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| Season | Pokémon the Series: XYZ (Season 19) · Mastering the bond & the Iceberg Badge arc (XY114–XY122) |
| Episode | Season 19, episode 26 · English episode 914 · Japanese episode 919 · Bulbapedia code XY119 |
| English title | A Full-Strength Battle Surprise! |
| Japanese title | ライバル対決！サトシVSショータ！！ Raibaru Taiketsu! Satoshi Tai Shōta!! — “Rival Showdown! Satoshi VS Shōta!!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 12 May 2016 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 13 August 2016 · Cartoon Network |
| Screenplay | Shinzō Fujita |
| 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? | Doublade (US) |
| Previous episode | Championing a Research Battle! (XY118) |
| Next episode | All Hail the Ice Battlefield! (XY120) |
Plot episodeSawyer beats AshAsh-Greninja fails
A Full-Strength Battle Surprise! is the 26th episode of Pokémon the Series: XYZ, the nineteenth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 914th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 919, Bulbapedia code XY119). It first aired in Japan on 12 May 2016 and in the United States on 13 August 2016. It falls within the season’s Mastering the bond & the Iceberg Badge stretch (EP114–EP122).
Synopsis
Sawyer returns with eight Badges and a stronger team, and in a three-on-three rematch he finally defeats Ash when Greninja’s transformation fails for the first time. Greninja easily beats a Trainer’s Scizor with Aerial Ace, and Sawyer appears soon afterwards with news that he has all eight Kalos Badges, while Ash still has seven. Sawyer explains that the Snowbelle Gym specialises in Ice types, and Clemont suggests that Water types should fare well there. When Serena and Bonnie describe the battle against Diantha and the giant Water Shuriken, Sawyer is eager to measure his progress, and he accepts a three-on-three rematch. Meanwhile, Officer Jenny and the townspeople flee from a mysterious threat in a forest, which stops only when a Manectric sends electricity into the roots, and Lysandre tells Xerosic to continue his experiments while keeping Z2 for later. Squishy fails to reach Z2, and Bonnie sings to calm it.
Ash and Greninja put on their Battle Pulse meters. Sawyer’s Honedge has evolved into Doublade, whose Iron Defense and Night Slash test Noivern, but Noivern locates it in a dust cloud with sound waves and wins with newly learned Dragon Claw and Acrobatics. Sawyer’s new Clawitzer dodges Crabhammer’s counter, heals with Heal Pulse boosted by its Ability, Mega Launcher, and defeats Noivern with a super-effective Dragon Pulse. Hawlucha lands High Jump Kick, but Clawitzer fires Dragon Pulse into the ground to escape Flying Press and knocks Hawlucha out with Ice Beam. Impressed by how far his rival has come, Ash sends out Greninja, which dodges a Dragon Pulse but hesitates as Ash’s pulse rises on Clemont’s monitor, then blocks Ice Beam with Cut and defeats Clawitzer with a direct strike.
Sawyer’s final Pokémon is Sceptile, which matches Greninja at both close and long range: Leaf Blade meets Aerial Ace, Bullet Seed meets Water Shuriken, and Leaf Blade slices through Double Team to find the real Greninja. Leaf Storm traps Greninja, and when Ash tries to merge with his partner the transformation fails, because their pulse waves drift apart. A second Leaf Storm and a final Leaf Blade win the battle, and Sawyer celebrates his first victory over Ash. Ash recalls Greninja and tells Sawyer how much stronger he has become. Clemont checks the meters and finds that the two pulses never overlapped, but Ash decides not to overthink it and to concentrate on reaching Snowbelle City. Sawyer asks to come along to watch Ash win his eighth Badge, and as Ash agrees, the city comes into view in the distance.
Major Events
- Sawyer beats Ash. Sawyer, now with eight Badges, wins a three-on-three rematch with Doublade, Clawitzer and Sceptile when Ash-Greninja fails to form for the first time
- Noivern learns Dragon Claw
- TV-episode debuts of Doublade and Clawitzer
Pokémon making their anime debut
Doublade#0680 · XY119
Clawitzer#0693 · XY119
Captures and evolutions
- Honedge → Doublade#0680 · Sawyer · off screen, revealed in his win over Ash
Trivia
- The screenplay is by Shinzō Fujita.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Kalos storyline.
Changes in the English Dub
- Bonnie sings Puni-chan’s Song to calm Squishy
Part of our Pokémon the Series: XYZ guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.