XY050

Pathways to Performance Partnering! (Japanese: 踊れヤンチャム、魅せろフォッコ！明日へのステップ！！ Dance, — Captivate, ! The Dance for Tomorrow!!) is the 50th episode of the, and the 849th episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on November 13, 2014 and in the United States on February 7, 2015 as the first episode of the eighteenth season, Pokémon the Series: XY Kalos Quest.

Blurb
As our heroes head to Coumarine City, a lunchtime squabble between Clemont's Chespin and Serena's Pancham gets out of hand when they bump into a Smoochum and Farfetch'd. Their Trainer, Nini, is planning to enter her first Pokémon Showcase, just like Serena. The two girls decide to show each other their performances and get feedback from Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie as well, but they have an unexpected audience...

Team Rocket is lurking nearby, and Jessie decides she just has to have Nini's Smoochum as her Pokémon Showcase partner. She disguises herself as a choreographer and coaxes all the dancing Pokémon into a small performance space...and then Team Rocket's balloon takes off with them! Chespin and Pancham finally decide to work together and discover they're a pretty good team, sending the villains blasting off again. Nini and Serena say their goodbyes and promise to meet in the Pokémon Showcase as rivals!

Plot
The episode starts with and  eating their lunchtime snack. While they're eating, comes by with Poké Puffs, but with only crumbs left, since  ate them all. becomes angry, and starts fighting with Chespin which and Serena try to end. However, the two Pokémon continue fighting across the field.

We eventually see a girl's and her crying. The girl then asks what Clemont and Serena are doing to her Pokémon, and asks if those "ill-mannered" Pokémon are theirs, and that Chespin and Pancham were using for no reason. Clemont and Serena tell Chespin and Pancham that they need to apologize. Ash joins in and apologizes too. The girl accepts their apologies and reveals she is practicing for a Pokémon Showcase, which Serena is participating as well. It will be their first time doing it.

The girl then asks Serena to watch her performance, but Serena replies saying she doesn't know enough to judge someone's performance. The girl tells Serena all she has to do is give an opinion, she doesn't need professional judging skills.

The scene cuts and the girl has her Smoochum use. Then, Farfetch'd retrieves its stick and clears out the Powder Snow. Smoochum uses, and then Farfetch'd uses to cut the Heart Stamp into multiple hearts, concluding the performance. The group applaud and the girl asks if there is anything about the performance that could use fixing. Serena suggests she could coordinate her dance a bit more. Ash suggests a flashier Heart Stamp. She requests Serena to show her her performance. Though Serena is not ready, wants to see it alongside Clemont. Ash and agree. When Serena asks if and Pancham are ready, Chespin jumps in to kick Pancham. Bonnie tries to break up the fight along with Pikachu, when it's revealed Chespin wants to perform too.

Clemont brings out his "Only Lonely Dancing Robo-Partner," and powers it on to give Chespin a partner. The invention ends up hurting Chespin, and Bonnie asks Clemont to turn it off, but Clemont fails to find the off button. The invention eventually blows up on everyone.

The scene cuts, as Ash wishes good luck to Serena. Serena starts off her showcase with Fennekin using as Pancham dangerously spins through the Flamethrower. Ash and friends aren't the only ones watching, as we see off in the distance. Jessie looks as Smoochum's lips which she thinks are beautiful, and decides to steal Smoochum to win the showcase. James asks why Jessie isn't planning to steal Pikachu, Jessie says she is willing to do that after stealing Smoochum, as stealing Smoochum could help her gain the title "Kalos Queen".

Serena's act continues, and Fennekin uses Flamethrower once again around the purple light in the sky. This ends her performance, and everyone comments saying they loved the act. The girl says Pancham's acrobatics didn't fit with the performance—it didn't match Fennekin's part of the performance. Smoochum falls in love with Pancham and Pancham tries to avoid Smoochum. It is suggested that Pancham and Smoochum (described as the perfect couple) should dance together, so they do so. When the dance is over, everyone claps. The girl then asks if Serena wants to trade Pancham for one of her Pokémon. However, Serena says she is unwilling to trade Pancham as it is the first Pokémon she caught and Pancham will be going to be Serena's showcase partner. The girl's name is now revealed to be Nini.

Team Rocket arrive, disguised, and introduces  as La Grande Dame Brûlée, cream of the choreographer crop. Nini asks if they can help them, but James says La Grande Dame Brûlée is "anything but cheap", but Jessie says they will help for free. The scene cuts and Jessie and James actually help Nini and Serena. Jessie tells the Pokémon to lift their left and right legs. She then tells them to shift their bodies left and right. Jessie and James then inflate a balloon and have the Pokémon go inside there, that way their movements will be more economical. Rather than adjust their movements, Jessie just uses the balloon to steal the Pokémon. Serena mentions she thought they were having a lesson, then La Grande Dame Brûlée reveals herself to be Jessie in disguise. Nini asks for an explanation who Team Rocket is, and Clemont tells Nini they're a team who attempts stealing Pokémon.

Team Rocket start their getaway and the true fight begins. The gang tries to catch up with them, but throws a smoke bomb at them and run away. Ash sends out to track Team Rocket's balloon. At Team Rocket's balloon, the Pokémon are making movements from inside to distract Team Rocket. The balloon they are trapped in gets detached from Team Rocket's hot-air balloon, and ends up in a forest. When the balloon opens, Chespin and Pancham start fighting again, but James's finds the Pokémon. Chespin and Pancham stand in front of the other Pokémon to defend them, still fighting. James tells Inkay to use. This hits Smoochum and Farfetch'd. Jessie has use. Fennekin tries to counter with Flamethrower. Everyone but Chespin and Pancham are down, Pancham has a flashback of Serena saying "Don't you remember you're supposed to be friends?! Now make up!". Chespin has a flashback of Clemont saying "Hey, all you're doing is just being plain mean to each other. Come on!". The two become quick friends again as Jessie tells Pumpkaboo to use, as Chespin and Pancham make a last-second dodge.

Pumpkaboo gets hit with attacks, and James gets Inkay to use Tackle. Inkay dodges and James tells Inkay to use Psybeam. Pumpkaboo uses, and Chespin's vine counterattacks it. Ash, Pikachu, Bonnie, Serena, Clemont, and Nini arrive in on the action, and everyone reclaims their Pokémon while Clemont asks how Chespin and Pancham are doing. Jessie commands Pumpkaboo to use Shadow Ball at the group, which they dodge. Pancham and Chespin are revealed to everyone to have become friends again. After Pancham and Chespin play their part, Ash tells Pikachu to use Thunderbolt sending Team Rocket blasting off again. Jessie complains about "her cute little Smoochum-woochum" being gone from her possession and James comments that behavior does not fit a queen, and Meowth comments "in her dreams." Jessie angrily comments that she is not to give up trying to become Kalos Queen, and Meowth says her performance throne is the cheapest.

Once that is over, Pancham and Chespin continue fighting, which, from Ash's point of view, proves they're great friends.

At evening, Serena and Nini say goodbye to each other. Serena and Nini plan to be performance rivals, and Nini claims that she'll beat Serena. Nini then walks away and tells everyone to keep in touch with her. With a new friend and rival for Serena, Ash's journey continues.

Major events

 * and meet Nini, a Pokémon Performer.

Humans

 * Nini

Humans

 * Jessie
 * James
 * Nini
 * Jessie
 * James
 * Nini
 * Nini

Pokémon
Who's That Pokémon?: (US and international) Pokémon Quiz:  (Japan)
 * (Nini's)
 * (Nini's)
 * (Nini's)
 * (Nini's)
 * (Nini's)
 * (Nini's)
 * (Nini's)
 * (Nini's)
 * (Nini's)
 * (Nini's)
 * (Nini's)
 * (Nini's)
 * (Nini's)
 * (Nini's)
 * (Nini's)

Trivia

 * reads the title card.
 * This is the first time in the that someone else than  reading the title card has been kept in the dub.
 * This is the last episode to air before the release of Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.
 * This is the season premiere of Pokémon the Series: XY Kalos Quest.
 * Instead of Professor Oak's Pokémon Holo Caster or Mairin's Mega Evolution Journal, appears to talk about  and Mega.
 * The mother and daughter from Lucario and the Mystery of Mew make a cameo appearance during this segment. This marked their first appearance outside a movie.
 * Yūji Ueda is credited for for this episode, even though Wobbuffet does not appear in this episode.
 * Jessie's disguise outfit resembles the 1980s actress, due to her hair.

Errors

 * In one scene, 's pupils are white instead of yellow.
 * In some scenes, Nini's gloves are missing.
 * When Serena and Nini shake hands at the end of the episode, Nini's glove is missing.
 * When Serena goes to fetch the Poké Puffs, she isn't wearing her hat, but when she comes back, she is.
 * It should be noted that she may have put her hat on when she retrieved the basket of Poke Puffs.

Dub edits

 * This episode was skipped in Portugal. The channel that airs Pokémon in Portugal, Biggs, said in an e-mail that they didn't skip any episode, When Light and Dark Collide! is the first episode of Kalos Quest and that it continues right after Bonnie for the Defense!, the last episode aired in the channel.
 * However, they later acknowledged their mistake and the episode aired during reruns.
 * In some international dubs, the title card is read by Ash instead of Serena.
 * The dub's title card segment focuses on Ash instead of Serena in the Polish dub.