Warning: Contains spoilers for Pokémon Horizons episodes 1 and 2.Pokémon Horizon has officially premiered and in an unexpected turn it revealed a new Pokémon ahead of the sequel Pokémon Scarlet and Violet DLC. The promotional material for Pokémon Horizons emphasizes Riko’s story centered around her mysterious pendant, and sure enough, the series premiere opens with the villainous Adventurers and the heroic Rising Volt Tacklers, They both chase Riko to get her pendant. At the moment, it’s not entirely clear what Riko’s pendant is, but given the level of attention the pendant has been given, there’s definitely something unique about it.
That uniqueness quickly became known in episode 2 of the Pokémon Horizons animated reboot series. In episode 2, a barrier appears to protect Riko and Sprigatito from an attack, and the barrier is created by the true form of Riko’s pendant: a small turtle resembling a previously unrevealed Pokémon. in any previous media, which means that Horizons has launched a brand new Pokémon before Pokémon Scarlet and Violet DLC. It’s not the first time the Pokémon anime has done something like this, and there are some strong theories as to how it might appear in the DLC, but either way, it’s interesting to see what Pokémon does. it’s like this from nowhere.
New Pokémon appeared in Anime before the Olympics
Pokémon Horizons revealing a new Pokémon is a big surprise, but this isn’t the first time the anime has done something like this. Up until Pokémon Black and White, anime often featured Pokémon from new games that appeared in the anime before the game was released. Notable examples of this include Togepi, Slowking, Blaziken, Munchlax, and Lucario, all of which appeared in the anime before their respective games were released. The new Pokémon in Horizons is a different case, as there was no advertisement of its existence before the anime, but it continues the tradition of new Pokémon debuting early in the anime. The official Pokémon Twitter account recently mentioned this new creature, essentially confirming its role in the upcoming DLC.
The biggest examples of Pokémon appearing in the pre-game anime are Ho-Oh and Lugia. Ho-Oh’s appearance in the first episode of Pokémon was two years before Pokémon Gold and Silver were released in Japan, and Lugia wasn’t even intended to appear in the game when it appeared in Pokémon the Movie 2000. Both are cases of new Pokémon appearing in the anime without a clear idea of when people might get their own, and at the time of writing, Pokémon Horizons’ new turtle Pokémon seems to exist. by the same principle.
How Pokémon Horizons’ New Pokémon May Appear in Scarlet & Violet DLC
Identity of the new Pokémon IN Pokémon Horizons is still unknown at this point, but there are some ideas on how it might appear in the upcoming Pokémon Scarlet and Violet DLC. The Scarlet and Violet DLC will introduce a new Legendary Pokémon called Terapagos that, in addition to being another turtle Pokémon, has eyes similar to Horizons’ new Pokémon, and also features a contrast in how Terapagos’ shell is shaped. five-sided while the shell of Terapagos has a pentagonal shape. Pokémon has a four-sided shape. Thus, the biggest theory behind how the new Pokémon will appear in the DLC is that it will be a pre-evolved form or an alternate form of Terapagos. These theories seem to be corroborated by Tweets from Pokémon’s official Twitter.
If the new Pokémon is a pre-evolved or alternate form of Terapagos, that would have big implications for the story of Pokémon Horizons. Terapagos is heavily implied to be the Pokémon responsible for the Terastal phenomenon, which will no doubt be explored in the second part of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s DLC, so if the new Pokémon is connected to Terapagos, then Pokémon Horizons’ Riko’s story will be one that will impact all of Paldea, if not the entire Pokémon world. It’s still too early to do anything but speculate about the new creature’s role in Pokémon Scarlet and Violetbut regardless, obviously Pokémon Horizon are setting themselves up for something big.