XY050: Difference between revisions

Pathways to Performance Partnering!

XY050   EP849 踊れヤンチャム、魅せろフォッコ！明日へのステップ！！ Dance, Yancham — Captivate, Fokko! The Dance for Tomorrow!!

First broadcast Japan November 13, 2014 United States February 7, 2015

English themes Opening Be a Hero Ending

Japanese themes Opening メガＶ（メガボルト） Ending ドリドリ

Credits Animation Team Kato Screenplay 大橋志吉 Yukiyoshi Ōhashi Storyboard 樋口香里 Kaori Higuchi Assistant director 古賀一臣 Kazuomi Koga Animation directors 松永香苗 Kanae Matsunaga 玉川明洋 Akihiro Tamagawa No additional credits are available at this time.

Screenshots on Filb.de Preview thread on BMGf Closed Original review thread on BMGf Dub review thread on BMGf

Pathways to Performance Partnering! (Japanese: 踊れヤンチャム、魅せろフォッコ！明日へのステップ！！ Dance, Yancham — Captivate, Fokko! The Dance for Tomorrow!!) is the 50th episode of the XY series, and the 849th episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on November 13, 2014 and in the United States on February 7, 2015 as the first episode of the eighteenth season.

Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.

Blurb

As our heroes head to Coumarine City, a lunchtime squabble between Clemont's Chespin and Serena's Pancham gets out of hand when they bump into a Smoochum and Farfetch'd. Their Trainer, Nini, is planning to enter her first Pokémon Showcase, just like Serena. The two girls decide to show each other their performances and get feedback from Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie as well, but they have an unexpected audience...

Team Rocket is lurking nearby, and Jessie decides she just has to have Nini's Smoochum as her Pokémon Showcase partner. She disguises herself as a choreographer and coaxes all the dancing Pokémon into a small performance space...and then Team Rocket's balloon takes off with them! Chespin and Pancham finally decide to work together and discover they're a pretty good team, sending the villains blasting off again. Nini and Serena say their goodbyes and promise to meet in the Pokémon Showcase as rivals!

Plot

The episode starts up on Ash and friends eating their lunchtime snack. While they're eating, Serena comes by with Poké Puff, but there's only seven crumbs of it left, since Chespin ate it all. Pancham has an angry reaction to this, and starts fighting with Chespin. With the fighting session just started, Clemont and Serena try to end it. Pancham then kicks Chespin and Chespin slaps Chespin. After they both yell "Stop!" to their Pokémon, they continue fighting across the field.

We eventually see a girl's Smoochum and her crying Farfetch'd. The girl then asks what Clemont and Serena are doing to her Pokémon, and asks if those "ill-mannered" Pokémon are theirs, and that Chespin and Pancham were using Tackle for no reason. Clemont and Serena tell Chespin and Pancham that they need to apologize. Ash joins in and apologizes too. The girl accepts their apologies and reveals she's practicing for a Pokémon Showcase, which Serena is doing as well. It will be their first time doing it.

The girl then asks Serena to watch the showcase as she can't do it herself. Serena replies saying she doesn't know enough to judge someone's performance. The girl tells Serena all she has to do is give an opinion, she doesn't need professional judging skills. Serena then checks out Smoochum and Farfetch'd with her Pokédex.

The scene cuts and the girl has her Smoochum use Powder Snow. Then, Farfetch'd retrieves its stick and clears out the Powder Snow. Smoochum uses Heart Stamp, and then Farfetch'd uses Fury Cutter to cut the Heart Stamp into multiple hearts. The girl then says "fini," the French word for "finished". The audience does a round of applause. She asks if there's anything about the performance that could use fixing. Serena suggests she could coordinate her dance a bit more. Ash suggests a flashier Heart Stamp. She requests Serena to show her her performance. She's not ready to show anyone her performance yet, but Bonnie wants to see it alongside Clemont. Same goes for Ash and Pikachu. When Serena asks if Fennekin and Pancham are ready, Chespin jumps in to kick Pancham, to Ash's surprise that he's still doing it. Bonnie tries to break up the fight along with Pikachu, when it's revealed Chespin wants to perform too.

Clemont brings out his "Only Lonely Dancing Robo-Partner," and powers it on to give Chespin a partner. The invention ends up hurting Chespin, and Bonnie asks Clemont to turn it off, but only if Clemont can find the "off" button. The invention blows up on everyone, which ends up messing up everyone's hair. This ends the separation between Chespin and Pancham however, as they are still fighting.

The scene cuts, as Ash wishes good luck to Serena. Serena starts off her showcase, Fennekin uses Flamethrower as Pancham dangerously spins through that Flamethrower. Ash and friends aren't the only ones watching, as we see Team Rocket off in the distance. Jessie looks as Smoochum's lips which she thinks is beautiful, and decides to steal Smoochum to win the showcase. James asks why Jessie isn't planning to steal Pikachu, Jessie says she's willing to do that after stealing Smoochum, as stealing Smoochum could help her gain the title "Kalos Queen".

Serena's act continues, and Fennekin uses Flamethrower once again around the purple light in the sky. This ends her showcase performance, and everyone comments saying they loved the act. The unnamed girl says Pancham's acrobatics didn't fit with the performance - it didn't match Fennekin's part of the performance. Smoochum falls in love with Pancham and Pancham tries to avoid Smoochum. It is suggested that Pancham and Smoochum (described as the perfect couple) should dance together, so they do so. When the dance is over, everyone claps. Smoochum and Farfetch'd's owner asks if Serena wants to trade Pancham for one of her Pokémon. While the girl seems to agree with it, their Pokémon are shocked. Serena says she can't trade, it's the first Pokémon she caught and Pancham is going to be Serena's showcase partner too, revealing the girl's name as Nini.

Team Rocket arrives to the park in a car. James introduces Jessie as La Grande Dame Brûlée, cream of the choreographer crop. Nini asks if the disguised Team Rocket can help them, but James says La Grande Dame Brûlée is "anything but cheap." Jessie says it's for free. The scene cuts and Jessie and James actually help Nini and Serena. Jessie tells the Pokémon to lift their left and right legs. She then tells them to shift their bodies left and right. Jessie and James then inflate a balloon and have the Pokémon go inside there, that way their movements will be more economical. Rather than adjust their movements, Jessie just uses the balloon to steal the Pokémon. Serena mentions she thought they were having a lesson, then La Grande Dame Brûlée proves she was actually Jessie in disguise this whole time, as Team Rocket says their motto. Nini asks for an explanation who Team Rocket is, and Clemont tells Nini they're a poacher team who attempts stealing Pokémon.

Team Rocket starts their getaway and the true fight begins. The gang tries to catch up with them, but Meowth gives them a smoke bomb after demands for Team Rocket to hand back the stolen Pokémon. Ash sends out Fletchinder to track Team Rocket's balloon. At Team Rocket's balloon, the Pokémon are making movements from inside to distract Team Rocket. The balloon gets detached from Team Rocket's hot-air balloon, and it ends up in a forest with the Pokémon freaking out inside. When the balloon opens, Chespin and Pancham start fighting again, James's Inkay is there too, indicating that Team Rocket has made their way in the forest as well! Chespin and Pancham stand in front of the other Pokémon to defend them, and they keep standing in front of each other one after another. Meowth translates their speech, they've been saying "Leave it to me," "I'll do it," and "No, I'll do it," "dumb" stuff like that. James tells Inkay to use Psybeam. This hits Smoochum and Farfetch'd. Jessie has Pumpkaboo use Shadow Ball. Fennekin tries to counter with Flamethrower. Everyone but Chespin and Pancham are down, Pancham has a flashback of Serena saying "Don't you remember you're supposed to be friends?! Now make up!". Chespin has a flashback of Clemont saying "Hey, all you're doing is just being plain mean to each other. Come on!". The two become quick friends again as Jessie tells Pumpkaboo to use Dark Pulse, as Chespin and Pancham make a last-second dodge.

Pumpkaboo gets hit with attacks, and James gets Inkay to use Tackle. Inkay dodges and James tells Inkay to use Psybeam. Pumpkaboo uses Leach Seed, and Chespin's vine counterattacks it. Ash, Pikachu, Bonnie, Serena, Clemont, and Nini arrive in on the action, and everyone reclaims their Pokémon while Clemont asks how Chespin and Pancham are doing, Jessie knew the kids were gonna show up sooner or later, so Pumpkaboo uses Shadow Ball which is dodged. Pancham and Chespin are revealed to everyone to have become friends again. After Pancham and Chespin play their part, Ash tells Pikachu to use Thunderbolt sending Team Rocket blasting off again. Jessie complains about "her cute little Smoochum-woochum" being gone from her possession and James comments that behavior does not fit a queen, and Meowth comments "in her dreams." Jessie angrily comments that she is not to give up trying to become Kalos Queen, and Meowth says her performance throne is the cheapest.

Once that is over, Pancham and Chespin continue fighting, which, from Ash's point of view, proves they're great friends.

At evening, Serena and Nini say goodbye to each other. Serena and Nini plan to be performance rivals, and Nini claims that she'll beat Serena. Nini then walks away and tells everyone to keep in touch with her. With a new friend and rival for Serena, Ash's journey continues.

Major events

• Ash and his friends meet Nini.

For a list of all major events in the anime, please see the history page.

Debuts

Pokémon debuts

Characters

Humans

Pokémon Quiz

• Ash
• Serena
• Clemont
• Bonnie
• Jessie
• James
• Nini

Pokémon

Who's That Pokémon?

Who's That Pokémon?: Smoochum (US and international)
Pokémon Quiz: Smoochum (Japan)

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Dedenne (Clemont's)
• Froakie (Ash's)
• Fletchinder (Ash's)
• Hawlucha (Ash's)
• Bunnelby (Clemont's)
• Chespin (Clemont's)
• Luxio (Clemont's)
• Fennekin (Serena's)
• Pancham (Serena's)
• Pumpkaboo (Jessie's)
• Inkay (James's)
• Smoochum (Nini's)
• Farfetch'd (Nini's)

Trivia

• Serena reads the title card.
• Instead of Professor Oak's Pokémon Holo Caster or Mairin's Mega Evolution Journal, Steven appears to talk about Mega Latias and Mega Latios.
  • The mother and daughter from Lucario and the Mystery of Mew made a cameo appearance during Mega Latias and Mega Latios journal.
• Yuji Ueda is credited for Wobbuffet for this episode, even though Wobbuffet does not appear in this episode.
• Jessie displays her love towards Smoochum again in this episode.
• Jessie's disguise outfit resembles the 1980's actress Grace Jones, due to her hair.

Errors

• In one scene, Luxio's pupils are white instead of yellow.
• In some scenes, Nini's gloves are missing.
• When Serena and Nini shake hands at the end of the episode, Nini's glove is missing.
• When Serena goes to fetch the Poké Puffs, she isn't wearing her hat, but when she comes back, she is.
  • It should be noted that she may have put her hat on when she retrieved the basket of Poke Puffs.

• 

  Luxio's eyes error

• 

  Nini's missing her glove

Dub edits

• The title card segment focuses on, and is read by, Ash in the dub instead of Serena.
• This episode was skipped in Portugal. The channel that airs Pokémon in Portugal, Biggs, said in an e-mail that they didn't skip any episode, When Light and Dark Collide! is the first episode of Kalos Quest and that it continues right after Bonnie for the Defense!, the last episode aired in the channel.^[1]

In other languages

Language		Title
Mandarin Chinese		跳吧，頑皮熊貓！驚艷全場吧，火狐狸！前往明日的舞步！！
Dutch		De weg naar demonstraties door dik en dun!
Finnish		Polkuja esityskumppanuuteen!
European French		Une collaboration fructueuse !
German		Vorführungspartner gesucht!
Greek		Τρόποι για να Καταφέρεις να Συνεργαστείς!
Italian		Alla ricerca del partner perfetto!
Polish		Sposoby na Zacieśnienie Współpracy!
Brazilian Portuguese		Caminhos Para a Parceria de Apresentação!
Russian		Дорога к исполнительскому партнёрству!
Spanish	Latin America	¡El camino a la presentación en pareja!
	Spain	¡De camino a una actuación en equipo!
Thai		ยันชัมผู้เต้นรำ ฟ็อกโกะผู้น่าหลงใหล! จังหวะการเต้นสู่วันพรุ่งนี้!!

References

This episode article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of the Pokémon anime.