After kicking off its first arc in the good old Kanto region, Pokémon Horizons is finally making its way to Scarlet and Violet‘s Paldea region, turning the rebooted series into the anime it was always meant to be.
Before Pokémon Horizons‘ full reboot, it was customary for Ash Ketchum to head home and clean himself up before starting over fresh in a brand-new region full of brand-new Pokémon–the one from the latest Pokémon game. In fact, the first episode of a new season in a new region often started in Japan the same week as the related Pokémon game’s release, ensuring Ash and fans at home could explore the region at the same time. However, Pokémon Horizons began 5 months after Scarlet and Violet‘s release, and despite series protagonist Liko canonically being from the Paldea region, the show’s first 6 episodes have all been set in Kanto.
Set Sail for Paldea
By the third episode, Professor Friede had made it clear that their mission was to protect Liko and bring her home to her mother in the Paldea region since people have been after her, trying to steal her mysterious pendant. However, the professor’s airship had suffered damage in a storm and had to land at an island for repairs–coincidentally, the very island Roy lived on. Roy proved his worthiness by helping them to repair the airship and aiding in battle against the villainous Explorers, and even forged a bond with the Fuecoco aboard the airship, leading to it becoming his first Pokémon. With the ship fixed, it was time to set sail once again, and Roy joined the crew as they set out for Paldea.
The titles for upcoming episodes have already been released as reported by Serebii.Net, with episode 9 entitled “Arrival in Paldea!” suggesting that it won’t be long before the airship makes its way there. Episode 10 is also entitled “Nemona & Brassius,” named for two characters from the Scarlet and Violet video games, finally confirming that game characters will be making an appearance in the new anime. Many characters from Sword and Shield, such as Nessa, never appeared in Journeys, which had a similar format of traveling the globe rather than being based in the Galar region, so it was never guaranteed that fan favorites from Scarlet and Violet would appear. It’s not yet clear how much time Pokémon Horizons will spend in Paldea, but given that they were able to destroy the Explorers’ tracking chip, there’s no need for them to rush at the moment.
While Pokémon Horizons has already featured some Paldea Pokémon in major roles, like Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Amethio’s Ceruledge, setting foot in the Paldea region will mark a big new era, both for the anime in general and Horizons in particular.
Source: Serebii.Net (episode titles)