Liko

Liko リコ Liko
Liko
Age	Unknown
Gender	Female
Eye color	Light turquoise
Hair color	Black (with blue underlights)
Hometown	Cabo Poco^[1]
Region	Paldea^[2]
Relatives	Alex (father) Lucca (mother) Diana (grandmother)
Anime series	Pokémon Horizons: The Series
Debut	HZ001
English voice actor	Alejandra Reynoso
Japanese voice actor	Minori Suzuki
Member of	Rising Volt Tacklers
Rank	Member
Trainer class	Rising Volt Tacklers
Generation	IX
Games	Mezastar

Liko (Japanese: リコ Liko) is a protagonist of Pokémon Horizons: The Series.^[3] She owns a mysterious pendant, which was given to her by her grandmother Diana, though its true purpose is currently unknown. Liko attends Indigo Academy and is a member of the Rising Volt Tacklers.

In the anime

History

Pre-series

Young Liko

Liko grew up at Cabo Poco in Paldea with her parents, Alex and Lucca. Liko also grew up with her grandmother, Diana, hearing stories of the adventures and journeys she went through around the world. From her, Liko eventually received a mysterious pendant. After saying this gift will be important to her in the future, Diana told Liko that she should rely on her Pokémon to be able to venture out and face her fears on her journey.

Pokémon Horizons: The Series

Liko awakening the pendant's power for the first time

Liko debuted in HZ001. She enrolled in the Indigo Academy at the Kanto region, where she formed a friendship with her roommate Ann and received her partner Pokémon, a Sprigatito. During the next few days, Liko worked hard to strengthen her bond with Sprigatito by learning more about it and make it listen to her instructions in battle, but to little avail. One day, a young man named Amethio introduced himself to her, supposedly as her grandmother's representative, and asked her for the pendant. Quickly distrusting his intentions, Liko attempted to run away from him and his teammates, but eventually got cornered by the group. However, before any violent confrontation could begin, Friede swooped in on his Charizard and started battling Amethio's Ceruledge. A stray Psycho Cut nearly hit Liko as she tried to escape, but her pendant activated in time and protected her from the attack.

In the next episode, Liko noticed the presence of a mysterious Pokémon during the activation of the pendant's power. After being rescued by Friede, Liko and Sprigatito were taken aboard his airship, the Brave Asagi, where they were introduced to the Rising Volt Tacklers. Not long after, the ship was attacked by the Explorers, who almost coerced Liko to go with them, had Sprigatito not encouraged her to stand tall. Liko had the Grass Cat Pokémon unleash a Leafage strong enough to break the forcefield around the Wing Deck, but it got blown overboard in the process, which allowed the Explorers to capture it before fleeing.

Liko joining the Rising Volt Tacklers

In HZ003, Liko discovered that her mother had hired the Rising Volt Tacklers to protect her. The group soon reached the city where the Explorers were last seen. After running an errand for Mollie at the city's Pokémon Center, she followed the sound of Murdock's Rockruff's barking and discovered that Murdock and Friede had found Onia. She and Friede chased Onia back to the Explorers' hideout, where Friede engaged Amethio in a battle, allowing her and Rockruff to locate Sprigatito. Feeling she could trust them, Liko decided to join the Rising Volt Tacklers in their travels to find out more about the mysteries surrounding her pendant and the Explorers, officially becoming a member of the group.

In HZ004, it was revealed that Liko had signed up for online classes and would be attending school virtually. After doing some chores, Liko found out that Fuecoco had fallen off the Brave Asagi and went out to look for it. During the search, they came upon an open tree stump with eaten Berries and were mistakenly accused of eating them by the wild Pokémon. As they were being chased, Liko's pendant started to glow, and soon they were found by Roy, who helped them escape. The wild Pokémon, however, did not give up on their hunt and succesffully captured them. After being rescued by Friede, Liko and Roy gathered Berries for the wild Pokémon as an apology gift, and she soon waved goodbye to her new friend.

Liko meeting Lucius's Rayquaza

They did not depart for long, however, as the Rising Volt Tacklers were startled awake during the middle of the night when Roy snuck on the ship and got shocked by Captain Pikachu. He wanted to see his friend Fuecoco once more, but, despite searching all over the Brave Asagi, couldn't find it. In the next day, the Explorers launched an assault on the Rising Volt Tacklers. Despite her own nervousness, Liko managed to defeat Onia all by herself. As she arrived on the beach, she was assaulted by Amethio's Corviknight, nearly getting hit before her pendant activated again, projecting another barrier to protect her. Liko and Roy called Sprigatito and Fuecoco to fight Amethio's Ceruledge, but it proved to be too powerful for them. Then, Liko's pendant and Roy's Ancient Poké Ball reacted in unison, and from the Poké Ball emerged a Black Rayquaza. After forcing the Explorers to retreat, Rayquaza briefly stared at Liko before flying away. She decided to keep looking into her pendant's mystery alongside Roy and the Rising Volt Tacklers as they headed off towards Paldea.

In HZ007, Liko was challenged by Roy to a battle, but it was called off when their Pokémon tired themselves into a draw. Shortly after, Friede downloaded the Rising Volt Tacklers app on their Rotom Phones and suggested they visited Dot to see if she had any info on the Black Rayquaza, but weren't able to talk to her. Frustrated, they asked Friede for some special training, which he accepted. In order for them to win, they had to land a hit on Captain Pikachu, but, despite figuring out the pattern of his Double Team, weren't able to. After a break, Liko and Roy battled against each other once more—this time, there was a clear winner, as Sprigatito managed to overcome the type disadvantage and defeat Fuecoco. This battle was the first step for the new Rising Volt Tacklers to get closer to Dot, who let them know the Black Rayquaza was in Paldea. Realizing that Dot is just shy around others, like she is, Liko decided to learn more about her in hopes of becoming friends with her.

In the next episode, Liko accepted Roy's pleading to watch over the Brave Asagi in his place, as she already was planning to watch Nidothing's livestream. By the time she had done her chores, she decided to bring Dot the lunch that Murdock had prepared for her. Once at her door, Liko faintly heard Nidothing's background music and tried to bond with Dot over the thing they had in common, but Dot ended up shouting to her. During the livestream, Nidothing—who, unbeknownst to Liko, was actually Dot in a costume—read and responded a comment about the whole situation left by her, who was quick to follow the streamer's advice.

Liko and her father

In HZ009, the Rising Volt Tacklers landed in Paldea. Before heading to her home in Cabo Poco, Liko guided Roy and Friede as they toured around Mesagoza. After Friede failed to get a hold of her mother, Liko suggested visiting her father, which quickly made her feel uneasy after realizing that her journey could soon be over. At home, she overheard her father talking to Friede about how he was worrying about her being by herself. After a sleepless night back at the Brave Asagi, and a run-in with a wild Lechonk, she told her father that she still wanted to be a member of the Rising Volt Tacklers and travel the world with them. Her father accepted her wishes and told them about the sightings of a mysterious Pokémon over Artazon. In the next episode, Liko and Roy went to the city, where they met the Champion-ranked Trainer Nemona and the local Grass-type Gym Leader Brassius. During their time together, they learned that Brassius saw the Black Rayquaza flying over the Arboliva Forest and decided to make it their next destination.

Liko and Roy enjoying a picnic

As they reached the forest, Liko and Roy discovered that part of it had burned down after a lightning strike started a wildfire. After looking around, Liko found an injured Paldean Wooper, but the local wild Pokémon were distrustful of her and took Wooper to a giant Arboliva, which started attacking Liko and Roy until Mollie had finish treating the Poison Fish Pokémon's injuries. In the following episode, Liko led a successful group effort to replant the part of the forest that had burned down. Suddenly, Liko's pendant started to glow and briefly transformed into the mysterious Pokémon again, following which the Arboliva returned to its Ancient Poké Ball and allowed Liko and Roy to take it under their care. At the end of the day, Liko decided she wanted to see her grandmother in the hopes of learning more about the pendant.

In HZ013, Liko and the rest of the Rising Volt Tacklers decided to have a picnic while the ship was undergoing an automatic inspection. During that leisure period, feeling that Dot and Ludlow were missing out, Liko enlisted Murdock's help in making an indoor picnic for them. Later, Liko was shocked to see that she was sent a picture by Dot of Nidothing and Ludlow having a good time. In her naivety, Liko did not correlate Dot and Nidothing as the same person, instead concluding that it was all part of Dot's plan to make her happy.

In HZ014, Liko went to Levincia alone after seeing an advertisement for the Spicy Herba Mystica spice that Murdock wanted. Unbeknownst to her, this was a trap set up by Spinel to lure her away. Spinel used his Beheeyem to erase Liko's memories of the Rising Volt Tacklers and effortlessly stole her pendant. In the the following episode, Dot staged a collaboration with Iono in order to find out Liko's whereabouts. By the time her memory fully recovered, Liko had reunited with Roy, Friede, and Dot, the latter she met in person for the first time. Realizing that Spinel was still in Paldea, the group was determined to retrieve the stolen pendant back.

Liko and her friends battling the Explorers

In HZ016, Liko, Roy, and Dot went searching for Spinel in order to get the pendant back. Once Dot located Spinel's whereabouts, Liko and Roy teamed up with her to battle the Explorers Admin. They managed to take down Spinel's Magneton and Beheeyem, only to be quickly overwhelmed by his Umbreon. Despite this, Liko's determination to keep battling caused the pendant to glow brightly, forcing Spinel out of his hiding spot and allowing Sprigatito the chance to retrieve it. Liko and the others escaped with Arboliva's help and reunited with the other Rising Volt Tacklers. Later, Dot finally confessed to Liko about her secret identity as Nidothing, much to Liko's shock.

In HZ018, Liko and her friends got curious as to how Captain Pikachu was able to fly during his battle against Roy in the previous episode. Although they asked Friede for answers, they could't get the information they wanted. However, Liko and her friends refused to give up as they decided to ask the rest of the members, but could’t get an answer from them either. Despite this, Liko and her friends curiosity did get the rest of the members curious as well. They all decided to ask Friede for answers, as they were able to convince him into telling them as to how he met Captain Pikachu and the formation of the Rising Volt Tacklers. Although she was amazed by his story, Liko was in shock to find out that her mother was Friede's teacher.

Character

File:Liko bashfulness.jpg

Liko's social anxiety

Liko is a kind, soft spoken, and polite girl who doesn't do well in stressful situations. She seems to be studious when it comes to learning about how to build a bond with Pokémon and is rather insightful, being able to spot behavioral patterns with ease, such as Captain Pikachu's during the special training. She also has been shown to be cautious of trusting others, as she quickly realized something was up when Amethio presented himself as a representative of her grandmother and was initially unsure about the Rising Volt Tacklers since Friede took her to their airship without giving her any information about what was happening. Despite her smarts, Liko has also been shown to be gullible and naïve on occasion, mainly when it came to realizing that Nidothing and Dot were the same person. Liko cares very much about Pokémon and is shown to prioritize their safety, as shown in HZ002, where she attempted to surrender herself to the Explorers so the Rising Volt Tacklers' Pokémon wouldn't get hurt. Liko can also be clumsy and has a tendency to lose her balance, stumble or fall down on occasion. In addition, she appears to be adept at drawing, as it is common for her to do so when she writes on her diary about her day. Among other students, Liko is a big fan of Nidothing and watches her videos to help her be a Pokémon Trainer.

Liko playing with Pokémon

Liko has been shown to be a bit bashful and socially anxious around new people. In HZ001, after seeing that other students of Indigo Academy also liked Nidothing, Liko thought about striking a conversation with them, but was unable to voice her words. On occasions when this initial barrier is overcome, however, Liko can easily make friends, being able to quickly befriend Ann and Roy after meeting them, and was also even able to get the extremely reserved Dot to slightly open up as well. Ever since learning that there was another member aboard the Brave Asagi, Liko made attempts to make the mysterious girl open herself up more, which is seen in full display in HZ008, when she brought Dot her lunch and invited her to watch Nidothing's livestream after hearing the streamer's background music from the other girl's room. When she hears or sees something that excites her, she claps her hands together, as shown in HZ006 after discovering that she actually met a Legendary Pokémon. Liko also often gets happy and excited when meeting new Pokemon in general, in stark contrast of her usual bashfulness with new people.

Liko's confident side

Though Liko can be timid and uncertain of her abilities, she has shown a brave side when supported by those around her, people and Pokemon alike, as seen in episodes such as HZ002 and HZ016, after Sprigatito, and later Roy and Dot, encouraged her to stand tall against the Explorers, and HZ005, when she reminded Roy and herself about what they as Trainers could do with Pokémon by their side. With help from Sprigatito, Liko was even willing to jump from one Indigo Academy building to another with encouragement from Sprigatito, and later in HZ015 when she jumped from the top of one skyscraper in Levincia to another. After finding out that Dot is Nidothing in HZ016, Liko kept the knowledge a secret as she respect her reasons for not wanting to let others know about her identity. Liko even decided to help Dot keep her secret, as seen in HZ017, when she tried to stop Roy from asking her for help so he won't disturb her from making a video and finding out that she is Nidothing.

Pokémon

On hand

Sprigatito

Traveling with

Rotom Phone

Terapagos

Taking care of

Arboliva

Arboliva debuted as a guardian of a forest that Liko, Roy, and Mollie visited. It attacked them due to thinking they had hurt a Wooper, but once Mollie had healed it, Arboliva calmed down. After the Rising Volt Tacklers had helped to restore the damage to the forest done by a wildfire, Arboliva returned to its Ancient Poké Ball and allowed Liko and Roy to take it under their care. It was later revealed to be one of the ancient adventurer Lucius's partner Pokémon.

In HZ016, Arboliva was summoned from its Poké Ball by Liko's pendant to face off Spinel and his Pokémon. This made the enemy decide to retreat and so Arboliva returned to Brave Asagi with Liko, Roy, and Dot.

None of Arboliva's moves are known and its Ability is Seed Sower.

Debut

HZ011

Temporary

		Rockruff
		In HZ003, Liko used Murdock's Rockruff to help find her Sprigatito. Rockruff's only known move is Rock Tomb.
Debut	HZ002

		Sunflora (×33)
		As part of trying to create inspiration for Brassius, Liko, Roy, and Nemona collected several Sunflora scattered around Artazon. None of Sunflora's moves are known.
Debut	HZ010

Voice actors

Language		Voice actor
Japanese		鈴木みのり Minori Suzuki
English		Alejandra Reynoso

Gallery

Artwork

			File:Liko anime 5.png
Official artwork from Pokémon Horizons: The Series			Concept art of Liko's school uniform.^[4]

Other


Concept art of Liko drawn by Ken Sugimori from Pokémon Horizons: The Series^[5]^[6]	Concept art of Liko from Pokémon Horizons: The Series^[7]	Reveal artwork of Liko, Roy, and the Paldean starter Pokémon

Air date reveal artwork of Liko, Roy, and the Paldean starter Pokémon^[2]	Concept art of Liko's pendant^[8]	Concept art of Liko from Pokémon Horizons: The Series

In the manga

Liko in Pocket Monsters