Defending the Homeland! – Pokémon XY Kalos Quest Episode 21


Season	Pokémon the Series: XY Kalos Quest (Season 18) · Mega Garchomp & Goodra’s homeland arc (XY068–XY070)
Episode	Season 18, episode 21 · English episode 864 · Japanese episode 869 · Bulbapedia code XY069
English title	Defending the Homeland!
Japanese title	湿地帯の戦い！ヌメルゴン対フラージェス！！ Shitchitai no Tatakai! Numerugon Tai Furājesu!! — “Battle in the Wetlands! Numelgon VS Florges!!”
First aired (Japan)	23 April 2015 · TV Tokyo
First aired (US)	27 June 2015 · Cartoon Network
Screenplay	Shinzō Fujita
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?	Wooper (US)
Previous episode	Garchomp’s Mega Bond! (XY068)
Next episode	Beyond the Rainbow! (XY070)

Plot episodeGoodra’s homeland, part 1Goodra learns Ice Beam

Defending the Homeland! is the 21st episode of Pokémon the Series: XY Kalos Quest, the eighteenth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 864th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 869, Bulbapedia code XY069). It first aired in Japan on 23 April 2015 and in the United States on 27 June 2015. It falls within the season’s Mega Garchomp & Goodra’s homeland stretch (EP68–EP70).

Synopsis

Ash’s Goodra returns to its wetland home and defeats the Florges whose army drove it out as a Goomy, only to be struck by mysterious attacks that reveal Team Rocket are secretly helping her. On the way to Laverre City, Goodra settles a lunchtime squabble between Chespin and Dedenne by sharing its own food. A passing warden named Keanan recognises Goodra through his Bellsprout and explains that it was once a Goomy from the nearby wetlands. Years ago, a Florges and her army of Bug and Poison types seized the healing spring where Goomy and its friends lived; in the fighting, Goomy was knocked into the air, caught by a flock of Swanna and eventually dropped onto Ash’s head. Florges’s army now controls the wetlands, and Goodra’s old friends hide in one corner.

Though hesitant, Goodra agrees to visit. A Wooper hears Goodra’s cry, and its old friends, Wooper, Quagsire, Lotad and Gulpin among them, gather for a joyful reunion. Goodra proudly shows off its Dragon Pulse, until Bug types spot them and alert Florges. A Swanna leads all the wetland Pokémon away to their corner, and Keanan stops Ash from interfering, though he lets him follow as long as he stays out of the battle. Florges’s army of Bug and Poison types attacks the wetland Pokémon in force, and Goodra stands in front of its friends, absorbing the blows with Bide until they gradually find the courage to fight back. Finally Florges comes down to face Goodra herself and recognises it as the Goomy she once attacked.

Ash reminds Goodra how much it has grown. Petal Blizzard and Dragon Pulse cancel out, and Florges sets up Grassy Terrain to power a Solar Beam that hits all of Goodra’s friends; Goodra shields them from a super-effective Moonblast and nearly gives up, but Ash’s encouragement keeps it going. It learns Ice Beam, breaks through a second Moonblast and defeats Florges. As everyone celebrates, a Shadow Ball and a Psybeam hit Goodra out of nowhere, a smoke device fills the area with fog, and Florges and her army vanish. That evening Keanan treats Goodra, admitting that no wetland Pokémon can use those moves, and he and Clemont review surveillance footage. At the spring, Florges listens to Team Rocket’s plan to defeat Goodra; she has been protecting her daughter, a Floette. On Team Rocket’s advice, she orders an Ariados to kidnap Pikachu, Dedenne and Wooper.

Major Events

Goodra’s homeland, part 1. The warden Keanan tells how Goomy was driven from its wetlands
Goodra returns, learns Ice Beam and defeats Florges
Team Rocket are secretly helping Florges
Debut of Keanan
Anime debut of Florges
TV-episode debut of Floette