Japanese Episode Discussion Thread

Various interesting tidbits from the recent interview with Yajima:
*The kiss scene is indeed meant to be Serena kissing Satoshi, and his reaction to it is surprised awe, any ambiguity the scene has is so they could get it on TV in the first place.
*Likewise, you're meant to hope and assume the two of them are going to become a couple later.
*The idea to have a romance subplot apparently came from producer Shukichi Kanda, who came up with the idea of portraying things through a female lead's admiration for Satoshi, which then led to the suggestion that they'd have a flashback to a childhood meeting with romantic implications.
*Yajima did not know exactly how long the series would last, only that it would have to end when the next games came out.
*Alan was always meant to be part of the main series. The reason the four Mega specials were made was because it would be difficult to set up his backstory and development in the series itself, so he came up with the idea of giving him his own episodes that could establish his character. The idea to give these episodes a mega evolution theme came later, and was also his idea (so they were not made for the purpose of marketing megas, or in order to test the water for a series with another main character or any other such theory).
*Also, Alan is meant to be an "Anakin Skywalker-type character", someone who turns to the dark side to protect those he loves.
*Satoshi's XY design was primarily Yajima's, and the idea for his sideburns were taken from "a character from the video games named Red, which Satoshi is based on".
*Yajima wanted to make the bond between Satoshi and Gekkouga a major part of the story, but felt it would be difficult to do so if it had to remain a Gekkouga, so he went to Game Freak, and they came up with the idea of a synchro transformation. It was put in Sun/Moon afterwards, but was created during this discussion between anime staff and GF.
*The interviewer notes that Okido didn't appear at all outside of episode 3, and that Okido's lecture segment getting replaced with PokeTV when XY&Z started meant that Okido didn't appear at all throughout all of XY&Z (the interview was conducted before XY&Z47 had aired) and asks if there was a reason for this. Yajima confirms this was a complete oversight, not something intentional. Presumably this goes for other callbacks to older series as well.
*When XY&Z started, Yajima knew that the series had to wrap up everything in only a year, and they did a meeting to basically set up how the events of that year would go. He also specifically says that this is the reason there's minimal filler in XY&Z, there was absolutely no room.
*Yajima wanted to drop the use of stock footage completely, but this wasn't possible to do, so they went with creating stock foreground footage that could have different backgrounds added to it instead.

The Rocket Gang and the Skull Gang clash over a Z-Crystal! It's evil VS evil: Who will obtain the Z-Crystal in the end? And when a Totem Pokémon shows up as well, chaos ensues?!

Summary:
The Rocket Gang are keeping watch on Satoshi's Pikachu. One day they sneaked a look at a class at the Pokémon School and were shocked by the Z-Moves used there. They immediately start looking for the Z-Crystals they need to learn Z-Moves, but then the Skull Gang, a group that commits thuggish acts throughout the Alola region, shows up.

Voice Cast:
Rica Matsumoto: Satoshi
Ikue Ohtani: Pikachu
Kei Shindo: Lilie
Kaito Ishikawa: Kaki
Reina Ueda: Mao
Hitomi Kikuchi: Suiren
Fumiko Takekuma: Māmane
Keiichi Nakagawa: Professor Kukui
Megumi Hayashibara: Musashi
Shinichiro Miki: Kojiro
Inuko Inuyama: Nyarth
Yuji Ueda: Sonansu
Mika Kanai: Togedemaru
Rikako Aikawa: Ashimari
Chika Fujimura: Amamaiko
Kenta Miyake: Bakugames
Toru Sakurai: Skull Gang Member
Soshiro Hori: Skull Gang Member
Madoka Asahina: Skull Gang Member
Unsho Ishizuka: Narration

SM027
Satoshi has heard word of a Trainer using a Lugarugan who's recently appeared every now and then in the city. Hearing that this Trainer is really strong, he heads to the city, wanting a battle with him. After meeting the Trainer, they start their battle, but then a certain person appears.

Screenplay 松井亜弥 (Aya Matsui)
Storyboard 浅田裕二 (Yūji Asada)
Episode Director 浅田裕二 (Yūji Asada)
Animation Director 岩根雅明 (Masaaki Iwane)

SM028
"Pokébase" is a really popular sport in the Alola region, and both Satoshi and Pikachu get really into it after watching a match on TV. And one day, everyone decides to play Pokébase during a class at the Pokémon School.

Screenplay 藤咲淳一 (Junichi Fujisaku)
Storyboard 浅田裕二 (Yūji Asada)
Episode Director 小柴純弥 (Junya Koshiba)
Animation Director 村田理 (Osamu Murata)

SM029
Satoshi and his friends have gone to the forest to camp. They have fun cooking, playing in the river and so on to their heart's content, but one after another they start collapsing. It appears there is some kind of unknown entity in this forest that absorbs their memories and energy when it attacks them.

Screenplay 関根アユミ (Ayumi Sekine)
Storyboard 吉村文宏 (Fumihiro Yoshimura)
Episode Director 小平麻紀 (Maki Kodaira)
Animation Director 安田周平 (Shuhei Yasuda)

A presentation of keywords that will let you decipher the movie's story, which is filled with mysteries!!

Three keywords that will let you decipher what the adventure is about will now be revealed!!!

1) An adventure focused around the legend of the "Heroes of the Rainbow"!!
Satoshi tackles the legend of the legendary Pokémon Houou's "Heroes of the Rainbow."
He is guided by the Rainbow Feather.
*It appears you can meet it if you get guided by the Rainbow Feather.
*Will it lead him to Houou?

2) New characters
Are they enemies or allies? New encounters await him on his adventure!
Makoto: She has a Pochama as her partner. The truth is, she's secretly...
Soji: A young boy who aims to become a Pokémon professor. His partner is Lucario.

3) The mythical Pokémon Marshadow holds the key to the adventure!!
Marshadow is trying to ascertain if Satoshi is a suitable Hero of the Rainbow!
*Incredibly, it has the astonishing power to creep into people's shadows!

In the July issue of Corocoro we'll present a Marshadow manga as well as astonishing news!!

At the Pokémon School, Satoshi hears word of a mysterious Trainer. After he happens to spot this Trainer in the city, he immediately suggests the two of them have a battle, but then Lilie suddenly arrives...?

Summary:
At the Pokémon School, Satoshi hears word of a mysterious Trainer. After he happens to spot this Trainer in the city, he immediately asks for a battle. The mysterious Trainer's Z-Move bursts forth!! What will the result of this fierce battle be?

Voice Cast:
Rica Matsumoto: Satoshi
Ikue Ohtani: Pikachu
Kei Shindo: Lilie
Kaito Ishikawa: Kaki
Reina Ueda: Mao
Hitomi Kikuchi: Suiren
Fumiko Takekuma: Māmane
Keiichi Nakagawa: Professor Kukui
Megumi Hayashibara: Musashi
Shinichiro Miki: Kojiro
Inuko Inuyama: Nyarth
Yuji Ueda: Sonansu
Mika Kanai: Togedemaru
Rikako Aikawa: Ashimari
Chika Fujimura: Amamaiko
Chinami Nishimura: Nyabby
Kenta Miyake: Bakugames
Nobuhiko Okamoto: Gladio
Shinya Fukumatsu: James
Toru Sakurai: Tupper
Soshiro Hori: Zip
Madoka Asahina: Wrap
Unsho Ishizuka: Narration