XY007

Giving Chase at the Rhyhorn Race! (Japanese: セレナにおまかせ！？激走サイホーンレース！ Leave it to Serena!? The Charging Race!) is the seventh episode of the, and the 806th episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on November 21, 2013 and in the United States on March 1, 2014.

Blurb
Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie convince Serena to join them on their travels! She returns a handkerchief Ash lent her long ago at Pokémon Summer Camp, and he finally remembers her as the girl in the straw hat. He used his handkerchief to wrap up her knee after she hurt it in a fall at camp, and she’s kept it ever since! They’re still reminiscing when they’re interrupted by a rumbling roar, and then see several Rhyhorn, with riders on their backs, pounding toward them! Apparently the track they’re walking along is really a Rhyhorn racecourse—and the race is in full swing! Officer Jenny takes them into Odyssey Village and shows them where the racing Rhyhorn live. She says that tomorrow, the race will be open to first-timers, and Ash is excited to enter!

He quickly realizes he doesn’t know the first thing about Rhyhorn racing—he even has trouble getting up onto Rhyhorn’s back. But Serena’s mom used to be a Rhyhorn racer, so Serena is pretty good at this stuff, and she shows him the ropes. She even shares her mom’s advice, “Be one with Rhyhorn,” which seems to help Ash get the hang of things!

The next day, it’s time for the race! Of course, the Team Rocket trio have been lurking about as usual, and they interrupt the race in an attempt to catch the racing Rhyhorn—and Pikachu, too! Ash and the other racers are tied up and unable to help, but Clemont, Serena, and Bonnie are soon on the scene! Clemont and Bonnie free the captured Rhyhorn while Serena and Fennekin hold Team Rocket at bay, and then the Rhyhorn close in to send the villains blasting off again. Before leaving the village, Serena calls her mom to introduce her new friends and share her travel plans! Ash, Clemont, Bonnie, and Serena excitedly make preparations to head out for Cyllage City. But first, Serena has a gift for Ash! She baked some cookies to recognize his hard work, and to thank him for helping her all those years ago. There are enough cookies for everyone, so they won’t be traveling on an empty stomach as the journey continues!

Plot
and are departing Santalune City, when Ash queries  as to her next destination. She hesitates, unsure, but Ash invites her to join their group, a suggestion that and  immediately agree to. Serena agrees and uses her guidebook to inform them that in order to reach Cyllage City, the site of Ash's next Gym battle, they must first travel through Lumiose City.

While in the woods leading to Lumiose City, Ash contemplates challenging the Lumiose Gym again. Upon Clemont's recommendation, Ash begins to search for a Pokémon to catch. In the meantime, Clemont asks Serena why she decided to go on a journey in the first place. Serena explains that she wants to return Ash's handkerchief to him and explains how they had met so many years ago. At Professor Oak's Summer Camp, an event attended by both Ash and Serena, Serena had gotten lost in a forest and fell over after being startled by a wild, injuring her knee in the process. Serena was frightened and called out for her mother. Soon after, Ash, who was looking for the same Poliwag, found her and wrapped his handkerchief around her knee in order to help her get back on her feet. He then gave Serena the advice to "never give up until it's over", a phrase that Ash and many of his friends, including Serena, has repeated throughout the anime series. After helping Serena to her feet, Ash had led her out of the forest and back to the camp.

After Serena relates this story and returns the handkerchief to Ash, he finally remembers her. Serena also says that she wanted to see Ash again as well as give his handkerchief back, but that she never expected that he wouldn't recognize her. Suddenly, the ground begins trembling as a group of racers speed down the forest path. Officer Jenny drives up soon after, informing the group that they are on a Rhyhorn race track. She takes them to the track's starting line as Serena explains the rules of Rhyhorn racing to Ash. After Officer Jenny convinces Ash to participate in a race the next day, the group parts ways with her at a Rhyhorn stable, and Serena gives Ash advice on how to properly approach and ride Rhyhorn. Meanwhile, is watching them and plot to steal the Rhyhorn and.

After they change into Rhyhorn racing outfits, Serena begins training Ash on how to ride a Rhyhorn properly. However, the Rhyhorn keeps throwing Ash off and Serena shows him the proper technique. However, when she tries to make Rhyhorn run, it throws her off and the Rhyhorn all begin eagerly licking her (and eventually Bonnie as well). At this, Serena realizes that the Rhyhorn are actually very friendly Pokémon. Later, Ash begins riding and his skills improve. Surprising herself, Serena gives Ash the same advice that her mother had given her not too long ago. As a result, Serena realizes that maybe she has misjudged Rhyhorn racing. That night, while everyone is sleeping, Serena bakes cookies for the group while watches her.

The next day, the race is set to begin. As the waves to start the race, Ash and his Rhyhorn get off to a shaky start, but they manage to catch up to the other racers after a while. However, James's Inkay squirts ink on the cameras broadcasting the race, prompting Serena, Clemont, Bonnie, and Fennekin to go investigate. Meanwhile, Ash is confused that he can't see any of the other Rhyhorn racers, but a net suddenly drops out of the sky and snares him as Pikachu and Rhyhorn are captured in a cage. Team Rocket appears, reciting their, and Ash sees the other racers tied up the same way he is and their Rhyhorn stolen as well. As starts to drive the train of cages away, he and parts of the cages are hit by a  from Clemont's Bunnelby as Clemont arrives to battle Team Rocket. Serena, Bonnie, and Fennekin approach from the other direction and, much to everyone's surprise, Fennekin asks Serena to battle Team Rocket. Fennekin uses an attack, causing James to drop the device that controls the cages. Before Jessie or James can stop to pick it up, Clemont grabs a rock and aggressively smashes the device, which frees Pikachu and the Rhyhorn. Surrounded by the angry Rhyhorn, Team Rocket is sent mercilessly blasting off as Officer Jenny arrives to check on the situation.

Later that evening, Ash, Clemont and Bonnie introduce themselves to Serena's mother, as Ash tells her about Serena teaching him to ride a Rhyhorn. Embarrassed, Serena tells her mother that she will be traveling with Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie, which her mother agrees to be a wonderful experience for her. Later, Serena gives Ash a pouch containing the cookies that she made earlier, which she says is a thank-you gift for what happened when they were younger. She also gives cookies to Clemont and Bonnie.

Major events

 * officially joins in their travels.
 * Serena tells about the first time they met, and Ash finally remembers her.
 * The group decide to head back through Lumiose City on their way to Cyllage City.
 * Serena encounters for the first time.

Humans

 * Jessie
 * James
 * Officer Jenny
 * Racers
 * Audience
 * Commentator
 * Officer Jenny
 * Racers
 * Audience
 * Commentator
 * Audience
 * Commentator

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

Trivia

 * Professor Oak's Pokémon Holo Caster:
 * and narrate the preview for next episode.
 * This is the first episode of the XY series where the title card is focused on someone else than Ash. The title card for this episode focuses on Serena.
 * 's appearance in Serena's flashback as being a Pokémon Ash found in his youth parallels Pokémon Adventures, as found a Poliwag as a child, which he caught as his first Pokémon.

Errors

 * When Ash and company continue their journey along with Serena, the black belt on Serena's hat disappears three times.
 * When something is coming near the trees, the brown and yellow colors of 's tail are swapped.
 * When Ash and his friends are panicking while the are coming through, 's satchel is colored orange, just like  for a few frames, and later, when they're running away from the Rhyhorn, Dedenne's ears are completely orange for a few frames.
 * When Serena is about to show how to ride on a Rhyhorn, while Bonnie was excited a lot, Serena got a line added near her neck.
 * In one scene for a single frame, the left half of Serena's ribbon is colored the same way as her hair.
 * When and the others are panicking because the Rhyhorn are going to hurt Serena, 's glasses are missing the orange part that holds his glasses to his nose.
 * In one scene for a single frame, the right half of Serena's ribbon is colored the same way as her hair.
 * In a scene before the race begins, when Serena is sitting in the sidelines, her stockings are colored like her skin tone instead of black.
 * When Ash notices what happened to the racers and their Rhyhorn, Pikachu's nose disappears for a single frame. The same error repeats four times.
 * When the mysterious web is getting closer to Ash, Pikachu's tail is completely yellow without the brown color at the end of his tail for a few frames.
 * When their transporter was starting to shake, for a single frame, Jessie's left ear is colored white, just like her skirt.
 * When Serena orders Fennekin to use Ember, her white collar is missing. This error is present in every subsequent episode.
 * When Ash is telling Serena's mother that he rode on a Rhyhorn for the first time, Bonnie's hairclip is colored the same way as her hair.

Dub edits

 * The title card segment focuses on Ash in the dub. It will be doing so regularly starting with this episode.

In other languages
Ein Rihorn-Rennen mit Hindernissen! EP811 XY007 XY007 XY編第7話 精灵宝可梦 XY 第7集