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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 44 · English episode 1268 · Japanese episode 1277 · Bulbapedia code HZ044 |
| English title | The Plan to Capture Rayquaza |
| Japanese title | レックウザ捕獲計画 Rekkūza Hokaku Keikaku — “A Plan to Capture Rayquaza” |
| First aired (Japan) | 22 March 2024 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 22 November 2024 · Netflix |
| Screenplay | Kureha Matsuzawa |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Haro (Halo) – yama × BotchiBoromaru · RVR ~Raijingu Borutekkāzu Rappu~ PART2, Friede Ver. – Roy (Yuka Terasaki) & Liko (Minori Suzuki) |
| English opening | Becoming Me – Haven Paschall (version 2, with clips from Halo) |
| Previous episode | A Challenge from the Explorers (HZ043) |
| Next episode | From So Far Away (HZ045) |
Plot episodeRayquaza hits the Brave OlivineLevincia Lighthouse
The Plan to Capture Rayquaza is the 44th episode of Pokémon Horizons: The Series, the first season of the Pokémon anime, and the 1268th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 1277, Bulbapedia code HZ044). It first aired in Japan on 22 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
The Explorers lure Friede into a decoy tower while their admins summon the Black Rayquaza to the Levincia Lighthouse with a machine that mimics Terapagos’s resonance, and although Dot shuts it down and Friede escapes Spinel, Coral’s reckless attack sends Rayquaza crashing into the Brave Olivine. Scouting the island with the suspicious tower, Friede sees Spinel’s Magneton and Beheeyem and Spinel himself, whom Liko and Roy recognise as the thief from Levincia. Concluding that the tower is the Explorers’ means of summoning the Black Rayquaza, Friede plans to destroy it with Captain Pikachu’s electricity while Dot writes a shutdown program, and Ludlow readies a small boat so they will not be spotted; Liko and Roy insist on coming along. After tiptoeing past a Vespiquen’s flock of Combee, Friede and Cap enter the strangely unlocked tower, and the door slams shut behind them. Spinel reveals that the tower was built to hold Friede, who tells the children they are at the wrong tower.
At the Levincia Lighthouse, Chalce begins summoning Rayquaza, explaining that Spinel wanted the four admins to finish the job without Amethio, while Spinel tells Friede that the device copies the energy Terapagos emits when calling Rayquaza. In the cramped tower, Cap battles Umbreon, whose Snarl, Reflect, Quick Attack and Foul Play keep turning back his Thunder Punch, but the crack Cap leaves in the wall gives Friede an idea. Liko, Roy and Ludlow head for nearby Levincia when Terapagos turns towards the lighthouse, and the Black Rayquaza descends through parting clouds, watched by Iono on her stream. As it drops its guard, Glalie’s Blizzard, Garganacl’s Salt Cure and Medicham’s Psybeam encase it in ice and salt. The children report the generator to the Brave Olivine, and Dot insists on going herself, telling Murdock that if Liko and Roy can fight, so can she.
Cap bounces off Umbreon’s Reflect to gain the momentum for a Volt Tackle that breaks through the cracked wall, and Friede escapes on Charizard as Spinel decides he is worth studying. At the lighthouse, Liko and Roy confront Chalce as she throws an Ultra Ball at the trapped Rayquaza; Fuecoco’s Stomping Tantrum shakes the tower, Sprigatito distracts Sidian, and Wattrel’s Spark knocks the ball away before Medicham’s Psybeam blasts it from the sky, while Charizard’s Flamethrower holds off Coral. Murdock brings the airship overhead, and Dot leaps down in her Nidothing suit, which cushions her fall; while Quaxly and Tinkatink keep Medicham busy, she plugs her Rotom Phone into the generator and shuts it down. Rayquaza breaks free, and its Draco Meteor destroys the generator and pelts the airship. Enraged, Coral has Glalie use Self-Destruct against Rayquaza’s Dragon Pulse, and the blast knocks Rayquaza into the Brave Olivine, which begins to fall from the sky.
Major Events
- The Levincia Lighthouse. Friede trapped in a decoy tower
- The resonance generator summons the Black Rayquaza
- Dot shuts it down
- Coral’s Glalie Self-Destructs and Rayquaza crashes into the Brave Olivine
Trivia
- The screenplay is by Kureha Matsuzawa.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Kanto, Galar and Paldea storyline.
Part of our Pokémon Horizons: The Series guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.