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| Season | Pokémon the Series: XYZ (Season 19) · The Lumiose Conference arc (XY123–XY131) |
| Episode | Season 19, episode 35 · English episode 923 · Japanese episode 928 · Bulbapedia code XY128 |
| English title | A Riveting Rivalry! |
| Japanese title | ライバル決戦！サトシゲッコウガVSメガジュカイン！！ Raibaru Kessen! Satoshi-Gekkouga Tai Mega Jukain!! — “Decisive Rival Battle! Satoshi Gekkouga VS Mega Jukain!!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 28 July 2016 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 15 October 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? | Salamence (US) |
| Previous episode | Analysis Versus Passion! (XY127) |
| Next episode | Kalos League Passion with a Certain Flare! (XY129) |
Plot episodeAsh beats SawyerAsh’s first League final
A Riveting Rivalry! is the 35th episode of Pokémon the Series: XYZ, the nineteenth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 923rd episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 928, Bulbapedia code XY128). It first aired in Japan on 28 July 2016 and in the United States on 15 October 2016. It falls within the season’s The Lumiose Conference stretch (EP123–EP131).
Synopsis
Ash wins his semifinal Full Battle against Sawyer when Ash-Greninja defeats Mega Sceptile, reaching a Pokémon League Conference final for the first time and setting up a showdown with Alain. On the cleared battlefield, King’s Shield blocks Pikachu’s Iron Tail and lowers its Attack, and Aegislash’s repeated Sacred Swords corner and strike Pikachu. Ash comes up with a risky plan: Pikachu’s Iron Tail hurls the fallen logs into the air, Pikachu weaves between them as Fury Cutter misses, and when Aegislash raises King’s Shield, Pikachu wedges a log into it so the move cannot be completed. A Thunderbolt knocks Aegislash out, and Ash’s friends cheer the daring strategy. With three Pokémon left on each side, the referee calls a break and the battlefield changes to a desert, as Sawyer considers how to deal with a rival who never fights the way his notes predict.
Sawyer’s Shelgon has evolved into Salamence, which counters Noivern’s Dragon Claw with Dragon Rush and uses Incinerate to herd Noivern into the path of Dragon Tail. Noivern’s Boomburst creates smoke for Acrobatics, which Protect nearly blocks, and when Dragon Rush meets Acrobatics both Pokémon are knocked out, the first of two draws. Goodra, a Pokémon Sawyer has never studied, faces Slurpuff: Ice Beam meets Flamethrower in a cloud of steam, but Slurpuff finds Goodra by scent and hits it with Fairy Wind, and the standoff ends when Bide and Fairy Wind collide and both faint. With only one Pokémon left, Sawyer sends out Sceptile, and Ash answers with Pikachu, whose Quick Attack is held off by Leaf Storm; Pikachu’s Thunderbolt cuts through the storm, but Leaf Blade intercepts Iron Tail and Frenzy Plant traps and drops Pikachu, knocking it out and leaving Ash with Greninja alone.
Greninja and Sceptile trade Water Shuriken, Double Team and Cut against Dragon Claw, Frenzy Plant and Leaf Blade, as both Trainers think back over their journeys. Ash and Greninja transform into Ash-Greninja, and Sawyer Mega Evolves Sceptile in response. Ash-Greninja dodges Frenzy Plant and lands super-effective Aerial Aces, while Mega Sceptile’s Leaf Storm pushes it back. At last Ash-Greninja combines Double Team with a massive Water Shuriken, Mega Sceptile answers with Leaf Storm, and when the dust clears Sceptile is unconscious. The commentators, Professor Sycamore and Diantha praise the match, and Diantha hopes for more Trainers like the two rivals. Alain, who has watched the whole battle, quietly leaves the stadium. Ash and Sawyer shake hands in the centre of the field, and the two rivals agree to battle again once both have trained even harder.
Major Events
- Ash beats Sawyer. Ash-Greninja beats Mega Sceptile to win the six-on-six semifinal
- Ash reaches a League final for the first time
- Goodra’s first knockout
Captures and evolutions
Shelgon → Salamence#0373 · Sawyer · off screen, revealed in the semifinal against Ash
Trivia
- The screenplay is by Akemi Omode.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Kalos storyline.
Changes in the English Dub
- XY&Z insert; the dub uses Stand Tall
Part of our Pokémon the Series: XYZ guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.