[SPOILER] Evolves in Latest Pokemon Episode

One of Ash’s fiercest battlers evolved in the latest episode of Pokemon the Series: Sun and Moon.

This week’s episode centered on the Masked Royal, a mysterious Pokemon trainer who partners with an Incineroar. Ash and his Litten had the opportunity to battle the Masked Royal twice in the episode, and Litten evolved into Torracat in a powerful display of grit and strength.

Litten’s evolution was set up earlier in the episode when it lost to Incineroar in a Battle Royal, a type of Pokemon battle that involves four Pokemon trainers battling at the same time. Litten was easily overmatched by Incineroar (as it is Litten’s fully evolved form) and fell into a deep depression afterwards. In order to help Litten out of its funk, Ash decided to teach Litten a new move: Flame Charge.

After receiving a pep talk from his surrogate father figure Professor Kukui, Ash and Litten launched into an intense training sequence, focusing on Litten improving its form (and also showing a few gratuitous shots of Ash’s behind). After several days of training, Ash and Litten were surprised when the Masked Royal arrived on the beach they were training at and challenged them to a one on one rematch.

Litten battled hard, but simply couldn’t compete with Incineroar’s bulk and strength. Ash decided to use his trump card and called on Litten to use its new attack. However, to the surprise of Ash and his friends, Litten then evolved into Torracat mid-battle! You can check out some photos of the evolution below:

While Torracat scored a few blows on Incineroar, it ultimately couldn’t compete with Incineroar’s raw power. Incineroar eventually defeated Torracat, but not after a pretty awesome display of its newfound abilities.

Luckily, it appears that Torracat has retained Litten’s stoic demeanor. At the end of the episode, Torracat is shown sitting on Professor Burnet’s lap as Ash discusses how awesome the Masked Royal is. While Ash and Burnet are oblivious to the Masked Royal’s true identity, Torracat gives a weary glance over at Professor Kukui….who looks and talks just like the Masked Royal. It appears that Torracat has gotten a little smarter with its evolution.

New episodes of Pokemon the Series: Sun and Moon air on Thursday evenings in Japan. Dubbed versions of the show air on Disney XD several months later.