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| Season | Pokémon Horizons: Rising Hope (Horizons Season 3) · Allies, Amethio & Mega Dragonite arc (HZ101–HZ108) |
| Episode | Horizons Season 3, episode 14 · English episode 1327 · Japanese episode 1336 · Bulbapedia code HZ103 |
| English title | Nidothing Love! |
| Japanese title | 燃やせ、ぐるみん愛！ Moyase, Gurumin Ai! — “Burn, Gurumin Love!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 18 July 2025 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 20 March 2026 · Netflix |
| Screenplay | Naohiro Fukushima |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | GET BACK – Yuzu · Ready Go – ME:I |
| English opening | Evolving Again – Haven Paschall |
| Previous episode | The Knight in the Ruins (HZ102) |
| Next episode | Charcadet’s Wish (HZ104) |
Filler / stand-alone episodeNidothing’s meet-and-greetZirc learns Dot’s secret
Nidothing Love! is the 14th episode of Pokémon Horizons: Rising Hope, the third season of the Pokémon anime, and the 1327th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 1336, Bulbapedia code HZ103). It first aired in Japan on 18 July 2025 and in the United States on 20 March 2026. It falls within the season’s Allies, Amethio & Mega Dragonite stretch (EP101–EP108).
Released on Netflix in the US on Friday 20 March 2026 with the rest of Part 2; BBC iPlayer had premiered it in the UK on 27 February 2026.
Synopsis
At a joint meet-and-greet with Iono in Levincia, Liko helps a heartbroken Zirc recover a lost ticket from a wild Wugtrio, and afterwards Zirc and Onia discover Nidothing’s true identity and ask Liko to help them find Amethio. Ending a livestream, Nidothing announces a joint event with Iono, and Liko is thrilled at the chance to shake Nidothing’s hand. Dot explains that the event will fund their travels; Ult is uninterested and startled when Liko fiercely defends her idol. On the Levincian coast, Zirc and Onia lie around with no leads on Amethio, and Zirc is reluctant to resume the search the next day because Nidothing’s event is on. In a long ticket queue, Liko refuses Dot’s offer to skip the line, insisting that a true fan earns her ticket with her own hands. They also meet Grusha, whose single-digit ticket number reveals how early he queued. Zirc is overjoyed that his ticket’s number matches Rhydon’s Pokédex number, 0112, until a gust blows it into a drain.
Heading to rehearsal, Liko, Roy and Dot find a crushed Zirc with Onia. Remembering how the pair once helped them, Dot offers Zirc her own ticket, but he refuses, mistaking her for an even bigger fan because her Pokémon match those on the stream, and repeats Liko’s words about earning a ticket. Liko volunteers to help him find it. Iono traces where the drain leads, Onia explains that her Golduck’s sensitive skin keeps it out of seawater, and the group searches land and sea until evening, when Dot has to leave. Zirc wants to give up, but Liko rebukes him and he finds his motivation again. Crocalor charges ahead and runs into a rock that sprouts three heads — a wild Wugtrio with the ticket on its head. Rhydon rushes it and takes super effective Triple Dives, Wugtrio dodges Meowscarada and Golduck with Dig, and Crocalor clings to it until thrown off.
Captain Pikachu’s Thunder Punch finally paralyses Wugtrio, and Rhydon plucks the ticket back with its horn. Liko, Roy and Zirc reach the central plaza just as the event begins; Quaxwell dances with Nidothing, and Rhydon chases her affectionately, mistaking her for a Nidorina. Liko and Zirc receive their handshakes, Grusha greets Iono, and Onia, a longtime fan of Grusha’s snowboarding days, shakes his hand and pets his Cetoddle. Afterwards Zirc follows Liko and Roy to thank them again and, with Rhydon, discovers that Dot is Nidothing; she cheers the stunned pair up. Then Zirc and Onia explain that their leader Amethio has been missing since Laqua and ask Liko to help them search for him, leaving her stunned. This is the first Horizons eyecatch to feature more than one human character.
Major Events
- Nidothing meets her fans. Iono and Nidothing hold a joint meet-and-greet in Levincia
- Liko helps Zirc recover his ticket, numbered like Rhydon’s Pokédex entry, from a wild Wugtrio
- Grusha appears
- Zirc and Onia learn that Dot is Nidothing and ask Liko to help find Amethio
- The first Horizons eyecatch with more than one human
Trivia
- The screenplay is by Naohiro Fukushima.
- This is a stand-alone episode: it can be skipped without losing the thread of the Rising Volt Tacklers story.
Part of our Pokémon Horizons: Rising Hope guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.