XY007

Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie convince Serena to join them on their travels! She returns a handkerchief Ash lent her long ago at Pokémon Summer Camp, and he finally remembers her as the girl in the straw hat. He used his handkerchief to wrap up her knee after she hurt it in a fall at camp, and she’s kept it ever since! They’re still reminiscing when they’re interrupted by a rumbling roar, and then see several Rhyhorn, with riders on their backs, pounding toward them! Apparently the track they’re walking along is really a Rhyhorn racecourse—and the race is in full swing! Officer Jenny takes them into Odyssey Village and shows them where the racing Rhyhorn live. She says that tomorrow, the race will be open to first-timers, and Ash is excited to enter!

He quickly realizes he doesn’t know the first thing about Rhyhorn racing—he even has trouble getting up onto Rhyhorn’s back. But Serena’s mom used to be a Rhyhorn racer, so Serena is pretty good at this stuff, and she shows him the ropes. She even shares her mom’s advice, “Be one with Rhyhorn,” which seems to help Ash get the hang of things!

The next day, it’s time for the race! Of course, the Team Rocket trio have been lurking about as usual, and they interrupt the race in an attempt to catch the racing Rhyhorn—and Pikachu, too! Ash and the other racers are tied up and unable to help, but Clemont, Serena, and Bonnie are soon on the scene! Clemont and Bonnie free the captured Rhyhorn while Serena and Fennekin hold Team Rocket at bay, and then the Rhyhorn close in to send the villains blasting off again. Before leaving the village, Serena calls her mom to introduce her new friends and share her travel plans! Ash, Clemont, Bonnie, and Serena excitedly make preparations to head out for Cyllage City. But first, Serena has a gift for Ash! She baked some cookies to recognize his hard work, and to thank him for helping her all those years ago. There are enough cookies for everyone, so they won’t be traveling on an empty stomach as the journey continues!

Ash and his friends are departing Santalune City, when Ash queries Serena about her next destination. She hesitates, unsure, but Ash invites her to join their group, a suggestion to which Clemont and Bonnie immediately agree. Serena agrees as well, and uses her guidebook to inform them that in order to reach Cyllage City, the site of Ash's next Gym battle, they must first travel through Lumiose City. She rushes ahead, keen to reach Lumiose and enjoys its boutiques and patisseries.

While in the woods leading to Lumiose City, Ash contemplates challenging the Lumiose Gym again. Upon Clemont's recommendation, Ash begins to search for a Pokémon to catch. In the meantime, Clemont asks Serena why she decided to go on a journey in the first place. Serena explains that she wants to return Ash's handkerchief to him and explains that they had met many years ago. At Professor Oak's Summer Camp, an event attended by both Ash and Serena, Serena had gotten lost in a forest and fell over after being startled by a wild Poliwag, injuring her knee in the process. Serena was frightened and called out for her mother. Soon after, Ash, who was looking for the same Poliwag, found her and wrapped his handkerchief around her knee in order to help her get back on her feet. He then gave Serena the advice to "never give up until it's over", a phrase that Ash and many of his friends, including Serena, has repeated. After helping Serena to her feet, Ash had led her out of the forest and back to the camp. Ash finally remembers Serena, and recalls that she was wearing a straw hat at the time. Serena also returns the handkerchief to Ash.

Suddenly, the ground begins trembling as a group of Rhyhorn racers speed down the forest path. Officer Jenny drives up soon after, informing the group that they are on a Rhyhorn race track. She takes them to the track's starting line in Odyssey Village as Serena explains the rules of Rhyhorn racing to Ash. After Officer Jenny convinces Ash to participate in a race the next day, the group parts ways with her at a Rhyhorn stable, and Serena gives Ash advice on how to properly approach and ride Rhyhorn. Everyone is impressed by Serena’s technique, and she replies that her mother is a famous Rhyhorn racer. Ash asks if Serena wants to become a Rhyhorn racer, to which Serena explains that she actually wants to try something new, though she doesn’t quite know which path to follow yet. Meanwhile, Team Rocket is watching them and plot to steal the Rhyhorn and Pikachu.

After they change into Rhyhorn racing outfits, Serena begins training Ash on how to ride a Rhyhorn properly. However, Ash struggles to get into the saddle, so Serena shows him the proper technique. However, when she tries to make Rhyhorn run, it throws her off and the Rhyhorn all begin eagerly licking her, and eventually Bonnie as well. At this, Serena realizes that the Rhyhorn are actually very friendly Pokémon. Later, Ash begins riding and his skills improve remarkably. Surprising herself, Serena gives Ash the same advice that her mother had given her not too long ago. As a result, Serena realizes that maybe she has misjudged Rhyhorn racing. That night, while everyone is sleeping, Serena bakes cookies for the group while Fennekin watches her.

The next day, the race is set to begin. As the green flag waves to start the race, Ash and his Rhyhorn get off to a shaky start, but they manage to catch up to the other racers after a while. However, James's Inkay squirts ink on the cameras broadcasting the race, prompting Serena, Clemont, Bonnie, and Fennekin to go investigate. Meanwhile, Ash is confused that he can't see any of the other Rhyhorn racers, but a net suddenly drops out of the sky and snares him as Pikachu and Rhyhorn are captured in a cage. Team Rocket appears, reciting their motto, and Ash sees the other racers tied up the same way he is and their Rhyhorn stolen as well. As Meowth starts to drive the train of cages away, he and parts of the cages are hit by a Mud Shot from Clemont's Bunnelby as Clemont arrives to battle Team Rocket. Serena, Bonnie, and Fennekin approach from the other direction and, much to everyone's surprise, Fennekin asks Serena to battle Team Rocket. Fennekin uses an Ember attack, causing James to drop the device that controls the cages. Before Jessie or James can stop to pick it up, Clemont grabs a rock and aggressively smashes the device, which frees Pikachu and the Rhyhorn. Surrounded by the angry Rhyhorn, Team Rocket is sent mercilessly blasting off before Officer Jenny arrives to check on the situation.

Later that evening, Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie introduce themselves to Serena's mother, Grace, as Ash tells her about Serena teaching him to ride a Rhyhorn. Embarrassed, Serena switches subjects and tells her mother that she will be traveling with Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie, which her mother replies will be a wonderful experience for her. Later, Serena gives Ash a pouch containing the cookies that she made earlier, which she says is a thank you gift for what happened when they were younger. She also gives cookies to Clemont and Bonnie.

• Serena officially joins the group in their travels.
• Serena tells Ash about the first time they met, and Ash finally remembers her.
• The group decide to head back through Lumiose City on their way to Cyllage City.
• Serena encounters Team Rocket for the first time.

For a list of all major events in Pokémon the Series: XY, please see the timeline page.

Debuts

Pokémon debuts

Humans

Pokémon Quiz

• Ash
• Serena
• Clemont
• Bonnie
• Jessie
• James
• Officer Jenny
• Grace
• Ian
• Racers
• Audience
• Commentator

Pokémon

Who's That Pokémon?

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

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Wobbuffet (Jessie's)
• Dedenne (Clemont's)
• Fennekin (Serena's)
• Bunnelby (Clemont's)
• Inkay (James's)
• Rhyhorn (Grace's; flashback)
• Fletchling (Grace's; flashback)
• Rhyhorn (Ian's)
• Rhyhorn (multiple)
• Poliwag (flashback)
• Pidgeotto (multiple)

The title card segment focuses on Serena for this episode

• Professor Oak's Pokémon Holo Caster: Helioptile
• Serena and Ash narrate the preview for the next episode.
• This is the first episode of Pokémon the Series: XY where the title card is focused on someone else than Ash. The title card for this episode focuses on Serena.
• Poliwag's appearance in Serena's flashback as a Pokémon that Ash found in his youth parallels the Pokémon Adventures manga, as Red found a Poliwag as a child, which he caught as his first Pokémon.

Errors

• When Ash and his friends continue their journey along with Serena, the black belt on Serena's hat disappears for a few frames.
• When Serena says that she wanted to meet Ash, the stripe on Ash's sleeve is missing.
• When something is coming near the trees, the brown and yellow colors of Pikachu's tail are swapped.
• When Ash and his friends are panicking while the Rhyhorn are coming through, Bonnie's satchel is colored orange, just like Dedenne, for a few frames.
• When Ash and his friends look at the Rhyhorn, Ash's gloves turn completely black. This also happens when he puts on his uniform.
• In one scene for a single frame, the left half of Serena's ribbon is colored the same way as her hair. This also happens to the right half in another scene.
• When Ash and the others are panicking because the Rhyhorn are going to hurt Serena, Clemont's glasses are missing the bridge.
• When Serena is sitting in the sidelines, her stockings are colored like her skin tone instead of black.
• When Ash notices what happened to the racers and their Rhyhorn, Pikachu's nose disappears for several frames.
• When the mysterious web is getting closer to Ash, Pikachu's tail is completely yellow without the brown color at the end of his tail for a few frames.
• When Team Rocket's transporter is starting to shake, Jessie's left ear is colored white like her skirt.
• When Ash is telling Grace that he rode on a Rhyhorn for the first time, Bonnie's hairclip is colored the same way as her hair.

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  Pikachu's tail colors are swapped

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  Serena's ribbon error

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  Clemont's glasses error

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  Serena's stockings error

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  Bonnie's hairclip error

Dub edits

The title card segment focuses on Ash for this episode in the English dub

• The title card segment focuses on Ash in the dub. It will be doing so regularly starting with this episode.