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.
Destiny of the Black Rayquaza (Japanese: 黒いレックウザ、決着の時The Black Rayquaza, Time for the Showdown) is the 129th episode of Pokémon Horizons: The Series, and the 1,361st episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on February 27, 2026.
Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.
Plot
Arriving at the Dragon's Den in the Johtoregion once more, Liko, Roy, and Ult encounter Team Dragon Rampage once again and are happy to learn from them that the Black Rayquaza is doing much better now, and that they don't consider them to be bad guys, despite having found out about them being in the Rising Volt Tacklers. However, the Dragon Tamer trio is still at odds with Ult, disliking his demanding tone of wanting to obtain the Black Rayquaza and also questioning why he has a Dragonite with him. At first, they laugh at him when he says they're friends, but Liko assures that Dragonite really is Ult's Pokémon. Ult admits that he's had Dragonite and its Dusk Ball for as long as he can remember. Seeing the Dusk Ball, Team Dragon Rampage calls him a "Salt-wannabe", explaining that Salt is another member of the Dragon Tamer clan, famed as an underground explorer with a Dragonite partner housed in a Dusk Ball. Remembering that Ult got his Dragonite from his father, Liko deduces that Salt must be Ult's father. Team Dragon Rampage claims this is impossible, since Salt's kid is supposed to have a heart-shaped mole on his butt. At this, Ult's face flushes bright red, denying he has a heart-shaped mole, though Roy can immediately tell he's lying, with Sableye quickly confirming it by pointing at Ult's rear. The Dragon Tamer trio is stunned to learn that Ult is indeed part of their clan too. Having learned something new about his father, Ult yells into a Diglett hole, thanking his father for the Dusk Ball, before turning his attention back to wanting to meet Rayquaza.
The young Rising Volt Tacklers follow Team Dragon Rampage into the Dragon Shrine, where they find Rayquaza still resting. Bringing out the briefcase they received from Friede, Roy says they have a souvenir for Rayquaza. Roy opens the briefcase to find a rock, with a note inside the briefcase identifying it as a raw meteorite, which Team Dragon Rampage describes as Rayquaza's favorite food. Although Liko is unsure if a meteor can even be called a meteorite if it was plucked from space and never actually hit the ground, the group still happily feeds the meteorite to Rayquaza, which gets visibly more energized as a result, much to their relief. Rayquaza then communicates with Pagogo, who briefly transforms into its Terastal Form in order to Terastallize Rayquaza into a pure Dragon type, since it wants to test Roy and Ult in a serious battle, which they're happy to accept.
Moving outside the cave, Roy and Ult choose Kilowattrel and Dragonite as their respective leads. Ult makes the first move by ordering a Dragon Rush, but Dragonite is struck back by Rayquaza's Dragon Tail, which also ends up swapping out Dragonite and dragging out Sableye due to its effect. Ult decides to stick with Sableye for now as it and Kilowattrel attack with Power Gem and Electro Ball, respectively, but Rayquaza dissipates both attacks with a powerful roar, which also sends both opposing Pokémon flying back. Eager to keep showing Rayquaza their own power, Kilowattrel and Sableye get back up in the air, avoiding a series of Dragon Pulses before Sableye falls off Kilowattrel seemingly by accident, but is revealed to have done so on purpose to hit the Sky High Pokémon with a Confuse Ray, successfully confusing Rayquaza. Roy uses this opportunity to land a powerful Supercell Slam on Rayquaza, shocking Team Dragon Rampage that the two actually managed to land a hit on Rayquaza. Even through its confusion, though, Rayquaza manages to use Draco Meteor, which Kilowattrel and Sableye are unable to dodge, knocking them both out.
Dragonite catching Rayquaza's Draco Meteor in its Twister
Deciding to resort to Mega Evolution, Roy and Ult call out Lucario and Dragonite, immediately Mega Evolving both of them. With its speed, Mega Dragonite is easily able to dodge all of Rayquaza's Dragon Pulses, attracting its attention so that Lucario can get in close and hit Rayquaza with Close Combat. Lucario is subsequently saved from a Dragon Pulse by Dragonite, and the two Mega-Evolved Pokémon attack Rayquaza together with Hyper Beam and Flash Cannon. While hit, Rayquaza is still far from defeated and counterattacks using Draco Meteor. With Dragonite immobilized by Hyper Beam's recoil, Roy has Lucario use Close Combat to prevent it from getting hit by the falling meteors. As soon as Dragonite can move again, Roy has Lucario jump off its back while Ult calls for a Twister, catching some of the Draco Meteors and sending both them and the Twister right at Rayquaza. After a few seconds, however, Rayquaza escapes from the Twister and flies high up into the sky, which Roy recognizes as it preparing to use Dragon Ascent. Although Lucario and Dragonite brace themselves and try to dodge when the Dragon Ascent strikes, both of them are hit hard, with Dragonite barely hanging on and Lucario being slammed into a rock face and getting defeated by a follow-up Dragon Pulse.
Having only one Pokémon left, Roy recalls Lucario and confidently sends out his first partner, Skeledirge. He has Skeledirge use Disarming Voice, but Rayquaza's roar easily overpowers the attack. Rayquaza follows up with Draco Meteor, while Roy orders a counterattack with Torch Song. While Skeledirge's attack hits, he's almost hit by a boulder sent rolling down towards him by one of the Draco Meteors, but Ult has Dragonite save him by using Dragon Rush on the boulder. Skeledirge is saved, but at the cost of Dragonite spending the last of its energy in the process and fainting, forcing Ult to drop out of the fight, though he urges Roy to keep going. Roy does exactly that, pulling out his Tera Orb and Terastallizing Skeledirge. While Skeledirge is unable to fight from the air on his own and is hit by a couple of Dragon Tail strikes as a result, Roy quickly gets an idea, noticing the indent in the rock face that was formed when Rayquaza defeated Lucario. As such, he has Skeledirge turn at the rock face and use Disarming Voice towards the indent, where the sound-based move resonates and is sent back out at Rayquaza with even greater power. Visibly hit hard by the Fairy-typemove, Rayquaza prepares to use Dragon Ascent once more. Feeling the match is coming to a close, Roy resolves to keep fighting to the end alongside the partner who's been with him all this time. Although Skeledirge's Torch Song is easily overpowered by Dragon Ascent, he's able to withstand the brunt of the attack by using Stomping Tantrum to firmly plant himself in place. With Roy's passionate voice backing him up, Skeledirge manages to push back Rayquaza, after which Roy gives an equally passionate order for a Terastal-boosted Flamethrower, which strikes Rayquaza and sends it falling to the ground, its Terastallized state becoming undone in the process.
With the battle over, Roy pulls out a Poké Ball and shows it to Rayquaza. Getting back up, Rayquaza looks at Roy in the eye, before silently nodding, giving him its approval. Overjoyed at the approval he's been longing for, Roy throws the Poké Ball and successfully catches Rayquaza, much to the shock of Team Dragon Rampage. Roy picks up Rayquaza's Poké Ball, with Liko congratulating him on finally achieving his dream. Roy thanks Liko, feeling grateful of the support his friends have given him, which has allowed him to reach the dream he's been chasing ever since he lefthis home island. Even Ult, who's initially shedding tears, is quick to wipe them away and admit that Roy and Rayquaza are well suited for each other. When Roy calls Rayquaza back out, Pagogo once again briefly changes into its Terastal Form, showing Rayquaza a vision of the remaining Six Heroes. Understanding what Pagogo means, Roy nods and Rayquaza flies off, with a teary-eyed Roy looking after it. Ult is confused why Rayquaza would leave right after being caught, but Roy assures him that it's just heading off to call the Six Heroes together again and will be back. Team Dragon Rampage cries tears of happiness seeing Rayquaza being in perfect health again and waves after it.
At sunset, Team Dragon Rampage entrusts Rayquaza under Roy's care and tells Ult to bring a greeting from them to Salt if he ever sees him before riding off on their Cyclizar. Liko, Roy, and Ult fly off, with Ult assuring Liko that he's fine, declaring that his own legend has only just begun.
The Black Rayquaza Terastallizes for the first time, and its Tera Type is revealed to be Dragon.
In the process, it represent the Dragon of the eighteen required Tera Types they need to purify the Laquium Core, leaving only two types still unaccounted for.
Roy and Ult have a battle with the Black Rayquaza and win.
Beginning with this episode, at the beginning of TV Tokyo airings, the Captain Pikachu-themed 30th anniversary logo is briefly shown in the top-right corner of the screen.
This is the first time a main character has utilized more than one battle technique in a single episode.
