Roy: the island boy who caught the black Rayquaza

He had never left his island and learned about training from videos. Roy is one of the two protagonists of Pokémon Horizons: a boy from Kanto who sings, runs, climbs, and carries a Poké Ball that nobody, himself included, knows the contents of. His dream fits in one sentence handed down from his grandfather: to see a Legendary Pokémon with his own eyes. He ends up catching one.

Contents

• An island off Kanto and a Ball that won't open
• Fuecoco, a meeting that comes down to a song
• Singing, his real training method
• The Terastal course, or the art of learning by losing
• The Black Rayquaza: from obsession to capture
• After Laqua: Kalos, Lucario and a Mega Bracelet
• Roy at a glance
• Frequently Asked Questions

An island off Kanto and a Ball that won't open

Roy grows up on a remote island off Kanto that he has never left. His parents, both sailors, used to take him out to sea on their boat and sing with him on board: his love of singing comes from those trips at sea. The day the couple leaves for a very long work voyage, the boy is left in the care of his paternal grandfather.

He is so isolated that Roy doesn't even leave the island to go to school: he takes his classes online with other kids in the same situation. No Trainers live there, so he never learns the basics of training and makes do with watching videos. Yet he never feels lonely, because singing is enough to bond with the wild Pokémon around him.

His grandfather, for his part, fills his grandson's childhood with stories, including one about an adventurer of old who supposedly traveled the world, crossed paths with Legendaries and brought back treasures from unexplored places — Roy immediately makes it his own plan. Shortly before his parents leave, the old man also entrusts him with an object nobody knows anything about: a Ball he calls the "Ancient Poké Ball," which stubbornly refuses to open.

Fuecoco, a meeting that comes down to a song

It all starts after a storm. Roy goes down to check the beach on his island, finds an airship's flag there, then comes across a small Pokémon in the middle of singing: Fuecoco. Startled, it runs off and nearly tumbles over the edge of a cliff; the boy catches it just in time.

Roy then compliments the way it sings, and that's enough to break down its wariness: the Fire-type Pokémon agrees to sing with him, something it almost never allows. That same day puts him on the path of Liko, then of the Rising Volt Tacklers, the airship's crew, which includes Professor Friede.

The capture itself is anything but ordinary. When Roy asks Fuecoco to become his Pokémon, it's the Pokémon that hands him a Poké Ball, which it had been carrying in its mouth all along. Friede then invites the boy aboard, his grandfather gives his blessing, and Roy leaves his island for the first time, bound for Paldea.

Singing, his real training method

His first victory already sums up his approach. Unable to pull off a single move against an Explorer's Rhydon, Fuecoco finally breaks through the moment Roy starts singing a tune inspired by its own: Ember finally fires. The trick comes back every time a battle gets off to a bad start.

Wattrel joins the team by an equally roundabout route. The bird steals a sandwich from him and then stays on the ground; Roy realizes it doesn't fly because it's afraid of heights, and spends two days helping it, even rigging up a harness with a teammate's fishing rod. The line snaps, the Pokémon finds itself alone in the air, manages to fly, and chooses to follow the boy.

When his two Pokémon start squabbling, Roy doesn't pick a side: he gives them a common opponent and asks for a practice battle against Friede's Pikachu. They lose twice, but their coordination starts to click. Later, when Roy puts himself in danger to rescue a Pokémon stuck at the edge of a cliff, Wattrel evolves into Kilowattrel to come and get him.

The Terastal course, or the art of learning by losing

Enrolled with Liko and Dot in Naranja Academy's Terastal course, Roy has to pass his test against the Artazon Gym Leader, Brassius. At first, the Gym Leader refuses to battle him: he considers him unable to win until he understands why he just lost to Nemona, in a rainstorm that had shut down Fuecoco's Fire-type moves.

The breakthrough comes through a sculpture. Stuck on a clay piece for the town's art festival, Roy follows the Gym Leader's advice (use everything you have at hand) and shapes a Charizard that wins everyone over. The lesson carries over to battle as is: facing a Sudowoodo that hides behind its clones, he heats up the field until the real one starts sweating, then Terastallizes for the first time.

The next test, in Montenevera, is a clear failure: Ryme refuses to sign off on his course and criticizes him for failing as a partner, because he sang out of reflex without knowing why. He only retakes the test after finding the answer again — for him, singing is a way to create a bond — and wins with an improvised tune that the crowd picks up. The same trick closes out the end-of-course tournament, where Fuecoco evolves into Crocalor in the middle of a duel against Liko.

The Black Rayquaza: from obsession to capture

The Ancient Ball opens for the first time by accident. As Amethio is overpowering the two kids, it resonates with Liko's pendant and releases a Rayquaza that turns out to be Shiny and sends the Explorers fleeing before disappearing. Roy spends the following months asking everyone he meets about it, from the residents of a Paldean town to the Motostoke Gym Leader.

The chase goes badly. During one reappearance, he ignores the danger and Friede's orders to plant himself in front of the dragon, which barely notices him; it's that indifference that hurts him most. Later, summoned by the Explorers at the lighthouse in Levincia, the Black Rayquaza slams into the airship and puts it out of action.

The capture only happens deep in the Area Zero, and not single-handedly. After four Trainers have worn the Legendary down — pushed into a waterfall, then electrocuted — only Roy and his Fire-type Pokémon are left standing; Terapagos pins the dragon against the rock face, then gives the rest of its energy to Crocalor. Roy then throws the Ancient Ball, but the Legendary later refuses to go back inside: it doesn't fully recognize him yet.

🐉 The sky dragon has its own section: see the Legendary Pokémon.

After Laqua: Kalos, Lucario and a Mega Bracelet

The end of Laqua scatters everyone. Friede disappears, the searches come up empty, the area is declared off-limits, and Spinel publicly blames the Rising Volt Tacklers for the ecological disaster. Public opinion turns against the crew, which disbands — even though Roy and Dot are the two who oppose it.

The boy then heads to Kalos to train with his Pokémon and Captain Pikachu, Friede's Pikachu, now in his care. There he becomes the Trainer of a Lucario that happens to be Shiny, trains with it in Mega Evolution and earns his Mega Bracelet. As for his first partner, its evolutionary line is documented all the way to Skeledirge.

A year later, Roy is traveling the world, investigating wild Pokémon wrapped in a pink mist on Dot's behalf, before setting off to find Liko again. Traveling solo has made him noticeably more composed, more strategic, and able to rein in Ult, the pesky rival he met in Kalos. He now fully embraces the Rising Volt Tacklers name, even when it earns him hostility from the people he meets.

Roy at a glance

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is Roy's first Pokémon?
  Fuecoco, which he met on his own island after a storm. The capture works the opposite way from usual: it's the Fire-type Pokémon that hands Roy a Poké Ball it was carrying in its mouth.
• What is Roy's "Ancient Poké Ball"?
  A Ball his grandfather entrusted to him shortly before his parents left, and which won't open. It eventually resonates with Liko's pendant and releases a Shiny Rayquaza.
• Does Roy catch the Black Rayquaza?
  Yes, deep in Area Zero, at the end of a battle fought by four Trainers and finished off thanks to Terapagos's energy. Afterward, though, the Legendary refuses to go back into its Ball.
• Why does Roy sing during his battles?
  Because his sailor parents sang with him aboard their boat, and he realized very early on that singing creates a bond with everyone, Pokémon included. The Montenevera Gym Leader forces him to remember that.
• What happens to Roy after the events at Laqua?
  He trains in Kalos with Captain Pikachu, becomes the Trainer of a Shiny Lucario there, learns Mega Evolution and earns a Mega Bracelet, before hitting the road again with Liko.

In short

Roy is a hero who starts out with nothing: no school, no Trainers around him, not even the certainty that his Ball is good for anything. What he does have is a voice and sheer stubbornness. The anime takes him seriously to the very end: he loses a lot, gets set straight by two Gym Leaders, and only gets his Legendary with his friends by his side. The Black Rayquaza, for its part, still isn't ready to fully acknowledge him.