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| Season | Pokémon the Series: XYZ (Season 19) · Mastering the bond & the Iceberg Badge arc (XY114–XY122) |
| Episode | Season 19, episode 28 · English episode 916 · Japanese episode 921 · Bulbapedia code XY121 |
| English title | Seeing the Forest for the Trees! |
| Japanese title | 迷いの森…進化の夜明け！ Mayoi no Mori… Shinka no Yoake! — “The Bewildering Woods… The Dawn of Evolution!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 26 May 2016 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 27 August 2016 · Cartoon Network |
| Screenplay | Atsuhiro Tomioka |
| 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? | Oddish (US) |
| Previous episode | All Hail the Ice Battlefield! (XY120) |
| Next episode | A Real Icebreaker! (XY122) |
Plot episodeAsh-Greninja perfectedWinding Woods
Seeing the Forest for the Trees! is the 28th episode of Pokémon the Series: XYZ, the nineteenth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 916th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 921, Bulbapedia code XY121). It first aired in Japan on 26 May 2016 and in the United States on 27 August 2016. It falls within the season’s Mastering the bond & the Iceberg Badge stretch (EP114–EP122).
Synopsis
Ash broods alone in the snowy Winding Woods after his loss to Wulfric, until Serena’s harsh words and a rescue in a blizzard help him and Greninja perfect their bond and the Ash-Greninja form. Nurse Joy reports that Greninja has recovered but has also run off, probably to look for Ash, and Pikachu releases Talonflame, Hawlucha and Noivern from Ash’s belt to search. Serena finds Ash sitting in the snow and offers to listen, saying she understands from her own Showcase losses, but he snaps that she cannot know how he feels. Serena pelts him with snowballs, tells him that the Ash she knows always does his best and never gives up, and runs off in tears, wanting the real Ash back. Realising what she means, Ash starts back towards the Pokémon Center, but he slips down the mountainside and becomes lost as a snowstorm approaches.
Pikachu persuades the upset Serena to help search, and when it meets Team Rocket its weakened Thunderbolt barely tickles them, so they decide it is not worth capturing. The storm forces the group into a cave, where Serena admits that she regrets scolding Ash and that she admires him, and Clemont says they all do. Elsewhere, Ash takes shelter in a cave and invites in wild Oddish, Budew, Sentret, Zigzagoon and Scatterbug, which reminds him of a day in his childhood. While the others sleep, Squishy slips away to find Ash and leads Greninja to him. Ash spots a group of Spewpa freezing on a branch and climbs out to rescue them, but the branch breaks and Greninja catches them all; when a gust tears one Spewpa from Ash’s hand, Greninja transforms, in perfect harmony with Ash, and saves it.
In the cave, Ash tells Greninja how he once got lost as a little boy and sheltered wild Pokémon from a storm inside a hollow tree, which inspired him to become a Trainer. He apologises for the Gym battle, explaining that he made Greninja fight alone when a team should fight together, and the two agree to train again as partners. When the storm ends, the Spewpa evolve into Vivillon and fly away. Ash rejoins his friends, apologises for running off and thanks Serena for setting him straight. Squishy tells the Zygarde Cells about Ash and Greninja’s teamwork. Team Rocket return for Pikachu, but a full-strength Thunderbolt blasts them off, and they are oddly pleased that Pikachu is back to normal. The next morning they learn that the Kalos League will be held in Lumiose City, and Greninja hands Ash its Poké Ball as a sign of their bond.
Major Events
- The Winding Woods. Serena scolds a brooding Ash
- Lost in a blizzard, Ash remembers his childhood and fights in harmony with Greninja to save a Spewpa, perfecting Ash-Greninja
- The Kalos League will be held in Lumiose City
- Greninja gives Ash its Poké Ball
Captures and evolutions
Spewpa → Vivillon#0666 · wild · the Spewpa Ash and Greninja save in the Winding Woods
Trivia
- The English title plays on the saying “can’t see the forest for the trees”, for Ash lost in the Winding Woods.
- The screenplay is by Atsuhiro Tomioka.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Kalos storyline.
Changes in the English Dub
- The Japanese title card has no reader; the dub substitutes an Ash card
- Talonflame’s and Noivern’s voices are mixed up
- An XY&Z remix and Team Rocket’s Team Song; the dub uses Stand Tall
Part of our Pokémon the Series: XYZ guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.