 |
|
| Season | Pokémon the Series: XY Kalos Quest (Season 18) · Talonflame, Tyrantrum & Eevee arc (XY086–XY089) |
| Episode | Season 18, episode 37 · English episode 880 · Japanese episode 886 · Bulbapedia code XY086 |
| English title | A Legendary Photo Op! |
| Japanese title | シャッターチャンスはファイヤー！伝説を撮れ！！ Shattā Chansu wa Faiyā! Densetsu o Tore!! — “Photo Op on Fire! Snap the Legend!!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 27 August 2015 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 24 October 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? | Charmeleon (US) |
| Previous episode | Mending a Broken Spirit! (XY085) |
| Next episode | The Tiny Caretaker! (XY087) |
Plot episodeFletchinder evolves into TalonflameMoltres
A Legendary Photo Op! is the 37th episode of Pokémon the Series: XY Kalos Quest, the eighteenth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 880th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 886, Bulbapedia code XY086). It first aired in Japan on 27 August 2015 and in the United States on 24 October 2015. It falls within the season’s Talonflame, Tyrantrum & Eevee stretch (EP86–EP89).
Teletoon had shown it in Canada on 17 October 2015.
Synopsis
Ash helps his old Summer Camp friend Trevor search Mt. Molteau for Moltres, and when the angry Legendary attacks, Fletchinder evolves into Talonflame to protect Ash. At the foot of the volcano, a Charmeleon blasts Pikachu and Dedenne with Flamethrower, then does the same to its own Trainer, Trevor, whose Charmander has evolved. Ash guesses that it wants a battle and sends out Fletchinder, which dodges Fire Spin, blocks Flamethrower with Steel Wing, takes a Dragon Claw after landing Flame Charge and finally knocks Charmeleon out with Steel Wing; afterwards Charmeleon is noticeably calmer. Over a meal the friends reminisce about Summer Camp, and Trevor explains that Charmeleon’s battling skill won him the Bug Badge in Santalune. He has tracked Moltres to Mt. Molteau and shows photos of Zapdos and Articuno, then rambles through pictures of other rare Pokémon.
The group agrees to help him look, and Team Rocket resolve to catch Moltres for Giovanni. Trevor has a blurry photo of Moltres perched on a large rock, so Clemont loads the landscape into his “Rock Searcher Mark 1,” which wanders from rock to rock, rejecting every wrong one. Team Rocket sneak past while the group is distracted by Trevor’s photography and follow the device until it finds a match, at which point Jessie smashes it and it explodes, chases the group and falls into the magma. Team Rocket then trap Pikachu in a capsule, and Fletchinder dodges Gourgeist’s Shadow Ball and Inkay’s Psybeam; Trevor wants to photograph the unusually large Gourgeist until Serena stops him, and Charmeleon’s Flamethrower is deflected by Psybeam, until the impacts knock a boulder into the crater.
With a roar, Moltres rises from the boiling magma, and Trevor photographs it while reciting facts. Team Rocket attack it and are blasted off by its Flamethrower; Pikachu falls free, and Fletchinder’s Steel Wing breaks the capsule. Moltres then turns on the group. The heat evaporates Frogadier’s Water Pulse, and Fletchinder is injured, but when Moltres targets Ash, Fletchinder shields him and evolves into Talonflame, learning Brave Bird. Moltres’s Fire Blast sends Talonflame tumbling towards the magma, and Ash leaps into the crater to catch it, saved only when Frogadier’s frubbles form a rope. His friends scold him for his recklessness. Realizing that the group means no harm, Moltres flies away, and Trevor, delighted with his photo, takes a picture of Ash and his Pokémon to remember the adventure.
Major Events
- Fletchinder evolves into Talonflame. Trevor and his Charmeleon hunt Moltres on Mt. Molteau
- Fletchinder evolves shielding Ash and learns Brave Bird
- Mariya Ise’s last episode as Bonnie before her maternity leave
Captures and evolutions
Fletchinder → Talonflame#0663 · Ash · shielding him from Moltres; learns Brave Bird
Charmander → Charmeleon#0005 · Trevor · off screen, revealed on Mt. Molteau
Trivia
- The screenplay is by Shinzō Fujita.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Kalos storyline.
Changes in the English Dub
- Kirakira plays as Fletchinder evolves; the dub uses Be a Hero
Part of our Pokémon the Series: XY Kalos Quest guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.