XYS01

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Mega Evolution Special I File:SS029.png

SS029   ポケットモンスターXY特別編 最強メガシンカ ～Act I～ Pocket Monsters XY Special Episode: The Strongest Mega Evolution ~Act I~

First broadcast Japan April 3, 2014 United States May 31, 2014

English themes Opening None Ending

Japanese themes Opening None Ending メガＶ（メガボルト）

Credits Animation Team Kato Screenplay 冨岡淳広 Atsuhiro Tomioka Storyboard 浅田裕二 Yūji Asada Assistant director 浅田裕二 Yūji Asada Animation director 岩根雅明 Masaaki Iwane 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

Pokémon: Mega Evolution Special I (Japanese: ポケットモンスターXY特別編 最強メガシンカ ～Act I～ Pocket Monsters XY Special Episode: The Strongest Mega Evolution ~Act I~) is the first Mega Evolution Special and the first special episode of the XY series. It first aired in Japan on April 3, 2014 (just after XY021) and in the United States on May 31, 2014.

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

Other posters and logos

• SS029 poster.png

  Poster

• SS029 logo JP.png

  Logo

Blurb

Alain and his Charizard are on a mission to seek out and challenge Mega-Evolved Pokémon! They battle and defeat Astrid and her Mega Absol, unaware that they’re being watched. The observer is a young Trainer named Mairin, who’s just started her journey with her Chespin—and who has a lot of questions about Mega Evolution! Alain tells her he doesn’t have all the answers, but she’s still asking questions when he gets a call and has to leave.

She follows him to a cave, where he finds a Mega Stone. When he emerges, he’s challenged by Dragon Tamer Remo and his Mega Garchomp—with the Mega Stone on the line! Alain wins again, and afterward, Mairin tells him that she wants to learn to use Mega Evolution, too. But first, she’ll have to catch some more Pokémon!

Alain helps Mairin catch a Flabébé, and then he disappears when she takes it to a Pokémon Center. Nurse Joy tells Mairin that he went to a nearby restaurant to challenge the owner, Siebold of the Elite Four, and his Mega Blastoise. Mairin catches up just in time to watch the battle! The type disadvantage is too much for Charizard to overcome even after it Mega Evolves, and Alain is defeated—but Siebold is impressed with his strength. After the battle, Alain continues his journey, and Mairin is determined to go along with him and find a Mega Stone of her own!

Plot

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Mega Evolution: A new type of evolution. Some Pokemon are capable of Mega Evolution, but are there other Pokemon capable of it?

A trainer named Alain battles another trainer with his Pokemon, Charizard. His goal is to be the top trainer in battles involving Mega Evolution. Charizard battles against Absol, a Pokemon raised by Astrid. Both Pokemon Mega Evolve after Alain challenges Astrid to Mega Evolve her Absol. Charizard prevails over Absol by using Blast Burn to counter Absol's Dark Pulse. Mairin, a spectator of the battle, wants to know what happened to Charizard and Absol when they Mega Evolved. But then she brings up gossip from Lumiose City that a rampaging Garchomp ran loose and that a trainer freed her from enemy control, and afterwards saves a Pokemon falling from Prism Tower. This causes Alain to have a flashback, when he was Professor Sycamore's aide. Professor Sycamore was studying Mega Evolution and wants to know how it works and if it affects all Pokemon. Alain then wants to search for a Mega Stone to witness its power, which Professor Sycamore approves, and allows him to take a Charmander along. Suddenly, he receives a call where to go next, with Mairin tagging along, her curiosity piqued.

Mairin finds Alain in some old ruins. Inside, Alain finds a Mega Stone, but is troubled to what Pokemon it corresponds to. As he walks out, a man challenges him to battle, claiming that he needs the Mega Stone to bring it to his boss. Alain accepts, and the man introduces to Charizard a Garchomp, Mega Evolved. The two Pokemon have an air battle, both suffering serious wounds after a fall, with Charizard winning and Garchomp collapsing from his wounds. Mairin, with some advice from Alain, catches Flabebe, her first Pokemon with Chespin. They then to heal their Pokemon, Alain leaving to battle, leaving her alone.

Nurse Joy tells Mairin that Alain left to challenge Siebold of the Elite Four. Mairin catches up to the two to watch the battle. Charizard faces off against a Blastoise, Siebold's Pokemon. Both Mega Evolve and battle, with Mega Blastoise having the advantage with its Mega Launcher and being a Water-type. Charizard tries to evade Blastoise's attacks but succumbs to its Hydro Pump. On the road again, Mairin wants to follow Alain so she can get a Mega Stone and Mega Evolve her Pokemon so she can beat him. He just shrugs and remembers Professor Sycamore declaring mankind is entering "a time of great change". But woe be in his way, for in a laboratory, there are charts displaying Mega Evolution and its possible power. A man smiles slyly as he looks for information.

Major events

• Alain meets Mairin, a beginner Trainer.
• Alain obtains an unknown Mega Stone.
• Mairin catches a Flabébé, which she nicknames "Bébé".
• Alain has a battle against Siebold of the Elite Four, but loses.
• Mairin decides to travel with Alain.

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

Debuts

• Alain
• Mairin
• Astrid
• Remo
• Siebold
• Lysandre

Pokémon debuts

• Mega Absol (Astrid's)
• Mega Blastoise (Siebold's)
• Mega Garchomp (Remo's)
• Flabébé (Yellow Flower)
• Mega Venusaur
• Mega Charizard Y
• Mega Alakazam
• Mega Gengar
• Mega Kangaskhan
• Mega Pinsir
• Mega Gyarados
• Mega Aerodactyl
• Mega Mewtwo X
• Mega Ampharos
• Mega Scizor
• Mega Heracross
• Mega Houndoom
• Mega Tyranitar
• Mega Gardevoir
• Mega Mawile
• Mega Aggron
• Mega Medicham
• Mega Manectric
• Mega Banette
• Mega Lucario
• Mega Abomasnow

Main series debuts

• Charizard (Alain's; Mega Charizard X)

Characters

Humans

• Alain
• Mairin
• Nurse Joy
• Siebold
• Professor Sycamore (flashback)
• Lysandre
• Astrid
• Remo
• Sophie (flashback)
• Siebold's butler
• Restaurant patrons
• Trainers

Pokémon

• Charmander (Alain's; flashback)
• Charizard (Mega Charizard X; Alain's)
• Chespin (Mairin's; Chespie)
• Flabébé (Mairin's; Yellow Flower; Bébé; new)
• Wigglytuff (Nurse Joy's)
• Garchomp (Professor Sycamore's; flashback)
• Blastoise (Mega Blastoise; Siebold's)
• Absol (Mega Absol; Astrid's)
• Garchomp (Mega Garchomp; Remo's; Garchoo)
• Lucario (painting; flashback)
• Combee (×2; flashback)
• Marill (flashback)
• Helioptile (flashback)
• Psyduck (flashback)
• Azurill (flashback)
• Linoone (flashback)
• Scatterbug (flashback)
• Zigzagoon (flashback)
• Smeargle
• Gallade

Pokémon in the intro

• Venusaur (Mega Venusaur)
• Charizard (Mega Charizard Y)
• Blastoise (Mega Blastoise)
• Alakazam (Mega Alakazam)
• Gengar (Mega Gengar)
• Kangaskhan (Mega Kangaskhan)
• Pinsir (Mega Pinsir)
• Gyarados (Mega Gyarados)
• Aerodactyl (Mega Aerodactyl)
• Mewtwo (×2; Mega Mewtwo X and Y)
• Ampharos (Mega Ampharos)
• Scizor (Mega Scizor)
• Heracross (Mega Heracross)
• Houndoom (Mega Houndoom)
• Tyranitar (Mega Tyranitar)
• Blaziken (Mega Blaziken)
• Gardevoir (Mega Gardevoir)
• Mawile (Mega Mawile)
• Aggron (Mega Aggron)
• Medicham (Mega Medicham)
• Manectric (Mega Manectric)
• Banette (Mega Banette)
• Lucario (Mega Lucario)
• Abomasnow (Mega Abomasnow)

Cast

Cast
Alain	Jonathan Silver	Alain	Kenshō Ono	アラン	小野賢章
Mairin	Zoe Martin	Manon	Mikako Komatsu	マノン	小松未可子
Narration	H.D. Quinn	Narration	Hideaki Tezuka	ナレーション	手塚秀彰
Special appearances by
Astrid	Kate Bristol	Ayaka	Miyuu Sawai	アヤカ	沢井美優
Remo	Marc Thompson	Louie	Kōichi Yamadera	ルイ	山寺宏一
Siebold	Eli James	Zumi	Hiroyuki Yoshino	ズミ	吉野裕行
Lysandre	H.D. Quinn	Fleur-de-lis	Hideaki Tezuka	フラダリ	手塚秀彰
Professor Sycamore	Jake Paque	Platane	Hiroshi Tsuchida	プラターヌ	土門大

Staff

Animation supervisor * アニメーション監修	Masaaki Iwane	岩根雅明
Screenplay	Atsuhiro Tomioka	冨岡淳広
Storyboard	Yūji Asada	浅田裕二
Key animator	Masaaki Iwane	岩根雅明
Chief animation supervisor	Toshihito Hirooka	広岡トシヒト
Director 監督	Yūji Asada	浅田裕二

Trivia

• This is the first appearance of a male Garchomp in the anime.
• This is the first time multiple Mega Evolved Pokémon are featured simultaneously in the anime.
• This episode marks the debut of Blast Burn in the anime.
  • With this, all variations of Hyper Beam have been featured in the anime.
• This is the first time Toxic has been used by a non-Poison-type Pokémon in the anime.
• Excluding Pikachu shorts, this is the first dubbed anime feature not narrated by Rodger Parsons or Mike Pollock.
• Mairin references Ash and the events of Lumiose City Pursuit!.
• Excluding flashbacks, this episode marks the only time Alain has been seen losing a Trainer battle.

Errors

• In the flashback in which Professor Sycamore appears, his female Garchomp has a cut on her fin, a male-only trait.
• In the credits of the English dub, Astrid's voice actress, Kate Bristol, is incorrectly credited as "Kate Briston."

Dub edits

• In the Hindi dub, the intro scene with the multiple Mega Evolved Pokémon and the title card was skipped, and the episode started directly from the scene after the title card.

In other languages

Language		Title
Chinese	Cantonese	特別篇　最強超強化～序幕～
	Mandarin	特別版　最強超進化～序幕～
European French		Pokémon : Méga-Évolution 1 * Mega évolution - Episode Spécial I
German		Pokémon: Sonderfolge I zur Mega-Entwicklung * Mega-Entwicklung - Sonderfolge I
Italian		Episodio speciale I della miniserie Pokémon Megaevoluzione * Megaevoluzione - Episodio Speciale I
Korean		최강 메가진화 ACT I
European Spanish		Megaevolución. Episodio especial I
Thai		พัฒนาร่างเมก้าที่แกร่งที่สุด บทที่ 1
Vietnamese		Sức mạnh tối thượng của tiến hóa Mega - Phần 1

← SS028

Pokémon side stories

SS030 : Diancie — Princess of the Diamond Domain →

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