XY003

A Battle of Aerial Mobility! (Japanese: ケロマツVSヤヤコマ！空中機動バトル！！  VS ! Aerial Battle Maneuvers!!) is the third episode of the, and the 802nd episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on October 24, 2013 and in the United States on February 1, 2014.

Blurb
While Serena is on her way to Professor Sycamore to receive her first Pokémon, Ash successfully registers for the Kalos League and calls Professor Oak to show off Froakie, his first Kalos Pokémon. Then, to our hero’s happy surprise, Clemont and Bonnie ask Ash if they can accompany him on his Kalos journey, with the Santalune City Gym as their first stop!

As the trio set off, Jessie, James, and Meowth are checking in with their Boss, promising him that Team Rocket will catch as many rare and powerful Pokémon as possible in the Kalos region. With Giovanni’s approval, they set off as well.

The first new Pokémon our heroes come across is a hungry Dedenne in a tree, who struggles with a large berry before dropping it to the ground. Bonnie decides she just has to have Dedenne, and asks Clemont to catch it for her. Ash agrees to help, but an ornery Fletchling suddenly swoops down, steals the berry, and eats it. Crying, Dedenne runs away, but Ash decides Fletchling would be a great addition to his team!

Without any word from Ash, Froakie unexpectedly springs into battle mode, while Clemont produces his “Flying-type Pokémon Attractor Machine” in an attempt to lure Fletchling out of the sky. But without a plan, Froakie is unsuccessful, and Clemont’s machine turns out to have no effect on Flying-type Pokémon. It does, however, succeed in attracting a huge swarm of angry Beedrill!

Deciding on a different strategy, Ash makes use of Froakie’s amazing jumping skills, turning an environment full of cliffs and ledges into an enormous battlefield. A more even battle ensues between Fletchling and Froakie, and after a couple of attempts, Ash has his second Kalos Pokémon—Fletchling!

Meanwhile, catching Kalos Pokémon seems to be all the rage, as elsewhere James manages to catch an Inkay that’s been following Team Rocket to steal their food...

And away from all this action, Serena has arrived at the Sycamore Pokémon Lab. As a new Trainer, she must now choose her first Pokémon: Chespin, Fennekin, or Froakie. Who will it be?

Plot
, having seen Ash on television and recognized him, decides to leave for Professor Sycamore's research laboratory in Lumiose City to receive her first Pokémon. Her mother wishes her luck and reminds her to keep practicing her racing. Meanwhile, and  lead  to the Pokémon Center so he can register for the Kalos League. On the way, Clemont expresses his awe of Ash's bravery when helping out and  the previous day. , who is having lunch elsewhere in Lumiose City, contact and inform him they are in Kalos with the intention to steal rare and valuable Pokémon. Giovanni approves the mission, however while talking the three don't notice a stealing and eating James's croissant.

Later, as Ash is about to depart for Santalune City, Clemont and Bonnie ask Ash if they may accompany him on his journey, to which he happily accepts. As the three friends are walking through a forest, a berry drops from the treetops, followed by a. The Dedenne and look at each other, communicating by transmitting electricity from their cheek pouches. Bonnie, overjoyed by Dedenne's charm and cuteness, begs Clemont to let her keep it, to which he agrees. Just before Bonnie gives the berry that dropped from the trees back to Dedenne, a wild swoops down from the sky, snatches the berry from Bonnie's hand, and eats it. Dedenne cries and runs away, saddening Bonnie, because Clemont speculates that Dedenne might not return because its food was stolen.

Froakie is enraged at Fletchling for stealing the berry and attempts to attack it. However, Fletchling's speed and flying prowess prevent Froakie from landing a hit. Although Ash tries to stop Froakie so that they can form a strategy, his Pokémon's stubbornness is preventing it from listening to reason. Eventually, Ash manages to calm Froakie down and they begin to plan out a strategy for catching Fletchling. Meanwhile, Team Rocket is flying nearby in their balloon. Because his croissant had been stolen earlier, James is hungry, so Meowth brings out some sandwiches, which are stolen by an - the same Pokémon that stole James's croissant earlier. While James distracts Inkay with more sandwiches, he throws a Poké Ball at it, catching it.

In order to find Fletchling, who fled while Ash and Froakie were coming up with their strategy, Clemont produces an invention of his that resembles a, designed to attract Pokémon. However, the machine fails to work properly and instead attracts a swarm of. The machine then explodes, sending the three friends flying into a large ravine. Clemont is discouraged at the failure of his device, but Ash encourages him by expressing his amazement that it attracted, albeit unintentionally, all of the Beedrill that it did. Then, the Fletchling from earlier flies overhead, laughing at the three of them. Ash comes up with a new strategy to catch Fletchling, using the cliffs of the ravine. With his strategy prepared, Ash begins another battle with Fletchling and uses Froakie. Ash's Froakie uses the cliffs of the ravine to bring itself to the same height as Fletchling, and manages to knock Fletchling out of the air with a Bubble attack. Ash throws a Poké Ball, but the persistent bird Pokémon manages to escape. Froakie creates a fake version of himself using its frubbles, which Fletchling gets caught in. Froakie then knocks Fletchling out of the air again, this time with a Water Pulse attack. Ash throws another Poké Ball, and this time, he is successful in capturing Fletchling. Unbeknownst to the group, the Dedenne from earlier hides behind a rock and observes the three heroes as they continue their journey to Santalune City.

The episode ends with Serena visiting Professor Sycamore's lab, which is still partially damaged from the previous episode. Serena asks about the damage, and is happy to hear that the boy who saved Garchomp was indeed Ash, like she had thought. Sycamore informs her that Ash is headed to the Santalune City Gym. One of Sycamore's assistants brings out the three starter Pokémon,, , and , for Serena to choose.

Major events

 * leaves on her Pokémon journey.
 * ,, and agree to travel together.
 * Ash registers for the Kalos League and receives a new Badge case.
 * decides to head to Santalune City for Ash's first Gym.
 * Bonnie befriends a, which begins to follow the group.
 * James catches an.
 * Ash's Froakie is revealed to know.
 * Ash catches a.
 * Serena reaches Lumiose City and meets Professor Sycamore as she prepares to choose her starter Pokémon.

Pokémon debuts

 * Nurse Joy's Wigglytuff
 * Clemont's Dedenne
 * Ash's Fletchling
 * (Sycamore's)
 * (Sycamore's)
 * (Sycamore's)

Humans

 * Jessie
 * James
 * Nurse Joy
 * Professor Sycamore
 * Matori
 * Sophie
 * Citizens
 * Nurse Joy
 * Professor Sycamore
 * Matori
 * Sophie
 * Citizens
 * Sophie
 * Citizens

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

Trivia

 * Professor Oak's Pokémon Holo Caster:
 * Ash flips his hat backwards for the first time in the XY series.
 * This episode marks the first appearance of the Kalos Nurse Joy design.
 * This episode also reveals that is the Pokémon that assists Nurse Joys in the Kalos region.
 * Team Rocket doesn't recite the or blast off in this episode.
 * The next episode preview is narrated by, , and.

Errors

 * When Team Rocket begins celebrating at the café, Jessie's mouth does not move even when she is heard speaking.
 * There is a in the background, but its hind legs are colored beige like its paws.
 * In a recurring dub error, after Team Rocket gets sprayed by Inkay's ink, the sound of Wobbuffet's Poké Ball opening is heard despite him already being out of it.
 * In the same scene, Meowth's eyes are colored in like Jessie's and James'.
 * When and the others are running away from a swarm of  caused by Clemont's phonograph, Froakie's hands are completely colored blue instead of white.
 * After Ash flips his hat backwards, he throws a second Poké Ball to catch Fletchling. However, in the next scene, his hat is unflipped.
 * When Ash successfully catches Fletchling, the Poké Ball doesn't open as it typically does when a Pokémon is initially captured.
 * In the end credits, Kayzie Rogers' first name is misspelled as "Kazie"
 * The Team Rocket logo on the front of Giovanni's desk is missing.

Dub edits

 * In this episode, the background music present in the Japanese version is replaced with dub music, with the exception of the title card music.
 * For the initial US airing (these edits were reverted in home video and iTunes releases, as well as non-US airings):
 * The phrase To Be Continued is removed at the end of the episode.
 * Like in the past two episodes, the title card is lacking the characters' shadows for unknown reasons.
 * The gray logo on Ash's Badge case is colored (red and green is added for the Pokémon Gym logo and the pattern around it respectively).
 * For unknown reasons, the title card segment was skipped in the Hindi dub.

In other languages
Ein Kampf der Lüfte! EP807 XY003 XY003 XY編第3話 精灵宝可梦 XY 第3集