S15

Pokémon BW: Rival Destinies is the fifteenth season of the dubbed version of the Pokémon anime. It is the second dubbed season of the, following the previous season Pokémon: Black & White. It follows as he continues his, venturing in the Unova region with his friends  and.

It began on February 18, 2012 with the dub premiere Enter Elesa, Electrifying Gym Leader!, and concluded on January 26, 2013 with Unova's Survival Crisis!. It originally aired in the United States as part of the 2012-2013 Saturday morning line-up.

It is preceded by Pokémon: Black & White, and is succeeded by Pokémon BW: Adventures in Unova.

Blurb
''New foes, new friends, and dozens of never-before-seen Pokémon await Ash and Pikachu in Pokémon: BW Rival Destinies, the new season of the Pokémon animated series. As Ash and his friends continue to explore the Unova region, he’ll find himself up against the ultimate battle challenge: Alder, the Champion Master of Unova! His friends also face their own trials, one fighting for the right to continue her travels, another confronting a returning challenge from the past—and all three of them must team up to save an island from the clashing forces of three powerful and mysterious Legendary Pokémon!''

Important events

 * and meet Elesa, the Nimbasa City Gym Leader. (BW049)
 * Ash and his friends meet Alder. Ash battles Alder, though there is no winner due to Alder falling asleep. (BW052)
 * Ash and friends meet Clay, the Driftveil City Gym Leader. (BW057)
 * The gang reunites with Chili. (BW058)
 * Ash, and  encounter the Forces of Nature:, , and . (BW059-BW060)
 * Ash's Boldore learns and . (BW061)
 * Ash and his friends encounter and Professor Juniper once again. (BW062)
 * Cilan's Crustle learns . (BW062)
 * The gang meets Cedric Juniper, Professor Juniper's father. (BW064)
 * The gang meets Skyla, the Gym Leader of Mistralton City. Cilan battles Skyla and loses. (BW067)
 * The Clubsplosion takes place at Ambiga Town with 16 participants. (BW070-BW073)
 * Ash, Cilan, and Stephan advance to the second round after beating Angus, Flora, and Edmund, respectively. (BW070)
 * Iris, Georgia, and Montgomery advance to the second round after beating Burgundy, Gail, and Delbert, respectively. (BW071)
 * Bianca defeats Trip and advances to the second round. Ash, Montgomery, Stephan, and Bianca advance to the semi-finals, after beating Betty, Iris, Cilan, and Georgia respectively. (BW072)
 * In the semi-finals, Montgomery beats Ash and Stephan beats Bianca. During the finals, Stephan beats Montgomery, becoming the Clubsplosion winner and earning a year's supply of Vitamins. (BW073)
 * Ash and his friends meet Tepig's former Trainer. (BW077)
 * The gang meets Brycen, the Gym Leader of Icirrus City. (BW078)
 * Ash and his friends meet Roxie, the Virbank Gym's Gym Leader. (BW083)
 * Ash meets Cynthia again and Cilan and Iris meet her for the first time. (BW085)
 * Iris has a battle with Cynthia which has no winner.
 * is revealed to be staying at Cynthia's villa in Undella Town.
 * Dawn and Ash are reunited, Cilan and Dawn have a battle which ends in a tie. (BW086)
 * The Pokémon World Tournament Junior Cup takes place at Lacunosa Town with 16 participants. (BW090-BW093)
 * Trip defeats Burgundy and Iris defeats Georgia, advancing to the next round. Cilan, Ash, and Dawn also defeat their opponents and advance to the next round. (BW090)
 * Ash, Iris, Cilan, and Trip advance to the semi-finals after beating Geraldo, Dawn, Horatio, and Manning, respectively. (BW091)
 * Trip advances to the final round after beating Cilan. (BW091)
 * Ash defeats Iris and advances to the final round. (BW092)
 * Trip defeats Ash in the final round, winning the Pokémon World Tournament Junior Cup. (BW092)
 * Trip battles Alder and loses. (BW093)
 * Ash and his friends meet 🇺🇳, who joins the group. (BW093)
 * Dawn leaves the group to head to Johto to compete in the Wallace Cup. (BW093)
 * Ash and his friends meet Marlon. (BW094)
 * Cameron leaves the group. (BW094)
 * Ash meets for the first time since Mewtwo Returns. (BW096)
 * Giovanni withdraws Team Rocket (including Jessie, James and ) from Unova and returns to Kanto. (BW097)

Additions
The following Pokémon are obtained:
 * Ash's Krokorok (BW065)
 * Iris's Dragonite (BW089)

Evolutions
The following Pokémon evolve:
 * Ash's →  (BW061)
 * Cilan's →  (BW062)
 * Ash's →  (BW068)
 * Ash's →  (BW074)
 * Ash's →  (BW077)
 * Ash's →  (BW092)

Gym battles
Ash defeats the following Gym Leaders:
 * Elesa (BW050)
 * Clay (BW061)
 * Skyla (BW068)
 * Brycen (BW079)
 * Roxie (BW084)