The premiere of the Pokemon Horizons anime, broadcast in Japan this week,has revealeda brand newPokemonthat has never been seen in the franchise before — neither in any episodes of theprevious Pokemon animenor in any of the games thus far.
As identified by Frank Reyes, writing for the gaming outletSiliconera, the Pokemon bears some resemblance to a turtle, but it also resembles a charm necklace that Pokemon Horizons protagonist Liko wears around her neck. Adding to the mystery, the Pokemon’s involvement in the premiere episode is a minimal one. Appearing before Liko and her companion Sprigatito partway through the episode, the mysterious Pokemon uses itself as a shield to protect the two from a rogue Pokemon’s attack.
The second episode of the new anime has since aired, and according to the Pokemon fan site Serebii.net, this mystery Pokemon has not made any successive appearances. Alisting for the Pokemonhas been added to Serebii.net’s extensive database, although with its type, ability, English name, and even Japanese name having yet to be unveiled, very little is known about it at this stage.
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In aPokemon Presents livestreambroadcast earlier this year, five new Pokemon were revealed for the upcomingPokemon Scarlet & Violet expansion, and as some fans are already pointing out, one of these five new expansion-only Pokemon, Terapagos, features a similar design to the mysterious Pokemon revealed in the anime. Wearing a shell on its aquatic body with its head and feet poking out the front, Terapagos appears to be just as turtular in appearance as the mystery Pokemon. Both also share a similar color scheme.
The most distinct similarity between Terapagos and the mysterious new Pokemon, however, is a detail on their heads. Where Terapagos has a protrusion of two crystal-like shapes on its forehead, the mysterious new Pokemon seems to have a chain of almost identical crystals extending from its brow. All things considered, Terapagos may end up proving to be the evolved form of the mystery Pokemon — think Zoroark and Zorua, for example, or Lucario and Rilou.
It is not currently known if or when this mysterious new Pokemon will make its video game debut, although there is a possibility that it will surface along with Terapagos in the upcoming two-part Hidden Treasure Of Area Zero expansion forPokemon Scarlet & Violet. Part one the expansion, titled The Teal Mask, will release this fall; the second half, titled The Indigo Disk, is set to release at the end of the year.
