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| Season | Pokémon Horizons: Rising Hope (Horizons Season 3) · Episode: Mega Evolution — the lost year arc (HZ112–HZ114) |
| Episode | Horizons Season 3, episode 23 · English episode 1336 · Japanese episode 1345 · Bulbapedia code HZ112 |
| English title | Mega Evolution – Roy |
| Japanese title | ロイ ――修行 Roi — Shugyō — “Roy—Training” |
| First aired (Japan) | 10 October 2025 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 26 June 2026 · Netflix |
| Screenplay | Kureha Matsuzawa |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | None – the series logo and arc subtitle appear over Lumiose City · Yū (YUU) – Yuzu |
| English opening | None – the Evolving Again instrumental plays over clips from YUU |
| Previous episode | Better, Farther, Stronger! (HZ111) |
| Next episode | Mega Evolution – Ult (HZ113) |
Plot episodeEpisode: Mega Evolution, part 1The Yellow Flash
Mega Evolution – Roy is the 23rd episode of Pokémon Horizons: Rising Hope, the third season of the Pokémon anime, and the 1336th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 1345, Bulbapedia code HZ112). It first aired in Japan on 10 October 2025 and in the United States on 26 June 2026. It falls within the season’s Episode: Mega Evolution — the lost year stretch (EP112–EP114).
The first episode of Netflix’s Part 3 (HZ112–HZ123), released in the US on Friday 26 June 2026; BBC iPlayer had premiered it in the UK on 27 February 2026, CBBC broadcast it on 18 March 2026 and ABC iview added it in Australia on 2 April 2026.
Synopsis
In the first part of a three-episode flashback set during the year-long timeskip, Roy travels to Lumiose City, meets Ult and the eccentric Master Mayonnaise, receives a Mega Ring, and is soundly beaten by a Shiny Lucario called the Yellow Flash. On the Brave Olivine, Liko and Dot watch Roy and Ult battle with Mega Lucario and Mega Sableye and wonder how Roy met Lucario, and Roy begins his story. Arriving in Lumiose City with Crocalor, Kilowattrel and Captain Pikachu, Roy is struck by the view and resolves to grow stronger, but soon gets lost; Cap flees a group of people who set off his allergy, and Roy follows him into the Lumiose Gym, where he bumps into Ult and the two argue. They watch a Gardevoir battle a Slowbro whose Amnesia nullifies Moonblast before both Trainers Mega Evolve — Roy’s first sight of Mega Evolution. Mega Gardevoir wins, and Ult brags that his Sableye could Mega Evolve too if he cared to.
A strange man promoting Mega Evolution to an uninterested crowd turns out to be Master Mayonnaise, and only Roy and Ult approach him. At a café he explains that Mega Evolution requires a Key Stone resonating with a Pokémon’s Mega Stone and a strong bond between Trainer and Pokémon. He notes that no one has ever seen a Mega Evolved Crocalor, which only makes Roy resolve to be the first. Master Mayonnaise gives each boy a Mega Ring and tells them to find Mega Stones; Ult reveals that Sableye already found a Sablenite while hunting for shiny things, and Crocalor proudly brings over a random rock. He recommends the Lost Mayo Maze and its strongest Pokémon, the Yellow Flash. Ult knows the city but refuses to guide Roy, who reaches the maze on his own, with Ult arriving soon after; they split up inside.
The maze’s layout baffles them until Crocalor and Sableye bump into each other and lead their Trainers to a long hallway with a door at the end. Ult runs ahead and falls into a trap before Sableye can warn him, and Kilowattrel helps him out. Crocalor finds an odd spot on a wall that opens a hidden staircase, which leads them to the Yellow Flash: a Shiny Lucario that challenges them to battle. It dodges Sableye’s Power Gem and Crocalor’s Flamethrower effortlessly, and its extreme speed lets it strike both before they can react; when the boys order another attack, it knocks out both Pokémon at once. The Yellow Flash wins, leaving Roy and Ult stunned by its strength. The episode has no opening theme or eyecatches, its title appears over Lumiose City, and the ending “YUU” replaces “Ready Go”; it was the last Japanese episode before Pokémon Legends: Z-A was released, and Amnesia is used for the first time since EP066.
Major Events
- Episode: Mega Evolution, part 1. In Lumiose City during the timeskip, Roy meets Ult and Master Mayonnaise and receives a Mega Ring
- Roy sees Mega Gardevoir and Mega Slowbro
- Sableye has found a Sablenite
- The Yellow Flash, a Shiny Lucario, beats Roy and Ult in the Lost Mayo Maze
- No opening theme or eyecatches, and YUU becomes the Japanese ending
- The last Japanese episode before Pokémon Legends: Z-A
- Amnesia is used for the first time since EP066
- The first episode of Netflix’s Part 3
Trivia
- The screenplay is by Kureha Matsuzawa.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Rising Volt Tacklers storyline.
Changes in the English Dub
- The on-screen “Mayo-Maze Palace” text is removed
- No opening theme; YUU (Yuzu) becomes the Japanese ending, its first version ending on a determined Roy
- The English ending mixes all three versions of YUU
Part of our Pokémon Horizons: Rising Hope guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.