Pokémon Horizons anime begins new Rayquaza Rising arc in October 2024

Modified Sep 19, 2024 09:08 GMT

Pokémon Horizons anime begins new Rayquaza Rising arc in October 2024 (Image via The Pokémon Company)

Friday, September 13, 2024, saw The Pokémon Company announce a new story arc titled “Rayquaza Rising” for the Pokémon Horizons anime, starting on Friday, October 11, 2024. The series also unveiled a new key visual for the upcoming arc, featuring its titular Pokémon creature in its black, Shiny variant form (essentially a rare, alternate colorway design).

The new arc for the Pokémon Horizons anime will also feature characters from Kitakami, a location in the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet video games added via “The Teal Mask” DLC expansion. No other details on the arc have been revealed as of this article’s writing, but fans can expect this information and some sort of promotional video to be shared in the coming weeks.

Pokémon Horizons anime set to feature Shiny Rayquaza as central character in its next arc

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While there is no other officially announced information on the upcoming arc as of this article’s writing, there’s much to be gleaned from the latest key visual for the Pokémon Horizons anime. In addition to Rayquaza, other Legendary Pokémon such as Entei and Terapagos in its Terastal form, are also seen. Fan-favorite older-generation Pokémon such as Lapras and Charizard can be seen on the key visual as well.

Fans can also expect the new arc to incorporate other aspects of the DLC beyond being confirmed to do so with characters, such as plotlines or Pokémon from the DLC specifically. It’s also possible that the Rayquaza Rising arc will serve as an extended conclusion to the plotline present in the aforementioned Teal Mask DLC.

The anime originally premiered in April 2023 with a one-hour special for its first episode. The series airs every Friday in Japan at 6:55 pm Japanese Standard Time (JST). The anime’s first arc was titled the “Terastal Debut” arc. The anime’s second arc, titled “The Brilliance of Terapagos,” with its 29th episode, which aired in Japan last October.

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The anime is available to stream on Netflix, but being released in parts rather than being released weekly alongside the Japanese airing. The first part was supposed to debut in the United States on February 23, but instead hit the platform on March 7, 2024. This was followed by the second part on May 10 and the third part on August 9. The fourth part will begin streaming on Netflix on Friday, November 22.

The series follows new dual protagonists named Liko and Roy and features the 9th-generation starters from the Violet and Scarlet games—Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly. As mentioned above, the Pokémon Horizons anime also features the Legendary Pokémon Rayqauza in its Shiny form. Pikachu is still a central part of the series in the form of Captain Pikachu, who battles with their Pokémon professor partner Friede against Liko and Roy in the series.