We open on some narration about the ancient Kalos region, where a man named Jan tells his love Ayla that he will vanquish the legendary Pokémon Yveltal. What do you know, I’ve been pronouncing that wrong all this time! It’s “Yeh-vell-tall,” I’ve been pronouncing it “Vell-tall.”
The ruins of this civilization are being investigated by Alexa and Professor Sycamore; and link to the Xerneas, Yveltal and Zygarde! The way that Sycamore and Alexa are examining the legend: I’m already liking this special a lot better than the Mega Evolution specials, to be honest. Sycamore posits that Ayla was turned to stone by Yveltal; and Ayla was the daughter of the chief whereas Jan was a young adventurer.
Olympica, the ancestor of gym leader Olympia also has a premonition that Yveltal will bring destruction toward everyone and everything in its path. So the chief sent Jan to stop Yveltal, but Yveltal began his destructive path at that moment! Even though it’s one of the final pieces of material in the XY series; the animation is still quite impressive.
After the wave is unleashed, Yveltal became a cocoon that drew life from everything in its path; and Jan is devastated that he failed to save Ayla or the village. The few survivors left the village, and Olympica tells Jan to find Xerneas if he wants to save Ayla and restore life to the land. The journey took Jan years, and time began taking its toll on him and his Pokémon. Not even the forest is safe, or any of the Pokémon that dwell within it.
Xerneas was then captured by the lord of a small village! Unable to harness its power, the lord orders it destroyed! Jan tries to intervene, but the lord will not listen! At that moment, the power of Zygarde is unleashed in its 50% form!
Zygarde then eliminates the lord and his minions for trying to take advantage of Xerneas, and Alexa compares it to the human immune system! I can believe that, since I’ve been trying to fend off this head cold for a while.
Xerneas is freed, but just leaves as Jan decides to protect the land for the day that it will once again become full of life. He maintains everything around him, documenting what transpired and setting up a memorial for Ayla.
After many years, Xerneas returns to restore life to the land. As Sycamore and Alexa go finish their work, we close on Jan meeting the ancestors of Bonnie and her Dedenne; and passing down the legend to her. So ends Pokémon: The Legend of XYZ!
As one of the last specials of the XY series, not counting the one where Cilan and Clemont meet; this was a great addition to the lore of the series and a much better anime special than The Strongest Mega Evolution, for my money at least. It adds a lot to how the Kalos legendaries contribute to the story, and actually has a surprisingly engaging and bittersweet narrative. The animation is also very high-quality, as per the course in this series. The framerate is slick, and everything is colorful and vibrant. While the XYZ season wasn't perfect, it was overall a solid end to a great series for me; and as I finish my remaining episode recaps as a lead up to posting my full look at Pokémon The Power of Us, I want to thank you all for the time I've spent working on this blog. And to our own way...
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