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| Season | Pokémon Horizons: Rising Hope (Horizons Season 3) · Blueberry Academy arc (HZ115–HZ119) |
| Episode | Horizons Season 3, episode 28 · English episode 1341 · Japanese episode 1350 · Bulbapedia code HZ117 |
| English title | Ult-imate Training |
| Japanese title | クイズです！ウルトの修行はなんでしょう？ Kuizu desu! Uruto no Shugyō wa Nan deshō? — “Quiz Time! What is Uruto’s Training?” |
| First aired (Japan) | 14 November 2025 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 26 June 2026 · Netflix |
| Screenplay | Naohiro Fukushima |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Aioraito (Iolite) – Eve · Nete mo Samete mo (Asleep or Awake) – Polkadot Stingray |
| English opening | Evolving Again – Haven Paschall |
| Previous episode | Terarium Training! (HZ116) |
| Next episode | Liko and Hattrem, Bonded by Happiness! (HZ118) |
Filler / stand-alone episodeLacey’s quizzesUlt and Dragonite
Ult-imate Training is the 28th episode of Pokémon Horizons: Rising Hope, the third season of the Pokémon anime, and the 1341st episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 1350, Bulbapedia code HZ117). It first aired in Japan on 14 November 2025 and in the United States on 26 June 2026. It falls within the season’s Blueberry Academy stretch (EP115–EP119).
Released on Netflix in the US on Friday 26 June 2026 with the rest of Part 3; BBC iPlayer had premiered it in the UK on 25 May 2026.
Synopsis
Elite Four member Lacey teaches Ult through quizzes and a battle he loses, helping him finally understand his Dragonite, while at Briar’s lab a jealous Carmine competes with Liko and ends up sparring with Dot. Briar asks Liko and Dot what Pagogo likes to eat, hoping it will help her research Terapagos, and Carmine grows jealous of the attention Liko receives. Lacey offers to battle Ult on the condition that he studies with her if he loses, and he eagerly accepts. Sableye’s Throat Chop is pushed back by Excadrill’s X-Scissor and Power Gem barely works against its typing; when Lacey asks Ult a question he cannot answer, Sableye takes a Dig. Lacey then Terastallizes Excadrill into a Fairy type to demonstrate the answer to her next question, and Tera Blast knocks out Sableye. Having lost, Ult agrees to study with her. Back at the lab, Carmine shows off her skills as an assistant, but Liko handles Briar’s needs just as well, and then Dot’s Gimmighoul takes control of Carmine and sends her chasing coins.
Lacey and Ult look for quiz topics and find Roy doing “relaxing” training on Drayton’s advice. Asked where a Pikachu stores its electricity, Ult does not know, and an irritated Captain Pikachu shocks him. Lacey bases her next question on Plusle and Minun, which Ult also misses; Drayton answers before Lacey can and flies off on his Dragonite, and Ult wonders how close the two must be. He takes out his Dusk Ball, admits that his own Dragonite never comes out and that he wants to be close to it too — and to his surprise, Dragonite emerges willingly. Elsewhere, Dot and Carmine find Gimmighoul in the cafeteria, and Carmine decides to train Dot; their Pokémon end up trading Astonish attacks to Quaxwell’s frustration, and the battle is called off when both Trainers are exhausted. Carmine remarks that Dot’s hairstyle and determination remind her of her brother, Kieran.
In the Coastal Biome, Ult tells Lacey that Dragonite once belonged to his father, Sault, and Lacey explains that her father Clay, a Gym Leader, inspired her to get an Excadrill like his. When Ult claims he wants to be the best Trainer, Lacey calls out the lie, recalls one of her father’s sayings, and asks again. Ult reluctantly admits that after the battle against the Six Heroes he felt powerless to help others, and Lacey points out that wanting to fight for others is already a kind motivation, asking what he wants to do with Dragonite. Before he can answer, an Alolan Exeggutor whose territory they have entered appears, and they run. While fleeing, Ult understands what Dragonite wants and agrees to battle alongside it, using Lacey’s advice to defeat the Exeggutor. He admits he enjoys battling with Dragonite and realises he had been so focused on his father’s words that he never considered what Dragonite wanted — though he still does not tell Lacey the whole truth, to her frustration. Lacey’s quizzes reference her Elite Trial in The Indigo Disk and her father’s lines in Black and White.
Major Events
- Lacey’s quizzes. Lacey’s Terastallized Excadrill beats Ult’s Sableye, and Ult agrees to study with her
- Dot and Carmine’s battle is called off
- Ult’s Dragonite emerges of its own accord
- Ult learns to battle alongside Dragonite
- Kieran is mentioned
- Lacey quotes her father, Clay
Trivia
- The English title plays on a pun on Ult’s name and “ultimate”.
- The screenplay is by Naohiro Fukushima.
- This is a stand-alone episode: it can be skipped without losing the thread of the Rising Volt Tacklers story.
Part of our Pokémon Horizons: Rising Hope guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.