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| Season | Pokémon Horizons: The Series (Horizons Season 1) · The plan to capture Rayquaza arc (HZ042–HZ045) |
| Episode | Horizons Season 1, episode 42 · English episode 1266 · Japanese episode 1275 · Bulbapedia code HZ042 |
| English title | Transform! Hero of the Seas, Palafin |
| Japanese title | 変身！海のヒーローイルカマン Henshin! Umi no Hīrō Irukaman — “Transform! The Hero of the Sea, Irukaman!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 8 March 2024 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 22 November 2024 · Netflix |
| Screenplay | Kimiko Ueno |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Haro (Halo) – yama × BotchiBoromaru · RVR ~Raijingu Borutekkāzu Rappu~ PART2, Ludlow Ver. – Roy (Yuka Terasaki) & Liko (Minori Suzuki) |
| English opening | Becoming Me – Haven Paschall (version 2, with clips from Halo) |
| Previous episode | A Wild Mom Appears! (HZ041) |
| Next episode | A Challenge from the Explorers (HZ043) |
Plot episodePalafinMighty G
Transform! Hero of the Seas, Palafin is the 42nd episode of Pokémon Horizons: The Series, the first season of the Pokémon anime, and the 1266th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 1275, Bulbapedia code HZ042). It first aired in Japan on 8 March 2024 and in the United States on 22 November 2024. It falls within the season’s The plan to capture Rayquaza stretch (EP42–EP45).
Released on Netflix in the US on Friday 22 November 2024 with the rest of Part 4 (HZ035–HZ045); BBC iPlayer had released it in the UK on 9 September 2024, and Australia’s 9Go! aired HZ035–HZ045 from 18 September to 2 October 2024; the Indonesian dub of HZ041–HZ045 (24 August – 7 September 2024) had come before the English.
Synopsis
At a Paldean beach, Liko protects the secret of a heroic Palafin, whose transformation a trio of photographers will do anything to capture, and Ludlow reveals a superhero alter ego of his own, “Mighty G,” while photos of a mysterious new tower hint at the Explorers’ plans. Back in Paldea, the Rising Volt Tacklers stop at the seaside to relax; Dot finds the idea repulsive and stays aboard, Friede and Murdock prepare a barbecue, and Ludlow watches the children. Roy’s Rotom Phone explains that Wiglett only resembles Diglett, a Swimmer who keeps the beach clean with his Trubbish introduces himself, and Liko and Roy swim with a pod of Finizen, one with a heart-shaped mark on its chest. When a man is left dangling from a rooftop, a Palafin leaps from the sea and catches him. The Swimmer explains that Palafin changes from its Zero Form to its Hero Form only in emergencies and that no one has ever seen the transformation.
A trio of photographers, the Snap Boys, are determined to capture it, but Palafin splashes them in disapproval, and when Liko decides she does not need to see the transformation, Palafin senses her consideration and takes a liking to her. After Roy falls asleep, Fuecoco drifts out to sea on a float and punctures it in a panic, and Hero Form Palafin rescues it with a float made from its water rings, then shows off its flight, bubble lenses, speed, strength, Jet Punches and kicks. The Snap Boys stage a fake emergency, with one of them pretending to be stranded on a cliff while the others hide below with cameras, but he is surrounded by a pack of Klawf, which a falling coconut enrages, and his cries become real. Palafin hesitates at the sight of the cameras, and when Roy and Fuecoco are overwhelmed, Liko has Sprigatito’s Magical Leaf bury the photographers in leaves, and Palafin transforms right in front of her.
Hero Form Palafin saves Roy, Fuecoco and the photographer and lands a Jet Punch, but a Klawf’s X-Scissor strikes the weak spot on its chest. On the beach, Ludlow strips off his clothes to reveal a muscular build and a superhero costume, releases a Sharpedo from a Dive Ball and rides out to sea as “Mighty G,” who knows Palafin from the past. He asks the crowd to cheer, restoring Palafin’s strength, and the two heroes calm the Klawf with hugs and pose for a group photo before returning to the sea. The Snap Boys promise to stop chasing the transformation, Liko and Sprigatito keep what they saw a secret, Ludlow claims a bad back to hide his exhaustion after three minutes of heroics, and Dot ignores the photo of Mighty G because he is not a Pokémon. Studying the Snap Boys’ photos, Ludlow spots a strange structure that the Swimmer says a suspicious group recently built, and Friede suspects the Explorers.
Major Events
- Mighty G. Back in Paldea
- Palafin’s Hero Form
- Ludlow revealed as “Mighty G”
- The Explorers’ suspicious tower
- In Japan, a Professor Willow scene announced a Pokémon GO collaboration
Pokémon making their anime debut
Nacli#0932 · HZ042
Palafin#0964 · HZ042
Kilowattrel#0941 · HZ042
Tadbulb#0938 · HZ042
Klawf#0950 · HZ042
Trivia
- The screenplay is by Kimiko Ueno.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Kanto, Galar and Paldea storyline.
Changes in the English Dub
- The Japanese-only bonus scene in which Professor Willow announces a Pokémon GO collaboration is left out of every dub
- Roy’s arrival line “We’re here!” becomes “A day at the beach!”
- Liko’s guess that Palafin is a yacht becomes a submarine, and the guesses about Mighty G are reworked into an “It’s a bird! It’s a plane!” joke
Part of our Pokémon Horizons: The Series guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.