The New Pokemon Anime Appears to Have Introduced a Never-Before-Seen Pokemon

Pokemon Horizons, the brand-new anime that is replacing the original Ash and Pikachu-led series after its 26-year run, appears to have featured a never-before-seen Pokemon in its first episode.

As reported by Serebii.net, the first episode of Pokemon Horizons just aired in Japan and one scene saw Liko and Sprigatito encounter a small turtle-like Pokemon that looks to be partially made up of diamonds or crystals.

Serebii Update: A brand new Pokémon has been teased in the Pokémon anime.

Details @ https://t.co/gDbXkHSvkT pic.twitter.com/YiRvIMdK78

— Serebii.net (@SerebiiNet) April 14, 2023

This Pokemon has never been seen before and is very reminiscent of Ash’s encounter with Ho-Oh in the original anime. For those unfamiliar, Ash saw Ho-Oh fly over him after him and Pikachu dealt with a very angry group of Spearow. No one had seen Ho-Oh before, and players couldn’t even catch the Legendary Pokemon until Pokemon Gold was released.

While it would obviously be tough to have to wait until a new generation of Pokemon games to find out who this turtle Pokemon is, there are certain signs we may be finding out the answer to this mystery much sooner than that thanks to the upcoming DLC for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.

This new Pokemon bears a resemblance to Terapagos, the Legendary Pokemon that will be introduced in The Indigo Disk, which is part 2 of the DLC The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero. Terapagos was also alluded to in the Scarlet Book and Violet Book in the game, so it appears there may big plans for this Pokemon.

Could this smaller turtle shown in the anime be a pre-evolution of Terapagos or just a Pokemon linked to it in some way? Or is it something different entirely? The Indigo Disk is slated for release in Winter 2023, so we should hopefully have an answer to this question by then, if not sooner.

The wait won’t be too bad, however, as the first part of the DLC – The Teal Mask – will be released in Fall 2023 and will take trainers on a “school trip that is held each year in collaboration with another school. They’ll be taken to the land of Kitakami, where a great mountain towers over the land and the people live at its base.”

The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero and other events will also add more than 230 Pokemon previously not found in Scarlet and Violet, so there is a lot to look forward to in the world of Pokemon.

For more on Pokemon Horizons, check out the anime’s trailer to catch a glimpse of the adventures of dual protagonists Liko and Roy, Friede and Captain Pikachu, and more.

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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.