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| Season | Pokémon the Series: XYZ (Season 19) · The Team Flare crisis arc (XY132–XY136) |
| Episode | Season 19, episode 42 · English episode 930 · Japanese episode 935 · Bulbapedia code XY135 |
| English title | Rocking Kalos Defenses! |
| Japanese title | 進撃する巨石！カロス防衛線！！ Shingeki Suru Kyoseki! Karosu Bōeisen!! — “The Advancing Megalith! The Kalos Line of Defense!!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 15 September 2016 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 10 December 2016 · Cartoon Network |
| Screenplay | Atsuhiro Tomioka |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | XY&Z – Satoshi (Rica Matsumoto) · Nyāsu no Barādo (Meowth’s Ballad) – Nyarth (Inuko Inuyama) |
| English opening | Stand Tall – Ben Dixon and The Sad Truth |
| Who’s That Pokémon? | Weavile (US) |
| Previous episode | The Right Hero for the Right Job! (XY134) |
| Next episode | Forming a More Perfect Union! (XY136) |
Plot episodeTeam Flare arc, part 4Gym Leaders unite
Rocking Kalos Defenses! is the 42nd episode of Pokémon the Series: XYZ, the nineteenth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 930th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 935, Bulbapedia code XY135). It first aired in Japan on 15 September 2016 and in the United States on 10 December 2016. It falls within the season’s The Team Flare crisis stretch (EP132–EP136).
On sale on iTunes and Amazon Prime Video from 4 December 2016, six days before the US premiere.
Synopsis
Ash and Alain defeat Lysandre, but Team Flare’s Giant Rock absorbs Chespie, destroys Lysandre Labs and heads for Anistar City’s Sundial, threatening a world-ending explosion, and Kalos’s Champion and Gym Leaders unite to stop it. Pikachu’s Quick Attack and Thunderbolt, Charizard’s Dragon Claw and Greninja’s Cut defeat Mega Gyarados. Alain tells Lysandre that the battle instinct he spoke of belongs to the past, but Lysandre insists he will still remake the world and leaps from Prism Tower, slipping past Greninja’s tongue as Malva falls to her knees. At Lysandre Labs, Wobbuffet’s Mirror Coat turns back Sludge Bomb and Ice Beam, and James nets Celosia and Mable. Then the Giant Rock glows red, shatters its glass case and absorbs Chespie, changing shape as it destroys the Labs and sets off across Kalos. In Anistar City, Olympia sees the Sundial glowing red and trembling.
At the Lumiose Gym, Ash and Alain find Clemont grieving over Clembot, which he vows to rebuild. After Serena reports the news, Clemont joins them, saying the battle is not over. Bonnie catches up with the exhausted Z2, which confronts Squishy about human cruelty, and Squishy replies that it believes in humans because they never give up, having seen the trust between people and Pokémon on its journey with Bonnie. Bonnie lifts Z2 into her arms and tickles it, and it begins to trust her. Professor Sycamore and Steven explain that the Rock carries Zygarde-like energy and took Chespie to recover the Zygarde energy she absorbed, and that if it touches the Sundial, which holds energy like that of Mega Evolution, the release could destroy the world. Ash vows to stop it, and Alain promises Mairin he will bring Chespie back.
At the Sundial, Officer Jenny and Olympia evacuate the city as Mega Garchomp, Mega Metagross and Braixen attack the Rock, but its vines block their attacks and capture the Mega Evolved Pokémon until Mega Charizard X and Pikachu cut them free. Ash and Greninja locate Chespie inside the Rock’s core, and Greninja marks the spot with a Water Shuriken. When the vines seize the Pokémon again, a massive combined attack frees them: all seven of Kalos’s other Gym Leaders and Champion Diantha have arrived. Their attack barely scratches the Rock, so Steven proposes concentrating everyone’s power on the marked target. Korrina greets Ash, Olympia congratulates him on mastering the Bond Phenomenon, and Malva calls out Houndoom to help. Ash asks Serena to look after Mairin and Bonnie, Alain promises to return with Chespie, and the defenders of Kalos prepare for the final stand.
Major Events
- Team Flare arc, part 4. Ash and Alain defeat Lysandre
- The Giant Rock absorbs Chespie, destroys Lysandre Labs and heads for the Anistar Sundial
- Diantha and all eight Kalos Gym Leaders unite
- Japanese ending Meowth’s Ballad
- V (Volt) insert song
Trivia
- The screenplay is by Atsuhiro Tomioka.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Kalos storyline.
Changes in the English Dub
- Japanese ending Meowth’s Ballad, sung by Inuko Inuyama
- V (Volt) plays in full as the eight Gym Leaders arrive; the dub uses a brass instrumental
- An XY&Z remix and a piano Puni-chan’s Song; the dub uses Stand Tall
Part of our Pokémon the Series: XYZ guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.