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| Season | Pokémon the Series: XY Kalos Quest (Season 18) · Dendemille & the road north arc (XY079–XY085) |
| Episode | Season 18, episode 36 · English episode 879 · Japanese episode 885 · Bulbapedia code XY085 |
| English title | Mending a Broken Spirit! |
| Japanese title | 折れた小枝、折れた心！テールナーの強き思い！！ Oreta Koeda, Oreta Kokoro! Tērunā no Tsuyoki Omoi!! — “A Broken Twig and a Broken Heart! Tairenar’s Strong Feelings!!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 20 August 2015 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 17 October 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? | Gallade (US) |
| Previous episode | Adventures in Running Errands! (XY084) |
| Next episode | A Legendary Photo Op! (XY086) |
Plot episodeBraixen learns Fire BlastBraixen’s new branch
Mending a Broken Spirit! is the 36th episode of Pokémon the Series: XY Kalos Quest, the eighteenth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 879th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 885, Bulbapedia code XY085). It first aired in Japan on 20 August 2015 and in the United States on 17 October 2015. It falls within the season’s Dendemille & the road north stretch (EP79–EP85).
Synopsis
When Braixen’s treasured branch snaps during Showcase practice, a tree surgeon’s test battle teaches her to let go of the past, and she learns Fire Blast and accepts a new branch from Pancham. At a Pokémon Center on the way to Anistar City, Serena practises an updated routine, but Pancham’s Stone Edge trips Braixen and her branch snaps in the fall, although she is unhurt. Nearby, Jessie vows to beat Serena at the next Showcase. Furious, Braixen rejects every replacement the group gathers and runs into the forest, with Serena and a guilt-stricken Pancham following. Watching from the bushes, Jessie and Meowth find her attachment strange, but James understands, remembering how his mother threw away the bottle cap collection that held his memories.
Disguised as a helpful stranger named “Jeeves,” James explains to Serena that Braixen’s memories are tied to the branch. Serena recalls their promise that she would become Kalos Queen with that very branch. Nurse Joy cannot repair it, but she recommends Woodward, a tree surgeon who once reattached a Sawsbuck’s horn. Woodward explains that the horn healed only because the Sawsbuck itself willed it to, so Braixen’s will must be tested, and he challenges her to a battle against his Gallade. Ash, Clemont and Bonnie arrive in time to watch, and Clemont referees. Serena orders Scratch again and again, but Gallade dodges every one, and Ash suspects that Braixen cannot use her Fire-type moves properly without her branch. Without its branch Braixen sticks to Scratch, which Gallade dodges every time.
Team Rocket interrupt by trying to net Pikachu, and James drops his disguise for the motto. Angered, Serena sends her Pokémon after them, and when she orders Flamethrower, Braixen shoots fire from the broken joint of her branch, which shatters, and the flames become Fire Blast; Pikachu’s Thunderbolt blasts the trio off. Woodward admits that the branch could never have been repaired; the battle was meant to show Braixen that clinging to the past is understandable, but letting go is how she will grow. Pancham offers a branch it found earlier, Braixen accepts it and renews her promise, and Serena ties a ribbon onto it. In the resumed battle, Braixen dodges Psycho Cut and defeats Gallade with Fire Blast. Woodward reveals that he has grafted the old branch’s fragments onto a sapling, and Serena promises to visit it once she is Kalos Queen. Only as they leave does anyone notice that “Jeeves” has vanished.
Major Events
- Braixen’s new branch. Braixen’s branch breaks
- The tree surgeon Woodward’s Gallade tests her, she learns Fire Blast and accepts a new branch from Pancham
- James disguises himself as Jeeves
- Debut of Woodward
Trivia
- The screenplay is by Junki Takegami.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Kalos storyline.
Changes in the English Dub
- The English title card focuses on Ash, read by Ash
- Music from Kyurem VS. the Sword of Justice
Part of our Pokémon the Series: XY Kalos Quest guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.