HZ055

This article is about an episode of the Pokémon animated series that has not been dubbed into English. As such, its coverage may contain romanized Japanese names, rather than dub names.

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HZ055

HZ055   EP1287 対決！パルデア四天王 Confrontation! The Big Four of Paldea

First broadcast Japan June 21, 2024 United States

English themes Opening Ending

Japanese themes Opening Will Ending Let me battle

Credits Animation Team Kumemura Screenplay 永川成基 Naruki Nagakawa Storyboard 尼野浩正 Hiromasa Amano Assistant director 岩田義彦 Yoshihiko Iwata Animation directors 松本めぐみ Megumi Matsumoto 倉員千晶 Chiaki Kurakazu 服部奈津美 Natsumi Hattori 大西雅也 Masaya Ōnishi 志村泉 Izumi Shimura 柳原好貴 Yoshitaka Yanagihara 加藤健二 Kenji Katō Additional credits

Preview thread on BMGf Closed Original review thread on BMGf

(Japanese: 対決！パルデア四天王 Confrontation! The Big Four of Paldea) is the 55th episode of Pokémon Horizons: The Series, and the 1,287th episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on June 21, 2024.

Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.

Plot

Having completed their Terastal Training tests, Liko, Roy, Dot, Coral, Sidian, and other students have returned to Naranja Academy. Before their next assignment, however, Director Clavell announces that he has arranged a series of friendly battles against special guests for them to participate in. Geeta enters the hall and reveals that the special guests in question are members of the Paldea Elite Four, making the students excited. As the students move to the schoolyard, Dot is feeling that losing is a certainty against such powerful opponents, but Nemona reveals to the trio of friends that these friendly matches will be Tag Battles, where each of them will pair up with the Gym Leader they fought for their test. Case and point, Iono appears on one of the battlefields and waves at Dot, making a flustered Dot realize that she'll be the first one to battle. With Dendra working as the referee, Iono and Dot take their place at the field and are soon joined by their opponent, Poppy, who calls out her Tinkaton and Copperajah to face Dot's Quaxly and Iono's Bellibolt. Dendra clarifies that the battle ends when either the student's Pokémon or one of the Elite Four member's Pokémon is defeated, and Clavell adds that the Gym Leader will be disallowed to Terastallize their Pokémon so that the student can have more spotlight, much to Iono's dismay.

Dendra starts the battle, with Iono making the first move with Discharge, though it ends up shocking Quaxly as well and doing next to nothing against Poppy's Pokémon. Poppy tells Copperajah to use Sandstorm, which surrounds the battlefield and buffets Dot and Iono's Pokémon while doing nothing to Poppy's Steel types. Tinkaton leaps forward with Gigaton Hammer, but Bellibolt uses Reflect to soften the blow. Geeta feels that the battle is becoming a showdown between a Gym Leader and an Elite Four member, with the student being too overwhelmed to do anything, but Clavell and Dot's friends feel sure things can still change. With the protective barrier still active, Iono tells Dot to take the offensive, so she has Quaxly use Water Gun, followed by Liquidation. Poppy's Pokémon shrug off the hits with ease, however, and Tinkaton then proceeds to smash the Reflect barrier apart with Brick Break, much to Iono's shock. Poppy aims for a finishing blow and launches a combination attack in the form of Copperajah's Rock Slide and Tinkaton's Rock Smash, sending a barrage of rocks raining onto her opponents. Bellibolt protects Quaxly with its body, but is starting to feel tired. With the sandstorm fading, Iono tells Bellibolt to use Slack Off to heal itself. Seeing Quaxly expressing his determination with dance moves, Dot gets an idea and has him do the same on Bellibolt's belly, triggering its Electromorphosis Ability. When Tinkaton leaps in with Gigaton Hammer, Bellibolt uses its belly to launch Quaxly high into the air to avoid the attack. Iono tells Dot to use the chance to her advantage, and she does so, Terastallizing Quaxly and having him use a powered-up Liquidation. The attack clashes with Tinkaton's hammer, until both sides are pushed back. Iono then points out how her Bellibolt used the distraction to get onto Copperajah's back, allowing it to land a close-range Zap Cannon. Copperajah collapses, thus resulting in Dot and Iono being declared winners. Poppy congratulates the two, but quickly notices that Dot isn't feeling happy despite being on the winning side. Dot admits that she feels that they only won because Iono did all the heavy lifting, but Poppy says she's thinking too hard and hopes to battle her again someday, before taking her leave with Iono, leaving Dot feeling a little better about herself.

On the other battlefield, Coral commands her Glalie to use Self-Destruct. The ensuing explosion consumes every Pokémon on the field and defeats not only Larry's Flamigo and Oricorio, but also her partner Kofu's Wugtrio. However, much to Coral's frustration, Dendra declares Larry the winner, explaining that the use of Self-Destruct counts as a loss in the event that all the participating Pokémon are defeated. Kofu takes the loss with a hearty laugh, but Coral throws a tantrum and runs off, much to Sidian and Chalce's exasperation.

Roy's turn is next, and his partner, Brassius, leaps down from a set of loudspeakers to join him on the battlefield. Their opponent is Hassel, whom Brassius reveals to be a Dragon-type expert, which Roy sees as a valuable source of experience for his future confrontation with Rayquaza. Hassel sends out Baxcalibur and Flapple, while Brassius calls out Dolliv to join Roy's Fuecoco. The battle begins with Roy ordering a Flame Charge. Avoiding an Ice Shard from Baxcalibur while Dolliv blocks Flapple's Acid Spray with Seed Bomb, Fuecoco's attack is able to make contact with Baxcalibur. To Roy's surprise, however, the attack seems to strengthen Baxcalibur, and he tells Fuecoco to back off, barely avoiding a hit from Baxcalibur's Glaive Rush. Brassius explains that Baxcalibur has the Thermal Exchange Ability, which boosts its attack power if it's hit by a Fire-type move, leaving Roy exasperated that Brassius didn't warn him sooner. Deciding to switch things up, Roy has Fuecoco use Disarming Voice, which deals super effective damage on the two Dragon types. Hassel tells Flapple to use Grav Apple, which reminds Fuecoco of an actual apple so much that he ignores Roy's orders to dodge until it's too late and the move hits him straight on the head. Brassius encourages Roy to fight with passion, so he orders Fuecoco to use Flamethrower, which Dolliv powers up with Helping Hand. Hassel responds to this collaboration of moves by having Flapple use Twister, creating a fiery tornado that Baxcalibur dives inside of. Thanks to Thermal Exchange, the tornado suddenly freezes over and shatters, leaving Baxcalibur even more powered up as it uses Glaive Rush again. Fuecoco tries to flee from it, but is unexpectedly saved by Dolliv's Grass Knot making him fall down and out of the attack's path. The next combination of attacks comes in the form of Dolliv's Seed Bomb and Fuecoco's Flamethrower, which is blocked by Baxcalibur and Flapple's double Protect. While Dolliv prepares a giant Energy Ball, Roy Terastallizes Fuecoco and combines his boosted Flamethrower with the Energy Ball, creating a spectacular display that Hassel can't help but be impressed by. Hassel orders Baxcalibur to use Blizzard, enveloping the combo move in ice, before ordering another Glaive Rush, launching a surprise attack through the ice that defeats both Fuecoco and Dolliv, making Hassel the winner. Despite losing, Roy still felt that he had fun, though he's subsequently left awkwardly staring at Hassel as he starts to cry profusely at how much both Roy and Brassius have grown. Talking with Nemona, Roy admits that he's still no match for Rayquaza and swears to keep growing stronger.

While Liko prepares for her battle, Sidian and Tulip's team is defeated when Garganacl loses to Rika's Clodsire and Dugtrio. Rika berates Sidian's attitude of accepting loss just to ensure his own backup's survival, but Sidian says he prefers it to a disgraceful victory, which Tulip finds understandable. The two of them make way for Liko and Katy, who look forward to battling together as much as Rika looks forward to keeping her winning streak going, the Elite Four member smiling confidently.

Major events

• Liko, Roy, and Dot return to Naranja Academy.
• Coral and Sidian are revealed to have passed their respective Terastal Training tests.
• Each of the students participates in the Elite Four Tag Battle:
  • Dot and Iono have a Tag Battle against Poppy and win.
  • Coral and Kofu have a Tag Battle against Larry and lose.
  • Roy and Brassius have a Tag Battle against Hassel and lose.
  • Sidian and Tulip have a Tag Battle against Rika and lose.
  • Liko and Katy prepare to start their Tag Battle against Rika.

For a list of all major events in the animated series, please see the history page.

Debuts

Humans

• Kofu
• Tulip

Pokémon debuts

• Tinkaton
• Baxcalibur
• Clodsire
• Wugtrio
• Espathra
• Lokix

Characters

Humans

• Liko
• Roy
• Dot
• Ann
• Nemona
• Clavell
• Jacq
• Geeta
• Rika
• Hassel
• Poppy
• Katy
• Brassius
• Iono
• Kofu
• Larry
• Tulip
• Dendra
• Coral
• Sidian
• Chalce
• Luka
• Rai
• Bocco
• Students

Pokémon

• Floragato (Liko's)
• Fuecoco (Roy's; Terastallized)
• Quaxly (Dot's; Terastallized)
• Rotom (Dot's; Rotom Phone)
• Lokix (Katy's; debut)
• Dolliv (Brassius's)
• Bellibolt (Iono's)
• Wugtrio (Kofu's; debut)
• Espathra (Tulip's; debut)
• Tinkaton (Poppy's; Tinkie; debut)
• Copperajah (Poppy's; Rajah)
• Baxcalibur (Hassel's; debut)
• Flapple (Hassel's)
• Flamigo (Larry's)
• Oricorio (Larry's; Pom-Pom Style)
• Dugtrio (Rika's)
• Clodsire (Rika's; debut)
• Glalie (Coral's)
• Garganacl (Sidian's)
• Voltorb (Student's)
• Sentret (Student's)
• Flaaffy (Student's)
• Shinx (Student's)
• Grimer (Student's)
• Kirlia (Student's)
• Azurill (Student's)
• Cubchoo (Student's)

Trivia

An illustration of Dot and Roy's battles by Sanosuke Sakuma

• Professor Friede's Pokémon Seminar: "What does Baxcalibur absorb through its fin?"
  • Choices: Cold air, electricity, heat
  • Answer: Heat
• An illustration of this episode was drawn by Sanosuke Sakuma.
• The first eyecatch features Poppy and her Tinkaton, and the second features Hassel and his Baxcalibur.
• This episode marks the first time that a male main character other than Ash has battled an Elite Four member on-screen.
• This is the first episode in which Brick Break is shown breaking down barriers such as Reflect.
• Liko, Roy, Fuecoco, Dot, Quaxly, and Floragato narrate the preview for the next episode.

In other languages

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Pokémon Horizons: The Series

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This episode article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation.