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| Season | Pokémon Horizons: Rising Hope (Horizons Season 3) · Allies, Amethio & Mega Dragonite arc (HZ101–HZ108) |
| Episode | Horizons Season 3, episode 17 · English episode 1330 · Japanese episode 1339 · Bulbapedia code HZ106 |
| English title | The Dusk Ball That Wouldn’t Open |
| Japanese title | メガすげぇ！？開かずのダークボール Mega Sugee!? Akazu no Dāku Bōru — “Mega Awesome!? The Unopenable Dark Ball” |
| First aired (Japan) | 15 August 2025 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 20 March 2026 · Netflix |
| Screenplay | Deko Akao |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | GET BACK – Yuzu · Ready Go – ME:I |
| English opening | Evolving Again – Haven Paschall |
| Previous episode | Riding the Waves (HZ105) |
| Next episode | Friends as Two, Me and You (HZ107) |
Plot episodeUlt’s Dragonite emergesRyan and Grafaiai
The Dusk Ball That Wouldn’t Open is the 17th episode of Pokémon Horizons: Rising Hope, the third season of the Pokémon anime, and the 1330th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 1339, Bulbapedia code HZ106). It first aired in Japan on 15 August 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
After a quarrel with Roy, Ult storms off the Brave Olivine and befriends a struggling young painter, Ryan, who steals Ult’s mysterious Dusk Ball to trade for a Strong Sphere — and when the Explorers overpower Ult, the Dusk Ball finally opens to reveal a Dragonite. On the observation deck, Liko and Roy ask Ult to tidy the room they share; he sees no point, Roy tells him to leave if he will not clean up properly, and Ult walks out. In Manpūku Town, a boy named Ryan cannot sell the paintings his Grafaiai makes and overhears Trainers praising Strong Spheres. A hungry Ult arrives and reaches for a Nanab Berry, Ryan claims the tree is his, and the real owner’s Mabosstiff chases both boys away. Resting together, Ryan is delighted that his picky Grafaiai gets along with Sableye, shares his food, and watches Grafaiai try an Oran Berry for the first time. At Ryan’s home, Ult shows him his Dusk Ball, which holds an amazing Pokémon that has not yet accepted him.
Ryan nearly asks Ult something important but stops himself. The next morning, Roy finds Ult gone; Dot points out the rocks scattered around his corner, and Roy realises they are mementos of Ult’s journey and that he spoke too harshly, so he sets out to apologise with no leads. Ult wakes to find Ryan and his Dusk Ball missing, and follows a trail of Grafaiai’s blue saliva into town, where Ryan is offering the ball to a shopkeeper in exchange for a Strong Sphere. Indi and Rubina overhear and agree to the deal, and Rubina pockets the Dusk Ball just as Ult arrives demanding it back. He challenges the two Explorers, who boost both their Darmanitan with Strong Spheres. Sableye lands the first hit but is soon overpowered, Grafaiai’s Sludge Bomb is answered by a Fire Punch that sends it flying, and Ryan tearfully apologises for causing the chaos.
Ult Mega Evolves Sableye, but Mega Sableye struggles against the boosted Darmanitan, and Ryan tells Ult to abandon him for his mistakes. Ult refuses, saying that a battle fought only for one’s own sake is not worth fighting. Unnoticed, the Dusk Ball begins to shake in Rubina’s pocket, and when Mega Sableye is about to be defeated the ball bursts open to protect it: a Dragonite emerges and single-handedly defeats both Laquium-enhanced Darmanitan, forcing the Explorers to retreat. Ult chases their truck, and Ryan thanks him as he goes. Roy arrives in Manpūku Town just too late; Ryan is wary until Roy explains that he wants to apologise to his friend, then points him in Ult’s direction and compliments the art on the back of Roy’s jacket. The episode closes at the boys’ usual spot, where Ryan happily watches Grafaiai paint with a new colour. Mabosstiff makes its anime debut, and Ult and Sableye narrate the preview.
Major Events
- The Dusk Ball opens. After a quarrel with Roy, Ult befriends the young painter Ryan and his Grafaiai in Manpūku Town
- Ryan trades Ult’s Dusk Ball to Indi and Rubina for a Strong Sphere
- The Dusk Ball bursts open to reveal a Dragonite, which beats their Strong Sphere-boosted Darmanitan
- Mabosstiff debuts
Pokémon making their anime debut
Mabosstiff#0943 · HZ106
Trivia
- The screenplay is by Deko Akao.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Rising Volt Tacklers storyline.
Part of our Pokémon Horizons: Rising Hope guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.