Pokémon Horizons anime confirms new arc's air date and more

Modified Mar 16, 2024 05:48 GMT

Pokémon Horizons anime confirms new arc's air date and more (Image via OLM)

On Friday, March 15, 2024, the X (formerly Twitter) account for the Pokémon anime franchise revealed that the Pokémon Horizons anime will enter a new arc in April 2024. The account also revealed a key visual for the upcoming new arc, which is said to be titled “Terastal Debut” per the latest available information.

While a trailer for the new Pokémon Horizons anime arc hasn’t been revealed yet, it’s expected one will be revealed in the weeks before the arc’s Japanese premiere.

The exact story of the coming arc is also yet to be divulged, which will likely be revealed in the coming weeks before the arc’s premiere in Japan.

Pokémon Horizons anime set to start new arc nearly one year to the day after series’ premiere

Expand Tweet

The new arc for the Pokémon Horizons anime is set to begin airing on Japanese broadcast television on Friday, April 12, 2024.

Intriguingly, the new arc will start nearly one year to the day after the anime series initially premiered on Friday, April 14, 2023. It's unknown if this is intentional or merely coincidental.

The key visual for the new arc primarily focuses on new dual protagonists Liko and Roy, as well as their ninth-generation start Pokémon companions Sprigatito, Fuecoco and Quaxly.

The trio were first introduced in the Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet video games. The key visual also features the new Pokémon Terapagos alongside Riko, Loy and the aforementioned trio of starter Pokémon.

The anime premiered in April 2023 with a one-hour first episode special, and subsequently began airing standard episodes on Fridays at 6:55 p.m. Japanese Standard Time (JST).

The series began its second arc, “Terapagos no Kagayaki” (The Brilliance of Terapagos) in its 29th episode overall, which aired in Japan on Friday, October 27, 2023.

Expand Tweet

Apart from featuring new dual protagonists and the Pokémon listed above, the Pokémon Horizons anime series also features the Legendary Pokémon Rayquaza in its Shiny form.

Shiny forms originated in the video game series and are extremely rare variants of Pokémon, with alternate colors than they normally would. Some are as simple as a palette swap, while others take more detail, care and creativity in their designs.

The series also features new characters Friede and Captain Pikachu, who are a Pokémon professor and Pokémon partner duo who battle alongside Liko and Roy. Saori Den is directing the anime, with Daiki Tomiyasu serving as creative director.

Dai Sato is overseeing the series scripts, while Tetsuo Yajima is the action director, Rei Yamazaki the character designer, and Kyoko Ito is the sub-character designer. Masafumi Mima is the sound director, while Conisch is composing the music.