PJ103: The Future Is Now, Thanks to Strategy!

is the 13th episode of , and of .
==Synopsis==
Ash’s next World Coronation Series battle is against Drasna of the Kalos Elite Four! But first, he pays a visit to his old friends Clemont and Bonnie at the Lumiose City Gym, and Goh takes a detour to catch a new Pokémon. At the Gym, Ash’s Sirfetch’d seems to be struggling to master a new move, Meteor Assault, so Clemont performs an analysis to find out what’s holding it back. It turns out some special training with Dracovish is the key! Ash and Clemont have a Double Battle, giving Sirfetch’d a chance to perfect Meteor Assault…and Dracovish learns a new move of its own, too!
==Episode plot==
Ash and Goh have arrived at Lumiose City in the Kalos region. They part ways for a while so that Goh can catch something new, agreeing to meet at the Lumiose Gym, where Ash is due to reunite with his companions from the time he used to travel around Kalos: Clemont and Bonnie. Along the way, Ash stops to look at a television broadcast featuring him and his opponent for his World Coronation Series battle the next day: Drasna of the Kalos Elite Four. He swears to defeat her in order to realize his dream of battling Leon. Meanwhile, Goh comes across a Froakie while walking through a park and tries to catch it, only for it to deflect his Poké Ball and throw bubbles on his face. Bonnie shows up and explains that the bubbles are called Frubbles, which only Froakie can make. Determined to catch the Bubble Frog Pokémon, Goh challenges it to a battle. Ash arrives at the Lumiose Gym just in time to see Clemont defeat a challenger with his Luxray. He and Ash greet each other and let their Pokémon out so they can do the same. Clemont is surprised to see Dracovish, which he has never even heard of before, while Ash is surprised to notice that Clemont's Bunnelby is now a Diggersby. Clemont also pays attention to Sirfetch'd, which he hasn't seen before either. As Sirfetch'd makes thrusts with its leek, a yellow glow surrounds it and travels down the leek. Dracovish becomes fascinated by it and bites down on the leek, much to Sirfetch'd's irritation. Ash pulls Sirfetch'd free, but it has barely any time to resume its thrusting before Dracovish bites down on the leek again. This time, however, the glow around Sirfetch'd intensifies and sends both it and Sirfetch'd crashing into a wall. Clemont figures that Sirfetch'd is probably on the verge of using a new move. Goh, meanwhile, has managed to exhaust Froakie enough that, after dodging one more Frubble throw, he finally manages to catch it. He then decides to make his way to the Lumiose Gym, and is surprised when Bonnie says the Gym belongs to her big brother.
At the Lumiose Gym, Clemont has figured out that the move Sirfetch'd is trying to pull off is Meteor Assault, its signature move. In order to help Ash master this impressive move in preparation for his battle the next day, Clemont introduces Ash to his newest invention; the PokéMotion Capture, just as Goh and Bonnie arrive. Goh and Clemont greet each other while Bonnie hands Ash some Lumiose Galettes as a souvenir, before running over to play with Dracovish, finding it cute.
Observing Sirfetch'd via the PokéMotion Capture, Clemont begins to see where the problem lies. Normally, Meteor Assault involves a Sirfetch'd channeling energy charged within its body to the tip of its sword and striking the opponent with it. However, with Ash's Sirfetch'd, the center of its body wobbles in between the charging and thrusting steps, causing the gathered energy to fall apart as it reaches the unstablized tip of the sword. If this wobbling could be done away with, Meteor Assault could reach its full potential and exhibit incredible power. Bonnie asks what causes the wobbling, and Clemont theorizes that it's the result of Sirfetch'd carrying far more weight now than it did as a Galarian Farfetch'd. Dracovish biting down on the leek earlier had stabilized Sirfetch'd's body and allowed it to pull off the move. Ash takes Clembot's flags and starts training with Sirfetch'd to show how to do the thrust the right way. He explains to his Pokémon that when he's battling, he tends to focus just on his opponent and not notice anything else, and if Sirfetch'd can attain the same level of focus, it can wield its sword and shield as if they weren't even there. Suddenly, Dracovish bites down on the leek once again, but instead of letting this disturb it, Sirfetch'd takes advantage of the stability and pulls off a successful Meteor Assault once more. However, the power exhibited by the move is too much for the PokéMotion Capture to handle, and it promptly explodes, much like so many of Clemont's other inventions have done in the past. Despite this, everyone is happy for Sirfetch'd's success. Goh compares Dracovish's stabilizing effect on Sirfetch'd to training wheels on a bike: now that the balance has been achieved, aid is no longer necessary. Clemont suggests to Ash that they have a practice battle to test out the results, which Ash happily accepts. Moreover, Ash decides to make it a Double Battle, as he wants to test out Dracovish's speed and durability as well. Clemont accepts this and calls Luxray and Diggersby to join him.
The practice battle begins with Clemont ordering Luxray to target Sirfetch'd with Wild Charge and Diggersby to aim for Dracovish with Dig. Ash prepares the counter by ordering a Meteor Assault and a Fishious Rend, but Dracovish once again becomes distracted by Sirfetch'd's leek and tries to bit it instead, but ends up being hit by Wild Charge and Dig before it can do so. Following Ash's advice, Sirfetch'd focuses its attention on its opponent and executes a successful Meteor Assault, taking Luxray out with one blow. However, the move's recoil leaves Sirfetch'd unable to move. Drcovish then suddenly becomes surrounded in a blue glow and charges at Diggersby, whose Hammer Arm counterattack is quickly overpowered, causing it to faint and bringing the practice battle to an end. Clemont identifies the new move as Dragon Rush, and Bonnie figures Dracovish learned it while trying to mimic Meteor Assault. Sirfetch'd then lets Dracovish bite on its leek without getting upset over it, showing that the two have become good friends. As such, Ash decides to use the two in the next day's battle.
Meanwhile, Drasna is having a battle with Wikstrom at his Castle of Chivalry. As their Altaria and Escavalier exchange blows, they both compliment each other's skills. Wikstrom aims for a finishing blows with Fell Stinger, but is countered by a super effective Heat Wave. The knight admires the bond between Drasna and her Altaria as she prepares to show Ash the strength of a Kalos Elite Four member.
==Debuts==
===Character===
*Drasna
===Pokémon===
*Clemont's Diggersby
*Goh's Froakie
*Drasna's Noivern
*Drasna's Altaria
*Drasna's Dragalge
*Drasna's Druddigon
===Move===
*Meteor Assault
*Fell Stinger
==Trivia==
*Who's That Pokémon?: Luxray
*This episode, along with the next one, marks the 25th anniversary of the series in Japan.
*As of this episode, every member of the Kalos Elite Four has appeared in the anime.
*Shinji Miyazaki's music from is reused as background music in this episode.
*The English title is based on Clemont's catchphrase; "The future is now, thanks to science".
**"The Future is Now, Thanks to Determination!" is another episode with a similar title.
==Gallery==
==Notes==
Category:Episodes featuring a main character's Pokémon learning a new move
Category:Episodes in which a main character obtains a new Pokémon
Category:Episodes focusing on Clemont
Category:Episodes focusing on Bonnie
Category:Episodes featuring Champions
Category:Episodes featuring Elite Four members