Warning: Spoilers for Pokémon Horizons, Episode #57

Pokémon Horizons has long been on the trail of the mysteries surrounding Terapagos, but their investigation has finally led them to a place that any player of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet will remember: Area Zero. The forbidden zone at the heart of Paldea, Area Zero is a place where incredibly powerful Pokémon roam free, and one that many an explorer has died trying to research.

The episode opened with Friede and the kids organizing a meeting with Principal Clavell and Geeta, the head of the Paldean Pokémon League. Their intention was to gather any information they could about Terapagos, but even Geeta didn’t have much to relay to them. She did say that the legends pertaining to Terapagos in Paldea are largely centered on Area Zero, but that there had recently been an “incident” in Area Zero, so visiting it would be impossible at the moment.

Using the Scarlet Book which Dot found last week, Geeta showed them an image of a special third form of Terapagos, which excited the team greatly. However, with no way into Area Zero, it seems like this lead might be a dead end-for now.

Area Zero is One of Paldea’s Deadliest Locations

The Great Crater is Home to Powerful and Mysterious Pokémon

In the games, Area Zero is the location where either Professor Turo or Professor Sada has been conducting research, depending on the version played. It has rarely been visited by human exploration teams, with one of the most notable journeys being that of the adventurer Heath, recorded in the Scarlet Book. The area is inhabited by incredibly powerful Pokémon from the distant past or future, which can and will aggressively attack people that they encounter. Only highly skilled trainers can survive there, and while Friede may stand a chance, it’s likely that Liko, Roy, and Dot are still a long way from being able to handle such a trek.

Given Pokémon Horizons‘ existing storyline surrounding Terapagos, there are some great questions that arise from the revelation that Area Zero is tied to Terapagos in the series as much as it is in the games. If Terapagos was with the Ancient Adventurer Lucius, it obviously couldn’t have been in Area Zero, which changes things a lot. Of course, it’s always possible there’s more than one Terapagos: the one with Liko, and one in Area Zero. That would certainly be a major revelation if that turns out to be the case.

The episode also seemed to squash a theory that Area Zero is tied to the legendary land of Laqua, as Raifort said that Laqua was supposed to be very far away (“a hundred days and nights”) from Paldea. Just how Area Zero and the game lore surrounding Terapagos will be integrated into Pokémon Horizons will be interesting to see, since the two have developed in such different ways. The idea of the anime exploring Area Zero is certainly an exciting one, offering some of those bizarre Pokémon their first chance to appear in animated form. Such an exploration is still some ways away, however, so for now, fans can only dream.