Japanese Title: Thunder and Onvern! The Lightning of Anger!!
Original Airdate: March 3, 2016
US Airdate: June 11, 2016
The twerps are headed to a Zapdos Festival when the eponymous Legendary, Zapdos, shows up and starts messing with the atmosphere. Ash is tasked to deliver some needed medicine to the festival site, and Noibat will need to step up to make it happen.
This episode contains examples of the following tropes:
- Androcles' Lion: Zapdos thanks the twerps and Noivern for saving it from Team Rocket by clearing the thunderstorm that had trapped them.
- Chekhov's Skill: Noivern's echolocation ability via Supersonic proves to be key to getting the upper hand against Zapdos.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Pikachu and the newly-evolved Noivern make quicker work than usual of Team Rocket when they try to capture Zapdos.
- Early-Installment Weirdness:
- At the end of the episode, Noivern sits on a branch and eats some fruit with his apparent love of fruit never coming up again.
- In the dub, Noivern has Non-Dubbed Grunts of Kenta Miyake's performance. Starting in Noivern's next appearance, he's voiced by Marc Thompson.
- Everyone Has Standards: Clemont's eagerness to participate in the Zapdos Festival had everyone giving him stymied looks. Including Ash.
- Handshake Substitute: Hawlucha gives a fistbump to Noivern after seeing his little charge "all grown up".
- Irony: Stan the paramedic notes the irony that he's the one who's injured and in need of rescue.Stan: It's ironic that a paramedic needs rescuing.
- Subverted Catchphrase: When Team Rocket is outed, they recite the motto in broken voices, since they're all scared out of their wits. Even their XYZ theme plays distorted in the background. They try to get their wits toward the end, but a lightning strike immediately after scares them anew.
- Took a Level in Badass: Noibat evolves into Noivern while flying in to save Hawlucha, fainted from being electrocuted by a Zapdos, from a long fall. He also gains a huge speed boost and learns how to use Boomburst.
- Worf Had the Flu: While hardly the first time they did it, Team Rocket explicitly state that they will wait for Ash to weaken Zapdos before they can swoop in and catch the legendary bird. They didn't count on Ash's newly-evolved Noivern, however.
