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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 43 · English episode 1267 · Japanese episode 1276 · Bulbapedia code HZ043 |
| English title | A Challenge from the Explorers |
| Japanese title | エクスプローラーズからの果たし状 Ekusupurōrāzu kara no Hatashijō — “A Letter of Challenge from the Explorers” |
| First aired (Japan) | 15 March 2024 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 22 November 2024 · Netflix |
| Screenplay | Naruki Nagakawa |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Haro (Halo) – yama × BotchiBoromaru · RVR ~Raijingu Borutekkāzu Rappu~ PART2, Orla Ver. – Roy (Yuka Terasaki) & Liko (Minori Suzuki) |
| English opening | Becoming Me – Haven Paschall (version 2, with clips from Halo) |
| Previous episode | Transform! Hero of the Seas, Palafin (HZ042) |
| Next episode | The Plan to Capture Rayquaza (HZ044) |
Plot episodeCoral and SidianThe capture plan revealed
A Challenge from the Explorers is the 43rd episode of Pokémon Horizons: The Series, the first season of the Pokémon anime, and the 1267th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 1276, Bulbapedia code HZ043). It first aired in Japan on 15 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
An argument over a limited box of Wiglett sweet buns leads the disguised Explorer Coral to challenge Liko and Roy, and a Multi Battle against Coral and Sidian ends abruptly when Coral lets slip the Explorers’ plan to summon and capture the Black Rayquaza. While the crew shops, Roy and Friede queue for Wiglett sweet buns, of which only 30 boxes are sold each day, until Mollie sends them off to finish their errands and asks Liko to stop Roy from overspending. Outside town, Coral, in disguise, drags along a reluctant Sidian. Liko and Roy help a grumpy-looking old man who has hurt his back, Sprigatito massages away the pain, and he turns out to work at the bun shop, thanking them with a box made with sea salt, red bean paste and Kalosian white chocolate. Aboard the ship, Tinkatink drops its food overboard, and Terapagos shows it where to find more, while Quagsire shares Pecha Berries that Tinkatink carries to Dot and Quaxly.
Coral counts herself as the 30th customer, but the last box goes to a Cutiefly on an errand, and when she overhears Liko and Roy boasting that they got their box just for being kind, she vows revenge. Fuecoco wanders off and returns with a barely legible letter tied to its back, claiming the children stole something important and demanding a meeting at Snorlax Rock; Roy recognises an old-fashioned challenge letter from his grandfather’s stories. Coral demands the box, and when Liko opens it to share a bun, destroying its value as a limited item, Coral sends out Glalie and reveals herself as an Explorer. Roy insists on fighting with Fuecoco’s type advantage, but Sidian and Garganacl arrive and Sidian decides to challenge the Tacklers too, so Coral takes Roy and leaves Liko to Sidian.
Garganacl shrugs off Quick Attack and Magical Leaf, Glalie freezes Fuecoco with Blizzard, and Fuecoco thaws only to slip on the ice and absorb a string of Ice Spinners. Sprigatito leaps between Garganacl’s legs to strike from behind, but Garganacl grabs it and hits it with a point-blank Salt Cure. Sprigatito gets back up and, powered by its Overgrow Ability, counters Stone Edge and lands Magical Leaf, while Roy notices that Fuecoco’s stomping has cracked the ice and orders Stomping Tantrum, sending Glalie sliding into Garganacl. Before the battle turns serious, Sidian receives an alert and recalls Garganacl; Coral complains about the island and says they can summon the Black Rayquaza later, and Sidian scolds her for revealing their plan to capture it as he carries her off on Aerodactyl. Friede, linking the island to the suspicious tower, sets out to investigate and sends the children back to the airship, leaving Liko uneasy.
Major Events
- The challenge letter. Wiglett sweet buns
- A Multi Battle against Coral and Sidian is called off
- Sprigatito’s Overgrow confirmed
- The Explorers’ plan to capture Rayquaza revealed
Trivia
- The screenplay is by Naruki Nagakawa.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Kanto, Galar and Paldea storyline.
Changes in the English Dub
- The pun bun “Sea Digdaman” (Umidigda, Wiglett’s Japanese name, plus manjū) becomes “Wiglett sweet buns”
Part of our Pokémon Horizons: The Series guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.