HZ001

The Pendant That Starts It All (Part One) (Japanese: はじまりのペンダント　前編 The Pendant of Beginning, Part 1) is the first episode of Pokémon Horizons: The Series, and the 1,233rd episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on April 14, 2023 as a one-hour special alongside HZ002, in the United Kingdom on December 1, 2023, in Australia on February 27, 2024, in Canada on March 2, 2024, and in the United States on March 7, 2024. It was initially intended to air in the United States on February 23, 2024, but was rescheduled. The first 11 minutes of the English dub of the episode were shown as a special preview at on July 20, 2023, and were subsequently uploaded to YouTube the same day.
==Blurb==
Leaving her home in Paldea, Liko travels to Kanto to enroll in Indigo Academy and become a Pokémon Trainer. She’s nervous but also excited to learn new things about herself and the world. After Liko meets her roommate, Ann, both girls receive their partner Pokémon: Ann is overjoyed to get Oshawott, but Liko seems disappointed when her partner is Sprigatito, a Pokémon from Paldea. Still, Liko attempts to befriend the Pokémon, and they eventually begin to bond. But one day, a mysterious young man approaches Liko, claiming to have a letter from her grandma. He also seems interested in Liko’s pendant, but Liko is suspicious…
==Plot==
A young girl named Liko arrives at a bus stop on , but her shyness keeps her from talking with the other girls waiting there. Even as she boards the bus and sees other girls watching a video by the internet celebrity known as Nidothing, whom she's a fan of, she finds herself incapable of finding the right words to talk with them. Instead, she opts to looking out of the window and marveling at all the Kanto Pokémon she's seeing for the first time.
The bus eventually arrives at Indigo Academy. Liko goes to her room and meets her roommate, a girl named Ann, in the middle of turning the room upside down to find her missing toothbrush, adding to the awkwardness of the situation. The two introduce themselves to each other, with Liko revealing she's from the Paldea region, having come to study at Indigo Academy because her parents had once studied here as well. Ann feels jealous of her, having never been outside of Kanto herself. As they later watch a Pokémon battle outside, Ann expresses her excitement at receiving her own first partner Pokémon during the entrance ceremony, though Liko has been too nervous to think about it. That night, Liko, too nervous to sleep, writes a diary entry on her Rotom Pad, describing her first day at school and expressing her anticipation at getting to meet her partner Pokémon.
The entrance ceremony takes place the next day. Following the headmistress giving a welcoming speech, the new students gather in a classroom, where each of them gets a Pokédex installed on their Rotom Phone, before being allowed to come in front of the class in turns to pick up their partner Pokémon. Ann eagerly chooses as her partner, while Liko nervously picks . She finds her new partner cute, but Sprigatito simply scratches her when she tries to pet her and runs off. Liko chases after Sprigatito, following her sweet scent to a rooftop. Sprigatito hops toward Liko, but when she tries to catch the , they both end up falling down. Fortunately, their landing is softened by a . While following Sprigatito to a lake, she stops to look at the beautiful sunset. However, Sprigatito still refuses to be held by her, shattering Liko's expectations of meeting a perfect partner.
After an unsuccessful attempt at having her first battle with Ann, Liko secretly sneaks out at night to try to Sprigatito's by the lake, though without success. Upon returning, she takes out a box from underneath her bed and opens it to reveal a pendant. Ann, having woken up without her noticing, approaches her and asks her about the pendant. Liko explains that it's a gift from her grandmother, meant to work as a good-luck charm to keep her safe, though she doesn't feel old enough to wear it yet. The next day, Liko is too distracted by her own thoughts to notice Ann pointing out an airship in the distance, instead expressing her envy towards how well Ann and Oshawott are coming along. Following Ann's advice, Liko starts trying to learn more about Sprigatito in order to understand her better and hopefully learn what they both want to do. On the roof, Liko tries to catch Sprigatito in her hands again and succeeds, although she, having a tendency to lose her footing on occasion, falls down onto the ground. They also continue their secret nightly training, though Sprigatito's fickle nature isn't making it easy. Meanwhile, a group of people searches around the school for her, albeit with little success.
Eventually, a school break arrives. Ann heads home to show off her Oshawott, while Liko plans to stay at the school. After seeing Ann off, she encounters a young man named Amethio, who hands her a letter, saying it's from her grandmother and asking for her to bring her her precious pendant. Liko, feeling suspicious about the man, goes to her room to supposedly get ready. Feeling that something isn't right, she takes her pendant and climbs out the window to escape. Entering the room only moments later, Amethio sees that Liko is gone and alerts his comrades to be on the lookout for her. One of them, Onia, notices her, while a man named Zirc confronts her and calls out his . Since Sprigatito isn't strong enough to fight Rhydon, Liko instead has her blind Rhydon with Leafage and then use her relaxing scent to put it to sleep. She flees onto a rooftop, but is cornered by Amethio, who demands that she hand over her pendant. Suddenly, a man swoops down from the sky on his , saying that he also has business with Liko. Amethio decides to settle things with a Pokémon battle, sending out his to confront Charizard and telling his comrades to stand back.
As the battle between the two Pokémon commences, Liko, while thoroughly confused by everything that's going on, decides to get away in order to prevent the school from being caught in the crossfire. During her escape, she needs to jump over a gap between rooftops. She gathers her courage and takes the leap of faith, just as a from Ceruledge is deflected by Charizard and sent careening towards her. Suddenly, her pendant starts to glow brightly, and she becomes surrounded by a green, hexagon-patterned sphere of energy, protecting her and suspending her mid-air.
==Major events==
* Liko, a beginner from Paldea, enrolls in Indigo Academy in Kanto and meets Ann, a fellow student.
* Ann chooses as her first partner Pokémon
* Liko receives a Pokédex for her Rotom Phone and a as her first partner Pokémon.
* Liko has her first Pokémon battle with Ann, which gets called off.
* Liko meets Amethio and gets on the radar of the mysterious Explorers organization.
* Liko meets Friede for the first time.
===Debuts===
====Humans====
* Liko
* Rising Volt Tacklers
** Friede
** Mollie
** Orla
** Ludlow
** Murdock
* Explorers
** Amethio
** Onia
** Zirc
* Nidothing (video)
* Ann
* Liko's homeroom teacher
====Pokémon debuts====
* ()
* (Rising Volt Tacklers'; video)
* ()
* 
* 
* Friede's Charizard
==Characters==
===Humans===
* Liko
* Friede
* Mollie
* Orla
* Ludlow
* Murdock
* Nidothing (video)
* Amethio
* Onia
* Zirc
* Ann
* Liko's homeroom teacher (flashback)
* Teachers
* Students
===Pokémon===
* (; new; debut)
* (Liko's; Rotom Phone)
* ()
* (Friede's; Rotom Phone)
* (Orla's; Rotom Phone)
* (Ludlow's; Rotom Phone)
* (Murdock's; Rotom Phone)
* (; debut)
* (Amethio's; Rotom Phone)
* (Onia's; Rotom Phone)
* (Zirc's)
* (Ann's; new)
* (Ann's; Rotom Phone)
* (Rising Volt Tacklers'; video; debut)
* (students'; ×3; one new)
* (student's)
* (student's)
* (student's)
* (student's)
* (student's)
* (student's)
* (student's)
* (student's)
* (student's)
* (student's)
* (student's)
* (student's; new)
* (students'; ×2; one new)
* (student's; new)
* (student's; new)
* (students'; ×3; one new)
* (student's; new)
* (students'; ×2; one new)
* (students'; ×2; one new)
* (student's; new)
* (students'; ×2; one new)
* (student's; new)
* (student's; new)
* (student's; new)
* (student's; new)
* (student's)
* (student's)
* (student's)
* (student's)
* (student's)
* (student's)
* (student's)
* (student's)
* (student's)
* (student's)
* (student's)
* (student's)
* (student's)
* (student's)
* (student's)
* (student's)
* (students'; multiple)
* (gardener's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainers'; ×3)
* (Trainer's)
* (first partner Pokémon; flashback)
* (first partner Pokémon; flashback)
* (first partner Pokémon; flashback)
* (first partner Pokémon; flashback)
* (first partner Pokémon; flashback)
* (first partner Pokémon; flashback)
* (debut)
* (; ×3)
* (×3)
* 
* (×3)
* 
* (×2)
* (debut)
* (Galarian Form; ×3)
* (Galarian Form)
* 
* 
* 
* (×4)
* 
* 
* 
* 
* (multiple)
* 
* (×4)
* 
* 
* 
* 
* ()
* (multiple)
* 
* 
* (×3)
* (multiple)
* (multiple)
* (×3)
* (multiple)
==Trivia==
* This is the first episode of the Liko and Roy's Departure chapter.
* The title text for this episode is shown over the background directly, instead of a separate title card segment. Hence, no one reads the title card for this epsiode.
* This is the first main series episode:
** Where and are not listed as protagonists, and the first main series episode where the Team Rocket trio are not listed as antagonists.
** To not feature a male protagonist in any capacity.
** Since Securing the Future! to not have a separate title card segment.
* Liko's capture of marks the first time:
** Where a female main character has obtained a first partner Pokémon since her in Grass Hysteria!, 885 episodes earlier.
** That a female main character has obtained her first Pokémon outside her home region.
** That a main character has received a Grass-type first partner Pokémon as their first Pokémon.
** That a main character obtains a Pokémon in the first episode of a new series since obtained her in Following A Maiden's Voyage!, 766 episodes earlier.
* This episode marks the first time that:
** has been used in the animated series since Cilan Versus Trip, Ash Versus Georgia!, 536 episodes earlier.
** A female main character has obtained a Pokédex since received her second one in All Eyes on the Future!, 341 episodes earlier.
** A recurring character, who isn't a rival, has officially obtained a first partner Pokémon outside its native region, not counting temporary captures.
* This episode introduces 11 named recurring characters, the most such characters introduced in a single episode since Showdown in Pewter City, 1,228 episodes earlier, which also introduced 11 named recurring characters.
* This and the next episode are the first two-part episode since Rocking the Virbank Gym! Part 1 and Rocking the Virbank Gym! Part 2, aired almost 11 years earlier.
* This episode marks the first appearance of a in the since Dewpider Ascending!, 223 episodes earlier.
** This episode also marks the first appearance of a in the animated series since Battle Royal 151!, 165 episodes earlier.
* As of this episode:
** A first partner Pokémon of all three type options has been obtained by a main character in the first episode of a new series at least once.
** All three types of the first partner Pokémon have been chosen by a female main character as their first Pokémon.
** The voice actors are listed in the credits in alphabetical order by their first names rather than their last names.
*** Additionally, this is the first time Sarah Natochenny is listed in the "Additional Voices" credits.
* The relationship of Liko and her Sprigatito throughout the episode is reminiscent of Ash and Pikachu's during the very first episode of the animated series, as both s struggle to deal with their first partner Pokémon.
* The backpacks the other students are wearing are designed after the ones from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.
* During the initial airing of this episode, due to it airing as a one-hour special with the next episode, the end credits, the "To Be Continued" text, and the next episode preview were not present at the end of the episode. In addition, the title didn't include "Part 1".
* For this episode, the ese, n, ese Mandarin, Cantonese, and releases use generic animated series music during the ending credits, with the credits appearing on an out-of-focus shot of the school as the background. Other language releases use the instrumental version of Becoming Me as the ending theme (except n dubs which use the original song Boom Kaboom) with the regular animation sequence.
* 's voice is dubbed for the first time in this episode.
* Starting from this episode until HZ044, Nidothing and narrate the next episode previews.
===Errors===
* Before leaving Liko's dorm room, the white portion of Amethio's hair is missing some of its triangle shapes.
* In the dub:
** Poliwhirl's cry with its English name is left undubbed, in contrast to the other Pokémon which had their cries dubbed with their Hindi names. 
** Liko's grandmother is referred to as her दादी dādī (father's mother) instead of नानी nānī (mother's mother).
* In the Bengali dub, the audio of Liko reading the title card out loud is delayed, playing when Liko walks up to the school instead of when the title text is on-screen.
Amethio Rotom Phone.png|Missing triangles on Amethio's hair
===Dub edits===
* The BBC release removes the shot of Liko and jumping from the roof.
* In the dubs, Liko reads the title out loud.
==In other languages==
001
Category:Milestone episodes
Category:Episodes written by Dai Satō
Category:Episodes storyboarded and directed by Saori Den
Category:Episodes storyboarded by Saori Den
Category:Episodes storyboarded by Tetsuo Yajima
Category:Episodes by multiple storyboarders
Category:Episodes directed by Saori Den
Category:Episodes animated by Yuki Masutani
Category:Episodes animated by Toshiko Nakaya
Category:Episodes animated by Natsumi Hattori
Category:Episodes animated by Izumi Shimura
Category:Episodes by multiple animation directors
Category:Episodes in which a main character is introduced
Category:Episodes in which a main character obtains a new Pokémon
Category:Episodes focusing on Liko
Category:Episodes which aired in the United Kingdom before the United States
Category:Episodes which aired in Australia before the United States
Category:Episodes which aired in Canada before the United States
de:Der Anhänger, mit dem alles anfängt! Teil I
es:EP1237
fr:LH001
it:OP001
ja:2023年版第1話
zh:宝可梦 地平线 第1集