Pokémon Horizons: The Series

Pokémon Horizons: The Series, known in Japan as Pocket Monsters: Liko and Roy's Departure (ポケットモンスター: リコとロイの旅立ち) Pocket Monsters: The Sparkling of Terapagos (テラパゴスのかがやき) and Pocket Monsters: Terastal Debut (ポケットモンスター: テラスタルデビュー) is a new Pokémon animated series and currently airing its first season and overall twenty-sixth season. It premiered in Japan on TV Tokyo on April 14, 2023, and was further distributed by Netflix in the United States on March 7, 2024. Daiki Tomiyasu is the executive director and Saori Den is serving as the director, Dai Satō as script supervisor, Rei Yamazaki as character designer, Conisch as music composer, and Naotsugu Uchida and Akane Yamago replacing Ryōko Nashimoto as sound editor. Bessatsu CoroCoro Comic and Gakushu Yochien are no longer credited as publishers, and Junichi Masuda and Ken Sugimori are no longer credited as creators.

Unlike previous series, which featured Ash Ketchum as the protagonist, the series stars two new protagonists, Liko and Roy,  who team up with the Rising Volt Tacklers, a group of adventurers that explore the Pokémon world and visit various regions, including the Paldea region, which was introduced in Scarlet and Violet. As they do, they are pursued by the Explorers, a mysterious organization seeking Liko's pendant for unknown reasons.

Release
On December 16, 2022, The Pokémon Company announced that a new series of the Pokémon anime would air in Japan on April 14, 2023, following the conclusion of a final arc that serves as an epilogue to Pokémon Ultimate Journeys, set to conclude the story of Ash Ketchum, the protagonist of the anime series since it began on April 1, 1997. The first trailer was released on March 3, 2023, announcing that the series would premiere in Japan on April 14.

On November 9, 2023, it was announced that the English dub would debut in the UK on BBC iPlayer and CBBC in December 4. In the United States, it was originally set for release on February 23, 2024, on Netflix, but was later announced to be released on March 7.

Music
The opening themes are "Heart-Pounding Diary" (ドキメキダイアリー) by Asmi featuring Chinozo, "Halo" (ハロ) by Yama and BotchiBoromaru and "Will" by Ive. The ending themes are "RVR: Rising Volt Tacklers' Rap" (RVR〜ライジングボルテッカーズラップ〜), an image song performed by Minori Suzuki as Liko and Yuka Terasaki as Roy and "Let Me Battle" by 9Lana. The English opening theme song is "Becoming Me" by Ed Goldfarb and Haven Paschall, with an instrumental version used as the ending theme.