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| Season | Pokémon the Series: XYZ (Season 19) · Alain & the capture of Z2 arc (XY106–XY111) |
| Episode | Season 19, episode 16 · English episode 904 · Japanese episode 909 · Bulbapedia code XY109 |
| English title | Master Class Choices! |
| Japanese title | マスタークラスへの試練！どうするセレナ！？ Masutā Kurasu e no Shiren! Dō Suru Serena!? — “The Master Class Trial! What Will You Do, Serena!?” |
| First aired (Japan) | 25 February 2016 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 4 June 2016 · Cartoon Network |
| Screenplay | Akemi Omode |
| 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? | Espeon (US) |
| Previous episode | A Watershed Moment! (XY108) |
| Next episode | An Electrifying Rage! (XY110) |
Plot episodeSerena’s third Princess KeySerena meets Palermo
Master Class Choices! is the 16th episode of Pokémon the Series: XYZ, the nineteenth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 904th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 909, Bulbapedia code XY109). It first aired in Japan on 25 February 2016 and in the United States on 4 June 2016. It falls within the season’s Alain & the capture of Z2 stretch (EP106–EP111).
Synopsis
Serena wins her third Princess Key at the Fleurrh City Showcase and qualifies for the Master Class, but former Kalos Queen Palermo tells her she still lacks something important. Arriving in Fleurrh City, the group sees a crowd cheering for a Performer named Amelia, who ignores them all, and Serena is so nervous that she barely eats. Palermo, a former Kalos Queen turned producer, arrives as guest judge, and a moustached man asks her to mentor Amelia, whose family sponsors the event; Palermo says she will judge for herself. Monsieur Pierre announces the Theme Performance: Performers must attract the most Rhyhorn. Serena faces Concetta and a Performer named Kazalie, whose Lilligant’s Sweet Scent lures some away, but Serena rides a lone Rhyhorn back to the herd and wins her round. In the last round, Amelia’s Shiny Dragonair and Espeon use Attract to draw the Rhyhorn to her.
Before the Freestyle Performance, Serena calms Sylveon, Pancham and Braixen with Poké Puffs. Amelia opens with an elegant routine: Espeon’s Psychic, Dragonair’s Dragon Dance and Attract, then Rain Dance frozen by Ice Beam and shattered with Hyper Voice into a shower of snowflake-like sparkles. Serena answers with a circle of fire from Braixen’s Flamethrower that Sylveon’s Fairy Wind spreads across the sky, sparkling lights from Pancham’s Stone Edge, and a row of sparkles from Fire Blast combined with Swift. Palermo is mildly impressed. When the audience votes with their Glow Casters, Serena wins her third Princess Key and earns a place in the Master Class, the competition to become Kalos Queen. At the Pokémon Center, she video-calls Shauna, who has been training hard for the Master Class too, before Bonnie calls everyone to a feast Clemont has prepared.
Returning to the theatre for a forgotten brush, Serena overhears Amelia begging Palermo for training. Palermo tells her that she lost by the audience’s vote and should do something more productive, and Amelia storms off. Palermo then asks Serena whether she was satisfied with her performance. Serena replies that she had fun, and Palermo says that Serena is missing something important that she must find if she hopes to beat Aria. That night Serena lies awake wondering what Palermo meant. The next morning the group learns that the Master Class will be held in Gloire City, and they set out towards it. Team Rocket do not appear at all, and for the first time Jessie skips a Showcase that Serena enters.
Major Events
- Serena’s third Princess Key. Serena wins the Fleurrh City Showcase, whose theme is attracting Rhyhorn, and qualifies for the Master Class
- She meets Palermo, who says she lacks something
- The Master Class will be in Gloire City
- The first XY&Z episode without Team Rocket
- Lisa Ortiz’s first episode as dub director
- Debuts of Kazalie and Shulin
Trivia
- The screenplay is by Akemi Omode.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Kalos storyline.
Changes in the English Dub
- DreamDream insert, replaced by an instrumental in the dub
Part of our Pokémon the Series: XYZ guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.