HZ068

(Japanese: 新たなる空へ！ブレイブアサギ号！！ To a New Sky! !!) is the 68th episode of Pokémon Horizons: The Series, and the 1,300th episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on October 11, 2024.
==Plot==
Outside Naranja Academy, Liko, Roy, and Dot are talking with Raifort. The history teacher tells the children about the land of Kitakami and suggests they should visit it to meet a teacher named Briar, who's a researcher studying everything about . No sooner has the conversation ended when the Brave Olivine, now fully repaired, arrives at the school to pick the children up. The group reunites with the Rising Volt Tacklers aboard the airship, and they set sail towards new adventures aboard their upgraded vessel.
The next morning, Liko wakes up in her room and meets up with Roy and Dot atop the airship, where they see a flying by. Interested to see what sort of upgrades the ship has received, despite still looking the same as before from the outside, the three of them decide to take a tour around the ship. Their first stop is the bridge, where they soon spot a big red button on the control panel, but Friede forbids them to press is, as it is something to only be used in an emergency. This makes Roy even more tempted to see what it does, but he manages to resist the temptation. They next stop by at the engine room, where Orla excitedly shows off some minor upgrades; the infirmary, where Mollie points out some upgrades her workspace has received as well; and the kitchen, which has experienced a big style change. spots what he thinks are three pieces of sushi and tries to eat one, only for all of them to attack back and reveal themselves as a trio of , which Roy scans with his Rotom Phone. Liko asks Murdock if they belong to him, but he says that the truth is more complicated than that. Before he can get into the details, however, the three Tatsugiri end up escaping the room, leaving the children and their Pokémon to follow after them around the airship. Finally, they stop to rest at the wing deck, declaring their tour a success. Friede approaches them with a briefcase containing Lucius's belt, which he's now returning to Liko's care. starts excitedly calling out at the s attached to the belt. In response, , , and all emerge from their respective balls and look at the children in a way that they interpret as a challenge. While intimidated at the idea of battling against some of the Six Heroes, their partner Pokémon's excitement wins them over, and they accept.
The Brave Olivine stops at a small rocky island in the middle of the ocean to allow the battle to occur. Liko and face Arboliva on the wing deck, Roy and Crocalor face Moltres on the island, and Dot and face Lapras near the shoreline. Floragato begins the confrontation by using to dodge Arboliva's blasts of oil before using , which Arboliva counters with the same move. Roy, meanwhile, gets Crocalor pumped up against the tough opponent and has him counter Moltres's with his own anger by using , successfully avoiding getting fatigued by the move before countering an with . Dot, at her end, has Quaxwell dodge Lapras's s with his graceful steps. Liko uses the cloud of leaves created by the Magical Leaf clash to have Floragato wrap her vine around Arboliva's arm and strike the with a supereffective display of . The hit triggers Arboliva's Ability and covers the field in a , which Liko takes as Arboliva telling her to hit harder. At the same time, Crocalor is being sent flying by Moltres's , but Roy manages to use this to his advantage by having Crocalor rise above Moltres and unleashing a supereffective at the Legendary Pokémon. At the shoreline, Dot uses the field of ice created by Lapras to have Quaxwell quickly get closer to his opponent by skating on the ice and hitting Lapras with a supereffective .
Liko, Roy, and Dot decide to press forward by using their Tera Orbs, stallizing their respective partners and attacking with Magical Leaf, , and . While the boosted moves make contact, their opponents are hardly fazed by them, showing how strong Lucius's Pokémon are. While Liko, Roy, and Dot are determined to keep going, Terapagos suddenly calls out to everyone, signaling an end to the battle and making the hero Pokémon return to their respective Ancient Poké Balls. As the Brave Olivine resumes its journey, the three children thank both the hero Pokémon and their partners for a good battle. Friede also compliments the three young s, noting that they too have evolved, in addition to their partners. With this test of strength now completed, Friede declares that they'll now head to the land of Kitakami to find out more about Terapagos and continue their search for the rest of the Six Heroes. Terapagos is happy to hear this, but then seems to sense something and silently gazes in the direction they're heading at.
At the Explorers base, Zirc and Onia meet up with Amethio. Despite Amethio having been dismissed from every mission now, his subordinates insist on staying by his side as his comrades. Feeling grateful, Amethio gladly accepts their loyalty and lets them continue following him. Later, Friede gazes out the bridge's window, happy to see that the upgraded Brave Olivine has managed to reach Kitakami in one flight. Meanwhile, a photographer named Perrin is looking for Pokémon to take pictures of, when suddenly moves past her camera's field of vision, surprising her.
==Major events==
* Liko, Roy, and Dot learn about the land of Kitakami and Briar, a researcher, from Raifort.
* The Brave Olivine's repairs are revealed to have been completed.
* Liko, Roy, and Dot reunite with the Rising Volt Tacklers and set off towards Kitakami.
* A group of three is revealed to have joined the Rising Volt Tacklers.
* Friede returns Lucius's Pokémon to Liko's care.
* Liko, Roy, and Dot have a with Lucius's , , and , which is called off by .
* Zirc and Onia join Amethio on his own mission despite him being on probation from the Explorers.
* The Rising Volt Tacklers arrive in Kitakami.
===Debuts===
====Humans====
* Perrin
====Pokémon debuts====
* ()
==Characters==
===Humans===
* Liko
* Roy
* Friede
* Mollie
* Orla
* Ludlow
* Murdock
* Dot
* Amethio
* Onia
* Zirc
* Raifort
* Perrin
* s
===Pokémon===
* (; stallized)
* ()
* (Liko's; Rotom Phone)
* (; stallized)
* ()
* (Roy's; Rotom Phone)
* ()
* (Friede's; Captain Pikachu)
* ()
* (Orla's)
* (Orla's)
* (Ludlow's)
* ()
* (; )
* (; stallized)
* ()
* (Dot's; Rotom Phone)
* ()
* (Onia's; Rotom Phone)
* (Zirc's; Rotom Phone)
* (; )
* (; Galarian Form)
* (; )
* (; shadow)
* (Raifort's)
* ('s)
* ('s)
* ('s)
* ('s)
* ('s)
* ('s)
* ('s)
* ('s)
* ('s)
* (s'; ×3; Rotom Phone)
* (Rising Volt Tacklers')
* (Rising Volt Tacklers')
* (Rising Volt Tacklers')
* (Rising Volt Tacklers')
* (Rising Volt Tacklers')
* (Rising Volt Tacklers')
* (Rising Volt Tacklers'; Alolan form)
* (Rising Volt Tacklers')
* (Rising Volt Tacklers')
* (Rising Volt Tacklers')
* (Rising Volt Tacklers'; )
* (Rising Volt Tacklers'; ×3; ; debut)
* (; )
* 
* (photo; ×3)
==Trivia==
* Professor Friede's Pokémon Seminar: "What does love to do?"
** Choices: Cuddling, giving rides, slapping
** Answer: Giving rides
* The first eyecatch features the wild Pokémon aboard the Brave Olivine, and the second features Liko and .
** The three have been added to the group of Brave Olivine's Pokémon shown in the eyecatch.
* This is the first episode of the Rayquaza Rising chapter.
* The episode title card is updated to include Roy's Crocalor.
* Immediately after resisting the urge to push the Brave Olivine's emergency button, Roy does the transformation pose of .
* flying past the airship could be a reference to the "traveling between regions" animation in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.
* As of this episode, is the only type that's not represented by a Pokémon living aboard the Brave Olivine, including those owned by the Rising Volt Tacklers.
* Only One Story replaces as the Japanese opening theme.
* Sparkle! replaces Let me battle as the Japanese ending theme.
* Liko, Crocalor, Dot, and Roy narrate the preview for the next episode.
===Errors===
===Dub edits===
==In other languages==
068
Category:Episodes written by Kureha Matsuzawa
Category:Episodes storyboarded by Hiromasa Amano
Category:Episodes directed by Fumihiro Ueno
Category:Episodes animated by Takashi Shinohara
Category:Episodes in which a Legendary Pokémon appears
de:Aratanaru Sora e! Brave Asagi Gō!!
es:EP1304
fr:LH068
it:OP068
ja:2023年版第68話
zh:宝可梦 地平线 第68集