XY073

A Fashionable Battle! (Japanese: ファッションショーでバトルです！タツベイVSシュシュプ！！ Battle at the Fashion Show! VS !!) is the 73rd episode of the, and the 872nd episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on May 21, 2015 and in the United States on July 25, 2015.

Blurb
When our heroes arrive in Laverre City, Serena tells Ash that Gym Leader Valerie is also a renowned fashion designer. Unfortunately for Ash and another would-be challenger named Sawyer, this means the Gym is closed for a fashion show and there are no battles to be found! Ash and Sawyer decide to have a battle of their own. Meanwhile, Serena and Bonnie admire Valerie's lovely designs...and then get recruited to join the fashion show as substitute models!

Our heroes soon learn that at the end of every fashion show, Valerie chooses a challenger from the audience so she can show off how her creations look in battle. This time, it’s Sawyer’s turn! His Bagon has no chance against Valerie's Spritzee, but he appreciates the experience and takes lots of notes for next time.

Ash is so excited for his Gym battle the next day that he can barely wait to finish dinner before launching right into some special training with Sawyer’s help. Ash isn’t the only eager one—Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie rush through their own meals to cheer them on!

Plot
and finally arrive in Laverre City, and Ash is barely able to contain his excitement about his Gym match. is excited as well, albeit for a slightly different reason—she wants to meet Valerie, a famous fashion designer who happens to be the Laverre Gym Leader as well. The group heads over to the Laverre Gym, but when they enter, they see a large number of girls wearing Valerie's costumes running around and getting ready for something. Suddenly, Ash sees a young boy talking to a lady behind a desk and begging for a Gym match, but his request is refused due to an event scheduled for later that day. Ash bursts into the conversation as well, which confirms his fears of not being able to have his Gym match just yet.

After asks the woman to marry, and Clemont pulls her away with much embarrassment, the boy next to Ash, whose name is Sawyer, suddenly notices Clemont and recognizes him as the Lumiose Gym Leader from his previous Gym challenge. Sawyer introduces himself to the group and explains how he knows Clemont. After being asked why he is away from the Lumiose Gym, Clemont tells Sawyer how he is traveling with Ash and the others to gain some more experience, just like Sawyer is doing with his Gym challenges. Upon hearing that Ash has five Badges already, including the Voltage Badge, Sawyer is amazed and decides to work even harder to catch up. Serena then suggests that they go to the store, to which Ash agrees.

While Serena, Bonnie,, and are busy admiring the many different fashion designs, Ash asks Sawyer for a battle. Sawyer requests a Double Battle, and Ash agrees, and Clemont follows them to act as the referee. Ash sends out and, while Sawyer chooses his  and. Sawyer uses Bagon's hard head to great effect, but Hawlucha counters with repeated s to wear down Bagon's endurance. Although a combination of and  nearly makes contact with Hawlucha, Frogadier intervenes at the last minute with, allowing Hawlucha to escape. Sawyer then compliments Ash on the teamwork with his Pokémon. Frogadier then successfully dodges two attacks and counters the third with, taking Treecko out of the match. Meanwhile, Serena and Bonnie are approached by two girls, who ask for their help with something, and as Ash and Sawyer are about to continue their battle, it is interrupted by their noticing the start of a fashion show.

The two girls take Serena and Bonnie to meet Valerie, who looks them over and agrees that they will do nicely, but without explaining anything. Serena is overcome with joy at finally meeting Valerie, but Bonnie quickly asks her to take care of Clemont as well, but Serena chides her for it. Valerie then explains that she needs a favor from the two of them. Outside, Ash, Clemont, and Sawyer are next to the large runway that has been set up, still trying to figure out what is going on. As the fashion show starts, several dresses designed after Pokémon are modeled, including designs of an, female , , and. Suddenly, Serena and Bonnie appear with Braixen and Dedenne, modeling dresses designed after and. Once Clemont and Ash get over their shock of seeing the two girls on the stage, Serena explains that the real models could not come and so Valerie needed two substitutes and chose them.

Suddenly, Valerie herself appears, explaining to the crowd how she used Pokémon as the basis for all of her designs. Following the advice of the girl who denied Sawyer and Ash Gym challenges earlier that day, Valerie calls Sawyer onto the stage and challenges him to a battle—with the usual Gym rules in place. With the battle being a one-on-one match, Sawyer calls on his Bagon and Valerie her. Bagon starts off with a attack, but it fails due to Spritzee being a  Pokémon. Sawyer then attempts to use back-to-back attacks, just like Hawlucha did earlier, but his efforts again fail due to Spritzee's ability to move freely in the air. The battle is soon over with a single attack from Spritzee, and Sawyer does not earn the Fairy Badge.

Later that evening, the group has a meal at the Pokémon Center, with Ash excitedly anticipating his upcoming Gym battle against Valerie. He and Sawyer head outside to train, followed by the other three once they finish eating.

Major events



 * and arrive in Laverre City and meet the  of the Laverre Gym, Valerie.
 * meets up with Sawyer again, while Ash,, and meet him for the first time.
 * Sawyer is revealed to have obtained a.
 * Ash and Sawyer have a Double Battle, which is interrupted.
 * Sawyer has a battle against Valerie and loses.

Humans

 * Valerie
 * Linnea
 * Kali
 * Blossom

Humans

 * Valerie
 * Sawyer
 * s
 * Linnea
 * Kali
 * Blossom
 * s
 * Linnea
 * Kali
 * Blossom

Pokémon
Who's That Pokémon?: (US and international) Pokémon Quiz:  (Japan)
 * (Sawyer's)
 * (Valerie's)
 * (Valerie's)
 * (Valerie's)
 * (Valerie's)
 * ('s; female)
 * ('s)
 * ('s)
 * ('s)
 * (Valerie's)
 * (Valerie's)
 * (Valerie's)
 * ('s; female)
 * ('s)
 * ('s)
 * ('s)

Trivia

 * In the Japanese version, the title card segment focuses on.
 * Professor Oak's Pokémon Holo Caster:
 * Instead of Pokémon Holo Caster, pops out to announce the Legendary Pokémon giveaways and to urge viewers to get tickets for the second XY series movie.
 * and Valerie narrate the preview for the next episode.
 * This episode was skipped in for an unknown reason. It eventually aired during the first rerun.

Errors

 * When Serena and Bonnie meet Valerie in person, Serena's backpack disappears. It reappears in the next scene.
 * When Valerie shows up in the fashion show, the hair on 's hairpin is missing.
 * When Linnea tells Valerie to challenge Sawyer, the ribbons on her hairclips are colored black instead of being colored purple. This error repeats again when Kali announced that Valerie wins the battle.
 * When Ash and the others are eating a meal, 's upperside is completely colored gray and Frogadier is missing one of its white circles on its nose.
 * In the dub, after Frogadier lands from using Water Pulse, Ash's English voice can be heard.

In other languages
Ein schicker Kampf! EP877 XY073 XY073 XY編第73話 精灵宝可梦 XY 第73集