Pokémon Horizons: The Series
Pokémon Horizons: The Series, known in Japan as and is the twenty-sixth season of the Pokémon anime series and the first season of Pokémon Horizons: The Series, known in Japan as Pocket Monsters. Directed by Saori Den and produced by OLM, the season aired in Japan on TV Tokyo from April 14, 2023, to March 29, 2024, and was later distributed in the United States by Netflix from March 7, to November 22, 2024. Daiki Tomiyasu served as executive director, with Saori Den as director, Dai Satō as script supervisor, Rei Yamazaki as character designer, Conisch as music composer, and Naotsugu Uchida and Akane Yamago as sound editors, replacing Ryōko Nashimoto. Bessatsu CoroCoro Comic and Gakushu Yochien are no longer credited as publishers, and Junichi Masuda and Ken Sugimori are no longer credited as creators.
The season comprises two story arcs. The first arc, "Liko and Roy's Departure", covering the first 25 episodes, 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", covering the final 20 episodes, 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.
Episode list
Release
On December 16, 2022, The Pokémon Company announced that a new series of the Pokémon anime would air in Japan on April 14, 2023, following the conclusion of a final arc that served as an epilogue to Pokémon Ultimate Journeys, set to conclude the story of Ash Ketchum, the main protagonist of the anime series since it began on April 1, 1997 and concluded on March 24, 2023. The first trailer was released on March 3, 2023, announcing that the series would premiere in Japan on April 14, 2023.On November 9, 2023, it was announced that the English dub would debut in the UK on BBC iPlayer and CBBC on December 4. In the United States, it was originally set for release on February 23, 2024, on Netflix, but was later announced to be released on March 7.
| Country/territory | Release date | Network | Ref. |
 MusicThe 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 Liko and Roy. The English opening theme song outside of Asia is "Becoming Me" by Ed Goldfarb and Haven Paschall, with an instrumental version used as the ending theme. In Asia, "We Go" by Aespa is used as the English opening theme, though the ending theme is the same as the English dub, being an instrumental version of "Becoming Me". |