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| Season | Pokémon the Series: XY Kalos Quest (Season 18) · Mega Garchomp & Goodra’s homeland arc (XY068–XY070) |
| Episode | Season 18, episode 20 · English episode 863 · Japanese episode 868 · Bulbapedia code XY068 |
| English title | Garchomp’s Mega Bond! |
| Japanese title | 狙われたメガシンカ！ガブリアスの絆！！ Nerawareta Mega Shinka! Gaburiasu no Kizuna!! — “The Coveted Mega Evolution! Gaburias’s Bonds!!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 16 April 2015 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 20 June 2015 · Cartoon Network |
| Screenplay | Junki Takegami |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Getta Banban (Mad-Paced Getter) – Tomohisa Sako · Gaogao Ōrusutā (Roaring All-Stars) – Little Glee Monster |
| English opening | Be a Hero – Ben Dixon and The Sad Truth |
| Who’s That Pokémon? | Garchomp (US) |
| Previous episode | The Moment of Lumiose Truth! (XY067) |
| Next episode | Defending the Homeland! (XY069) |
Plot episodeMega GarchompSycamore learns Meyer’s secret
Garchomp’s Mega Bond! is the 20th episode of Pokémon the Series: XY Kalos Quest, the eighteenth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 863rd episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 868, Bulbapedia code XY068). It first aired in Japan on 16 April 2015 and in the United States on 20 June 2015. It falls within the season’s Mega Garchomp & Goodra’s homeland stretch (EP68–EP70).
Synopsis
Team Rocket steal Professor Sycamore’s new Key Stone, Garchompite and Garchomp and try to force it to Mega Evolve, but Garchomp’s bond with the Professor lets him trigger its first Mega Evolution and break their control, and Sycamore then discovers that Blaziken Mask is Meyer. Before leaving Lumiose City, Ash and his friends visit Sycamore’s lab, where he shows them his newest acquisitions, a Key Stone and a Garchompite, and a Mega Stone synchronizer that checks whether a stone suits a Pokémon. Team Rocket burst in with a Meowth-shaped machine and make off with the stones and Garchomp. Ash throws one of Clemont’s devices onto the machine, and Sycamore drives everyone after the signal, until Inkay’s Psybeam destroys the tracker and makes Clemont’s apparatus explode.
Team Rocket use guidance waves to control Garchomp, fasten the Garchompite around her neck and have James try to force a Mega Evolution. With the trail lost, Sycamore climbs out of the car and calls out for her, remembering how Alain brought Garchomp to the lab as a rampaging Gible found in Lumiose City. Little by little the frightened Pokémon learned to trust the Professor and everyone at the lab, growing into Gabite and finally Garchomp as their bond deepened. As James activates his own Key Stone during Team Rocket’s attempt, those memories of the Professor surface in Garchomp’s mind, the Mega Evolution fails, and she lets out a howl of distress. Only Sycamore hears it, and he leads the group towards the sound.
Team Rocket conclude that Garchomp is resisting, and Meowth raises the intensity of the waves, which hurt the Professor too when he rushes in. Blaziken Mask and his Blaziken stop the machine, but Meowth restarts the transmission. Sycamore asks Blaziken Mask to lend him his Key Stone, and as both he and James activate their stones, Garchomp Mega Evolves. Ordered to attack, Mega Garchomp instead walks to the Professor and embraces him, free of the control, and together with Blaziken and Pikachu she destroys the mecha and blasts Team Rocket off. Sycamore notices a familiar scent on the borrowed Key Stone as he returns it, and Blaziken Mask leaves as Officer Jenny arrives. That evening the group sets out for Laverre City. The next morning Sycamore visits Meyer’s shop, recognises the scent, and Meyer agrees to help him research Mega Blaziken.
Major Events
- Mega Garchomp. Team Rocket steal Professor Sycamore’s Key Stone, Garchompite and Garchomp, which Mega Evolves for the Professor
- Sycamore discovers that Blaziken Mask is Meyer
- The first episode with the Japanese ending Gaogao All-Star
- Main-series debuts of Alain, in a flashback, and of Mega Garchomp
Trivia
- The screenplay is by Junki Takegami.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Kalos storyline.
Changes in the English Dub
- First episode with the Japanese ending Gaogao All-Star (Little Glee Monster)
- Getta Banban insert song
Part of our Pokémon the Series: XY Kalos Quest guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.