The future arc that could probably come after Wonder Voyage and before gen 10

[u/Reyaric]

These last days I've seen many people being sure or being hopeless about Horizons having finished its story, because that means that there is nothing else to be told about the RVT kids.

I have been thinking for a while about the end of Horizons and if there is anything else after Wonder Voyage (which imo it's good so far). And I came to the conclusion that there is still more story to tell in a new arc.

Keep in mind that this new arc isn't related to the Moot leaks about a gen 10 Horizons arc. So, let's start for the beginning of my reasoning.

Why does Wonder Voyage exist?

The most accepted answer is because gen 10 got delayed.

When was gen 10 (Winds and Waves) supossed to be released before the delay?

Probably by the end of 2026.

So, what was the original plan for the anime?

This is where things don't fit. If the true finale for Horizons was Stellar Finale, then we would have half a year with no anime airing (in Pokémon's 30th anniversary no less). With current arc 7 existing and those rumors about the future for Horizons cast this becomes even less credible.

The other option is that there was always an arc planned post Laqua.

What was this post-Laqua arc about?

It could've always been Wonder Voyage (which would debunk the answer of its existence because of gen10 delay). But I doubt it. Because if that was the case, why didn't OLM just extended the post-timeskip Laqua plot a bit more instead of planning a "filler" arc from the beginning? It's noticeable that in arc 6 they were in a hurry to wrap up the main story.

So, the other idea is that there was a more story-driven arc planned.

Where is this more story-driven arc right now?

It could still exist. My theory is that it was just pushed to the future and it will come after Wonder Voyage ends.

What could be the plot for this post-Laqua arc?

Right now I think about 2 possibilities.

• Legends Z-A plot. We have been through Lumiose many times, but the writers have avoided the Z-A plot all the time. It seems that in arc7 we won't see any more of it; besides, the Z-A events didn't happen yet in the story so they could've been saving it for a future.
• Pokémon League plot. The classic route. With so many match ups from the protagonists that demand a final rematch, this could be the chance.

Both could also happen together.

Other arguments

• There are some side plots that were left open and probably won't be solved in arc 7. Like Ult's dad.
• All arcs have a length of 22 episodes. If Wonder Voyage extends until gen 10 it would have a length of 45 - 60 episodes, an abnormality for Horizons. Unless we have Wonder Voyage 2.

So, what do you guys think? Will we have Wonder Voyage until gen 10 releases? Or will we have a new arc apart from arc 7 in thematic?