Liko

Liko is the female protagonist of Pokémon Horizons: The Series. She owns a mysterious pendant, which was given to her by her grandmother, though its true purpose is currently unknown. Liko attends Indigo Academy and is a member of the Rising Volt Tacklers.

In the anime

History

A few years prior, Liko received a mysterious pendant from her grandmother. After saying this gift will be important to her in the future, Liko's grandmother said that Liko should rely on her Pokémon to be able to venture out and face her fears on her journey.

Pokémon Horizons: The Series

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.

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 successfully 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.

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 to no avail. 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.

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.

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 to take it under her 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, specifically the ones involving 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.

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 became curious as to how Captain Pikachu was able to fly during his battle against Roy in the previous episode. After Friede dodged all their questions, Liko and the rest of the crew came together and convinced him to tell the story of his first encounter with Captain Pikachu, which also led to the formation of the Rising Volt Tacklers. During the story, Liko was surprised to find out that her mother was Friede's teacher.

In HZ020, Liko arrived at Motostoke Stadium with Roy in order to gather information about the Black Rayquaza from Motostoke Gym Leader Kabu. Kabu tested their resolve through a training contest to master their Pokémon's basic moves, followed by a Tag Battle against himself and his apprentice Wakaba. Although Liko did her best throughout her training, she yielded to Roy during their contest when she saw how he had improved, and felt it best to forfeit against Wakaba to help her qualify as a Gym Trainer. When this only upset Sprigatito and Wakaba, however, Kabu helped Liko understand her lack of consideration for their feelings, and she apologized to them both. After the training, Liko and Roy learned from Kabu that Rayquaza was spotted heading towards the Galar Mine.

In the next episode, while heading to the Galar Mine, Liko, Roy, and Friede had to seek shelter from the rain and they found a wild Hatenna. Liko felt that something wasn't right with her and brought Hatenna back to the Brave Asagi so Mollie could check her out. Mollie deduced she was just feeling down, so Liko volunteered to look after Hatenna, but she ran away after sensing Dot's strong emotions. Liko, Roy, and Dot sought Hatenna all over the airship, with Liko eventually finding her on the observation deck. She told Hatenna that she also liked to come there as well because it was quiet and peaceful, which led them to bond. After the weather cleared up, Liko attempted to return Hatenna to the wild, but Sprigatito convinced the Calm Pokémon not to go and she ran back into Liko's arms. Realizing that Hatenna wanted to go with her, Friede gave her a Poké Ball and Liko happily caught Hatenna, adding her to her team.

In HZ022, Liko with Roy and Friede arrived at the Galar Mine, but got separated from them. However, Liko was able to meet back up with Roy and encounter the Explores again. During the battle, Liko and her friends met a Galarian Moltres that had an Ancient Poké Ball, which got her to realize that its one of Lucius's Pokémon. Unfortunately, Liko and Roy were forced to retreat when Moltres proved to be too strong and Captain Pikachu was injured as they left the mine. In the next episode, Liko and Roy arrived at the Pokémon Center in Motostoke where they reunited with Friede and agreed to battle Moltres again. After finding Moltres again at the Galar Mine, Liko battled the Legendary Pokémon once more in order to calm it down. However, after calming Moltres down, Liko's pendant started to glow and briefly transformed into the mysterious Pokémon again, following which the Moltres returned to its Ancient Poké Ball and allowed Liko to take it under her care.

In HZ024, Liko with Roy and Friede arrived Hammerlocke in order to find an old castle that her grandmother was at. Through her Squawkabilly, Liko and her friends were able to find her grandmother. Liko introduces her grandmother to her friends Roy and Friede. Also, Liko introduces her grandmother to Sprigatito and Hatenna as her Pokémon partners. They hung out at the castle until the Explorers, who have been following them, arrived at their location. In the next episode, Liko and Roy tried to escape the Explorers, but were forced to battle Onia and Zirc, as they were able to defeat them. After the rest of the Rising Volt Tacklers arrived, Liko, her grandmother and friends were able to escape from the Explorers.

Character

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 comes to realizing that Nidothing and Dot are 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 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 up 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 Pokémon in general, in stark contrast to her usual bashfulness with new people.

Though Liko can be timid and uncertain of her abilities, especially in dangerous situations, she has shown a brave side when supported by those around her, people and Pokémon 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. Liko also has a calm disposition and is very approachable, even to the shy and seclusive Hatenna she met near the Galar Mine, to the point where she let Liko catch her soon after meeting her thanks to her calm emotions. After finding out that Dot is Nidothing in HZ016, Liko keeps the knowledge a secret as she respects 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 was Nidothing.

Ever since being assigned to the observation deck on the Brave Asagi in HZ004, Liko came to enjoy hanging out there because it was peaceful and quiet, as she would go there in order to get away from whatever was troubling her. Liko often tries to prioritize the happiness of other people before her own, but this sometimes ends up having the opposite effect due to her not properly considering their feelings. This tendency, along with a lack of a goal, resulted in Liko's own development and growth as a Trainer stagnating due to having very little ambition of her own. However, in HZ021, Liko decided that she wants to be a Trainer that understands how Pokémon feel.

Liko's Pokémon

On hand

1. Sprigatito → Floragato ♀
2. Hatenna → Hattrem ♀
3. Terapagos (Pagogo)

Gallery

Liko and Sprigatito (School Uniform)

Liko and Sprigatito (Casual Outfit)

Liko and Hatenna

Liko and Terapagos

Liko (with her Rotom Phone)

Liko (holing a Pokeball)

Young Liko

Trivia

• She is voiced by Alejandra Reynoso in English Dub.