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| Season | Pokémon the Series: XY Kalos Quest (Season 18) · A Showcase debut & a new look arc (XY060–XY064) |
| Episode | Season 18, episode 12 · English episode 855 · Japanese episode 860 · Bulbapedia code XY060 |
| English title | A Showcase Debut! |
| Japanese title | 目指せカロスクイーン！セレナ、デビューです！！ Mezase Karosu Kuīn! Serena, Debyū desu!! — “Aim to be the Kalos Queen! Serena Makes Her Debut!!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 12 February 2015 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 25 April 2015 · Cartoon Network |
| Screenplay | Atsuhiro Tomioka |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Getta Banban (Mad-Paced Getter) – Tomohisa Sako · Doridori (DreamDream) – Shōko Nakagawa |
| English opening | Be a Hero – Ben Dixon and The Sad Truth |
| Who’s That Pokémon? | Klefki (US) |
| Previous episode | Under the Pledging Tree! (XY059) |
| Next episode | An Oasis of Hope! (XY061) |
Plot episodeSerena’s Showcase debutSerena cuts her hair
A Showcase Debut! is the 12th episode of Pokémon the Series: XY Kalos Quest, the eighteenth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 855th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 860, Bulbapedia code XY060). It first aired in Japan on 12 February 2015 and in the United States on 25 April 2015. It falls within the season’s A Showcase debut & a new look stretch (EP60–EP64).
Cartoon Network’s listings called it “Showcase, Debut!”.
Synopsis
Serena makes her Pokémon Showcase debut in Coumarine City but is eliminated in the first round when Fennekin trips over its ribbon, and the next morning she cuts her hair short to mark a new beginning. Serena, Shauna and Jessie are among the Performers, while Ash, Clemont and Bonnie watch from the audience with James and Meowth not far away. The retired Kalos Queen Palermo arrives by limousine, saying only that she has an obligation to watch, and host Monsieur Pierre presents the Princess Key with his Klefki. The first round is Pokémon Styling: ten minutes to dress a Pokémon, then a walk down the runway. Alouette’s Furfrou wears a Pharaoh Trim, Shauna crowns Bulbasaur’s bulb with a bouquet, and Jessie’s “Beauty and the Beast” costume for Pumpkaboo wins only James’s and Meowth’s votes on the Glow Casters. Shauna advances from her group.
Serena is nervous until Fennekin reassures her, and she remembers Ash’s words that nothing he and Pikachu do on their journey is wasted, so she pours her travel experiences into her styling. The walk starts well and the crowd likes Fennekin’s outfit, but she has overlooked the long ribbon around Fennekin’s neck. Near the end Fennekin trips on it and its decorations scatter. Serena hugs her partner and accepts that she has received the fewest votes and is out. She changes back into her usual clothes and watches the rest of the competition. Shauna goes on to win the Freestyle Performance with Bulbasaur and Flabébé and claims her first Princess Key, and Palermo leaves, remarking that no one compares to Aria.
That evening Serena congratulates Shauna and promises to keep her win secret from Tierno and Trevor until she can tell them herself. Clemont worries about Serena, but Ash is sure her strength will carry her through. Early the next morning Serena walks to a dock with Fennekin and Pancham, and the memory of her failure brings her to tears despite her Pokémon’s efforts to cheer her up. Palermo’s passing limousine stops briefly; she recognises the girl from the Showcase and watches in silence. Blaming herself but relieved to have finally begun her dream, Serena cuts her long hair to shoulder length as a symbol of the journey so far and changes into a new outfit, wearing the blue ribbon Ash gave her. The group then sets out for Lumiose City, where Ash will challenge Clemont for his fifth Badge.
Major Events
- Serena’s Showcase debut. Fennekin trips in the Pokémon Styling round and Serena is eliminated, as is Jessie
- Shauna wins her first Princess Key
- Serena cuts her hair and changes into a new outfit with Ash’s ribbon
- The last episode with the original Japanese XY title card
- Debuts of the retired Kalos Queen Palermo and the Performers Alouette, Blanche, Clarice and Elma
Trivia
- The screenplay is by Atsuhiro Tomioka.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Kalos storyline.
Changes in the English Dub
- A slow remix of the games’ Snowbelle City and AZ themes plays as Serena cries; the dub substitutes its own Showcase theme, first heard in XY021
- The only Showcase Serena enters without DreamDream as an insert song
Part of our Pokémon the Series: XY Kalos Quest guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.