Follow Liko and Roy as they unravel the mysteries that surround them and encounter Friede, Captain Pikachu, Amethio, and others during their exciting adventures!
Seasons
2 listed
Status
Returning Series
Seasons
1 season
Episodes
152 episodes
First aired
Apr 14, 2023
Last aired
Sep 25, 2026
Episode length
25m
Networks
TV Tokyo, TV Aichi, TVQ, TV Osaka, TVh, GBS, TSC, TVN
Next episode:S1 E152 The Revered Companions Attack! Momowarou's Decision!! (Oct 9, 2026)
Latest episode:S1 E151 Navi and the Mysterious Masked Child (Sep 25, 2026)
Series 1
152 episodes Apr 14, 2023 6.5
A new adventure is beginning within the wide world of Pokémon! Arriving at Indigo Academy, a little girl named Liko receives her first partner Pokémon, Sprigatito. But she soon finds herself pursued by the Explorers, a mysterious group that's determined to take the pendant necklace she wears. Liko isn't on her own, though, as Friede, Captain Pikachu, and the other Rising Volt Tacklers offer her protection aboard their airship. Meanwhile, a young boy named Roy dreams of becoming a Pokémon Trainer, unaware of the secret hiding within the Ancient Poké Ball he carries. As Liko, Roy, and the Rising Volt Tacklers set sail for new horizons, what kind of discoveries await?
I remember exactly when I knew the kid in the red hat was gone for good. It's a weird cultural sadness, seeing a mascot who hadn't aged in 25 years finally hang it up. latestnetflix.com's read is that for millennials, Ash Ketchum was a constant in a crazy world.
So when OLM and The Pokémon Company announced Pokémon Horizons, it wasn't about whether the animation would be good or if new Paldean creatures would sell. We just wondered if this universe could survive without its loudest, most hopeful core.
The answer is yes. Mostly. But the real shocker with Horizons isn't how the world is built; it's how deeply its vibe has changed.
We start with Liko, our new main character, and she just doesn't have the fierce drive that defined the last one. If Ash was a Saturday morning cartoon hero barreling into danger, Liko's a quiet kid staring out a window, lost in her own thoughts. Minori Suzuki gives her this amazing, shaky voice.
Suzuki made her name playing idols and singers—like Ena in Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage—and she brings this compelling, wavering uncertainty to Liko. Listen to her short, shallow breaths before she speaks in the early episodes. It's the sound of a middle schooler scared to say the wrong thing.
Audience Opinions
Audience 7.5/10
"A more mature, serialized Pokémon adventure with standout character work and animation that excites some viewers while alienating others attached to Ash-era tones and pacing."
The series earns praise for giving Liko, Roy, Dot, and the wider crew a clear multi-year arc, stronger character development, and consistently polished animation, with several episodes and openings singled out as franchise highs. latestnetflix.com's view is that at the same time, the removal of Ash and Pikachu, a heavier reliance on adults like Friede in big confrontations, a more serious tone with less comedy, and the presence of occasional filler episodes leave part of the audience either bored, frustrated, or unconvinced it surpasses the best older seasons.
What viewers praise
Structured long-term storyA planned three‑year narrative with a defined beginning, middle, and end replaces the old purely episodic formula and makes the plot feel more focused and purposeful.
Notable character growthLiko, Roy, and especially Dot are developed with clear goals and evolving personalities, and the ensemble of allies and rivals gains more depth than in many earlier entries.
Impressive animation momentsAction set pieces, including episode 18 and key finales, along with later opening sequences, are repeatedly praised as some of the best-looking work in the franchise.
More serious villainsAntagonists such as the Explorers, Sango, and Amethio are portrayed as competent and threatening, giving conflicts higher stakes than the more comedic villain teams of the past.
Fresh break from AshThe new cast and world‑tour structure make the show feel like a distinct anime in its own right rather than an endless extension of Ash’s journey, which many find refreshing.
Common complaints
Ash era nostalgia gapThe decision to retire Ash and Pikachu after decades is a dealbreaker for a portion of viewers who feel less emotionally invested in the new leads.
Overbearing adult supportLiko and Roy are frequently overshadowed or rescued by Friede and other adults, which can undercut their independence and dilute tension in major battles.
Reduced lighthearted humorThe more serious, plot‑driven tone leaves fewer comedic beats, leading some to find the show dull or overly somber compared with earlier, goofier seasons.
Uneven pacing and fillerDespite the overarching plot, stretches of the run still feel like low‑impact filler or slow moving detours that do little to advance the main mysteries.
Divisive dub presentationAmong those who have compared versions, the English dub’s voices and soundtrack are often regarded as weaker than the Japanese audio, which dampens enjoyment for dub‑only viewers.
Recommended for
Longtime Pokémon anime followers Serialized adventure anime fans Character-development focused viewers Younger viewers new to Pokémon Sub-watching anime audiences
Buzz & Rumors
Public reports
POKÉMON HORIZONS: FEUDS, FAKE-OUTS & THE ANIME THAT ALMOST ATE ITSELF
The anime may be all sparkles and Terapagos light shows, but behind the scenes of Pokémon Horizons there’s enough drama to fill a whole box of Rotom Phones. latestnetflix.com's read is that From alleged cast feuds and scrapped “old man yaoi” to studio money troubles and cancellation rumors, here’s the messiest real-world tea swirling around Liko, Roy, and the brave souls drawing them.
Cast Feuds & Industry Bad Blood
Ash vs. Pikachu… in real life?!
When data from a Game Freak–related leak surfaced in 2024, it allegedly included a transcript claiming “strained relations” between long‑time Ash voice actress Rica Matsumoto and Pikachu’s Ikue Ōtani, plus talk that the company had considered recasting Ash because the tension was hurting morale . Rumor had it this drama helped push the franchise toward a clean break with Horizons’ new heroes.
Matsumoto clapped back on X, calling the story “made up” and stressing she’s been friends with “Iku-chan” since her newbie days, even having her as a guest on a fan club tour .
Still, Otani continues on in Horizons as Pikachu, while Ash is out and Matsumoto isn’t in the new cast — enough to keep conspiracy-minded fans buzzing that “something” happened behind closed doors .
The Daman Mills controversy that won’t die
English Horizons fans know Daman Mills as the voice of Amethio and Quaxly and as an assistant voice director. But in 2022 he was accused of sexual misconduct with a then‑16‑year‑old, in a case that made anime‑news headlines before the accuser later admitted the allegations were fabricated and withdrew them .
The scandal still gets dredged up in fandom threads, especially now that Mills has such a visible role in Horizons’ dub .
Some fans see the show as “tainted”; others argue the withdrawal means it’s time to move on.
Scandals, Studio Chaos & “Is the Anime in Trouble?”
OLM allegedly nearly broke before Horizons
On Pokémon fan forums, one persistent rumor says that OLM — the studio animating the series — was “nearly on the verge of bankruptcy” toward the end of Journeys, supposedly needing TV Tokyo to step in and keep the anime machine alive .
Around the same time, an OLM animation director publicly warned that the Pokémon anime’s production was “in trouble,” citing filler, recap weeks and schedule gaps as red flags .
Fans now use that as Exhibit A when complaining that Horizons’ animation looks rough in places and that OLM’s best talent has been diverted elsewhere .
Team shake-ups mid‑run
Community posts claim that OLM’s “Team Kato” — the specific unit handling Horizons early on — shut down around episode 46, with “Team Kumemura” taking over the show .
To fans, it’s more proof that the production pipeline is being held together with duct tape and Poké Dolls.
Leaks, Scrapped Plots & The Lost “Old Man Yaoi”
The giant “planned and scrapped ideas” leak
A notorious thread on r/PokeLeaks compiled alleged internal notes and concepts for Horizons that got tossed or rewritten before airing . None of this is confirmed, but it’s become the fandom’s favorite forbidden document:
Friede the traitor?! One reported idea had fan‑favorite Friede supposedly betraying the Rising Volt Tacklers to the Explorers — a twist fans in the thread blasted as wildly out of character and “forced” .
Legacy cameos that never were: The same leak says plans existed for a cameo-heavy series with Brock, Iris, Dawn, Cynthia and even Ash dropping in as traveling mentors, before executives ordered a pivot to a Paldea‑centric, less nostalgia‑driven story .
Yes, the “doomed old man yaoi” thing is real (sort of)
One commenter in that leak thread mourned the loss of what they called a scrapped “doomed old man yaoi” element — implying there was at least talk of a tragic older‑male relationship angle that got binned before it could traumatize the Saturday-morning crowd .
This is firmly in the “unverified rumor” bucket, but it’s become legendary fan shorthand for everything queer, weird and interesting that could have been in Horizons but wasn’t.
CBR piles on: the awesome version of Horizons we never got
A feature on CBR echoes much of this leak lore, describing an alleged original pitch where Horizons focused on rotating trainers per region, packed with cameos from classic characters and stronger ties between the anime and game worlds .
According to these reports, late‑stage executive meddling yanked the series toward a narrower Paldea focus and “Tera training” angle, drastically cutting the nostalgic crossover content fans were craving .
CBR frames it as the fork in the road where Horizons could have become a beloved reunion tour… and instead went for “something new,” with mixed results .
Between uneven ratings chatter and production gossip, doomsday rumors keep flaring that Horizons will be axed in 2026. Posts and videos breathlessly claim the show is “ending in April 2026” or “officially canceled due to low ratings,” usually backed by anonymous “leak summaries” and numberless charts .
More sober coverage points out leaks suggesting the anime will run at least another year to usher in Gen 10, but the cancellation panic refuses to die .
Liko x Roy: cute friends or canon couple?
When late‑series episodes introduced a timeskip and more emotionally charged Liko/Roy moments, shipping content exploded. YouTube shorts and TikToks loudly declared “Liko x Roy shipping is CANON,” dissecting every blush and lingering shot .
On Reddit, pushback was immediate: some fans insist they read as siblings, while others accuse the show of baiting romance without committing .
The debate got so heated that fan forums briefly locked shipping megathreads, and one widely discussed promo image of the pair in a couple‑coded pose mysteriously vanished from official channels soon after fans started quote‑tweeting it as “soft launch canon” (unconfirmed but heavily speculated).
Wild Trivia & Off‑Screen Oddities
Did fandom outrage rewrite the show?
The leak thread claims Horizons’ premiere was delayed to give Ash and Pikachu a proper epilogue in Journeys because executives feared fan backlash so intense it could involve death threats if they just hard‑cut to new kids .
Whether or not that’s fully accurate, the show’s extremely cautious rollout and the months of mystery around the new leads certainly fit the “please don’t riot” energy.
Terapagos: game star or anime baby?
Fans in the same leak dump argue that Terapagos was originally designed as an anime‑first Pokémon, only later grafted more heavily into the Indigo Disk DLC .
They point to how little it appears in the game despite being the final boss and central to Area Zero’s story, reading it as a character whose “real” narrative life is in Horizons .
It’s speculative, but it adds a spicy “cart before the Mareep” vibe to the franchise’s multimedia planning.
Whether you believe every whispered leak or not, one thing’s clear: behind that cheerful OP and cozy blimp crew, Pokémon Horizons has been riding some seriously turbulent real‑world air currents — feuds denied, scandals withdrawn, studio panics, scrapped gay subplots, and an entire generation of fans arguing online about whether Liko and Roy are endgame or just very cute coworkers.
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as
unverified unless a cited source confirms it.
