XY053

A Race for Home! (Japanese: セレナの本気！激走メェークルレース！！ Serena's Earnest! The Wild Race!!) is the 53rd episode of the, and the 852nd episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on December 18, 2014 and in the United States on March 7, 2015.

Blurb
When our heroes come across a Skiddo ranch known for its delicious cheese and ice cream, they discover that Serena's mom, Grace, is there as a Rhyhorn racing coach. Everyone wants to ride a Skiddo, except Clemont.

Grace asks Serena if she's keeping up her Rhyhorn race training, not knowing her daughter's dream is to become a Pokémon performer. Meanwhile, Team Rocket shows up to swipe all the goodies! Serena recruits one of the ranch's racing Rhyhorn to speed after them, and thanks to her exceptional riding and battle skills, the villains are defeated.

When Grace insists that her daughter come home to continue her training as a Rhyhorn racer, Serena finally musters up the courage to tell her mom about her dream. Grace doesn't seem to take her seriously, so Serena challenges her to a Skiddo race, vowing that if she loses, she will return home. But Serena's determination shines, and she wins the race—and her mother's approval!

Plot
The episode begins with and  arriving at Baa de Mer Ranch, filled with all sorts of Pokémon including, ,  and. The group decide to check the ranch out, which is famous for its delicious cheese and ice cream.

Meanwhile have been spying on the group. and begin to fantasize about the delicious cheese and ice cream and also decide to check out the ranch.

At the ranch, the group look on at others riding on Skiddo while eating ice cream. Grace, 's mom, then appears from behind, commenting that Skiddo riding is the first step in becoming a Rhyhorn racer. She mentions that she is at the ranch as she had been invited as a special coach for the Rhyhorn racer training camp for beginners. Ash,, and a reluctant begin to ride on Skiddo at the ranch. Serena looking on, reminisces about her past when she was scared while riding Skiddo with her mother's guidance. After practice, the group enjoy lunch at an inn where Serena's mom is staying at. During lunch, Serena's mom asks Serena to practice Rhyhorn racing after lunch in order to prepare for her future as a Rhyhorn racer. Ash begins to tell Grace that Serena wants to be a Pokémon Performer, but Serena intervenes before he is able to complete the sentence.

Afternoon training begins, but Serena, claiming to have forgotten something behind, decides to practice for her Pokémon Showcase instead. However, the practice goes awry and Serena worries that nothing is going right. She thinks about 's performances and mulls over the fact that she is not ready to tell her mom yet. But thinking of Ash, she decides to begin practicing again with renewed energy. During this time, Grace has been secretly looking on at Serena.

Meanwhile, Team Rocket have been stealing cheese from the ranch. A worker at the ranch sees them just before they run off in their truck. Serena, hearing the workers shouting after the thieves, decides to get into action. Serena runs to the ranch to Ash and the group. Ash decides to follow the truck riding on his Skiddo, with Clemont and Bonnie following closely behind. Serena however decides to get on a Rhyhorn, which are faster than Skiddo. Recalling her mother's advice, she races after them with Grace following behind.

As Ash closes the gap with Team Rocket, Clemont falls off his Skiddo; and Bonnie and Grace stop to take care of him. Serena then catches up and bypasses Ash, and then commands Rhyhorn to use on the truck, causing the truck to skid and stop. Team Rocket then reveal themselves and begin battling with and. While and  are battling, Grace and the rest catch up to Ash and Serena. Grace watches Serena battling as Pikachu finally causes Team Rocket to blast off with its.

Grace then approaches Serena, and then offers Serena that it is time for her to come back home to train as a professional Rhyhorn racer. Serena, with courage, tells her mother that she has decided she is going to become a Pokémon Performer and will not go home. Grace argues that Serena will just give up when things get too hard. Serena then decides to settle it with a Rhyhorn race, though her mom suggests a Skiddo race as she herself is a professional Rhyhorn racer.

The race begins with Serena taking an early lead, but Serena falls off her Skiddo, allowing Grace to take the lead. But with determination, Serena gets back on and continues the race. Reflecting on who she had met and what she had learnt on her journey, Serena is able to catch up to Grace and win the race. Grace congratulates Serena for her win and then tells Serena that she saw her secret performance. She states that Skiddo was able to sense how strong her dream was. Grace then gives her support for Serena's dream and informs Serena that there will be a Showcase in Coumarine City.

Major events

 * , and  meet 's mother,, for the first time in person.
 * Grace learns of Serena's dream to become a Pokémon Performer.
 * Serena wins in a race against her mother, and receives her blessing to pursue her goal.
 * Serena learns that a Pokémon Showcase will be held in Coumarine City.

Humans

 * Jessie
 * James
 * (flashback)
 * Jessie
 * James
 * (flashback)
 * (flashback)

Pokémon
Who's That Pokémon?: (US and international) Pokémon Quiz:  (Japan)
 * ('s; flashback)
 * ('s; flashback)
 * ('s)
 * (×2)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (×2)
 * ('s; flashback)
 * ('s; flashback)
 * ('s)
 * (×2)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (×2)
 * ('s)
 * (×2)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (×2)

Mega Audino Journal Pokémon

 * (Mega Charizard X; )
 * (Mega Audino)

Trivia

 * Serena reads the title card.
 * Mairin's Mega Evolution Journal:
 * narrates the preview for the next episode.
 * This episode features the following flashbacks of and her old goal about becoming a Rhyhorn racer:
 * Serena rides on Grace's Rhyhorn during her morning training in Lumiose City Pursuit!.
 * Serena leaves her house and begins her Pokémon journey to meet Ash in A Battle of Aerial Mobility!.
 * The dub of this episode had to be re-recorded to pronounce Skiddo "ski-DOO" instead of "ski-doh".

Errors

 * When Bonnie pouts at Clemont, part of the sclera on her eye is missing.
 * When Grace is spying on Serena, her left iris has its colors inverted.
 * uses, a move that it cannot legally learn.
 * In the dub, when Serena starts talking to her mom about her wanting to become a Pokémon Performer, her mouth doesn't move when she says "I wanna become" in the full sentence of "I've decided I wanna become a Pokémon Performer." This was likely a issue.

Dub edits

 * In the UK English, Italian, German, Russian, Polish and Latin American Spanish versions, the title is read by Ash instead of Serena.
 * The dub's title card segment focuses on Ash instead of Serena in the Polish dub.