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| Season | Pokémon Horizons: The Search for Laqua (Horizons Season 2) · Laqua arc (HZ083–HZ089) |
| Episode | Horizons Season 2, episode 40 · English episode 1309 · Japanese episode 1318 · Bulbapedia code HZ085 |
| English title | The Pokémon Paradise of Laqua! |
| Japanese title | 到着！楽園ラクア Tōchaku! Rakuen Rakua — “Arrival! The Paradise of Laqua” |
| First aired (Japan) | 21 February 2025 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 26 September 2025 · Netflix |
| Screenplay | Kureha Matsuzawa |
| 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 | Where the Land Meets the Sky (HZ084) |
| Next episode | The Rising Volt Tacklers vs. The Explorers! (HZ086) |
Plot episodeArrival in LaquaPagogo breaks the barrier
The Pokémon Paradise of Laqua! is the 40th episode of Pokémon Horizons: The Search for Laqua, the second season of the Pokémon anime, and the 1309th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 1318, Bulbapedia code HZ085). It first aired in Japan on 21 February 2025 and in the United States on 26 September 2025. It falls within the season’s Laqua stretch (EP83–EP89).
Released on Netflix in the US on Friday 26 September 2025 with the rest of Part 4. It had gone on sale in UK digital stores on 5 July 2025, reached Australia’s Stan on 12 July and BBC iPlayer on 17 July 2025.
Synopsis
Black Rayquaza parts the clouds to reveal Laqua, a lush paradise where Pokémon of all kinds live together, and after Pagogo removes its century-old barrier, Friede and the trio are confronted by Spinel and the other Explorers. At the place where heaven and earth meet on Mount Pericarp, Pagogo calls out to Rayquaza, which descends and dispels the clouds over the crater to reveal a green landscape before returning to its Ancient Poké Ball to rest. Inside, the group finds huge, unfamiliar Berries, and the children, surprised to find it warm despite the altitude, change out of their winter clothes. In a clearing, Pokémon of every disposition live peacefully side by side; a Bidoof approaches and quickly bonds with Pagogo, and the other Pokémon welcome the newcomers. Rare groupings of Pokémon and Legendary Pokémon roam freely, and the children agree that Laqua deserves to be called a paradise, but Friede seems troubled.
Friede suspects that something besides sunlight and warmth is drawing the Pokémon here. Liko guesses Laquium, but he notes that there is no sign of it or of the events of a century ago, recalling Rystal’s account of a Laqua on the verge of collapse. Pagogo wants to go deeper into the forest, and the group follows until Friede calls a halt at sunset, to the children’s disappointment. Under the stars, Liko, Roy and Dot recall the people they have met and how their Pokémon have grown, but Liko is downcast: now that they have reached Laqua, the original goal of their journey, she fears saying goodbye to Pagogo. Her friends cheer her up and she decides to face the future with them. Friede sends them to bed, and no one notices a Beheeyem watching from above. The next morning they leave supplies at a new base camp and push on, until Crocalor bumps into a rock hill that Friede finds suspicious.
Captain Pikachu’s Thunder Punch reveals something beneath the rock, and an analysis program shows that the wall is filled with Terastal energy: it is the barrier Pagogo raised a hundred years ago. Friede suggests that Pagogo, with Liko as its partner, try to bring it down, and Pagogo takes its Terastal Form and dissolves the barrier, but overexerts itself, so Liko recalls it to its Poké Ball. Friede tells the children to wait while he surveys the path ahead, adding that they may act on their own if anything happens, and sets off to look for Laquium crystals. Before he can return, he is accosted by Spinel, while Liko, Roy and Dot find themselves confronted by Coral, Sidian and Chalce, and the episode ends on both confrontations, with the battles about to begin.
Major Events
- Arrival in Laqua. Black Rayquaza parts the clouds to reveal Laqua
- Pagogo dissolves its century-old barrier
- The Explorers confront Friede and the trio
- Feraligatr appears for the first time since DP169
Trivia
- The screenplay is by Kureha Matsuzawa.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Paldea, Kitakami and Johto storyline.
Part of our Pokémon Horizons: The Search for Laqua guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.