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| Season | Pokémon Horizons: Rising Hope (Horizons Season 3) · The final battle at Laqua arc (HZ133–HZ136) |
| Episode | Horizons Season 3, episode 46 · English episode 1359 · Japanese episode 1368 · Bulbapedia code HZ135 |
| English title | The Core Awakens |
| Japanese title | 覚醒！滅びのラクリウム・コア Kakusei! Horobi no Rakuriumu Koa — “Awakening! The Catastrophic Rakurium Core” |
| First aired (Japan) | 24 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 | One Step Closer (HZ134) |
| Next episode | Stellar Finale (HZ136) |
Plot episodeThe Laquium Core awakensThe admins defect
The Core Awakens is the 46th episode of Pokémon Horizons: Rising Hope, the third season of the Pokémon anime, and the 1359th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 1368, Bulbapedia code HZ135). It first aired in Japan on 24 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
As Pagogo begins erasing the Laquium Core, Coral, Sidian and Chalce turn against Spinel, but Spinel merges with the Core, which awakens into a self-repairing crystal monster that resists every attack and forces the Tacklers to search desperately for a weakness. Pagogo takes its Stellar Form and Terastallizes the eighteen representatives, freezing them in place, and Spinel orders his agents to attack the immobilised Pokémon. Roy, Ult and Friede try to protect them, but Lucario and Sableye are worn out and Charizard is knocked out, and Indi and Rubina send out Electrode to use Explosion. Penny’s Sylveon blocks most of the blast with Reflect and Disarming Voice but faints, and with one representative gone, Pagogo falters — until Chalce, Coral and Sidian arrive. Coral tells Spinel she is finished taking his orders and Terastallizes her Scream Tail, Screamypuff, to replace Sylveon as the Fairy type, stabilising Pagogo; Chalce declares they are no longer Spinel’s servants, Sidian says Strong Spheres have no future, and Coral makes clear the alliance is a one-time arrangement.
As Pagogo resonates with the eighteen Pokémon and starts erasing the crystals, Spinel calls the betrayal proof that people and Pokémon always turn on each other and that bonds are meaningless, since Laquium has already spread worldwide through the spheres. Liko replies that Laquium need not divide people and Pokémon and that everyone will eventually see it, and her friends agree. Increasingly unstable, Spinel refuses to let the Core be erased even at the cost of his life; he embraces the crystals, which grow around and absorb him as his Umbreon looks on in alarm. A crystal spear strikes Pagogo, reverting it to Terastal Form and halting the purification, a tower of crystals rises, and the Core climbs to its top. Friede realises the Core increased its energy in response to the purification, and Spinel’s determination has brought the Laquium to life.
The Terastallized Pokémon, Lucario and Sableye attack together, but the Core is unharmed and a burst of energy ends all their Terastallizations. Liko walks towards the Core, saying that stumbling and failing is not the same as losing, and that as long as they keep moving forward they will find hope. Laquium mist is blown back by Galarian Moltres and Corviknight, Meowscarada, Skeledirge and Ceruledge shield the group from erupting crystals, and Zygarde, in Complete Forme, shoots down pursuing tentacles and joins Rayquaza in Thousand Arrows and Draco Meteor. Dot’s Quaquaval and Lucius’s Lapras build an ice barrier against the crystal flower’s barrage, and Cap’s Rising Volt Tackle creates a vortex that stops it. Liko notices the Core always targets whoever hit it last; Dot deduces that the central sphere is both its weak point and adapting to each attack, so Dragonite’s Hyper Beam fails. They will have only one chance, with their strongest moves, before the Core becomes invincible.
Major Events
- The Core awakens. Pagogo’s Stellar Form Terastallizes the eighteen
- Penny’s Sylveon faints and Coral’s Scream Tail replaces it as the admins defect
- Spinel merges with the Laquium Core, which awakens
- No eyecatches
- An instrumental of Only One Story plays
Trivia
- The screenplay is by Kureha Matsuzawa.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Rising Volt Tacklers storyline.
Changes in the English Dub
- An instrumental of Only One Story plays
Part of our Pokémon Horizons: Rising Hope guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.