Every good thing must eventually come to an end. And on Pokémon, that means saying goodbye to the beloved hero Ash. After 25 years, Ash is leaving Pokémon. But that doesn’t mean the show is ending. On the contrary, a new story is beginning. And we still don’t know how Ash will play into it. Pokémon has shared a trailer for the “new animated Pokémon series” that will dawn. Meet Riko, Loy, their Pokémon, and the rest of the gang that will step in as Pokémon’s new heroes. Those are bigger sneakers to fill, but we’re excited to see what happens next. Especially since we now have a release date for this new Pokémon show.
Pokémon Horizons: The Series
In a trailer for the new iteration of Pokémon, fans learned the official name for the post-Ash adventures. The new Pokémon series is called Pokémon Horizons: The Series, and it’s teasing mysterious adventures linked to a special pendant that shares a bond with our new heroes.
Pokémon Horizons‘ New Heroes
We also know a little bit more about who we’ll meet in Pokémon Horizons: The Series, thanks to a different trailer for the new Pokémon show. There’s Liko, “the girl with the awe-inspiring pendent.” We bet evil will be trying to snag that. And Roy, “the boy with the mysterious Poké Ball.” Surely, a match made in heaven. These two will be our new Pokémon protagonists in the series.
Joining them are Friede and Captain Pikachu. Friede, we learn, is a Pokémon professor. Captain Pikachu is clearly a boss. We also see a lot of t he Gen. 9 starters we met in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet in this new series trailer. Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly were instant fan favorites, so we’re not surprised they show up. And we’re excited to see them in action. Liko, whose partner Pokémon appears to be Sprigatito, and Roy, whose partner Pokémon is Fuecoc, may have a more traditional start to their Pokémon journey than Ash did, but we know we have twists in store. We wonder, for instance, what role Quaxly will have to play.
Additional new characters for Pokémon Horizons have also been revealed.
Per Comicbook, these images include Orla and her Metagross, Murdock and his Rockruff, Mollie and her Chansey, and Ludlow.
We may even meet some mysterious new Pokémon on the journey.
And it seems like they’ll cross over into the Pokémon games, like the upcoming Pokémon Scarlet and Violet DLC expansion The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero.
Pokémon‘s New Villains
Okay, so we can’t say for sure these are the villains, but they certainly do seem villainesque. According to Crunchyroll, this new post-Ash Pokémon trailer introduces us to Amethyo and his Pokémon Ceruledge, as well as Zir, whose Pokémon is Rhydon and Conia, whose Pokémon is Golduck. It sounds like these three belong to a new organization called “The Explorers.” Since Team Rocket has officially waved goodbye to Pokémon, we will need someone to stir up trouble.
There’s also a fourth mysterious Pokémon character called Gurumin, who wears a Nidorina kigurumi. Makes total sense to us!
If these are Pokémon’s newest villains, we can’t wait to learn more about them soon. We’ll have to wait to learn their identities and goals.
The New Pokémon Series’ Release Date
But at least we know how long we’ll have to keep patience since we now have the release date for Pokémon Horizons: The Series. The new series will premiere in Japan with an hour-long special on April 14. It feels strange to have Pokémon without Ash, but it’s always fun to try something new.
Originally published March 3, 2023.
