Tired of Froakie and Hawlucha bickering, Ash decides to construct a special training regimen for them to improve their teamwork, but the training comes to a screeching halt when he is abducted by a mysterious Pokémon known as Trevenant, who serves as the protector of the forest and is known to punish those who seek to harm it.
Tropes
- Alliterative Title
- Bash Brothers: Froakie and Hawlucha after they learn to work together.
- Big Damn Heroes: Froakie stops a log going over the waterfall from crushing Pikachu and learns Cut in the process.
- Big Eater: Once again, Chespin ate all the Poké Puffs that Serena made, which she uncovers since she made some super spicy ones that Fennekin likes and Chespin flipped out from the spicy aftertaste.
- Fire-Forged Friends: Froakie and Hawlucha start putting aside their differences to rescue Ash, and cement their friendship while fighting Team Rocket.
- Misguided Missile: Froakie dodges a Pin Missile from Chespin and makes it hit Bunnelby.
- Never Trust a Trailer: The trailer for this episode made it seem as though Trevenant would be the bad guy. It turns out that Trevenant just needed Ash's help freeing its friends from a Team Rocket trap, and that Wood Hammer attack from the trailer was actually used against a Team Rocket device rather than one of Ash's Pokémon.
- No-Sell: Hawlucha's High Jump Kick fails against Trevenant, courtesy of Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Hawlucha's proud, theatrical red to Froakie's calm, collected blue.
- Taking the Bullet: Ash takes a Will-O-Wisp attack in order to protect Froakie and Hawlucha when they were battling against Trevenant.
- Technician vs. Performer: Froakie's battle style is fairly straightforward, while Hawlucha is a showboater. It's one reason why they don't get along.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Froakie and Hawlucha in their first double battle — and even that doesn't last as they start fighting each other.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Ash scolds Froakie and Hawlucha for refusing to work together. Fortunately, they take it to heart and learn to team up.
