Orla, Grounded (Japanese: 飛べないオリオとWith a Flightless Orio) is the 99th episode of Pokémon Horizons: The Series, and the 1,331st episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on June 13, 2025, in the United Kingdom on October 27, 2025, and in the United States on January 6, 2026.
Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.
Blurb
Liko, Roy, Dot, and Ult journey to the Galar region to visit their former crewmate Orla, who is now working at Karna’s Poké Ball factory. They ask Orla to build a new airship so they can quickly respond to reported sightings of Laquium-affected Pokémon, but she says she’ll never work on an airship again. Suddenly, Cap notices something in the forest—it’s the Brave Olivine, and it’s still in working condition and filled with its resident Pokémon. When questioned, a grief-stricken Orla insists the Rising Volt Tacklers are done because Friede is gone. Can Cap and the young Trainers change her mind?
Plot
Liko, Roy, Dot, and Ult have arrived in Galar to meet with Orla, who is doing maintenance somewhere. Later, she greets Karna as the two begin their work at Karna's Poké Ball factory for the day. Karna rushes her part of the work due to an order that needs to be completed by the next day, resulting in her slipping on a Poké Ball in the process. After being helped up by Orla, the two talk about Karna wanting to make Poké Balls instead of the strange order, since that is what Karna is more passionate about and accidentally drinks Sinistea's tea. When Orla scolds Sinistea and Polteageist for the prank, the doorbell rings, making Karna worried it's the customers who made the strange order coming unexpectedly early.
Instead, she is pleasantly surprised to see some familiar faces. While Karna happily greets Liko and Roy, noting their Pokémon had evolved since they last met, Dot and Ult introduce themselves and their Pokémon. Orla steps out and greets everyone, with Ult introducing himself from behind a bush. Despite Karna's invitation for tea, Ult forces the other three to explain their presence. As Roy and Dot lecture him for his rudeness, Orla prompts them to continue, but is caught off guard when Liko, Roy, and Dot reveal what they have been up to and request her to make a new airship for them. However, she coldly denies their request and heads back into the factory, sparking concern from the rest. Ult suggests asking Orla again, but Liko opts to wait for her calm down. Just then, Captain Pikachu senses something and leads Liko, Roy, and Dot somewhere, leaving Ult alone as he collapses after drinking Sinistea's tea.
Following Cap deeper into the forest, the group is stunned to see the Brave Olivine, not only not dismantled as Murdock said it should've been, but also the wild Pokémon still living aboard the ship. Liko becomes confused at what they're seeing before them just as Karna tiredly offers them an explanation. As the Pokémon celebrate their reunion, Karna reveals Orla had landed in the forest with the Brave Olivine alone a year ago and asked to work at Karna's factory, which led to the two working together. Sometime later, Orla revealed the events onMount Pericarp and the disbandment of the Rising Volt Tacklers to Karna. The airship wasn't dismantled so that the wild Pokémon on board could continue living there together. Karna admits she notices how the wild Pokémon seem to be happier when Orla or the kids are around. She further reveals Orla does not want to fly the Brave Olivine or go adventuring once more, but she believes her friend is hiding her true feelings away. In the evening, the trio send Ult and his Sableye away so they could head somewhere else.
The next day, Karna tries to persuade Orla to listen to Liko and the others, but the latter adamantly refuses and changes the subject to her being grateful for letting her work at the factory to keep her mind off some matters. While she is concerned about Orla, Karna suggests her friend takes a break while she deals with the customers coming for the order. As she walks in the forest, Orla recalls the time Friedeasked her to make an airship and watching him being blown off. She finds herself at the Brave Olivine, also finding Liko, Roy, and Dot standing before the airship. She attempts to dissuade them from asking more from her, but is taken aback when Liko apologizes, explaining how they actually entered the Brave Olivine earlier and found everything to be in perfect condition thanks to the engineer's efforts. The trio asks Orla for her true thoughts on the matter, but she snaps at them, saying there's nothing now that Friede is gone.
However, Liko feels differently, saying since they're restarting their adventure as the Rising Volt Tacklers, it didn't feel like Friede is gone. Rather, it's a path he would make. Investigating the Laquium, keeping their promise to Lucius, getting the truth back, all of that is something the trio believe Friede would have done, and hence why they feel like they are adventuring together with Friede again. Seeing Cap sitting on his usual place in the Brave Olivine through the window, Orla realizes she has been so stuck in her thoughts of the past that she never spared a thought for the future.
Just then, the group hears an explosion, prompting the kids to head for the source as Orla hesitates. With her Metagross and Elekid's encouragement, she follows behind the kids. At Karna's factory, Ult is trying to chase away two people, who are picking up the order that had Karna rushing. When Liko, Roy, and Dot arrive, Ult explains that order the two people are trying to pick up are Strong Spheres. The two try to reassure the group of the Strong Spheres being safe by passing various safety checks, and that the order was for just their exterior shells, but the kids explain it uses Laquium, which harms Pokémon. Hearing this, Karna withdraws from the job, declaring she refuses to make something that would hurt Pokémon when she began her job to create Poké Balls that connect Trainers to their precious partners. With Karna's declaration, twounknownExplorers enter the conversation, dismissing the claims made against the Strong Spheres. Karna urges Liko and Roy to leave, but when the two Explorers hear their names, they realize they are from the Rising Volt Tacklers and deems the group is up to no good once more by getting in the way, sending out their Paldean FormTauros, one a Aqua Breed and the other a Blaze Breed, for battle. The two Explorers use the Strong Spheres on their Pokémon, ready to battle Liko and the others not only for the Strong Sphere exterior parts, but to also get rid of them.
