Japanese Title: Pikachu and Dedenne! Cheek Rub!!
Original Airdate: October 31, 2013
US Airdate: February 8, 2014
Continuing their journey to Santalune City, Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie pursue Dedenne, who befriends Pikachu and Bonnie. Of course, this makes Dedenne a target next time Team Rocket comes after Pikachu. Meanwhile, Serena meets Professor Sycamore, and chooses her starter: Fennekin, the Fox Pokémon, and the Fire type starter of Kalos.
This episode contains examples of the following tropes:
- Badly Battered Babysitter: On his own with the wild Dedenne, Pikachu had to protect it when Team Rocket decide to come in.
- Bookends: Serena appears at the beginning, when she chooses her first Pokémon from Professor Sycamore, and the end, when she frets about the dark and is taken to a Pokémon Center by Nurse Joy.
- Foreshadowing: Serena isn't keen on spending the night in the middle of the forest.
- Made of Explodium: Naturally, when Inkay goes through the Meowth Balloon, it explodes to blast Team Rocket off. The burner was probably hit.
- Magical Defibrillator: Clemont's device to recharge Dedenne counts as this, in a similar fashion to how Nurse Joy has used actual defibrillators to recharge Electric types, including Pikachu, in the past.
- Scooby-Dooby Doors: Dedenne's fast tunneling leads the kids to try and find it among its many holes. Pikachu and Bunnelby pop out of various holes in the search, while Ash, Clemont and Bonnie inspect each one.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: A Vespiquen attacks Serena, but is blocked by Fennekin's Ember. When she realizes she's facing a Fire-type, she flies off.
- Series Continuity Error: Meowth claims that he can't translate it when Pikachu and Dedenne communicate with electricity. He did well enough translating when Pikachu and Zapdos did the same thing in Pokémon 2000.
- Think Nothing of It: Clemont says this when Dedenne thanks him for the electricity boost.
