVD or Blu-ray of the season has been found in North America, the UK, Australia or Japan — a break with the Ash era, when every season through Ultimate Journeys got a VIZ Media “Complete Season” set. The only discs are German: Polyband/WVG’s releases with English and German audio, starting with Pokémon Horizonte – Volume 1 (two discs, episodes 1–15, catalogue 77306-9) on 28 June 2024, with Volume 3 on 29 November 2024, and the six-disc Pokémon Horizonte Die Serie – Die komplette Staffel 1 (all 45 episodes, with an episode guide, catalogue 77418-9) on 13 March 2026.

Japan

No Japanese DVD or Blu-ray of HZ001–HZ045 has been found: Bulbapedia’s list of Japanese home-video releases stops at Journeys, and the Japanese box sets of February 2024 were of A Pocketful of Adventures, not Horizons. The music did come out: Heart-Pounding Diary digitally on 14 April 2023, the RVR single (BVCL-1357/8) in July 2023, Halo digitally on 27 October 2023, and Conisch’s 42-track original soundtrack on CD on 19 June 2024 (MHCL-30990, ¥3,000), digitally on 19 July 2024.

Streaming

Netflix premiered the season in the US in four parts between 7 March and 22 November 2024, and streams it in Latin America, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Poland and Turkey (from 7 March 2024) and New Zealand (from 15 April 2024). BBC iPlayer has carried it in the UK since the English premiere of 1 December 2023. In Asia the Pokémon Asia ENG YouTube channel streams the English dub (from 8 March 2024), alongside Indonesian, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali and Chinese-language releases; The Official Pokémon YouTube channel posted a sneak-peek clip for each Netflix part, such as “Hide-and-Seek: Find Liko!” (10 April 2024). Episodes were sold in English on Australian iTunes and Google Play, and in Japan the episodes stream on services including YouTube and TVer. Whether Pokémon TV carried the season has not been confirmed. Check your local service, as availability changes often.

Where to Watch & Buy

Availability changes constantly, so treat this as a snapshot (October 2026) and check your local service. Links will be added here once we have settled on referral partners.

• NetflixPremiered the season in the US in four parts, from 7 March to 22 November 2024; also available in Latin America, Scandinavia and Finland, the Netherlands, Poland, Turkey and New Zealand.
• BBC iPlayer (UK)The English premiere, from 1 December 2023, with CBBC broadcasts.
• DVD – GermanyPolyband/WVG’s Die komplette Staffel 1 (6 discs, 2026) has all 45 episodes with English and German audio; no North American, UK or Australian DVD has been found.
• YouTube (Asia)The Pokémon Asia ENG channel has streamed the English dub in Asia since 8 March 2024.
• Digital purchaseSold in English on Australian iTunes and Google Play.

Trading Cards Released During the Season

Nine English Scarlet & Violet expansions came out during the season’s runs, from Paldea Evolved, during the Japanese broadcast, to Surging Sparks, two weeks before Netflix’s last part (Paradox Rift also appeared in the autumn of 2023):

• Paldea Evolved — 9 June 2023 — the day HZ010 aired in Japan
• Obsidian Flames — 11 August 2023 — the day HZ017 aired in Japan; with the Darkness-type Tera Charizard ex that matches Friede’s Charizard
• 151 — 22 September 2023 — the day HZ023 aired in Japan
• Paldean Fates — 26 January 2024 — the day HZ037 aired in Japan; 245 English cards drawn from Shiny Treasure ex, including two reprints of the Tera Charizard ex
• Temporal Forces — 22 March 2024 — two weeks after Netflix’s Part 1
• Twilight Masquerade — 24 May 2024 — two weeks after Part 2; 226 cards from Transformation Mask and Crimson Haze, including Palafin ex
• Shrouded Fable — 2 August 2024 — a week before Part 3
• Stellar Crown — 13 September 2024 — five weeks after Part 3; 175 cards from Stellar Miracle, including Terapagos ex and Lapras ex
• Surging Sparks — 8 November 2024 — two weeks before Part 4; 252 cards from Super Electric Breaker and Paradise Dragona, including Fuecoco and Ceruledge ex

The English sets drew on Japanese expansions released during the season’s Japanese run or soon after, among them Ruler of the Black Flame (with the Tera Charizard ex, 066/108), Shiny Treasure ex, Transformation Mask (Palafin ex, 036/101), Crimson Haze, Stellar Miracle (19 July 2024; Terapagos ex 088/102 and Lapras ex 019/102), Super Electric Breaker (Fuecoco 017/106) and Paradise Dragona. A Terapagos ex Ultra-Premium Collection, with the promos SVP 164 Lapras ex and SVP 165 Terapagos ex, came out in English on 22 November 2024, the day of Netflix’s Part 4.

Our TCG section has a full card list, print variations and the most valuable cards for every one of them.

Cards with a link to the season

Three cards from those sets follow the season’s story:

• Terapagos ex · Stellar Crown 128/142A 230 HP Colorless Tera Pokémon ex in its Stellar Form, with the attacks Unified Beatdown and Crown Opal, illustrated by 5ban Graphics and released in Stellar Crown on 13 September 2024 — five weeks after Terapagos took its Terastal Form against the Black Rayquaza in Roar of the Black Rayquaza (HZ033) on Netflix (9 August 2024).
• Fuecoco · Surging Sparks 29/191An 80 HP Fire-type Common with the attack Heat Burn, illustrated by Tomomi Ozaki and released in Surging Sparks on 8 November 2024 — two weeks before Netflix’s Part 4 brought Roy’s Fuecoco Disarming Voice (HZ037) and Flame Charge (HZ045) on 22 November 2024; a Parallel Holofoil version with a Pokémon Horizons: The Series stamp was released as a promotion.
• Charizard ex · Obsidian Flames 125/197A 330 HP Darkness-type Tera Charizard ex with Infernal Reign and Burning Darkness, illustrated by 5ban Graphics and released in Obsidian Flames on 11 August 2023, three weeks after Friede’s Charizard first Terastallized into a Dark type in Fly! Wattrel!! (HZ014, Japan 21 July 2023; Netflix 10 May 2024); it was reprinted in Paldean Fates on 26 January 2024.

Firsts & Lasts

• First season in which Ash and Pikachu are not the protagonists and the Team Rocket trio are not the antagonists, and first episode without a male protagonist in any capacity: The Pendant That Starts It All (Part One) (HZ001).
• First previously unknown Pokémon introduced by the anime since Togepi: Terapagos (HZ002).
• First Terastallization of the series: Brassius’s Sudowoodo, Terastallized into a Grass type against Roy (HZ010).
• First species in the anime to have used Mega Evolution, a Z-Move, Gigantamax and Terastallization: Charizard, when Friede’s Terastallizes (HZ014).
• First main character to receive a Grass-type first partner as her first Pokémon, and the first female main character to get her first Pokémon outside her home region: Liko’s Sprigatito (HZ001).
• First concurrent Fire-type first partner caught outside its native region: Roy’s Fuecoco (HZ006).
• First female main character to catch a Generation VIII Pokémon: Liko’s Hatenna (HZ021).
• First catch of the concurrent regional bird by a main character since Ash’s Fletchling: Roy’s Wattrel (HZ014).
• First evolution of a main character’s Grass-type first partner since Ash’s Grotle, 645 episodes earlier: Sprigatito into Floragato (HZ045).
• First English dub episode to keep the static eyecatches (HZ002), and the first eyecatch with no humans (HZ030).
• First unionised English Pokémon dub, and the first episode with no former 4Kids voice actors in the English cast (HZ011).
• First English opening with more than one animation version and not shown in its season’s first episode (“Becoming Me”), first Japanese opening used in no dub (Heart-Pounding Diary) and first ending sung live during broadcasts (RVR, HZ015–HZ019).
• Earliest introduction of a Champion into a new series: Nemona (HZ010).
• Last episode animated by OLM’s Team Kato: From So Far Away (HZ045).

Trivia & Facts

• A new era. HZ001 is the first main-series episode in which Ash and Pikachu are not the protagonists and the Team Rocket trio are not the antagonists, and the first without a male protagonist in any capacity; Horizons is also the first series whose villainous organisation, the Explorers, is original to the anime, and the first with no narrator.
  

  

• The anime got there first. Terapagos appeared in HZ002 (14 April 2023), eight months before its game, The Indigo Disk — the first previously unknown Pokémon introduced by the anime since Togepi. Its Terastal Form debuted in HZ033 the day after the DLC’s release, and TV Tokyo’s first-broadcast captions of HZ024 mistakenly called it “Kodaikame”.
• Same voice, different Pikachu. Captain Pikachu is voiced by Ikue Ōtani, the voice of Ash’s Pikachu, who also plays the Explorer Coral; HZ018, Cap’s origin story, premiered on her 58th birthday. Its hat logo was trademarked on 6 March 2023.
  

  

• Eleven at once. HZ001 introduced 11 named recurring characters, the most in a single episode since Showdown in Pewter City, 1,228 episodes earlier, and HZ001–HZ002 were the first two-part episode since BW083–BW084, almost 11 years before.
• Starter firsts. Liko is the first main character to receive a Grass-type first partner as her first Pokémon and the first female main character to get her first Pokémon outside her home region; HZ036 confirms the genders of all three first partners for the first time since BW007.
• The streamer next door. Liko spends from HZ007 to HZ016 not realising that her favourite streamer lives behind the door down the corridor; Nidothing and Quaxly narrate the Japanese next-episode previews (HZ001–HZ044), and Dot’s Trainer ID, 230804, is HZ016’s air date.
• A Champion in record time. Nemona’s appearance in HZ010 is the earliest introduction of a Champion into a new series.
• Charizard does it all. When Friede’s Charizard Terastallizes in HZ014, Charizard becomes the first species in the anime to have used Mega Evolution, a Z-Move, Gigantamax and Terastallization; its Dark Tera Type matches the Obsidian Flames Charizard ex released in Japan a week later.
• Ash-era echoes. HZ036’s Oinkologne matchmaking closely parallels Wherefore Art Thou, Pokémon?, the flashback of HZ024 shows Diana’s childhood home looking like Ash’s house, and HZ027 is the first time the Tacklers visit a place Ash had visited in Journeys.
• A new kind of dub. Horizons is the first unionised English Pokémon dub (SAG-AFTRA, recorded by Iyuno), the first without James Carter Cathcart, and HZ011 the first episode with no former 4Kids voice actors in the English cast; Crispin Freeman (Friede) makes his Pokémon debut.
• The longest wait. HZ008 marks the longest time it has taken for the newest region to appear in the anime: the Tacklers reach Paldea only in HZ009, on 2 June 2023.
• Live-sung endings. RVR was sung live during the first airings of HZ015–HZ019 in guest versions from the TV shows Pokédoko and Oha Suta — the first ending with live singing during broadcasts — and has more variants and singing supporting characters than any other ending.
• Openings without precedent. Heart-Pounding Diary is the first Japanese opening used in no dub at all, and “Becoming Me” the first English opening with two animation versions and the first not shown in its season’s first episode.
• A leaked trailer. HZ029’s preview was posted two days early on the official anime Twitter account, followed by an apology; Liko’s actress, Minori Suzuki, had already teased an Orla episode in an interview.
• Long time no see. The season revives species unseen for hundreds of episodes — Bronzor (686), Ambipom (673), Stunky (636), Bronzong (612), Munna (533) — and gives Rayquaza (HZ006) and Weezing (HZ029) their first anime Pokédex entries; Gibeon’s Zygarde is the species’ first main-series appearance in 338 episodes.
• Games in step. The Teal Mask came out between HZ021 and HZ022, The Indigo Disk between HZ032 and HZ033, and Mochi Mayhem between HZ034 and HZ035; HZ034 showed the code for a Terastal Cap, and a Dark Tera Type “Friede’s Charizard” was distributed with a password from the anime.
• Behind the scenes. The season was animated by OLM’s Team Kato — HZ045 is its last episode before Team Kumemura took over — with HZ013 animated by the outside studio Revival; Saori Den directed, Daiki Tomiyasu was creative director, and Dai Satō, on Pokémon for the first time, wrote the series construction and seven scripts, while Kureha Matsuzawa wrote the most, twelve.
• Roy by any other name. Roy is Rory in German, Rod in Spanish, Rhod in French and Rain in Portuguese, to avoid a clash with those languages’ name for Raihan, and Rod in Korean, where his name would match James’s.
• Cards. The English Scarlet & Violet sets of the season’s runs carried Friede’s Dark Tera Charizard ex (Obsidian Flames), Palafin ex (Twilight Masquerade), Terapagos ex and Lapras ex (Stellar Crown) and Fuecoco and Ceruledge ex (Surging Sparks), and a Terapagos ex Ultra-Premium Collection came out the day Netflix released Part 4; see our TCG section.

Reception

Ratings and viewing. No Japanese ratings have been found for the season, and Netflix has published no viewing figures for Horizons; FlixPatrol records no Netflix Top 10 entries for the title in 2024. Among fans, MyAnimeList’s Pokémon (2023) entry, which covers the whole of Horizons so far, scores 7.39 with some 43,700 members, and the series holds an IMDb rating of 7.9 out of 10 as listed by FlixPatrol. The Netflix delay and the BBC-first English premiere drew coverage from VGC, Dexerto and What’s on Netflix. The season won no known awards.

First impressions. Reviewing the first four episodes for VGC (28 November 2023), Jordan Middler gave the season 4 out of 5 and called it “the reinvention the Pokémon anime desperately needed”, noting that the Gym-Badge structure “seems (so far) mostly gone” and that “Brimming with personality, Pokémon Horizons is going to create new favorites” — though not the opening theme: “We watched four episodes in a row and we couldn’t hum a line.” For GamesRadar+ (1 December 2023), Bradley Russell found that “the anime has plenty of life left in a post-Ash world”, with the Rising Volt Tacklers “undoubtedly the series’ biggest strength”, but that Liko “oscillates wildly from endearing to oddly irritating” and the start is “quite conservative and by-the-numbers”.

Longer looks. Anime News Network’s review of the first twelve dubbed episodes gave an overall A, calling Liko “a great protagonist for this type of series” and adding “I don’t think the Pokémon dub has ever sounded this good before”, while wondering whether the central mystery could sustain a long run. Parade’s Oliver Brandt, reviewing the first arc (24 October 2023), thought it “starts strong but loses its way”: “Far too many episodes try their hardest to split time between Roy and Liko,” and “None of these battles are particularly interesting either.” The Outer Haven’s Todd Black (25 March 2024) gave Netflix’s Part 1 2.5, complaining that it “broke a cardinal rule of storytelling: Show, not tell” and left too many mysteries unanswered.

Continue the journey with Horizons Season 2: Pokémon Horizons: The Search for Laqua, go back to Season 25: Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series, or browse every season of the Pokémon anime.