The Prankster (Japanese: いたずらマッギョのイイ笑顔？The Mischievous Maggyo's Great Smile?) is the 97th episode of Pokémon Horizons: The Series, and the 1,329th episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on May 30, 2025, in the United Kingdom on October 27, 2025, and in the United States on January 6, 2026.
The Prankster
HZ097
EP1329
いたずらマッギョのイイ笑顔？ The Mischievous Maggyo's Great Smile?
On the way to meet up with Liko, Roy, and Ult in Cortondo, Dot stops in Levincia to see Iono, who has a tip about a Pokémon behaving strangely. It seems that a Stunfisk has been attacking unsuspecting Pokémon and people, but it moves faster than a regular Stunfisk. Suspecting that Laquium could be involved, Dot chases down the Stunfisk and its Trainer, who admits to playing pranks in order to get reaction shots for his livestream channel. Using a Strong Sphere, he sends Stunfisk into battle against Dot’s Pokémon—will they be able to overcome the power of Laquium and defeat Stunfisk?
Plot
Upon arriving at Iono's studio, Dot asks for the reason why Iono had called. Remembering Dot has been asking for information on Pokémon acting strange, Iono reveals she saw something similar in Levincia as she sends some camera footage to Dot. When watching the footage, the Levincia Gym Leader discloses it was a Stunfisk that had been causing trouble on the Pokémon. However, Dot notes that particular Stunfisk is moving faster than normal before noticing the Laquium Sign left behind.
Provided with more clues on the situation, Dot heads to Levincia to investigate further, with Iono unable to join her due to her scheduled livestream. As Dot searches for the Stunfisk, an advertisement of Exceed plays on the screen, causing her to wonder if their Strong Spheres are related to the Stunfisk exhibiting Laquium Signs. At that moment, a few Pokémon get electrocuted, resulting in Dot searching the area closely, finding a spot of mud that Stunfisk uses to hide itself. When Dot's Quaxwell stops Tinkatuff from entering the mud, he gets electrocuted instead as a Rotom Phone is spotted floating above them. The group chases after Stunfisk and the Rotom Phone, finding themselves in an alley.
Dot confronts Stunfisk's Trainer, Stunner Fisk, who reveals he used the Strong Sphere, which he attained by signing up as a product tester, on his Stunfisk to increase its speed, allowing it to electrocute Pokémon in a wider range, with Stunner Fisk taking pictures of their shocked faces and making videos for his own channel in order to go viral and get Iono's attention. Stunner Fisk then realizes Dot is the Trainer that Iono battled during the Tera Training and decides to battle her to further his goals. Having no other choice, Dot sends out Quaxwell as Stunfisk uses Mud-Slap to hide itself. Aware of the likelihood of Quaxwell stepping on Stunfisk, Dot has him use Aqua Cutter to wash away the mud and land a supereffective attack on the Trap Pokémon. Stunfisk counterattacks with Electroweb that Quaxwell dodges. Dot gets Quaxwell to use another Aqua Cutter on Stunfisk, which weakened it.
Dot praising Tinkatuff after winning the battle
Stunner Fisk becomes upset with the situation and uses the Strong Sphere on Stunfisk, enhancing its stats. Quaxwell tries to use a series of Aqua Cutters, but with its speed increased, Stunfisk easily evades the attacks and counters with an Electroweb that cuts through another Aqua Cutter sent its way. When Quaxwell stumbles as a result of being hit by Electroweb, Stunfisk slides under his foot, allowing it to electrocute him, severely damaging the Practicing Pokémon and forcing Dot to recall him and send out Tinkatuff. Despite Tinkatuff's best attempts to attack with Slam, Stunfisk manages to dodge it all and lands the same attack combination on her. As Stunner Fisk realizes something is off with his Stunfisk, Tinkatuff charges in with Slam again. When it sends an Electroweb again, Dot has Tinkatuff use Brutal Swing to nullify the attack, learning Metal Claw in the process. With the opportunity created by Tinkatuff, Dot Terastallizes the Hammer Pokémon into the Steel type. Tinkatuff then lands a successful attack with Metal Claw. Unable to stop itself and ignoring its Trainer's plea, Stunfisk continuously attacks with jolts of electricity that Tinkatuff manages to cut through, successfully defeating Stunfisk with a Metal Claw when it tires itself out from the rampage.
As Stunner Fisk checks on his Stunfisk, Iono (who had been watching for some time) calls Dot to congratulate her on winning the battle. She also addresses Stunner Fisk, who is disheartened at pushing Stunfisk until it lost the smile he loved. When he declares his intent to stop making videos, Iono instead proposes a challenge to motivate him to pursue his goals once more, this time without using the Strong Sphere that Stunner Fisk subsequently smashes to the ground. Later, Dot updates Liko and Roy on what happened in Levincia as Ult struggles with his motion sickness caused by the ferry they are taking. When she hears they are almost at Cortondo, Dot scrambles to find a way to get there quickly. Iono then arrives in a Flying Taxi, having hired one for Dot to use to get to Cortondo and reunite with her friends.
