 |
|
| Season | Pokémon Horizons: Rising Hope (Horizons Season 3) · Reassembling the crew arc (HZ096–HZ100) |
| Episode | Horizons Season 3, episode 8 · English episode 1321 · Japanese episode 1330 · Bulbapedia code HZ097 |
| English title | The Prankster |
| Japanese title | いたずらマッギョのイイ笑顔？ Itazura Maggyo no Ii Egao? — “The Mischievous Maggyo’s Great Smile?” |
| First aired (Japan) | 30 May 2025 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 6 January 2026 · Netflix |
| Screenplay | Naohiro Fukushima |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | GET BACK – Yuzu · Ready Go – ME:I |
| English opening | Evolving Again – Haven Paschall |
| Previous episode | Crash! Team Dragon Rampage! (HZ096) |
| Next episode | Reunion in Cortondo (HZ098) |
Plot episodeDot beats Stunner FiskTinkatuff’s Tera Steel
The Prankster is the 8th episode of Pokémon Horizons: Rising Hope, the third season of the Pokémon anime, and the 1321st episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 1330, Bulbapedia code HZ097). It first aired in Japan on 30 May 2025 and in the United States on 6 January 2026. It falls within the season’s Reassembling the crew stretch (EP96–EP100).
Released on Netflix in the US on Tuesday 6 January 2026 with the rest of Part 1; BBC iPlayer had premiered it in the UK on 27 October 2025.
Synopsis
On her way to rejoin her friends, Dot detours to Levincia at Iono’s request and defeats Stunner Fisk, a would-be streamer whose Strong Sphere-boosted Stunfisk has been shocking people for viral videos, as her Tinkatuff learns Metal Claw and Terastallizes for the first time. At Iono’s studio, Dot watches footage of a Stunfisk shocking Pokémon and people around Levincia; she notices that it moves unusually fast and spots a Laquium Sign left behind. Iono has a livestream to host, so Dot investigates alone. Passing an Exceed advertisement, she wonders whether the Strong Spheres are behind the Laquium Signs. When Pokémon nearby are electrocuted, she finds the patch of mud the Stunfisk hides in; Quaxwell stops her from stepping in and is shocked himself. A Rotom Phone floats overhead, and Dot and her Pokémon chase it and the Stunfisk into an alley, where they meet the Trainer behind it all.
Stunner Fisk admits that he signed up as a product tester to get a Strong Sphere and used it to boost his Stunfisk’s speed so that it could shock Pokémon across a wider area, filming his victims’ faces for his channel in the hope of going viral and catching Iono’s attention. He recognises Dot as the Trainer who battled Iono during Tera Training and challenges her. Quaxwell’s Aqua Cutter washes away the Mud-Slap hiding place and lands a super effective hit, and Quaxwell dodges Electroweb. Stunner Fisk uses the sphere again; the faster Stunfisk evades every Aqua Cutter, slices through one with Electroweb, and slides under Quaxwell’s foot to shock him. Dot switches to Tinkatuff, whose Slam misses before the same combination hits her. When Dot orders Brutal Swing to cancel an Electroweb, Tinkatuff learns Metal Claw, and Dot Terastallizes her into the Steel type for the first time.
Tinkatuff’s Metal Claw connects and her steel slices through the Stunfisk’s electric jolts. Ignoring its Trainer’s pleas, the overcharged Stunfisk exhausts itself, and a second Metal Claw finishes the battle. Stunner Fisk cradles his fainted partner, regretting that he pushed it until it lost the smile he loved. Iono, who has been watching, calls to congratulate Dot and tells Stunner Fisk that he still has a way forward, challenging him to pursue his goals again without the Strong Sphere; he smashes it on the ground. Dot reports to Liko and Roy, who are on a ferry to Paldea with a seasick Ult, and when she realises they are almost in Cortondo she looks for a faster route. Iono arrives in a Flying Taxi she has hired so that Dot can make the reunion in time. Katy, Murdock and their Pokémon narrate the preview.
Major Events
- Stunner Fisk. In Levincia Dot beats Stunner Fisk’s Strong Sphere-boosted Stunfisk
- Tinkatuff learns Metal Claw and Terastallizes into the Steel type for the first time
- Stunner Fisk smashes his sphere
- Iono hires a Flying Taxi to take Dot to Cortondo
Trivia
- The screenplay is by Naohiro Fukushima.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Rising Volt Tacklers storyline.
Part of our Pokémon Horizons: Rising Hope guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.