 |
|
| Season | Pokémon Horizons: Rising Hope (Horizons Season 3) · The final battle at Laqua arc (HZ133–HZ136) |
| Episode | Horizons Season 3, episode 45 · English episode 1358 · Japanese episode 1367 · Bulbapedia code HZ134 |
| English title | One Step Closer |
| Japanese title | 頂上決戦！メガシンカ！！ Chōjō Kessen! Mega Shinka!! — “Showdown at the Summit! Mega Evolution!!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 17 April 2026 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 18 September 2026 · Netflix |
| Screenplay | Kureha Matsuzawa |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Aioraito (Iolite) – Eve · Nete mo Samete mo (Asleep or Awake) – Polkadot Stingray |
| English opening | Evolving Again – Haven Paschall |
| Previous episode | The Final Battle Is Near (HZ133) |
| Next episode | The Core Awakens (HZ135) |
Plot episodeZygarde’s Complete FormeThe eighteen assembled
One Step Closer is the 45th episode of Pokémon Horizons: Rising Hope, the third season of the Pokémon anime, and the 1358th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 1367, Bulbapedia code HZ134). It first aired in Japan on 17 April 2026 and in the United States on 18 September 2026. It falls within the season’s The final battle at Laqua stretch (EP133–EP136).
Released on Netflix in the US on Friday 18 September 2026 with the rest of Part 4; BBC iPlayer had premiered it in the UK on 20 July 2026 and ABC iview released it in Australia on 4 September 2026.
Synopsis
Roy, Ult and Friede defeat the Explorers admins in their Mega Evolution battle, Amethio’s White Zygarde regains its Complete Forme to calm Laquium-crazed wild Pokémon at the Core, and with the Six Heroes’ arrival all eighteen Tera Type Pokémon are finally assembled atop Mount Pericarp. Glalie’s Blizzard freezes Mega Lucario Z’s hands, so Ult has Sableye’s gem shield redirect the icy blast onto nearby rocks; then Sableye bounces Confuse Ray off the frozen rocks to confuse Glalie and Aerodactyl, and Friede’s Mega Starmie hits both with a Psybeam that ricochets off Sableye’s gem. Lucario fights Mega Medicham with the Aura appendages on its head, shatters its frozen hands blocking a Zen Headbutt, and lands Aerial Ace just as Medicham’s Mega Evolution ends. Coral laughs that, unlike PR work and Strong Spheres, this battle is fun, and Sidian’s blood is pumping; Coral orders Self-Destruct, and Friede has Starmie use Double-Edge in front of Sableye, explaining that Mega Glalie’s Refrigerate makes the explosion Ice-type.
Sidian admits that frequent sphere use has damaged his bond with his Pokémon and kept them from Mega Evolution’s full power, and concedes defeat. Chalce refuses, boosting Medicham with a Strong Sphere and claiming it wants this, but Roy replies that Medicham really wants Chalce herself; noticing Medicham’s changed style, Chalce sees how much it does for her just before Aerial Ace defeats it, and she embraces it. At the centre of Laqua, Liko, Ann, Diana and Cap reunite with Amethio, Zirc and Onia at the fenced-off Core, and Spinel switches on devices that agitate it. Pagogo shields the group from the mist, but wild Pokémon rampage, the retreating Explorers flee the mist, and Liko’s Armarouge, Ann’s Sandslash, Amethio’s Zygarde, Arcanine, Rhydon and Golduck try to calm them, helped by Rhydon’s Sandstorm — a lesson Zirc learned from Nidothing — Sand Attack and Hypnosis, while Meowscarada and Hatterene heal the weakened Pokémon.
Spinel agitates the Core further; Cap rides Pagogo, protected by Protect, to destroy the devices with Volt Tackle, while an Onix and Gliscor knock out Armarouge, Arcanine and Sandslash. Amethio raises the Zygarde Cube and calls on Gibeon; the Cells he has gathered and those Zygarde left in Laqua combine, and Power Construct transforms it into its Complete Forme to calm the flying Pokémon. Cap destroys the last device, Pagogo purifies the wild Pokémon, and Zygarde’s Cells carry them to safety. Dot, Nemona, Penny, Roy, Ult and Friede arrive, and Spinel appears with Indi and Rubina. In Pericarp Town, Mighty G calms rampaging Pokémon with hugs, Mollie, Murdock and Orla treat and shelter affected Pokémon, and the townspeople, to Yuha’s delight, see that the Tacklers are not villains. The Black Rayquaza and the other Heroes arrive, and Liko sends out the eighteen. This is the first anime Mega Evolution undone mid-battle, and the last Mega Nidothing segment airs.
Major Events
- The eighteen assembled. Roy, Ult and Friede beat the three Mega-Evolving admins
- Zygarde regains its Complete Forme through Power Construct
- Captain Pikachu destroys Spinel’s devices
- Mighty G calms Pericarp Town
- The Six Heroes arrive
- The first Mega Evolution undone mid-battle
- The last Mega Nidothing segment
Trivia
- The screenplay is by Kureha Matsuzawa.
- 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.