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| Season | Pokémon Horizons: The Search for Laqua (Horizons Season 2) · Laqua arc (HZ083–HZ089) |
| Episode | Horizons Season 2, episode 41 · English episode 1310 · Japanese episode 1319 · Bulbapedia code HZ086 |
| English title | The Rising Volt Tacklers vs. The Explorers! |
| Japanese title | ライジングボルテッカーズVSエクスプローラーズ！ Raijingu Borutekkāzu tai Ekusupurōrāzu! — “The Rising Volteccers VS The Explorers!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 28 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 | The Pokémon Paradise of Laqua! (HZ085) |
| Next episode | Guided by the Black Rayquaza! (HZ087) |
Plot episodeRising Volt Tacklers vs ExplorersFour wins
The Rising Volt Tacklers vs. The Explorers! is the 41st episode of Pokémon Horizons: The Search for Laqua, the second season of the Pokémon anime, and the 1310th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 1319, Bulbapedia code HZ086). It first aired in Japan on 28 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
In Laqua, the Explorers reveal that they have been waiting for Pagogo to break its barrier, and in a series of battles Friede beats Spinel while Dot beats Chalce, Liko beats Sidian and Roy beats Coral’s Screamypuff, until a pillar of pink Laquium smoke erupts from the ground. As Gibeon makes his way towards the Laquium, eager to see his wish fulfilled, the admins explain that they have been watching Laqua from the start, and Liko realises that the building she glimpsed on the climb was theirs. Unable to bring down the barrier without Pagogo, they simply waited while the Rising Volt Tacklers restored its power. Roy and Dot are horrified, but Friede trusts the children to defend their adventure, and Liko declares that everything they have done was for their own adventure, not the Explorers’. Friede faces Spinel in a Double Battle: Captain Pikachu’s Thunder Punch meets Umbreon’s Foul Play, Beheeyem’s Psychic turns Charizard’s Air Slash on Cap, and Cap draws in Beheeyem’s Thunderbolt with his Ability, Lightning Rod. But Beheeyem uses Skill Swap to take the Ability, so Cap’s Volt Tackle only powers it up.
Coral sends out Screamypuff, revealing to the children that they were followed in Area Zero, while Sidian sends out Garganacl and Chalce Medicham. Garganacl’s Wide Guard blocks Screamypuff’s Boomburst, and Crocalor pushes back with Disarming Voice; Floragato’s Magical Leaf gets past the shield only to be stopped by Stone Edge, and when she lands a Sucker Punch as Wide Guard drops, Garganacl grabs her bud and slams her down. Medicham boosts itself with Calm Mind, dodges Quaxwell’s Liquidation and Low Kick and hits back with Stored Power and Zen Headbutt, and Chalce mocks Dot’s plan of making puddles with Aqua Cutter. Searching for something unpredictable, Dot has Quaxwell fire Air Cutter into the sound waves of Screamypuff’s and Crocalor’s moves, scattering them towards Medicham, which slips in a puddle and falls to Aqua Cutter. Meanwhile Friede’s Charizard flies with Captain Pikachu, who leaps off and uses Double Team to pin Umbreon in place, and Friede Terastallizes Charizard into a Dark type.
Captain Pikachu’s Thunder Punch lures Beheeyem into shielding Umbreon, and Charizard’s Tera Blast hits all three; Beheeyem faints and Umbreon holds on, while Cap is unharmed thanks to Telepathy, the Ability he received through Skill Swap, which Friede admits he guessed on a hunch. An angry Snarl fails to stop Cap’s Volt Tackle, which defeats Umbreon. Inspired by Dot’s win, Liko battles on: Garganacl uses Recover and Terastallizes into a Rock type, but Floragato’s Sucker Punch changes direction at the last moment and a super-effective Magical Leaf knocks it out. Roy’s Crocalor slips during Flame Charge, to Coral’s amusement, but runs up a tree and fires Flamethrower from above at the tired Screamypuff; Coral Terastallizes it into a Fairy type, but Crocalor wins the exchange, and Sidian suggests that the children inspire each other. Spinel accepts defeat and slips away, Coral sends out Glalie to keep fighting, and then the ground shakes and a pillar of pink smoke shoots into the sky; Pagogo emerges, hostile, and Liko suspects that the Laquium is at work.
Major Events
- The Rising Volt Tacklers vs. the Explorers. Friede beats Spinel in a Double Battle as Charizard Terastallizes into a Dark type and Captain Pikachu’s Lightning Rod is revealed
- Dot beats Chalce
- Liko beats Sidian
- Roy beats Coral’s Fairy-type Screamypuff
- A pillar of Laquium erupts
- Skill Swap and Stored Power are used for the first time
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.