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| Season | Pokémon the Series: XYZ (Season 19) · Squishy & Team Flare arc (XY094–XY098) |
| Episode | Season 19, episode 4 · English episode 892 · Japanese episode 897 · Bulbapedia code XY097 |
| English title | A Fiery Rite of Passage! |
| Japanese title | シシコとカエンジシ！炎の旅立ち！！ Shishiko to Kaenjishi! Honō no Tabidachi!! — “Shishiko and Kaenjishi! A Fiery Journey!!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 19 November 2015 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 12 March 2016 · Cartoon Network |
| Screenplay | Hideki Sonoda |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | XY&Z – Satoshi (Rica Matsumoto) · Puni-chan no Uta (Puni-chan’s Song) – Eureka (Mariya Ise) |
| English opening | Stand Tall – Ben Dixon and The Sad Truth |
| Who’s That Pokémon? | Litleo (US) |
| Previous episode | A Giga Battle with Mega Results! (XY096) |
| Next episode | Dream a Little Dream from Me! (XY098) |
Filler / stand-alone episodeLitleo leaves its pride
A Fiery Rite of Passage! is the 4th episode of Pokémon the Series: XYZ, the nineteenth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 892nd episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 897, Bulbapedia code XY097). It first aired in Japan on 19 November 2015 and in the United States on 12 March 2016. It falls within the season’s Squishy & Team Flare stretch (EP94–EP98).
Synopsis
The group watches a young Litleo that has been driven from its pride struggle to survive on its own, until it proves its courage by rescuing the Pyroar who cast it out from Team Rocket. Crossing a vast grassland towards Snowbelle City, the friends hear a roar and find a Pyroar pride; the male Pyroar angrily drives away a Litleo while the rest of the pride leaves. When the little Pokémon clings to the leader’s leg and throws a tantrum, the Pyroar answers with fire, and Ash steps in until Pikachu’s Thunderbolt cancels the next blast. Ash’s Pokédex explains that Litleo must leave the pride to grow strong. Clemont treats Litleo’s injured paw despite being bitten, but the hungry cub refuses Serena’s Poké Puffs and walks off alone. Ash explains that it is learning to be independent, and Clemont suggests they watch over it from a distance, while Team Rocket, watching from a hilltop, plan to capture it.
Litleo tumbles off a cliff, then leaps for a Sitrus Berry dangling in the air and lands on its head; the berry turns out to be bait on Team Rocket’s fishing rod, and an angry Pyroar blasts the trio away. The cub presses on, with the group and the watchful Pyroar following, and after an exhausting climb up a huge rock it revives itself with fruit from an Oran Berry tree. Ash realises this is why Litleo refused Serena’s snack: it is learning to forage alone. From the summit, Litleo and the Pyroar exchange a look of understanding, and the Pyroar turns to leave. At that moment Team Rocket return in the Vavoominite Mark 4, a Charizard-shaped mecha, and vacuum the Pyroar into a capsule, then turn the machine on Pikachu, until a burst of fire from Litleo strikes it.
James swats Litleo into the air with the mecha’s tail, and when the Pyroar answers with Overheat, Team Rocket redirect the flames at the group. Frogadier’s Water Pulse cancels one jet, but another strikes the Pokémon head-on. Litleo then charges straight into the fire, enduring the heat while the group cheers it on and even Jessie admires its courage, and its calls finally calm the Pyroar. Frogadier slashes open the cage with Cut, the two Fire types drop safely onto the rocks, and Pikachu’s Thunderbolt combines with a double Flamethrower from Litleo and the Pyroar to destroy the mecha and blast Team Rocket off. Litleo stands proudly before the Pyroar, and the two bow to each other in mutual respect. The cub sets off on its own path, ready at last to grow strong by itself, and Ash and his friends resume their journey to Snowbelle City.
Major Events
- Litleo’s rite of passage. A Litleo driven from its pride rescues the Pyroar from Team Rocket’s Charizard-shaped Vavoominite Mark 4 and sets off on its own
- Anime debut of the female Pyroar
Pokémon making their anime debut
Pyroar#0668 · XY097
Trivia
- The screenplay is by Hideki Sonoda.
- This is a stand-alone episode: it can be skipped without losing the thread of the Kalos story.
Part of our Pokémon the Series: XYZ guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.