HZ029

Orla and the Poké Ball Smith (Japanese: オリオとモンスターボール職人 and the Craftsman) is the 29th episode of Pokémon Horizons: The Series, and the 1,261st episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on November 17, 2023, in the United Kingdom on May 27, 2024, in sub-Saharan Africa on June 27, 2024, and in the United States on August 9, 2024.
==Blurb==
Searching for information about Ancient Poké Balls, the Rising Volt Tacklers visit an artisan Poké Ball factory. The Poké Ball maker, Karna, creates unique designs, but her lack of diligence causes her factory to produce disappointing results. Jumping into action, Orla begins repairing the machinery, and Karna is so impressed that she invites Orla to stay behind and work in the factory. Meanwhile, as Roy practices throwing Poké Balls outside, he accidentally angers a group of Galarian Weezing. The wild Pokémon go on the attack, but Friede challenges Orla to engineer a solution—will it work?
==Plot==
As the Brave Olivine heads to the place mentioned by Tepen, Roy apologizes to Orla for the hole he made while practicing his Poké Ball throwing. Orla tells Roy to do that kind of thing outside because of the crucial wiring running through the ship. The other Rising Volt Tacklers inform Orla about other things that aren't working right around the ship. Liko notices how overworked Orla is as the latter marches off to take care of the ship. 
The ship arrives at their stop, a . Friede, Liko, and Roy look over to Orla, who immediately believes the factory is in poor condition. Friede points out that Orla has particular standards when it comes to machinery as a whole. Just then, an explosion is heard from inside. The shadow with glowing blue eyes that comes running out reveals itself as a young girl, who invites the group inside. She offers to make them tea, and as she pulls out a kettle from a pile of things, it ends up falling on top of her. She bursts out of the pile with the kettle, and Liko thinks she is pretty lively. Liko then notices and picks up a that rolls off the pile, which the factory girl points out is actually a recreation of one. She shakes hands with Liko and introduces herself as Karna. 
Karna's heats up the kettle for the tea. As the group has it with Karna, she apologizes for Tepen's dishonesty. Liko asks if she makes Poké Balls, and Karna answers that it is her passion. Roy has Karna take a look at his ancient Poké Ball, and she is immediately amazed by it. She is unable to tell Roy more about it but points to a box full of out-of-the-box prototypes she has made. As Friede and Liko admire Karna's optimism, she lets Roy have the box to practice his throwing. Noticing Karna's Poké Ball making machine malfunctioning again, Orla asks Karna if she has kept up with maintenance. When Karna gets confused by the question, Orla wastes no time in repairing everything wrong with the machine. Karna switches it on, and stylish silver Poké Balls come out. Orla points out that with the proper care, machines can work as good as new.
Roy tries out some of the Poké Balls Karna gave him. First, he tries out the Rocket Ball, which flies in a straight line. Next, he tries the Boomerang Ball, which comes back around and hits him in the face. Finally, he tries out the Bomb-Bomb Ball, which explodes as he is about to throw it. A draped in shadow watches Roy from behind a tree. Back at the ship, Friede tells the others how Orla has warmed up to Karna and won't be back for a while. Mollie thinks Orla needs a breather because of her demands from Friede, who hears this and blames Murdock, who blames Mollie. Diana just smiles and remarks that it is everyone's fault. Liko holds up one of the silver Poke Balls Karna made, giving a less-than-impressive pep talk to herself. Magby shoots flames into the furnace, making Karna's Poké Ball mass production go faster thanks to Orla's idea of having the Pokémon help out too. Orla also compliments Karna on how beautiful the Poké Balls are. When Liko enters, Karna proposes that Orla stay in her factory and work with her. Liko becomes nervous at the possibility of Orla leaving the crew. 
Roy is still getting nowhere with the Poké Ball prototypes. He decides to try out the Chase Ball, this time reading the instructions first. The Chase Ball hits something but fails to open, and the Galarian Weezing comes out, chasing Roy and . Meanwhile, Liko wonders if Orla is going to stay and work with Karna at her factory. Remembering how overworked Orla seemed to be before, she reluctantly asks her if every day is fun for her. Orla claims that it is fun, even if it is a lot to handle sometimes. Orla tells Liko that she used to have a nice, fulfilling, and stress-free job at a shipyard in Slateport City. Even though it was nice, she often found herself questioning her true ambitions. Back when Friede asked her to turn Ludlow’s boat into the Brave Olivine, she saw this as an opportunity to put her skills to the ultimate test. By the time she finished her work on the ship, she realized what she really wanted to do. 
However, just as Orla is about to tell Liko what that was, Roy comes running to the factory with the angered Weezing hot on his tail. Fuecoco gets hit and by the 's . After an ineffective from , Weezing retaliates with a supereffective . Liko becomes worried knowing that Weezing is a type, which has the advantage over Sprigatito. Orla sends out , who, being a type, is immune to Poison-type attacks. Weezing continues the assault using Strange Steam, which Metagross blocks by spinning. Metagross then knocks the Poison Gas Pokémon far away with a supereffective . Karna praises Orla, but Fuecoco, having snapped out of its Confusion, notices Weezing come back with an army of Weezing. However, Captain Pikachu comes down from above and knocks out all the Weezing with , Friede having arrived on the scene. However, more Weezing just keep coming.
Friede looks at the smoke coming out of the top of the factory, getting an idea. He tells Orla to boost the output of the machinery to what it can't handle. Orla is reluctant at first but decides to try anyway. With that, Orla runs inside and has Karna help her out. Magby shoots flames to power the furnace while Elekid feeds it electricity. As Metagross holds the machine together with , Orla contacts Friede and tells him that the machine can't handle much more, but Friede is still positive that it will work. Karna is worried, but Orla, having decided to trust Friede, knows he has some kind of plan. With the machine past its limit, it lets off a giant smoke cloud that shoots out from the top of the factory, making all the Weezing stop their attack. As they go to feed on the smoke cloud, Liko scans Galarian Weezing with her Pokédex, which says that it feeds off contaminated particles in the air. As the Weezing calm down from the meal and let off clean steam, Orla remarks that it's just like Friede to come up with that kind of crazy plan.
At sunset, Orla makes a pipe on the factory for the Weezing to eat the smoke out of. Orla declines Karna's offer to work with her at her factory. Karna understands and gives Orla something to remember her by, a silver Poké Ball, only it has blue ornaments on it. After departing from Karna's Poké Ball factory, Orla tells Liko that she really wanted to do things she has never done before. She knew she'd have plenty of chances to do so when getting on the ship. Liko agrees, knowing it was undoubtedly the same for her. The other Rising Volt Tacklers proceed to inform Orla about things that aren't working right around the ship again, but this time, Orla takes it with a smile. Liko and Orla exit the engine room, Orla grabbing her toolbox to reveal the special Poké Ball Karna gave her.
==Major events==
===Debuts===
====Pokémon debuts====
==Characters==
===Humans===
* Liko
* Roy
* Friede
* Mollie
* Orla
* Ludlow (flashback)
* Murdock
* Dot (video)
* Diana
* Karna
===Pokémon===
* ()
* (Liko's; Rotom Phone)
* ()
* ()
* (Friede's; Captain Pikachu)
* (Orla's; flashback)
* (Orla's)
* (Orla's)
* (Orla's; Rotom Phone)
* (Karna's)
* (Karna's; Rotom Phone)
* (Rising Volt Tacklers')
* (; )
* (Galarian Form; multiple)
==Trivia==
* Professor Friede's Pokémon Seminar: In what state does air exit 's protuberance?
** Choices: Clean, dirty, poison gas
** Answer: Clean
* The first eyecatch features Orla and her , and the second features Roy and his .
* The preview trailer for this episode was accidentally posted two days early on the official Pokémon Anime Twitter. This was later followed with an apology.https://twitter.com/anipoke_PR/status/1722196262093767068
* Prior to the episode's airing, Liko's voice actress, Minori Suzuki, confirmed in an interview that Orla would have an episode focused on her.Minori Suzuki’s interview
* Despite having debuted in Dig Those Diglett!, 1,230 episodes earlier, and made regular appearances throughout the original series as one of James's Pokémon, this episode marks the first time that has received a Pokédex entry in the .
===Errors===
* In release on BBC iPlayer, Google Play, and iTunes, the title is formatted as ORLA AND THE Poké Ball SMITH instead of ORLA AND THE POKÉ BALL SMITH, like the Netflix and other international releases.
HZ029 title card error UK.png|The title card error in the UK releases
HZ029 title card.png|The correct title card in international releases
===Dub edits===
==References==
==In other languages==
029
Category:Episodes written by Naohiro Fukushima
Category:Episodes storyboarded by Noriaki Saitō
Category:Episodes directed by Yoshihiko Iwata
Category:Episodes animated by Yoshitaka Yanagihara
Category:Episodes animated by Masaya Ōnishi
Category:Episodes animated by Hiromi Sakai
Category:Episodes by multiple animation directors
Category:Episodes in which a Legendary Pokémon appears
Category:Episodes which aired in the United Kingdom before the United States
Category:Episodes which aired in South Africa before the United States
de:Orla und die Pokéball-Schmiedin
es:EP1265
fr:LH029
it:OP029
ja:2023年版第29話
zh:宝可梦 地平线 第29集