Pokémon Horizons: The Series is the 26th season of the Pokémon animated series, also known as Pocket Monsters: Liko and Roy’s Departure in Japan and Pocket Monsters: The Sparkling of Terapagos. It premiered on TV Tokyo on April 14, 2023, and is set to be distributed by Netflix in the United States. The series is directed by Saori Den, with Daiki Tomiyasu serving as creative director, Tetsuo Yajima as action director, Dai Satō as script supervisor, Rei Yamazaki as character designer, Conisch as music composer, and Naotsugu Uchida and Akane Yamago taking over from Ryōko Nashimoto as sound editors. Notably, Bessatsu CoroCoro Comic and Gakushu Yochien are no longer credited as publishers, and Junichi Masuda and Ken Sugimori are no longer credited as creators.
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Pokémon Horizons: The Series Release Date on Netflix
On December 16, 2022, The Pokémon Company revealed plans for a new Pokémon anime series slated to debut in Japan on April 14, 2023. This announcement came following the conclusion of an epilogue arc in Pokémon Ultimate Journeys, marking the end of Ash Ketchum’s story, the series’ protagonist since its inception in 1997. The first trailer dropped on March 3, 2023, confirming the premiere date in Japan.
Subsequently, on November 9, 2023, it was announced that the English dub would premiere in the UK on BBC iPlayer and CBBC on December 4. In the United States, the series was initially scheduled for release on Netflix on February 23, 2024, but the release date was later adjusted to March 7.
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Pokémon Horizons: The Series Plot
Unlike its predecessors, the series introduces two new protagonists, Liko and Roy, who join forces with the Rising Volt Tacklers, a team of adventurers exploring the diverse regions of the Pokémon world, including the newly introduced Paldea region from Scarlet and Violet. Along their journey, they find themselves pursued by the enigmatic Explorers, an organization fixated on obtaining Liko’s pendant, though their motives remain shrouded in mystery.