Pokémon Horizons: The Series

Lore & Background

The season comprises two story arcs. The first arc, 'Liko and Roy's Departure', covers the first 25 episodes and follows protagonists Liko and Roy as they embark on adventures with the Rising Volt Tacklers, exploring the Pokémon world, including the Paldea region introduced in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. The second arc, 'The Sparkling of Terapagos', covers the final 20 episodes and follows the Rising Volt Tacklers as they search for Lucius's Six Heroes, after discovering that Liko's pendant is a Terapagos. Throughout both arcs, they are pursued by a mysterious organization called the Explorers.

Reader's Guide

Pokémon Horizons: The Series represents a significant shift in the Pokémon anime, as it is the first season to not feature Ash Ketchum as the main protagonist after his story concluded in March 2023. The season introduces new characters Liko and Roy, and focuses on the Paldea region from the games Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. The series was announced on December 16, 2022, and its first trailer was released on March 3, 2023. The English dub debuted in the UK on BBC iPlayer and CBBC on December 4, 2023, and in the United States on Netflix on March 7, 2024, after an originally planned February 23 release. The season also features new music, including opening themes 'Heart-Pounding Diary' and 'Halo', and an English opening theme 'Becoming Me'.

Did You Know?

• The season is the first Pokémon anime season not to credit Junichi Masuda and Ken Sugimori as creators.
• Bessatsu CoroCoro Comic and Gakushu Yochien are no longer credited as publishers for this season.
• The English dub was originally set for release on February 23, 2024, on Netflix, but was later announced to be released on March 7.
• The first arc's ending theme is an image song titled 'RVR: Rising Volt Tacklers' Rap', performed by Minori Suzuki and Yuka Terasaki, while the second arc's ending theme is 'Let Me Battle', performed by the same singers.

A New Creative Era

The twenty-sixth season of the Pokémon anime marked a significant generational shift in its production credits. Saori Den took the helm as director, with Daiki Tomiyasu serving as executive director, while Dai Satō oversaw scripts and Rei Yamazaki handled character design. Conisch composed the music, and Naotsugu Uchida and Akane Yamago took over sound editing, replacing Ryōko Nashimoto. Notably, the long-standing creative credits of Junichi Masuda and Ken Sugimori were removed entirely, and Bessatsu CoroCoro Comic and Gakushu Yochien dropped their publisher roles. This restructuring signaled that the franchise was shedding its legacy framework as it moved past the era of Ash Ketchum, whose story concluded on March 24, 2023, just days before the new season premiered on April 14, effectively passing the torch to an entirely new creative and narrative team.

Dual-Arc Narrative Structure

The season is divided into two distinct story arcs totaling 45 episodes. The first, 'Liko and Roy's Departure,' spans the opening 25 episodes and introduces the Rising Volt Tacklers as they journey through the broader Pokémon world, including the Paldea region first introduced in the games Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. The second arc, 'The Sparkling of Terapagos,' covers the final 20 episodes and pivots the narrative around the team's quest to locate Lucius's Six Heroes, a search triggered by the pivotal revelation that Liko's pendant is in fact a Terapagos. Throughout both arcs, the group is pursued by a mysterious antagonistic organization known as the Explorers, providing a persistent thread of tension and opposition that binds the two halves of the season into a cohesive whole.

Global Release and Distribution

The series was announced on December 16, 2022, by The Pokémon Company, with its Japanese premiere on TV Tokyo beginning April 14, 2023, and running through March 29, 2024. The first trailer was released on March 3, 2023, confirming the spring launch. Internationally, the English dub first reached UK audiences on BBC iPlayer and CBBC on December 4, 2023, following an announcement on November 9 of that year. In the United States, the series was distributed by Netflix, with an initial release date of February 23, 2024, later adjusted to March 7, and remaining available until November 22, 2024. The timing of the Japanese premiere was deliberate, arriving just days after the conclusion of Ash Ketchum's final story arc, which wrapped on March 24, 2023, effectively passing the torch to a new generation of protagonists.

Musical Identity Across Regions

The season's musical identity is layered across multiple regional releases. In Japan, the opening themes are 'Heart-Pounding Diary' by Asmi featuring Chinozo and 'Halo' by Yama and BotchiBoromaru. The ending theme is 'RVR: Rising Volt Tacklers' Rap,' an image song performed by the voice actors themselves—Minori Suzuki as Liko and Yuka Terasaki as Roy. For English-speaking audiences outside Asia, the opening is 'Becoming Me' by Ed Goldfarb and Haven Paschall, with an instrumental version serving as the ending. In Asian markets, the English opening is 'We Go' (English Version) by K-pop group Aespa, while the ending remains the instrumental 'Becoming Me.' This multi-layered approach gives the series distinct sonic identities depending on region, while the voice-actor-performed ending in Japan creates a unique tie between performance and narrative.

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