XY055

A Slippery Encounter! (Japanese: 最弱のドラゴン！？ヌメラ登場！！ The Weakest Dragon!? Appears!!) is the 55th episode of the, and the 854th episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on January 8, 2015 and in the United States on March 21, 2015.

Blurb
As our heroes make their way up a rocky hill, an unconscious Goomy falls out of the sky, right onto Ash's head! Clemont figures out that Goomy isn't feeling well because it's dehydrated, so Ash braves a steep climb to get it to the nearby river. But as soon as it's restored to health, Team Rocket swoops in to grab Pikachu, and Goomy ends up in their cage as well!

While Jessie, James, and Meowth are celebrating their latest catch, the two Pokémon are working together, combining Pikachu's strength and Goomy's slime to escape the cage and flee. When they reunite with Ash and the others, Team Rocket is close behind!

The villains seem to have the upper hand until Goomy steps in front of its new friends and uses Bide, absorbing Team Rocket's attacks and then blasting them off with their own power. Ash admires Goomy's unexpected strength, and the little Dragon-type Pokémon happily joins him for the journey to Coumarine City!

Plot
As the episode begins, and  are traveling up a mountain, and  shows great excitement about going to the Coumarine City Pokémon Showcase, running up the slope with joy. However, she quickly grows tired and claims she is ready to fall asleep any moment, to which agrees. However, tells them that the slope will soon end, much to their pleasure. While the group is going up the mountain, the group notices a flying in the sky. However, as it flies above Ash, it drops something on top of his head.

Ash pulls the object off his head, noting how slimy the thing is. It is revealed to be a, which is considered to be the weakest. Ash remarks on how it doesn't look like a Dragon-type at all. However, the Goomy appears to be extremely weak and flattened. After Clemont reveals that Goomy is mostly made up of water, Serena takes out a bottle from her bag and pours water onto it. Goomy then awakens weakly and sees Ash and crew. They then ponder on how to help the Goomy, and Ash notices a river downhill. He decides to take the Goomy down there. He then walks down the slope, but it is so rough that Ash runs down quickly and uncontrollably. Though he is able to dodge most obstacles, he trips over a rock, causing Goomy to be thrown into the air. However, he grabs it in time, only to crash into the river. Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie then join him.

Goomy is bathing in the river and regaining its energy. Ash, Clemont, Bonnie, and Serena all pour some water onto it, and Goomy is restored to full health and is happy with Ash. Bonnie is happy that Goomy is feeling much better, and soon pops out of her bag. However, Goomy becomes scared of Dedenne, and it runs to Ash for cover. Clemont theorizes that because the Dragon type is weak against the Fairy type, Goomy is scared of Dedenne. Bonnie then calls Goomy weird for being scared of a cute Dedenne. Goomy, offended by her remark, hits her legs with its horns, but this only tickles Bonnie. Goomy soon falters to the repeated hitting, however. Serena then suggests that the remark must have insulted Goomy, and Goomy happily approaches Serena's ear and chews it, which suggests that she must have been right. However, Serena remarks on how Goomy feels somewhat gross and slimy, causing Goomy to fall back into the river. It then uses on Serena in its displeasure, causing a cloud to rain only on Serena. She quickly apologizes for offending it, and Goomy stops the rain. However, it soon quickly becomes upset once more. Ash asks what's wrong, and Bonnie remarks on how it looks just like Ash when he's hungry. Ash then asks Goomy if it wants something to eat, and it approves, then leaving to find some food.

Meanwhile, is spying on Ash and his friends. When they ponder on whether they should catch Goomy, they decide that a weak Pokémon would be completely worthless, and they should stick to capturing.

Back to Ash and his friends, they watch Goomy eating leaves from a bush, clearly enjoying its meal. suddenly pops out of its Poké Ball and uses to drop down some apples from the tree. However, an angry appears and attacks Chespin, causing Goomy to hide in fear behind Pikachu. Pikachu fights the Ariados off, and Clemont and Chespin apologize, telling Ariados they meant no harm. Ariados then leaves, while Goomy is visibly scared. Ash then tells Goomy it's all over, but it is still extremely terrified, shivering with fear while a large amount of water leaks from its body. Ash asks it what is wrong, and Goomy tries to tell Ash something. Clemont then devises a large device that can scan images in a Pokémon's brain and visualize them, calling it the "Pokémon Translator Mark 2."

As he scans Goomy, the screen reveals a land filled with and. It then shifts over to a red screen where swarms of, , and are attacking Goomy's homeland, then over to a flock of Swanna flying. The machine, however, then ceases to work. Clemont hits it three times, but the machine self-destructs, to which Bonnie remarks she is not surprised.

Clemont theorizes from the video that Goomy was caught in a large Pokémon skirmish and fled. Goomy chews Clemont's ear in approval, and soon enough Serena's as well when she states that it must be the reason for Goomy's fear of Ariados. It then speaks to Pikachu, but their conversation is incomprehensible to Ash and his friends.

Suddenly, a device falls from the sky, entrapping Ash, Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie in an electronic rope. It turns out that the culprit was Team Rocket, who proceeds with their while floating on their  balloon. Ash tells Pikachu to use, but the mecha Team Rocket is using easily absorbs it. It then turns into a cage, trapping Pikachu and Goomy. Team Rocket escapes on their balloon, with Pikachu and Goomy in tow. Ash sends out to cut the rope surrounding them and  to search for Team Rocket.

Team Rocket watches in glee as Pikachu uses Thunderbolt on the cage repeatedly. Just then, they notice that they've taken Goomy as well, and figure there's no harm in taking another Pokémon. They decide to celebrate their new captures. With the cage nearby yet out of sight, Team Rocket has a picnic in the forest and goofs off among themselves.

Meanwhile, Pikachu continues trying to use Thunderbolt on the cage, but it remains unsuccessful. Next, Pikachu turns to hitting the cage in the same spot with his head. Pikachu successfully opens the cage up a bit, and manages to push Goomy out of the hole. However, Pikachu then finds himself unable to get out through the hole. Goomy then reenters the cage and slides itself all over Pikachu, causing Pikachu to have a shiny glow. Before they can leave the cage, however, Team Rocket approaches them, having heard a loud clang. They ask if Pikachu and Goomy have been trying to escape, and the two Pokémon just cover the enlarged hole, smiling innocently. wonders if Pikachu has always been this glossy, so Pikachu and Goomy try to mask it off as extreme sweat. Team Rocket assumes that it was nothing, and resumes their party. Once Team Rocket is out of sight, Goomy and Pikachu successfully escape the cage and run off quietly.

Team Rocket remarks on how glossy Pikachu was, and Meowth thinks about how Pikachu's sweat would work in a magic trick. Jessie and James happily agree, suggesting one example to be slipping through cage bars. They soon realize that the Pokémon probably escaped, and quickly run back to the cage. They find Pikachu running away while carrying Goomy on his back. James runs after them, while the others decide to use the Meowth balloon. Fletchinder finds James running after Pikachu and Goomy, and leads the way for Ash and his friends.

James quickly catches up to Pikachu and Goomy, but before he can reach them, Goomy uses Rain Dance above James's head, causing him to slip and roll over. The others on the Meowth balloon catch up to James, and he climbs onto the balloon. Jessie sends out her and commands it to use, but Ash uses his body to block the attack from hitting Pikachu and Goomy. The rest of his friends catch up, but Team Rocket traps them in a rope again, barely missing Ash. Team Rocket takes out the same electricity-absorbing mecha from before, and Ash has Pikachu use on it, successfully breaking it.

James then sends out his and has it use  while Jessie's Pumpkaboo uses Shadow Ball. Ash's Fletchinder counters with and Pikachu counters with. However, when Inkay uses on Pikachu and Fletchinder, the attack manages to  both Pokémon. With both Pokémon unable to attack properly, Goomy decides to step in. Pumpkaboo uses while Inkay uses Psybeam, but before the attacks can hit Ash, Goomy steps out in front of him and endures the attacks. When Jessie and James command their Pokémon to attack again, Goomy endures the attacks once more. Goomy then attacks back with, and just then, Pikachu and Fletchinder snap out of their confusion. Pumpkaboo uses Shadow Ball, but Pikachu prevents it by using Thunderbolt, sending Team Rocket blasting off.

Later, Ash compliments Goomy, stating that it was definitely strong with the power of its Bide attack. Goomy blushes, and Dedenne cheers in agreement with Ash. However, Goomy still appears to be scared of Dedenne and hides behind Pikachu while shivering in fear. Clemont suggests that there is probably a deeper reason for Goomy's fear.

Pikachu and Goomy talk to each other, and Pikachu excitedly tries to tell Ash something. Ash asks Goomy if it wants to become strong like Pikachu, to which Goomy jumps up onto Ash's shoulder and rubs against Ash's head in agreement. Ash then uses his Poké Ball and successfully captures Goomy. He proceeds to send out his newly-captured, and he and his friends all welcome Goomy to the group.

Major events

 * catches a.

Humans

 * Jessie
 * James
 * Jessie
 * James
 * Jessie
 * James

Pokémon
Who's That Pokémon?: (US and international) Pokémon Quiz:  (Japan)
 * (new; debut)
 * (multiple; flashback)
 * (flashback)
 * (flashback)
 * (flashback)
 * (multiple; flashback)
 * (multiple; flashback)
 * (multiple; flashback)
 * (multiple; flashback)
 * (flashback)
 * (flashback)
 * (flashback)
 * (multiple; flashback)
 * (multiple; flashback)
 * (multiple; flashback)
 * (flashback)
 * (multiple; flashback)
 * (multiple; flashback)
 * (multiple; flashback)

Trivia

 * Professor Oak's Pokémon Holo Caster:
 * Mad-Paced Getter replaced Mega V as the Japanese opening theme.
 * , Clemont's Dedenne and narrate the preview for the next episode.
 * Just like in Kindergarten Chaos!, at the end of the preview, Bonnie says "Everyone, keep Pokémon!" instead of Ash saying his "Everyone, get Pokémon!" phrase.
 * This episode marks the first appearance of a in the main series anime other than the one that belongs to Jessie.
 * mentions writers in this episode, thus breaking the fourth wall.
 * Music from Meloetta's Moonlight Serenade is used in this episode.

Errors

 * In one scene, the colors of 's mouth are inverted (ie. white innards with black teeth).
 * When protected Pikachu and Goomy from 's, James's Inkay was seen, even though he didn't send it out.
 * Goomy's damaged Pumpkaboo despite  Pokémon being immune to  moves.
 * In the dub, when Pikachu, along with Fletchinder got hit by Inkay's Psybeam, his mouth opens, but no sound comes out.
 * In the dub, the Pokédex refers to Goomy as Gooey, when it mentions it being the weakest Dragon type Pokémon.
 * In the dub, when Ash is running down the hill towards the lake with Goomy in his hands, his English voice can faintly be heard.

Dub edits

 * The off-screen dialogue of Meowth imitating Giovanni while Jessie and James praise him was not present in the original version.
 * For some reason, the scene with Meowth and Jessie's goofy face was omitted in the dub.

In other languages
Eine glitschige Begegnung! EP859 XY055 XY055 XY編第55話 精灵宝可梦 XY 第55集