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Pokémon Horizons Anime Enters New Arc on October 31

The official X/Twitter account for the Pokémon franchise announced on Friday that Pokémon: Horizons anime will enter a new arc on October 31. The staff also revealed two new cast members. In the new arc, the characters will go to Blueberry Academy, originally introduced in "The Indigo Disk" DLC from the Pokémon Scarlet/Violet games. The account streamed a trailer, but it is not viewable in the U.S. A new visual teases Lacey (Taro) and Drayton (Kakitsubata), two members of the BB League's Elite Four:

The new cast members include Misaki Kuno as Emma (Matiere in Japanese) and Masahiko Tanaka (Master Mayonnaise). The former is a character from the Pokémon Legends Z-A game. Both characters will appear for the anime's "Special Episode: Mega Evolution" mini-arc.

The anime premiered in Japan in April 2023 with a one-hour first-episode special. The show airs on Fridays at 6:55 p.m. JST. The anime started its second arc, "Terapagos no Kagayaki" (The Brilliance of Terapagos), with its 29th episode in October 2023 in Japan. The "Terastal Debut" arc for the anime debuted in April 2024. The fourth arc started in Japan last October, and it featured characters from Kitakami, a location in "The Teal Mask" expansion for the Pokémon Scarlet/Violet games.

The anime follows completely new dual protagonists, who are named Liko and Roy. The anime features Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly from the Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet video games, and also the Legendary Pokémon Rayquaza in its Shiny form. The anime also introduces the new characters Friede and Captain Pikachu, who are a Pokémon professor and Pokémon partner duo who battle alongside Liko and Roy.

Saori Den (Mirage Queen Prefers Circus) is directing the anime, and Daiki Tomiyasu (Pokémon Sun & Moon, Pocket Monster Mezase Pokémon Master) is serving as creative director. Dai Satō (Eureka Seven, Wolf's Rain, Samurai Champloo, Cowboy Bebop) is overseeing the series scripts. Tetsuo Yajima is the action director, Rei Yamazaki is the character designer, and Kyōko Itō is the sub-character designer. Masafumi Mima is the sound director and Conisch is composing the music.

The Pokémon Company had originally announced that the anime would debut on Netflix in the U.S. in February 2024, but the series debuted instead in March 2024. Netflix premiered Pokémon Horizons: The Series—The Search for Laqua on February 7. The third part began streaming on June 27.

The Pokémon Scarlet/Violet games launched on Nintendo Switch worldwide in November 2022. "The Indigo Disk," the second part of the DLC, launched in December 2023. "The Teal Mask," the first DLC, launched in September 2023.

Pokémon Legends Z-A will launch for Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 on October 16.

Sources: Pokémon franchise's X/Twitter account, Comic Natalie