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| Season | Pokémon Horizons: The Search for Laqua (Horizons Season 2) · Kitakami: Kleavor, Rystal & Pagogo arc (HZ068–HZ075) |
| Episode | Horizons Season 2, episode 26 · English episode 1295 · Japanese episode 1304 · Bulbapedia code HZ071 |
| English title | Encounters at the Crystal Pool |
| Japanese title | てらす池の出会い Terasu-ike no Deai — “Encounter at the Illuminating Pool” |
| First aired (Japan) | 1 November 2024 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 27 June 2025 · Netflix |
| Screenplay | Dai Satō |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Only One Story – ZEROBASEONE · Pikkān! (Sparkle!) – Rina Matsuda & Hikaru Morita (Sakurazaka46) |
| English opening | My Favorite Pokémon – Isaiah Tyrelle Boyd and Haven Paschall |
| Previous episode | Tinkatink’s Hammer Wasn’t Made in a Day (HZ070) |
| Next episode | The Search for Kleavor! (HZ072) |
Plot episodeBriar and the Scarlet BookDot beats Perrin
Encounters at the Crystal Pool is the 26th episode of Pokémon Horizons: The Search for Laqua, the second season of the Pokémon anime, and the 1295th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 1304, Bulbapedia code HZ071). It first aired in Japan on 1 November 2024 and in the United States on 27 June 2025. It falls within the season’s Kitakami: Kleavor, Rystal & Pagogo stretch (EP68–EP75).
Released on Netflix in the US on Friday 27 June 2025 with the rest of Part 3. Australia’s 9Go! had shown it between 30 April and 9 May 2025, before BBC iPlayer released it in the UK on 12 May 2025.
Synopsis
At the Crystal Pool, the group meets the Terapagos researcher Briar, who reveals Heath’s original Scarlet Book, while in Mossui Town Dot beats the photographer Perrin’s Leafeon to learn what she knows about Kleavor. Liko, Roy, Dot and Friede climb Oni Mountain through the Infernal Pass to the pool at its summit, where a signpost tells of a legend that the pool lets people see those who have died. Briar is nowhere to be found, so Friede goes to look for her. While the partners play at the shore, an agitated Milotic bursts from the water and Terastallizes into a Ghost type. It is too fast for them, and when Floragato’s vine binds it, it drags her underwater. Recalling a carnival game from the festival, Floragato ties her vine around Quaxwell, who dances in the shallows as bait; Floragato yanks him clear and Crocalor uses Disarming Voice, which Milotic answers with its own, and the two Pokémon end up singing to each other until Milotic’s Terastallization wears off and it swims calmly away.
Friede returns with Briar, who suspects the pool’s composition made Milotic aggressive and has heard of the Rising Volt Tacklers from Raifort. Thrilled to meet Terapagos, she reveals that she has seen an awakened one before and that the pool’s crystals resemble Paldea’s, which explains why wild Pokémon can Terastallize in Kitakami. Over a campfire she admits that she has not found a partner Pokémon yet. Liko explains what she knows about Terapagos, Lucius, the Six Heroes and Laqua, and Briar shows them Heath’s original Scarlet Book, legible where the printed edition is blurred: it tells of his expedition into Area Zero, where he found shining jewels, a Pokémon he named Terapagos and other mysterious Pokémon. Heath’s claims were dismissed, and Briar is determined to prove him right, which reminds Liko of her own inherited quest. Studying Diana’s notes and Lucius’s memoirs, Briar finds a sketch of the Terastal Form and suspects that a special impetus and an unseen connection with the Six Heroes trigger such changes; she has never heard of Laquium. That night Terapagos calls for Lucius at the pool, but nothing happens before morning.
With their lead on Terapagos stalled, the Rising Volt Tacklers return to the Brave Olivine to plan a search for the remaining Six Heroes, though they have no clues, and Murdock notices that Dot has stayed in Mossui Town to film for her channel. There, Quaxwell points out an unusual Growlithe that Dot’s Rotom Phone identifies as Hisuian; remembering that Kleavor also comes from Hisui, she follows it to its Trainer, Perrin, who confirms that her partner is from Sinnoh, formerly Hisui. Perrin agrees to share what she knows about Kleavor on two conditions: that Dot take a photo of her, which Dot accepts after some hesitation, and that Dot prove her strength against Perrin’s Leafeon despite the type disadvantage. Leafeon’s Swords Dance and Leaf Blade hit Quaxwell hard, but he gets up, dodges more Leaf Blades and learns Air Cutter, and a second Air Cutter overpowers Razor Leaf before a Low Kick wins the battle. Perrin shows Dot a photograph proving that she has seen Kleavor, and Dot brings her to the Brave Olivine to meet the surprised crew.
Major Events
- Briar and the Scarlet Book. A Ghost-type Milotic at the Crystal Pool
- The researcher Briar reveals Heath’s original Scarlet Book
- Quaxwell learns Air Cutter
- Dot beats the photographer Perrin’s Leafeon to learn what she knows about Kleavor
- Perrin’s Hisuian Growlithe is the first physical Hisuian form outside the specials
Trivia
- The screenplay is by Dai Satō.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Paldea, Kitakami and Johto storyline.
Changes in the English Dub
- Dub error: Friede says “we’ve seen” wild Pokémon Terastallize, though only Dot saw it
- The Japanese opening adds Tinkatuff
Part of our Pokémon Horizons: The Search for Laqua guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.