Pokémon Horizons season 2: The Search for Laqua — Naranja Academy, Terastal and the treasure hunt

The second season of Pokémon Horizons, The Search for Laqua turns a treasure hunt into a genuine race against the Explorers. Liko, Roy and Dot enroll at Naranja Academy to learn how to master Terastallization, then head back out toward the paradise described in Lucius's notebooks. Forty-four episodes that close almost every mystery raised by the previous season — and open one last, brutal one.

Contents

• Where season 2 fits in
• 44 episodes and three separate schedules
• Naranja Academy and Terastal training
• Laqua, the Laquium and the secret of Terapagos
• Liko, Roy and Dot: three parallel paths
• The season's standout Pokémon
• The Explorers, Amethio and Gibeon
• The finale at Laqua and the one-year time skip
• The French broadcast
• What this season brings
• Season 2 of Pokémon Horizons at a glance
• Frequently Asked Questions

Where season 2 fits in

Its full French title is Pokémon, les horizons – saison 2: À la recherche de Laqua. It is the second season of Pokémon Horizons, an animated series separate from the one that followed Ash, and it picks up directly from season 1: same heroes, same crew, same adversaries, with the stakes raised a notch.

The season was announced in France on November 20, 2024. It keeps this series' own numbering, which restarted at 1 and has nothing to do with the episode count of " Pokémon the Series ". Ash does not appear in it, and his journey as a Trainer plays no part in the plot.

The most visible change in format concerns the lead trio. Dot, who was just one member of the crew in season 1, joins Liko and Roy as a main character. The series thus goes from a duo to a trio, which rebalances the battles and finally gives room to a character who had so far stayed hidden behind her screen.

As with every season of the franchise, the feature films are left out of the count. Movies and specials follow their own schedule, and our complete guide to the Pokémon movies lets you place them without confusing them with the seasons.

44 episodes and three separate schedules

Season 2 has 44 episodes, numbered HZ046 to HZ089. In Japan, these episodes aired from April 12, 2024 to March 21, 2025. In France, the season ran from January 12, 2025 to November 2, 2025, and in the United States it was released on Netflix from February 7 to September 26, 2025.

Like the previous one, this international season combines two consecutive Japanese sets. The first, 22 episodes long, runs from April 12 to September 27, 2024; the second, also 22 episodes, from October 11, 2024 to March 21, 2025. Their Japanese names translate as "Terastal Debut" and "Rayquaza Rising", but these are not season titles: they designate arcs specific to the Japanese broadcast, each with its own theme song.

The break between the two arcs is clearly noticeable when you watch. The first half crisscrosses Paldea, with Naranja Academy serving as home base between trials; the second leaves the region and plunges into full-blown adventure. It's one of the rare cases where the Japanese split matches a genuine change of tone that you can feel in the international version.

The season's French theme song is titled "Mon Pokémon préféré" ("My Favorite Pokémon"). The French episode titles mostly mirror the international English titles: "Guidés par le Rayquaza noir" is a word-for-word rendering of "Guided by the Black Rayquaza!", and "À la recherche d'Hachécateur" translates "The Search for Kleavor!". A few stray from them, such as "Le style unique de Coiffeton !" for "Trending Terastallisation! Dance, Dance, Quaxly!".

The other French-speaking territories kept their own schedules. Belgium started on February 7, 2025 and Quebec on February 8, 2025, with the Quebec season finale pushed back to December 6, 2025. Three French-language schedules, three different paces.

Naranja Academy and Terastal training

The first half of the season is shaped like a school year. Liko, Roy and Dot enroll at Naranja Academy, in the Paldea region, to learn how to master Terastallization — the phenomenon detailed in our complete guide to Terastallization, which comes from the games covered in our feature on Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

The school has its own staff and its own rules. There you meet Director Clavell, Chairwoman Geeta, and teachers Jacq, Dendra and Raifort, as well as Nemona, whom Liko and Roy had already met. Each of the three students receives a Tera Orb and is assigned a series of trials to pass.

🎒 A Tera Orb each, a series of trials to pass, a director named Clavell: at Naranja Academy, Liko, Roy and Dot are students for real. Your own back-to-school starts with one of our Pokémon backpacks and school bags.

These trials take the form of battles against Paldea's Gym Leaders. Katy, Brassius, Iono, Larry, Ryme and Grusha serve as examiners, and members of the Elite Four — Rika, Hassel and Poppy — step in as well; our feature on Gym Leaders and the Elite Four explains what each of these titles stands for.

The grading system is the real find of this half of the season. Losing a battle doesn't automatically mean failing: what gets graded is the Trainer's progress, not the final score. Liko passes a trial she lost, Roy needs two attempts to earn one, and a loss by Liko against Grusha ends up being re-graded as a pass a few episodes later.

The three heroes take their first steps with Terastallization here. Liko crosses that threshold in HZ047, Roy in HZ048, Dot in HZ050, each with their starter Pokémon. For Dot, it's also when she begins to overcome her fear of appearing in public — a personal thread that runs through the entire season.

Laqua, the Laquium and the secret of Terapagos

The second half of the season picks up the investigation where the previous one left off. Laqua is a place the adventurer Lucius was already searching for a century earlier, and which the Rising Volt Tacklers now set out to reach in turn. The journey takes them from Paldea to Kitakami, then all the way to Johto — three territories mapped out in our overview of the regions of the Pokémon world.

This route crosses paths with new figures. In Kitakami, the group notably deals with Carmine, Briar and Perrin, whose interests don't always line up with those of the Rising Volt Tacklers. The series thus keeps expanding its cast without ever lingering: each encounter serves the investigation, then fades away.

A decisive turning point comes in HZ075. Liko officially becomes the Trainer of Terapagos, nicknamed Pagogo, the creature that had been sleeping in her pendant since the start of the series. Along the way, we learn that Terapagos once lived deep in the Great Crater of Paldea, and that it belonged to an adventurer connected to Lucius.

Roy, for his part, wraps up his own quest. He manages to recapture the Black Rayquaza in HZ082, the Shiny Pokémon that escaped from its ancient Poké Ball in the previous season. Meanwhile, Liko rounds out the collection of Lucius's former partners: Kleavor joins her in HZ073, and Gouging Fire in HZ081.

That's where the season's real subject comes in: the Laquium. This ore is the resource the Explorers are trying to exploit, and it is inseparable from the state of Laqua. Understanding what the Laquium does to Pokémon, and what it did to Lucius, becomes the question that drives the entire final third.

Liko, Roy and Dot: three parallel paths

The season splits its time evenly among its three heroes, which was no small feat. Liko goes from passenger to a Trainer who can carry a battle, and her bond with Terapagos puts her at the center of the plot without her ever seeking it. She's the one who inherits Lucius's notebook and belt.

Roy follows the most classic path, and the show owns it. He battles again and again, loses often, and grows through friction: his clashes with Nemona and with the Gym Leaders serve as a yardstick for his rising strength. Still, his relationship with the Black Rayquaza remains the real engine of his character.

Dot is the breakout of the season. She leaves her cabin, faces Gym Leaders in front of an audience and finally embraces a life beyond her avatar, which gives the series its most intimate thread. Her two Pokémon even evolve at moments that coincide with her own personal milestones.

💻 Dot leaves her cabin and faces Gym Leaders in front of an audience, after existing only through her avatar until then. You're allowed to stay behind your screen: just put our Pokémon keycaps on your keyboard.

The adult crew remains very present around them. Friede, Orla, Murdock, Mollie and Ludlow keep running the Brave Olivine, and the series never reduces them to background extras: they battle, make decisions and take risks just like the kids.

One thing clearly sets this trio apart from the traveling groups of earlier series. None of the three is chasing a title: no League, no badges, no world ranking. Their progress is measured by what they understand, not by what they win, and Terastal training is the only formal assessment in the entire season. It's a clean break from the twenty-five seasons that came before the series.

The season's standout Pokémon

This is the season of evolutions, and nearly all of them come at narratively charged moments. Liko's Hatenna becomes Hattrem in HZ053 to calm two Annihilape in the wild, and her Floragato becomes Meowscarada in HZ088, in the middle of a decisive showdown. Our feature on evolution mechanics sheds light on what these milestones represent.

Roy follows the same pattern. His Wattrel evolves into Kilowattrel in HZ052 to save him from a fall, and his Fuecoco becomes Crocalor in HZ067, during a battle against Liko. Two evolutions triggered by necessity, not by methodical training.

Dot isn't to be outdone. Her Quaxly becomes Quaxwell in HZ059 during a Terastal battle, and her Tinkatink becomes Tinkatuff in HZ070, once its hammer is sufficiently perfected — a detail that fits the species' personality perfectly.

The inherited Pokémon form the season's other pole. The Six Heroes, Lucius's former partners, are gathered one by one: Arboliva, Galarian Moltres, Lapras, Kleavor, Gouging Fire and the Black Rayquaza. Our guide to Legendary and Mythical Pokémon helps you gauge what such a reunion means.

Finally, a white Zygarde makes a striking entrance in the final episodes. It belongs to Gibeon and serves as the final obstacle, before withdrawing from the battle of its own accord — a staging choice that says a lot about how the series treats its Legendaries.

The Explorers, Amethio and Gibeon

There's still no Team Rocket in Pokémon Horizons, and the comparison with the classic trio described in our feature on Team Rocket doesn't hold up. The Explorers are a methodical, well-funded organization, with a hierarchy and industrial goals, and this season finally reveals who sits at the top.

The season considerably expands their ranks. Coral, Sidian and Chalce infiltrate Naranja Academy, while Spinel pursues his own investigation into the Laquium. Amethio, for his part, is backed by Hamber, Gibeon's second-in-command at the head of the Explorers, and is as eager to please his grandfather as he is to see through Spinel's schemes.

That grandfather is the real revelation. Gibeon runs the organization, and exploiting the Laquium is his project: he's the one who speeds up the mining of the ore in the final episodes, even if it means destroying what he covets. Our overview of the criminal organizations lets you compare his logic with that of his predecessors.

The season pulls off a rare shift. Amethio, an icy adversary since the very first episode of the series, turns against Gibeon and fights alongside Liko, Roy and Dot. This about-face isn't an isolated twist: it's set up over two seasons, through his repeated hesitations.

Spinel, on the other hand, goes the opposite way. His true intentions are only revealed at the very end, and what he does with the Laquium in the season's final moments entirely shapes what comes next for the series.

The finale at Laqua and the one-year time skip

The final episodes take place in Laqua itself, and they settle several mysteries at once. Lucius emerges from a mass of Laquium in which he had been sealed, and is reunited with his Pokémon a century after entrusting them to others. It then becomes clear that the ore was keeping him alive, and that the same mechanism applies to Gibeon.

Terapagos plays the central role. In its most complete form, and with the help of the Six Heroes, it purifies Laqua of the Laquium that is eating away at it. The act heals the place — but it costs the lives of those the ore was sustaining: Lucius and Gibeon vanish, and the Six Heroes, released from their ancient Poké Balls, are free once more.

The season doesn't end on that peaceful note. Spinel uses the remaining Laquium on the Six Heroes, who go out of control — except for the Black Rayquaza — and Friede is swept off the Brave Olivine along with his Charizard, his fate unknown. Liko loses Lucius's belt and notebook in the fight.

The very last episode jumps forward one year. Spinel has publicly taken over the Explorers and paints the Rising Volt Tacklers as criminals; Liko has gone back to Indigo Academy, Roy looks after Captain Pikachu and has obtained a Shiny Lucario as well as a Mega Bracelet — a direct lead-in to the Mega Evolutions of the following season.

⏳ The very last episode skips ahead a year, and Roy comes out of it with a Shiny Lucario and a Mega Bracelet that leads straight into the following season's Mega Evolutions. Nothing in our Pokémon accessories will trigger a Mega Evolution, but it's the kind of item you can keep on you while you wait for what comes next.

The French broadcast

Season 2 aired in France from January 12, 2025 to November 2, 2025, on Gulli and Canal J, the two channels that had already carried the previous season. Its arrival had been announced on November 20, 2024.

The pace stayed mostly weekly, with a few double bills. The first two episodes aired on the same day, January 12, 2025, and several blocks of episodes were then released online ahead of their TV broadcast, on February 7 and April 5, 2025.

The lag behind Japan, by contrast, grew slightly compared with the previous season. Nine months separate the first Japanese episode from the first French one, compared with nearly eight months for season 1 — and the French season finale arrives more than seven months after the Japanese one.

Finally, a reminder of the ground rule: the English version is the reference here. The character, place and Pokémon names used in this article are those of the English version, and several differ from the French dub. Going through the French names to identify a character from the English broadcast is the surest way to get it wrong.

One last useful pointer for finding your way through online guides. The season is numbered 2 everywhere in Western countries, but some Asian markets continue a global numbering inherited from the previous series and give it an entirely different number. It's the most common source of confusion when you look things up online: the subtitle, The Search for Laqua, leaves no room for doubt.

What this season brings

It does what a second season should do: deliver on its promises. The pendant, the ancient Poké Ball, Terapagos's identity, the nature of the Black Rayquaza, Lucius's role: everything season 1 set up finds an answer here. Few series in the franchise have resolved their overarching plot so completely.

It also manages to weave in a game mechanic without turning into a catalog. Terastal training gives the first half of the season a clear goal, and serves as a pretext for a tour of Paldea's Gyms without bringing back the race for badges. It's an elegant way to revisit a familiar format without truly going back to it.

Its weak point is the flip side of its density. The school half and the adventure half don't look alike, and the shift from one to the other can feel like two half-seasons stitched together — which, incidentally, matches the reality of the Japanese split exactly.

Finally, it sets up its successor with deliberate brutality. A missing leader, a scattered crew, heroes wrongly accused and an entire year skipped: the third season starts among the ruins, and that's exactly what this finale sets out to do.

Season 2 of Pokémon Horizons at a glance

Frequently Asked Questions

• How many episodes are in season 2 of Pokémon Horizons?
  Season 2, titled The Search for Laqua, has 44 episodes, numbered HZ046 to HZ089. On the Japanese side, it corresponds to two merged arcs of 22 episodes each, aired from April to September 2024 for the first and from October 2024 to March 2025 for the second.
• What are Laqua and the Laquium?
  Laqua is the place the adventurer Lucius was searching for a century before the series begins, and which the Rising Volt Tacklers set out to reach in turn. The Laquium is the ore found there, coveted by the Explorers for its properties. It's this ore that kept Lucius alive and that, once used by Spinel, makes the Six Heroes uncontrollable at the end of the season.
• What happens with Terapagos this season?
  Terapagos, nicknamed Pagogo, leaves its dormant pendant state for good. In HZ075, Liko officially becomes its Trainer. In the final episodes, in its most complete form and with the help of the Six Heroes, it purifies Laqua of the Laquium that was eating away at it, before returning to its usual appearance.
• Who are the Six Heroes?
  They are Lucius's six Pokémon, sealed in ancient Poké Balls and scattered across the world. Season 2 finishes bringing them together: Arboliva, Galarian Moltres, Lapras, Kleavor, Gouging Fire and the Black Rayquaza. When Lucius disappears, they are automatically released from their Poké Balls.
• Why do the heroes go to Naranja Academy?
  To learn how to master Terastallization, which they'll need for the rest of their quest. Liko, Roy and Dot each receive a Tera Orb there and must pass a series of trials, in the form of battles against Paldea's Gym Leaders. The system assesses their progress rather than the bare result: a lost battle can earn a pass, and a won battle isn't always enough.
• When did season 2 air in France?
  From January 12, 2025 to November 2, 2025, on Gulli and Canal J, following an announcement on November 20, 2024. Belgium started on February 7, 2025 and Quebec on February 8, 2025, with Quebec wrapping up the season on December 6, 2025.
• How does season 2 end?
  Laqua is purified, but Lucius and Gibeon vanish along with the Laquium that kept them alive. Spinel uses the remaining ore on the Six Heroes, who go out of control except for the Black Rayquaza, and Friede is swept off the airship along with his Charizard. The final episode then jumps ahead one year: Spinel runs the Explorers and has the Rising Volt Tacklers branded as criminals, while Roy has obtained a Shiny Lucario and a Mega Bracelet.

In short