 |
|
| Season | Pokémon the Series: XY Kalos Quest (Season 18) · Laverre City & Sawyer arc (XY071–XY075) |
| Episode | Season 18, episode 27 · English episode 870 · Japanese episode 875 · Bulbapedia code XY075 |
| English title | Rivals: Today and Tomorrow! |
| Japanese title | ライバルバトル３本勝負！ 明日に向かって！！ Raibaru Batoru Sanbon Shōbu! Ashita ni Mukatte!! — “Three-Match Rival Battle! Towards the Future!!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 4 June 2015 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 8 August 2015 · Cartoon Network |
| Screenplay | Atsuhiro Tomioka |
| 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? | Grovyle (US) |
| Previous episode | Fairy-Type Trickery! (XY074) |
| Next episode | A Not-So-Flying Start! (XY076) |
Plot episodeAsh beats SawyerTreecko evolves into Grovyle
Rivals: Today and Tomorrow! is the 27th episode of Pokémon the Series: XY Kalos Quest, the eighteenth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 870th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 875, Bulbapedia code XY075). It first aired in Japan on 4 June 2015 and in the United States on 8 August 2015. It falls within the season’s Laverre City & Sawyer stretch (EP71–EP75).
The following Saturday, 15 August 2015, Cartoon Network showed Mega Evolution Special III in the series’ slot; Japan had aired it between XY064 and XY065.
Synopsis
Sawyer’s lost battle notebook falls into Team Rocket’s hands, and after recovering it he finally has his full battle with Ash, during which his Treecko evolves into Grovyle before Ash wins three rounds to none. Leaving Laverre City together after Ash’s Gym victory, Sawyer is so absorbed in his notebook that he trips and drops it without noticing. Team Rocket find it, see a photo of Hoenn Champion Steven Stone inside and assume that it belongs to him; James and Meowth want to study his techniques, while Jessie daydreams about marrying into the family that runs the Devon Corporation. At the Pokémon Center, Sawyer explains that he records notes after every battle with Treecko and that Steven once gave him valuable advice.
Bonnie asks Clemont for an invention to find the notebook, but he has no gadget that can track a scent, so Sawyer calls out his Slurpuff, which, guided by Treecko, follows the scent straight to James. Slurpuff grabs the notebook and runs back to its owner, and when Sawyer points to Steven’s autograph to prove it is his, the angry trio fall back on stealing Pokémon; the attacks of Pumpkaboo and Inkay are cancelled out by Treecko and Pikachu, and Pikachu’s Thunderbolt blasts Team Rocket off yet again. That night Serena learns of a Pokémon Showcase in Dendemille Town, on the way to Ash’s next Gym in Anistar City, and signs up, while Sawyer announces that he is heading to Coumarine City to earn the Plant Badge.
The next morning Sawyer asks for a three-on-three battle to finish the match they never completed. Pikachu outpaces Bagon’s Headbutt with Quick Attack and breaks through Dragon Claw with Iron Tail. Slurpuff’s Electro Ball is super effective on Hawlucha, but Sawyer, distracted by his notes, fails to react to Flying Press, and Ash reminds him that Pokémon mirror their Trainer’s emotions. Taking the advice to heart, Sawyer sends out Treecko against Frogadier. Treecko’s Bullet Seed and Agility are matched by Water Pulse, and Treecko evolves into Grovyle, whose Leaf Blade counters Double Team. The two trade rapid blows until Frogadier knocks Grovyle out at the very end to win the match. Grovyle and Frogadier are now clear rivals, and Sawyer vows to grow stronger and challenge Ash again someday.
Major Events
- Ash vs Sawyer. Team Rocket find Sawyer’s lost notebook
- Ash beats Sawyer three to nothing as Treecko evolves into Grovyle, the only on-screen evolution of a rival’s Pokémon in XY
- Serena enters the Dendemille Showcase, and the next Gym is in Anistar City
Captures and evolutions
Treecko → Grovyle#0253 · Sawyer · mid-battle against Ash’s Frogadier
Trivia
- The screenplay is by Atsuhiro Tomioka.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Kalos storyline.
Changes in the English Dub
- Getta Banban plays at the end of the Sawyer battle; the dub uses an instrumental of Be a Hero
Part of our Pokémon the Series: XY Kalos Quest guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.