Pokémon Season 6: Advanced

Quick answers · Story Arcs · Episode Guide · Characters · Pokémon · Gyms & Contests · Movies & Specials · Side Stories & Crossovers · Music · TV Broadcasts · Dub Edits & Censorship · DVD & Streaming · Where to Watch · Trading Cards · Firsts & Lasts · Trivia · Reception

Pokémon: Advanced is the sixth season of the English-language Pokémon anime and the first season of Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire, known in Japan as Pocket Monsters Advanced Generation. It covers the first 40 episodes of the new series (AG001–AG040), which TV Tokyo began broadcasting on 21 November 2002 — the very day Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire went on sale — and finished on 28 August 2003. 4Kids Entertainment’s dub was previewed on Kids’ WB with the first two episodes on 15 March 2003, and the season proper ran there from 1 November 2003 to 4 September 2004.

Everything starts again. Ash lands in the Hoenn region with only Pikachu, a new outfit and a new travelling party: May, a reluctant beginner from Petalburg City who picks Torchic as her first partner, her know-it-all little brother Max, and Brock, who catches up with them in Petalburg Woods. On the road from Littleroot Town to Mauville City Ash catches Taillow, Treecko and Corphish and wins three badges — the Stone Badge from Roxanne, the Knuckle Badge from Brawly after the only Gym defeat of his Hoenn journey, and the Dynamo Badge from Wattson — while May discovers Pokémon Contests, decides to become a Coordinator, meets her rival Drew and makes her Contest debut in Slateport City. Teams Magma and Aqua, the rival villains of the new games, are hunting for the secrets of Groudon and Kyogre, and Team Rocket follow everyone to Hoenn with a brand-new line-up of Seviper, Cacnea and Dustox.

Behind the scenes the season brings a male-sung Japanese opening for the first time (GARDEN’s Advance Adventure), an ending sung by Meowth, a new English theme in I Wanna Be a Hero, a change of dub narrator from Rodger Parsons to Mike Pollock at AG021, and 49 species making their debut in the TV series — 47 of them from Generation III. Kids’ WB treated the last twelve Johto episodes as the start of its 52-episode “sixth season”, but on DVD and streaming the season is these 40 Hoenn episodes. Our complete episode guide below keeps the original synopses written for Pokémon Dungeon and adds new ones for the rest, with Japanese titles, air dates and the Who’s That Pokémon? answers for every episode.

• 40episodes (52 in the Kids’ WB TV season)
• 3Gym badges: Stone, Knuckle & Dynamo
• 49Pokémon species make their series debut
• 3new Pokémon for Ash: Taillow, Treecko & Corphish
• 2Pokémon Contests — the anime’s first
• 0episodes banned — all 40 dubbed

Quick Answers

Story Arcs

Pokémon: Advanced runs for 40 episodes and takes Ash, May, Max and Brock from Littleroot Town to Mauville City — three badges, two Contests and a lot of Team Rocket later. Here is how the season breaks down, with stills from our episode guide below.

A new region: Littleroot to PetalburgAG001–AG003

Ash steps off the boat in Hoenn with nobody but Pikachu — and Pikachu is ill, overloaded with electricity since Team Rocket’s last attack. Professor Birch’s draining machine explodes, and it takes Team Rocket’s own battery-shaped robot to cure him by accident, though not before a Thunderbolt has fried the bike of May, a girl from Petalburg City who has come to Littleroot Town for her first Pokémon. She turns down Treecko and Mudkip, picks Torchic and sets off with Ash. At Oldale Town Ash registers for the Hoenn League, Giovanni sends Jessie, James and Meowth to open a Hoenn branch and spy on two rival organisations, and Team Magma kidnap Professor Alden to open the Oldale Ruins. In Petalburg City Ash discovers that the Gym Leader, Norman, is May’s father; with only one Pokémon he loses an unofficial match to Vigoroth, and May’s brother Max joins the party with a PokéNav.

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Petalburg Woods: Taillow, Treecko & a new Team RocketAG004–AG008

Lost and hungry in Petalburg Woods, the new trio are rescued from a furious Taillow flock by Brock, who arrives with only Forretress and a pot of stew; Ash catches the flock’s chocolate-smeared leader as his first Hoenn Pokémon. May loses her first battle to Nicholai, a Trainer who dresses up as whatever he wants to catch. Then Team Rocket’s line-up changes for good: when the poacher Rico cages wild Ekans and Koffing, Jessie and James release Arbok and Weezing to lead them to safety, and a wild Cacnea becomes the first Pokémon James is seen catching. Ash wins over a stubborn Treecko that refuses to leave its dying tree, and Jessie catches the Seviper that bullied Torchic by beating it with her own hands — just in time for Treecko’s new spinning Pound to beat it in a rematch.

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On to Rustboro: Shroomish, Pelipper, Poochyena & LotadAG009–AG012

The road north is lined with character-of-the-day stories — Bulbapedia counts Taming of the Shroomish as the series’ first filler episode. Max makes his first Pokémon friend among the homeless Shroomish of Rinshin Town’s Green Lodge, Ash exposes Anthony’s unofficial Gym, whose all-conquering Pelipper hides other Pokémon in its beak, and Max learns that evolution cannot be rushed before Katrina’s Poochyena finally becomes a Mightyena — the first evolution May and Max have ever seen. At a flower shop run by three sisters, Brock patiently teaches a clumsy Lotad to aim its Water Gun, and it chooses to travel with him: his first new Pokémon since EP143, in the episode that brings the first Berries to the anime.

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Contests, Wurmple & the Trainers’ SchoolAG013–AG015

Rustboro City hosts the anime’s first Pokémon Contest, where moves are judged for beauty rather than power: Janet’s Beautifly edges out Chaz’s Venomoth for her third Ribbon, Jessie scores zero as “Mademoiselle Jessica”, and May begins to wonder whether Contests might be for her. Chaz also starts Pikachu on Iron Tail for the Rock-type Gym ahead. May catches her first Pokémon, a Wurmple — and so does Jessie — while Ash wins his first Double Battle against one of the Franklin twins. At the Pokémon Trainers’ School the group meets Roxanne, who is both a teacher and the Rustboro Gym Leader, and Max talks to his idol Professor Oak by videophone and fights his first battle with a borrowed Poliwag.

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The Stone Badge, Devon & Mr. BrineyAG016–AG018

Before the Gym battle May makes her big announcement: she will not collect badges but become a Pokémon Coordinator. Roxanne’s Geodude beats Treecko, but Pikachu shatters the rock field with Thunder and, after taking one of Nosepass’s Zap Cannons head-on to recharge, lands a perfect Iron Tail for the Stone Badge. At the Devon Corporation Max is shown round by the company’s cheerful president, Mr. Stone, and saves his vials of fossil-restoration fluid from a thief whom Officer Jenny identifies as a member of Team Aqua; Mr. Stone mentions that his son Steven is on Dewford Island, home of the next Gym. Having missed the ferry thanks to May’s out-of-date map, the group meets the retired sailor Mr. Briney and his Wingull Peeko, rescues both from the same Aqua grunt and sets sail aboard the S.S. Wingull.

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Dewford Island I: Brawly, Steven & CorphishAG019–AG024

A stop at a Sharpedo-infested island — where Brock first says he wants to become a Pokémon doctor — opens the thirteen-episode Dewford Island arc. Ash charges into the Gym of the surfing Leader Brawly and suffers the only official Gym defeat of his Hoenn journey: Machop beats Taillow, and Makuhita evolves into Hariyama mid-battle to finish off Treecko. Ash decides to stay on the island and train. May’s and Jessie’s Wurmple are swapped and swapped back, Steven Stone guides everyone out of Granite Cave with his Aron and Aggron, and Ash, with Treecko’s help, catches the Corphish that has been terrorising the beach. Corphish’s appetite gives it a fever that Ash wades across a Carvanha-filled river to treat, while both Wurmple evolve on the same day — May’s into Silcoon, Jessie’s into a Cascoon that she insists is a Silcoon.

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Dewford Island II: Mudkip, three teams & the Knuckle BadgeAG025–AG031

Brock gains the big Mudkip that Old Man Swamp raises for new Trainers — the only first partner Pokémon he ever owns — and the group’s Pokémon spend an episode on their own among a family of Nuzleaf. Professor Birch drops in just as Team Magma and Team Aqua clash in an ancient shrine beneath Keanu’s Secret Base, where Tabitha and Shelly argue over whether the world should be land or sea and reveal that each team holds one of a pair of legendary orbs; next time out May’s Silcoon becomes a Beautifly and Jessie’s Cascoon a Dustox she instantly adores. A Sableye prank in an old gold mine and a hurricane-interrupted battle with Shauna lead to the rematch on Brawly’s geyser field, where Corphish beats Machop and Treecko wins a geyser-launched mid-air duel with Hariyama for the Knuckle Badge.

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Slateport City: Drew & May’s first ContestAG032–AG036

Fog strands the group on a wrecked liner guarded by Tommy’s abandoned Marshtomp, now a bitter Swampert, before they finally reach Slateport. There May meets Drew, a green-haired Coordinator with a Roselia and a habit of telling her she has a lot to learn, and receives a Pokéblock Case from Mr. Big. She trains so hard that her Torchic feels neglected — while the Pokémon Center’s much tougher Torchic evolves into Combusken. In the Slateport Contest May’s Beautifly scores 24.9 in the appeals and reaches the battle stage, where Drew’s Roselia beats her on points in the first round; Robert’s Milotic goes on to win the Ribbon. Team Magma’s Tabitha then raids Captain Stern’s Oceanic Museum and escapes with the larger half of a heat-scorched rock from the seabed.

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To Mauville: the Dynamo BadgeAG037–AG040

The road to Mauville City runs through a mountain forest where a Shiftry kidnaps Nurse Joy — only so that she can treat a sick Nuzleaf — and a fog-bound pass where Thatcher’s Plusle and Minun help Pikachu relight the Mountain Lighthouse. In Mauville the group tackles the Trick House, where May and Max meet Jigglypuff in its only appearance of the Advanced Generation series. At the Gym, Wattson’s robot Raikou overcharges Pikachu, who knocks out Magnemite, Voltorb and Magneton with one attack each. When Ash learns why the battle was so easy he offers the Dynamo Badge back, but after they have stopped Team Rocket at New Mauville, Wattson insists that he keep it — and gains a new partner of his own, an Electrike.

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Episode Guide

All 40 episodes of Pokémon: Advanced are listed below in broadcast order — the dub kept the Japanese order throughout. Every episode has its own page with our full synopsis, both titles, air dates, major events, Pokémon debuts, trivia, dub changes and the Who’s That Pokémon? answer — click the title or the screenshot. The # column is the episode’s number within the season and the orange code is the Bulbapedia AG number used by most fan sites. The synopses of the first 32 episodes are the originals written for Pokémon Dungeon; the last eight are new. US dates are the regular Kids’ WB premieres: the first two episodes had already been shown as a sneak preview on 15 March 2003, and if you grew up with the TV run, your “Season 6” also included the last twelve Johto episodes, which you will find in our Master Quest guide.

	#	Episode	First aired	In short
	1AG001	Get the Show on the Road!新たなる大地！ 新たなる冒険！！	Japan 21 Nov 2002 US 1 Nov 2003	May is off to get her first pokémon as an excuse to travel. · Season premiere Episode guide →
	2AG002	A Ruin with a View古代ポケモンと謎の軍団！	Japan 28 Nov 2002 US 8 Nov 2003	While Ash begins May’s training, the Team Rocket Trio are given orders by Giovanni to start a Team Rocket branch in Hoenn. · Ash enters the Hoenn League Episode guide →
	3AG003	There’s No Place Like Hoennトウカジム！VSヤルキモノ！	Japan 5 Dec 2002 US 15 Nov 2003	Ash arrives at the Petalburg City Gym only to find out that he needs three pokémon in order to challenge the gym leader, Norman. · Max joins Episode guide →
	4AG004	You Never Can Taillowスバメがいっぱい　危険がいっぱい！トウカの森でゲットだぜ！！	Japan 12 Dec 2002 US 22 Nov 2003	Ash has new companions to get used to. They run afoul of a flock of taillow led by one especially feisty one. · Brock rejoins Episode guide →
	5AG005	In the Knicker of Time!ジグザグマと短パン小僧！ハルカはじめてのバトル！！	Japan 19 Dec 2002 US 22 Nov 2003	Ash and company meet an eccentric pokémon trainer who gives May her first pokémon battle. · May’s first battle Episode guide →
	6AG006	A Poached Ego!ロケット団！みだれひっかきでサヨウナラ！！	Japan 26 Dec 2002 US 29 Nov 2003	Ash and company help the local Officer Jenny capture a poacher, but not until the Team Rocket Trio have Arbok and Weezing lead the ekans and koffings… · Arbok & Weezing released Episode guide →
	7AG007	Tree’s a Crowdキモリの森！巨大樹を守れ！！	Japan 9 Jan 2003 US 29 Nov 2003	Ash tries to catch a treecko who is defending a giant tree which it was born in. · Ash catches Treecko Episode guide →
	8AG008	A Tail with a TwistハブネークVSキモリ！必殺のはたく攻撃！！	Japan 16 Jan 2003 US 6 Dec 2003	Ash and company are attacked by a hungry seviper. · Jessie catches Seviper Episode guide →
	9AG009	Taming of the Shroomish怪奇！キノココ屋敷の謎！？	Japan 23 Jan 2003 US 6 Dec 2003	After arriving in Rinshin Town, Brock and May check out a “haunted” mansion, while Ash and Max make friends with a shroomish. · First filler of the series Episode guide →
	10AG010	You Said a Mouthful!史上最強のペリッパー現る！！	Japan 30 Jan 2003 US 13 Dec 2003	Out in the suburbs, Ash and company notice a sign advertising a gym with the world’s most powerful pokémon. · Anthony’s Pelipper Gym Episode guide →
	11AG011	A Bite to Rememberグラエナとポチエナ！進化の神秘！！	Japan 6 Feb 2003 US 13 Dec 2003	Ash and company enter a pokémon preserve guarded by Ranger Katrina. · Poochyena evolves into Mightyena Episode guide →
	12AG012	The Lotad Lowdownハスボーとフラワーショップの三姉妹！	Japan 13 Feb 2003 US 20 Dec 2003	Ash and company wind up helping out at a flower shop and berry farm run by three sisters. · Brock catches Lotad Episode guide →
	13AG013	All Things Bright and Beautifly!ポケモンコンテスト！アゲハントの華麗なバトル！！	Japan 20 Feb 2003 US 27 Dec 2003	Ash and May are introduced to pokémon contests, and May is considering becoming a coördinator instead of a trainer. · First Pokémon Contest Episode guide →
	14AG014	All in a Day’s Wurmpleダブルバトルとダブルでケムッソ！？	Japan 27 Feb 2003 US 3 Jan 2004	May goes after a wurmple and catches her first pokémon. · May catches Wurmple Episode guide →
	15AG015	Gonna Rule the School!勉強します！ポケモントレーナーズスクール！！	Japan 6 Mar 2003 US 10 Jan 2004	Ash and company attend the Pokémon Trainers School as observers where Roxanne, the Rustboro City gym leader is a teacher. · Roxanne debuts Episode guide →
	16AG016	The Winner by a Nosepassカナズミジム！ノズパスの秘密兵器！！	Japan 13 Mar 2003 US 10 Jan 2004	May finally admits to everyone that she wants to be a pokémon coördinator. · Stone Badge Episode guide →
	17AG017	Stairway to Devonデボンコーポレーション！アクア団の影！！	Japan 20 Mar 2003 US 17 Jan 2004	Mr Stone, the company president, gives Max a guided tour of the Devon Corporation. · Team Aqua debut Episode guide →
	18AG018	On a Wingull and a Prayer!ハギ老人とキャモメのピーコちゃん！	Japan 27 Mar 2003 US 24 Jan 2004	Due to an old map May is using, Ash and company wind up having to miss the ferry to Dewford Island. · Mr. Briney & Peeko Episode guide →
	19AG019	Sharpedo Attack!脱出！サメハダーの島！！	Japan 3 Apr 2003 US 31 Jan 2004	Stopping off at an uncharted deserted island that only Mr Briney knows about, Ash and company are attacked by a school of sharpedo, an example of… · Brock wants to be a Pokémon doctor Episode guide →
	20AG020	Brave the Waveムロジム！波乗りジムリーダー・トウキ登場！	Japan 10 Apr 2003 US 7 Feb 2004	Ash meets Brawly, the Dewford gym leader who enjoys surfing. · Ash loses to Brawly Episode guide →
	21AG021	Which Wurmple’s Which?ケムッソVSケムッソ！どっちがどっち！？	Japan 17 Apr 2003 US 14 Feb 2004	While the Team Rocket Trio try another scheme to steal all the Pokémon of Ash and company, May and Jessie get into an argument over which of their… · Wurmple mix-up Episode guide →
	22AG022	A Hole Lotta Troubleダイゴ、ココドラ、ボスゴドラ！	Japan 24 Apr 2003 US 14 Feb 2004	Looking for Steven, Ash and company enter Granite Cave. · Steven Stone debuts Episode guide →
	23AG023	Gone Corphishin’海辺の暴れ者、ヘイガニ登場！	Japan 1 May 2003 US 21 Feb 2004	Ash and company set up camp only to be under constant attack from a mysterious pokémon. · Ash catches Corphish Episode guide →
	24AG024	A Corphish Out of Water走れサトシ！キバニアの川を越え！	Japan 8 May 2003 US 28 Feb 2004	During a Team Rocket Trio attack, both Jessie’s and May’s wurmples evolve. · Silcoon & Cascoon evolve Episode guide →
	25AG025	A Mudkip Mission秘密の池！ミズゴロウがいっぱい！？	Japan 15 May 2003 US 13 Mar 2004	Ash and company find out where starter pokémon come from when they stumble upon a secret mudkip breeding farm. · Brock catches Mudkip Episode guide →
	26AG026	Turning Over a Nuzleafコノハナ族の襲撃！	Japan 22 May 2003 US 3 Apr 2004	When Corphish abruptly awakens a loudred in a cave, most of the pokémon of Ash and company get separated from their trainers during the commotion. · The Pokémon on their own Episode guide →
	27AG027	A Three Team Scheme!マグマ団VSアクア団！ひみつきちの戦い！	Japan 29 May 2003 US 17 Apr 2004	Ash and company are joined by Professor Birch. · Team Aqua vs Team Magma Episode guide →
	28AG028	Seeing is Believing!アゲハントとドクケイル！進化の果てに！	Japan 5 Jun 2003 US 24 Apr 2004	The rivalry between May and Silcoon and Jessie and her cas—er, silcoon intensifies. · Beautifly & Dustox evolve Episode guide →
	29AG029	Ready, Willing, and Sableyeヤミラミでドッキリ！	Japan 12 Jun 2003 US 1 May 2004	The Team Rocket Trio come across an abandoned gold mine and start to explore it when they are frightened by something in the shadows. · Sableye prank Episode guide →
	30AG030	A Meditite Fight!バトルガールとアサナン！嵐の中で！	Japan 19 Jun 2003 US 8 May 2004	One morning a girl arrives at the camp of Ash and company on a surfboard. · Shauna challenges Ash Episode guide →
	31AG031	Just One of the Geysersムロジム再戦！波乗りバトルフィールド！	Japan 26 Jun 2003 US 15 May 2004	Brawly takes Ash and company to his secret practice field, just off the coast from where the camp is, for the rematch with Ash. · Knuckle Badge Episode guide →
	32AG032	Abandon Ship!すてられ船！しのびよる影！！	Japan 3 Jul 2003 US 15 May 2004	Because of a failed attempt by the Team Rocket Trio to catch Pikachu, Ash and company are left adrift on a ship. · Arrival in Slateport Episode guide →
	33AG033	Now That’s Flower Power!ハルカにライバル！特訓ポケモンコンテスト！！	Japan 10 Jul 2003 US 22 May 2004	Slateport City is full of Coordinators preparing for its Contest, and May’s Beautifly keeps failing to pull off Silver Wind in training. · Drew debuts Episode guide →
	34AG034	Having a Wailord of a Timeはじめてのポケモンで大パニック！！	Japan 17 Jul 2003 US 22 May 2004	May trains so hard for the Contest that her Torchic feels neglected, and Brock recalls how he received Onix as his first Pokémon. · Center Torchic evolves into Combusken Episode guide →
	35AG035	Win, Lose or Drew!ハルカ！ポケモンコンテスト初挑戦！！	Japan 24 Jul 2003 US 29 May 2004	May reaches the Slateport Contest Hall just before registration closes, while Team Rocket arrive too late to enter and decide to sell… · Slateport Contest – May loses to Drew Episode guide →
	36AG036	The Spheal of Approval海の博物館を守れ！マグマ団の襲撃！！	Japan 31 Jul 2003 US 29 May 2004	While May rests after her Contest, Ash, Max and Brock find Slateport’s Oceanic Museum closed and guarded by a boy named Marius, whose Spheal… · Team Magma raid the museum Episode guide →
	37AG037	Jump for Joy!美女と野獣！？ダーテングとジョーイさん！	Japan 7 Aug 2003 US 27 Aug 2004	On the road to Mauville City the group finds a mountain Pokémon Center deserted, and in Nurse Joy’s room Ash and Pikachu are knocked out… · Shiftry kidnaps Nurse Joy Episode guide →
	38AG038	A Different Kind of Misty!プラスルとマイナン！山の灯台！！	Japan 14 Aug 2003 US 27 Aug 2004	On a foggy mountain road Team Rocket try to snatch Pikachu to charge a stolen glowing stone; Pikachu blasts their balloon apart and the stone lands… · Plusle & Minun debut Episode guide →
	39AG039	A Poké-BLOCK Party!歌う！ポケモンからくり屋敷！！	Japan 21 Aug 2003 US 4 Sep 2004	In Mauville City a poster promises a year’s supply of Pokéblocks to anyone who completes the Trick House, catching the eye of the group,… · Trick House Episode guide →
	40AG040	Watt’s with Wattson?キンセツジム！テッセンの電撃バトル！！	Japan 28 Aug 2003 US 4 Sep 2004	Pushing open the Mauville Gym door drops the group onto a roller-coaster platform that carries them to a giant robot Raikou, whose head… · Dynamo Badge Episode guide →

Characters & Travelling Companions

Ash arrives in Hoenn with an ailing Pikachu. Professor Birch rushes Pikachu and Ash to his lab to restore Pikachu to health. Soon after, May arrives to pick her starter pokémon so she can have an excuse to travel the world. Unfortunately, while Pikachu was delirious, he destroyed May’s bike. May brings up this and asks Ash if she can travel with him. Ash now has a fear of girls with bikes destroyed by Pikachu, and quickly agrees. He also winds up training a rookie trainer. Soon they are joined by May’s little brother, Max, who is given a PokéNav by Norman and becomes their official navigator. Max is thrilled as the only pokémon knowledge he has is what he has read in books, and Oak’s pokémon lectures watched on television.

Brock, having completed his family “errands” (see Pokémon Chronicles, “A Family That Battles Together Stays Together!”), catches up with Ash, May, and Max just as they were discovering how desperately they needed organization and especially food. Now with a well-rounded team, the four of them set off to explore Hoenn together.

The travelling party is new from top to bottom. May (Haruka in Japan) is ten, from Petalburg City and, by her own admission, not much interested in Pokémon at first; after watching her first Contest she decides in AG016 to become a Pokémon Coordinator rather than a Gym challenger, giving the series a second competitive track. She is the first main character other than Ash to receive a first partner Pokémon, the first to start with a Fire type and the first female main character with a Pokédex. Her seven-year-old brother Max (Masato) has no Pokémon of his own but knows the books by heart, befriends a Shroomish, coaches Katrina’s Poochyena to evolve and fights his first battle with a borrowed Poliwag. Brock rejoins in AG004 carrying only Forretress, catches Lotad and Mudkip, says for the first time that he wants to become a Pokémon doctor (AG019) and reveals that his first Pokémon was Onix (AG034).

Ash starts Hoenn with a new outfit and hat and only Pikachu, every other Pokémon having stayed at Professor Oak’s lab. He registers for the Hoenn League in Oldale Town, catches Taillow, Treecko and Corphish, wins his first Double Battle and three badges, and loses just once in a Gym, to Brawly. Pikachu, cured of the electrical overload he arrives with, learns Iron Tail between AG013 and AG016 — the last non-Electric move he ever learns — and wins the Dynamo Badge single-handed.

• Ash KetchumStarting over in Hoenn with only Pikachu
• MayPetalburg City’s budding Pokémon Coordinator
• MaxMay’s younger brother and a walking Pokédex
• BrockBack on the road as the group’s cook and breeder
• MayMax, and Brock (AG004)
• May chooses Torchic as her first pokémon(AG001)
• May’s first contest at Slateport (loses first battle round) (AG035)

Team Rocket

Jessie, James and Meowth follow Ash to Hoenn under orders from Giovanni to set up a Hoenn branch and keep tabs on Teams Aqua and Magma (AG002) — though they never think to report what they overhear in A Three Team Scheme!, the first episode in which they call the Boss by name. Their line-up is rebuilt within eight episodes. Jessie releases Arbok and James Weezing so that the two can protect wild Ekans and Koffing from the poacher Rico (AG006), James gains a Cacnea that greets him with painfully spiky hugs, and Jessie catches a Seviper by beating it with her own hands (AG008). Her Wurmple (AG014) evolves into a Cascoon that she refuses to admit is not a Silcoon (AG024) and then into a Dustox (AG028) that she adores. Of their original-series Pokémon, only Wobbuffet remains.

Jessie renews her Contest Pass and enters the Rustboro Contest as “Mademoiselle Jessica” (AG013), scoring zero when Seviper flings her away with Poison Tail, and spends much of the season squabbling with May over whose Wurmple is better. Meowth tells Max how he learned to talk (AG022), befriends a Sableye (AG029) and, in Japan, sings the new ending Polka O Dolka. For once the trio do not blast off at the end of Win, Lose or Drew! — they are stuck in an old man’s never-ending Pokéblock lesson instead.

• JessieTeam Rocket
• JamesTeam Rocket
• MeowthTeam Rocket’s talking Meowth

Gym Leaders, rivals, villains & recurring characters

The Hoenn Gym Leaders are Roxanne of Rustboro City, who also teaches at the Pokémon Trainers’ School; Brawly of Dewford Town, a surfer who believes that playing in the waves is part of training; and Wattson of Mauville City, whose Gym is guarded by a giant robot Raikou and run with his assistant, Watt. May and Max’s father Norman leads the Petalburg Gym, and their mother Caroline appears in AG003. Professor Birch, the Hoenn professor, gives May her Torchic and returns on Dewford to study Wingull and Seedot (AG027–AG028). Drew, May’s rival Coordinator, debuts with his Roselia in AG033 and hands her a rose “for Beautifly” after beating her in Slateport, and Steven Stone, son of the Devon Corporation president Mr. Stone, appears just once, searching Granite Cave for evolution stones (AG022) — never identified as the Champion.

Team Magma’s admin Tabitha and Team Aqua’s Shelly lead their grunts in AG027 (where the dub calls them “Field Commander Harlan” and “Tactical Commander Isabel”), and Tabitha returns to rob the Slateport museum (AG036). Mr. Briney and his Wingull Peeko ferry the group to Dewford, Brawly’s would-be top student Shauna referees his rematch, and the Contest scene brings head judge Raoul Contesta, Mr. Sukizo (“Remarkable!”) and the MC Vivian Meridian, who hosts every Hoenn Contest except the first. Professor Oak appears by videophone (AG015), May learns that every town’s Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny are relatives (AG006), and Jigglypuff makes a farewell visit in AG039.

• NormanPetalburg City Gym Leader — and May and Max’s father (AG003)
• Professor BirchThe Hoenn region’s Pokémon professor (AG001)
• RoxanneRustboro City Gym Leader (AG016)
• BrawlyDewford Town Gym Leader (AG020)
• Steven Stone in Granite Cave (AG022)
• DrewMay’s rival Coordinator (AG033)
• Wattson is stunned by three one-hit knock-outs in a row (AG040)

Voice cast

Character	English voice actor	Japanese voice actor
Ash Ketchum	Veronica Taylor	Rica Matsumoto
Pikachu	Ikue Ōtani	Ikue Ōtani
May	Veronica Taylor	KAORI (later credited as Kaori Suzuki)
Max	Amy Birnbaum	Fushigi Yamada
Brock	Eric Stuart	Yūji Ueda
Jessie	Rachael Lillis	Megumi Hayashibara
James	Eric Stuart	Shin-ichiro Miki
Meowth	Maddie Blaustein	Inuko Inuyama
Wobbuffet	Kayzie Rogers	Yūji Ueda
Giovanni	Ted Lewis	Hirotaka Suzuoki
Professor Birch	Dan Green	Fumihiko Tachiki
Norman	Dan Green	Jūrōta Kosugi
Roxanne	Karen Neill	Yuri Shiratori
Brawly	Jason Griffith	Kōhei Kiyasu
Wattson	Dan Green	Ken’ichi Ogata
Drew	Pete Zarustica	Mitsuki Saiga
Steven Stone	not confirmed for AG022	Rintarō Nishi
Tabitha	Greg Abbey	Yūto Kazama
Shelly	Erica Schroeder (as Bella Hudson)	Shōko Tsuda
Raoul Contesta	Mike Pollock	Kōichi Sakaguchi
Vivian Meridian	Lisa Adams	Yumi Takada
Professor Oak	Stuart Zagnit	Unshō Ishizuka
Ash’s Treecko	Dan Green	Yūji Ueda
Ash’s Corphish	Maddie Blaustein	Katsuyuki Konishi
May’s Torchic	Rachael Lillis	Chinami Nishimura
Jigglypuff	Rachael Lillis	Mika Kanai
Narrator	Rodger Parsons (credited as Ken Gates; AG001–AG020) · Mike Pollock (from AG021)	Unshō Ishizuka

Pokémon: Captures, Changes, Encounters & Evolutions

In brief:

• Ash arrives in Hoenn with only Pikachu and catches three new Pokémon: Taillow (AG004), Treecko (AG007) and Corphish (AG023).
• May chooses Torchic as her first partner (AG001) and catches a Wurmple (AG014); Brock adds Lotad (AG012) and Mudkip (AG025) to his Forretress.
• A poochyena becomes a mightyena for Max. (AG011)
• Brawly’s makuhita becomes a hariyama. (AG020)
• May’s wurmple becomes a silcoon. (AG024)
• Jessie’s wurmple becomes a silcoon.* (AG024)
• May’s silcoon becomes a beautifly. (AG028)
• Jessie’s silcoon* becomes… an obviously superior dustox. (AG028)
• A starter torchic evolves into a combusken. (AG034)
• * Jessie insists it’s a silcoon, but even Professor Birch is unable to convince her that it’s a cascoon.

New Pokémon captured or hatched

• Torchic#0255 · May · first partner from Professor Birch · AG001
• Taillow#0276 · Ash · his first Hoenn capture · AG004
• Zigzagoon#0263 · Nicholai · AG005
• Cacnea#0331 · James · his first on-screen catch · AG006
• Treecko#0252 · Ash · AG007
• Seviper#0336 · Jessie · beaten by hand · AG008
• Lotad#0270 · Brock · AG012
• Wurmple#0265 · May · her first capture · AG014
• Wurmple#0265 · Jessie · AG014
• Corphish#0341 · Ash · AG023
• Mudkip#0258 · Brock · from Old Man Swamp · AG025
• Electrike#0309 · Wattson · AG040

Evolutions

• Pupitar → Tyranitar#0248 · Rico · AG006
• Poochyena → Mightyena#0262 · Katrina · AG011
• Makuhita → Hariyama#0297 · Brawly · mid-battle · AG020
• Wurmple → Silcoon#0266 · May · AG024
• Wurmple → Cascoon#0268 · Jessie · AG024
• Silcoon → Beautifly#0267 · May · AG028
• Cascoon → Dustox#0269 · Jessie · AG028
• Marshtomp → Swampert#0260 · Tommy’s · off-screen · AG032
• Torchic → Combusken#0256 · Pokémon Center starter · AG034

Releases, departures and returns

Jessie and James send away Arbok and Weezing to lead the wild ekans and koffing to safety. (AG006)

It is the last physical appearance of Jessie’s Arbok and James’s Weezing, who had been with the trio since the very first season; after AG006 only Wobbuffet remains of their original-series Pokémon, and Jessie’s new team of Wobbuffet, Seviper and Dustox then stays unchanged until DP073. Ash’s own departures happened off-screen: he left every Pokémon except Pikachu at Professor Oak’s lab before sailing for Hoenn, and Brock arrives with only Forretress, his others left at the Pewter Gym (AG004). By the finale Ash has Pikachu, Taillow, Treecko and Corphish on hand, May has Torchic and Beautifly, Brock has Forretress, Lotad and Mudkip, and Max still has no Pokémon of his own — though he befriends a Shroomish (AG009), trains Katrina’s Poochyena (AG011) and borrows a school Poliwag (AG015).

All about the Pokémon we see in Season 6, whether we see them caught, handed over as a first partner or we witnessed them via evolution, they’re all here broken down into lists and a table, along with the Pokémon we said goodbye to this season.

Below is a list of Pokémon we see Ash, May, Brock and other characters capture on their Pokémon journey.

New Pokémon captured by Ash & other characters

Pokémon	Caught by	Episode	Notes
Torchic	May	AG001 Get the Show on the Road!	Granted to her by Professor Birch as a starter pokémon.
Taillow	Ash	AG004 You Never Can Taillow	Ash catches Taillow as his first caught pokémon in Hoenn.
Cacnea	James	AG006 A Poached Ego!	Cacnea follows James after James gives it a cookie.
Treecko	Ash	AG007 Tree’s a Crowd	Straight capture.
Seviper	Jessie	AG008 A Tail with a Twist	Straight capture.
Lotad	Brock	AG012 The Lotad Lowdown	Brock adopts Lotad.
Wurmple	May	AG014 All in a Day’s Wurmple	Straight capture.
Wurmple	Jessie	AG014 All in a Day’s Wurmple	Straight capture. [This is why you give your pokémon names.]
Corphish	Ash	AG023 Gone Corphishin’	Straight capture.
Mudkip	Brock	AG025 A Mudkip Mission	Swampy asks Brock to take Mudkip with him so it won’t be lonely.
Sableye	—	AG029 Ready, Willing, and Sableye	Completely missed opportunity by everyone to get a cool dark pokémon.

Pokémon making their anime debut this season

Forty-nine species make their first appearance in the main TV series during Advanced: 47 from Generation III and two Johto Pokémon, Flaaffy and Typhlosion, whose TV debuts had been a long time coming — Typhlosion (AG015) completes every form of the Johto starters, the latest debut of any first partner evolution. A handful had already been seen in a movie, a short or a side story: Duskull in Camp Pikachu, Azurill in Pikachu’s PikaBoo, Sableye in the side story Oaknapped!, Whismur in Gotta Dance!! and Electrike in Jirachi: Wish Maker. Wingull, Pelipper, Sharpedo and Wailmer do not appear here because they debuted in Hoenn Alone! (EP274), the last Johto episode — which Kids’ WB counted as part of this season.

• Treecko#0252 · AG001
• Torchic#0255 · AG001
• Mudkip#0258 · AG001
• Poochyena#0261 · AG001
• Beautifly#0267 · AG001
• Duskull#0355 · AG001 · TV debut
• Azurill#0298 · AG002 · TV debut
• Relicanth#0369 · AG002
• Vigoroth#0288 · AG003
• Taillow#0276 · AG004
• Zigzagoon#0263 · AG005
• Cacnea#0331 · AG006
• Seviper#0336 · AG008
• Shroomish#0285 · AG009
• Mightyena#0262 · AG011
• Lotad#0270 · AG012
• Flaaffy#0180 · AG013 · TV debut
• Wurmple#0265 · AG014
• Typhlosion#0157 · AG015 · TV debut
• Nosepass#0299 · AG016
• Crawdaunt#0342 · AG017
• Makuhita#0296 · AG020
• Hariyama#0297 · AG020
• Corphish#0341 · AG021
• Aron#0304 · AG022
• Aggron#0306 · AG022
• Loudred#0294 · AG022
• Silcoon#0266 · AG024
• Cascoon#0268 · AG024
• Carvanha#0318 · AG024
• Nuzleaf#0274 · AG026
• Nincada#0290 · AG027
• Dustox#0269 · AG028
• Seedot#0273 · AG028
• Sableye#0302 · AG029 · TV debut
• Meditite#0307 · AG030
• Marshtomp#0259 · AG032
• Swampert#0260 · AG032
• Roselia#0315 · AG033
• Combusken#0256 · AG034
• Wailord#0321 · AG034
• Milotic#0350 · AG035
• Spheal#0363 · AG036
• Sealeo#0364 · AG036
• Shiftry#0275 · AG037
• Plusle#0311 · AG038
• Minun#0312 · AG038
• Whismur#0293 · AG039 · TV debut
• Electrike#0309 · AG040 · TV debut

Key Events, Gym Battles & Tournaments

Badges won this season

Badge	Gym & Leader	Leader’s Pokémon	Ash’s Pokémon	Result	Episode
Stone Badge	Rustboro Gym · Roxanne	Geodude, Nosepass	Treecko, Pikachu	Win — Geodude’s Rollout and Mega Punch beat Treecko; Pikachu breaks up the rock field with Thunder and finishes Geodude with Quick Attack and Thunder; Nosepass outlasts two failed Iron Tails until Pikachu takes a Zap Cannon head-on, is recharged, and knocks out the paralysed Nosepass with Iron Tail	AG016
Knuckle Badge	Dewford Gym · Brawly	Machop, Makuhita → Hariyama	Taillow, Treecko (AG020) · Treecko, Corphish (AG031)	Loss, then win — in AG020 Machop beats Taillow and Makuhita evolves into Hariyama to beat Treecko; in the rematch on Brawly’s geyser field Corphish beats Machop before Hariyama’s Seismic Toss, and Treecko wins a geyser-launched mid-air clash of Pound and Knock Off	AG031
Dynamo Badge	Mauville Gym · Wattson	Magnemite, Voltorb, Magneton	Pikachu	Win — Pikachu, overcharged by the robot Raikou at the Gym entrance, knocks out Magnemite and Voltorb with one Thunderbolt each and overpowers Magneton’s Zap Cannon with Thunder; Ash offers the badge back, but Wattson insists he keep it	AG040

Petalburg Gym: the unofficial match with Norman

Ash’s first stop in Hoenn is the Petalburg Gym (AG003), where a boy claiming to be the Leader turns out to be May’s brother Max, and the real Leader to be their father, Norman. An official challenge needs three Pokémon and Ash has only Pikachu, so Norman agrees to an unofficial one-on-one: his Vigoroth dodges Pikachu’s Thunderbolts and knocks him out with speed and power. Norman hands Ash and May Badge cases and points them towards Rustboro City; the real Petalburg Gym battle is saved for Advanced Challenge.

Pokémon Contests

May’s first contest at Slateport (loses first battle round). (AG035)

The Rustboro City Contest (All Things Bright and Beautifly!, AG013) is the first Pokémon Contest in the anime, and the only Hoenn Contest not hosted by Vivian Meridian. Moves are judged on beauty by Raoul Contesta, Mr. Sukizo and Nurse Joy, and the group pick up Contest Passes without entering. In the Appeals Round Chaz’s Venomoth scores 29.5 with Confusion and Janet’s Beautifly a perfect 30.0 with Flash, String Shot and Hidden Power, while “Mademoiselle Jessica” and Seviper score zero; Janet then wins the five-minute final narrowly with Hidden Power and Morning Sun for her third Ribbon. The episode claims that five Ribbons make a “Top Coordinator” — an idea later replaced by the Grand Festival.

The Slateport City Contest (Win, Lose or Drew!, AG035) is May’s Coordinator debut, hosted by Vivian Meridian. In the appeals her Beautifly scores 24.9 with a Frisbee routine, Gust and a Silver Wind tornado, behind Drew’s Roselia on 29.4 (Petal Dance, Stun Spore, Magical Leaf), but enough to reach the battle stage. There she is drawn against Drew in the first round: Roselia’s Magical Leaf, Petal Dance and Solar Beam drain her points until time runs out, leaving May in the Top 8. Robert’s Milotic then beats Drew with Iron Tail and Twister in the semi-final and wins the Slateport Ribbon. Team Rocket miss the registration deadline altogether.

Teams Aqua & Magma

Hoenn’s rival villains arrive early. Team Magma cut the power to the Oldale Pokémon Center and kidnap the archaeologist Professor Alden to open the Oldale Ruins (AG002), and Team Aqua surface at the Devon Corporation, where a grunt with a Crawdaunt tries to make off with vials of fossil-restoration fluid — Max catches them as they fall — and then hijacks Mr. Briney’s boat (AG017–AG018). Officer Jenny explains that the two groups are rivals, and Giovanni has already told Team Rocket to keep an eye on both (AG002).

The teams finally meet in A Three Team Scheme! (AG027): Team Magma, led by Tabitha and his Mightyena, take over Keanu’s Secret Base and drill into a cavern holding an ancient shrine, where Team Aqua under Shelly arrive by submarine. Shadow Ball meets the Hydro Pump of Shelly’s Carvanha as the admins argue over whether the world should be land or sea, and Ash, Professor Birch and friends overhear that each team holds one of a pair of legendary orbs — the Red and Blue Orbs, renamed “Rose” and “Indigo” in the dub. Finding neither Groudon nor Kyogre there, both teams withdraw. Tabitha returns in The Spheal of Approval (AG036) to steal a heat-scorched rock from Captain Stern’s Oceanic Museum; a Shadow Ball splits it in two, and Team Magma escape with the larger half.

Other battles & competitions

Outside the Gyms, May loses her first Trainer battle to Nicholai’s Mudkip (AG005); Ash learns that Double Battles are common in Hoenn when Treecko and Pikachu beat Forrester’s Yanma and Ariados (AG014); Anthony’s unofficial Pelipper “Gym” is exposed as a scam (AG010); Max’s first battle, a school Poliwag against Tommy’s Magby, is interrupted by Team Rocket (AG015); Pikachu beats Shauna’s Meditite once the hurricane has passed (AG030); and May wins a practice Contest battle against Drew with Silver Wind (AG033). The Mauville Trick House (AG039) offers a year’s supply of Pokéblocks to whoever clears it first — the prize goes to Ivan, while Alanna and her Whismur lose time to Team Rocket’s sabotage.

Movies & Specials Released During the Season

The sixth movie, Jirachi: Wish Maker (Wishing Star of the Seven Nights: Jirachi in Japan), opened in Japanese cinemas on 19 July 2003, between Having a Wailord of a Time (AG034) and Win, Lose or Drew! (AG035), although in story order it takes place after The Spheal of Approval (AG036); six episodes (AG023–AG024 and AG033–AG036) swapped Professor Oak’s Pokémon Lecture for “Movie Latest Information” segments in the run-up. It was the first Pokémon film to skip American cinemas, going straight to VHS and DVD on 1 June 2004, during the dub’s summer break. The accompanying Pikachu short, Gotta Dance!!, was dubbed as a 16:9 bonus on the DVD; it reuses the choreography of the season’s ending Polka O Dolka, for which English versions with lyrics by Carter Cathcart were recorded, and it gives Whismur and Ludicolo their animated debuts.

Pokémon Heroes: Latias & Latios, which had opened in Japan on 13 July 2002, reached US cinemas in a limited release on 16 May 2003 — between the sneak preview and the regular premiere — and came out on VHS and DVD on 20 January 2004, in the middle of the Hoenn run. TV Tokyo’s Weekly Pokémon Broadcasting Station encored it (15 July 2003) and its short Camp Pikachu (22 July 2003) around the new film’s release, having shown a “Special Edition” of Celebi: A Timeless Encounter on 25 March 2003. The seventh movie, Destiny Deoxys, opened in Japan in July 2004, while the dub was on its summer break; its Kids’ WB premiere came on 22 January 2005, after the season had ended.

Side Stories, Specials & Crossovers

Side-story tie-ins

• Weekly Pokémon Broadcasting Station, TV Tokyo’s Tuesday-night companion show hosted by Misty and Brock, ran its first side stories alongside the season: Takeshi! Save Nibi Gym! on 3 December 2002 (the family “errands” that keep Brock away until AG004 — dubbed for Pokémon Chronicles as “A Family That Battles Together Stays Together!”), further side stories on 10 and 17 December 2002 and 14 January 2003, two Pichu Bros. stories (4 February and 4 March 2003) and Misty! Get the Blue Badge!! on 25 February 2003.
• Sableye appeared in the side story Oaknapped! before its TV-series debut in Ready, Willing, and Sableye (AG029).
• Gotta Dance!! (PK12), the Pikachu short shown with Jirachi: Wish Maker, is set to the season’s ending Polka O Dolka and introduces Whismur, which reaches the TV series in AG039.
• Pichu Bros. in Party Panic, a set of shorts made for the GameCube’s Pokémon Channel, was released in Japan on 18 July 2003 and in North America on 1 December 2003, a month into the Hoenn run.
• A New Pokémon Discovery! Special aired in Japan on 18 May 2004 in which Treecko “discovers” a new Pokémon — by then Japan was well into Advanced Challenge.

Characters from the games, manga and specials

• May, Max, Norman and Professor Birch come straight from Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, where May is the female player character, Norman runs the Petalburg Gym and Birch hands out the Hoenn starters — the anime even keeps the games’ early visit to Norman’s Gym, long before the player can challenge him.
• Roxanne, Brawly and Wattson are the games’ first, second and third Gym Leaders, met in the same order; Brawly’s surfer persona comes from his game character, and the Trick House, Captain Stern’s Oceanic Museum and New Mauville are all game locations.
• Steven Stone, the Hoenn Champion of the games, is introduced in Granite Cave just as players first meet him — but the anime never mentions his title. His father Mr. Stone, the Devon Corporation and its fossil research, and Mr. Briney with his Wingull Peeko are game characters too.
• Teams Magma and Aqua, their admins Tabitha and Shelly, the Red and Blue Orbs and the land-versus-sea argument all come from Ruby and Sapphire, as do Secret Bases (AG027), Pokéblocks and the Pokéblock Case (AG033) and Pokémon Contests themselves.
• Shauna (AG030–AG031) is based on the Battle Girl Tessa from the games. Brendan, the male player character of Ruby and Sapphire, does not appear in the season, but has a cameo in Jirachi: Wish Maker.

Opening & Ending Themes

Advanced brings an entirely new sound. In Japan GARDEN’s Advance Adventure — the first Japanese opening sung by a man — plays over all 40 episodes and carries on into Advanced Challenge, while the ending changes at AG019 from Toshiko Ezaki’s gentle Because the Sky is There to Polka O Dolka, sung by Meowth himself. The English dub opens every episode with I Wanna Be a Hero, written by John Siegler and David Rolfe and sung by Rolfe; a shorter version, without the opening verse, plays over the end credits, and the Japanese endings were never dubbed for TV.

Japan made good use of the new opening: an instrumental Advance Adventure first scores an action scene in AG003 and the vocal version plays as an insert song in Gonna Rule the School! (AG015), while Because the Sky is There doubles as background music in Sharpedo Attack! (AG019) and Face Forward Team Rocket! returns in AG021. Many early episodes borrow cues from Pikachu’s Vacation, Mewtwo Strikes Back and The Power of One, AG010 reuses the prologue music of the fourth and fifth movies, and The Spheal of Approval (AG036) is the first episode to use the score of Jirachi: Wish Maker. In English, 4Kids replaced almost all of it with its own synthesiser library — AG001 keeps only the new Team Rocket theme — although AG008 became the first dubbed episode to use an instrumental Advance Adventure for an action sequence, and Taming of the Shroomish (AG009) ends with an instrumental I Wanna Be a Hero over the credits.

I Wanna Be a Hero — the English opening used for every Advanced episode. Video: The Official Pokémon YouTube channel.

TV Broadcasts & Original Airing Dates

Japan. TV Tokyo broadcast the 40 episodes weekly on Thursdays from 21 November 2002 (Get the Show on the Road!) — the day Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire went on sale — to 28 August 2003 (Watt’s with Wattson?). The only gap came at New Year: no episode aired on 2 January 2003, between AG006 and AG007. The sixth movie opened on 19 July 2003, between AG034 and AG035, and the Tuesday-night Weekly Pokémon Broadcasting Station ran alongside the series with encores, side stories and movie specials. Japan has no “season 6”: these episodes are simply the opening run of the 192-episode Advanced Generation series.

The sneak preview. Kids’ WB gave American viewers a first look at Hoenn on Saturday 15 March 2003, when AG001 and AG002 aired back to back in the middle of the Master Quest run — two days before Ruby and Sapphire reached North America. A Ruin with a View aired just 107 days after its Japanese premiere, the shortest gap for any 4Kids-dubbed episode. The preview versions used a different logo, resembling the Master Quest one, and an earlier recording of some of May’s lines, which were re-recorded for the regular broadcast (see Dub Edits).

How many episodes is Advanced? It depends who is counting. Kids’ WB’s 2003–04 schedule, promoted as “the new sixth season of Pokémon”, began on Saturday 13 September 2003 with the last twelve Johto episodes, starting with Address Unown! (EP263) and including a weekday run from 15 to 19 September; Hoenn Alone! (EP274) aired on 25 October 2003. Counted that way the television season is 52 episodes (EP263–AG040) — the definition used by the Australian DVDs and formerly by Pokémon TV. Japan, Bulbapedia, VIZ Media’s DVDs, DisneyNOW and the digital stores count the 40 Hoenn episodes (AG001–AG040), and Pokémon TV later shortened its version of the season to start at AG001.

United States. The Hoenn episodes premiered on 1 November 2003 at 10 a.m., launching Kids’ WB’s new Saturday line-up, and the network often showed two new episodes in a row. After breaks on 6, 20 and 27 March and 10 April 2004, The Spheal of Approval (AG036, 29 May 2004) was followed by a summer break; the series returned with a Friday double bill of AG037 and AG038 on 27 August 2004 and ended with AG039 and AG040 on 4 September 2004. Advanced Challenge began the following Saturday. No episode aired out of story order. Wikipedia’s US dates for a number of episodes run a week (or a day) late; ours follow Bulbapedia, confirmed by pocketmonsters.net’s calendars.

Elsewhere. In the United Kingdom Sky One held first-run rights to the early seasons; the earliest dated UK broadcast is GMTV’s Up on the Roof block from 6 June 2004, with one new episode a week until the series was pulled by mid-October 2004 after reaching Brave the Wave, and CITV premiered the season on 12 January 2015. Bulbapedia lists 26 April 2004 as the Australian air date of AG001. Finland aired only 38 episodes of the TV season, stopping at AG026, and this is the only Ruby and Sapphire season shown in Croatia, Lithuania and Poland. Later US airings include Cartoon Network reruns, Pokémon TV (until the service closed in March 2024), DisneyNOW and the Pokémon TV channel on YouTube.

Dub Edits & Censorship

Changes in the English version

No banned episodes. All 40 episodes were dubbed and aired in the US, in story order. The only gaps are abroad: Finland’s run stopped after Turning Over a Nuzleaf (AG026), so Watt’s with Wattson? is the last main-series episode the Finnish dub never aired.

Season-wide Kids’ WB edits. Dogasu’s Backpack found that the Kids’ WB version of every early episode was zoomed in, losing the outer border of each shot (the UK version was not). Every time Ash’s or May’s Badge case appears in the Hoenn saga, its Poké Ball design is painted over with rectangles — an edit confined to Kids’ WB and the first two North American home-video releases, absent from the 2017 DVD set, Cartoon Network and Boomerang, the Australian DVDs, Pokémon TV and the digital releases, and called by Dogasu “the most pointless edit in Pokémon history”. Jessie’s skirt is lengthened in several shots (AG017, AG022, AG029), and most episodes lose a second or two around the commercial breaks and the “To be continued” card.

Cuts and paint edits. Most are small: Jessie’s three-second akanbe face in AG002; James running with his head on fire and Max on fire in AG003; the cocking sounds of the poacher Rico’s gun, which stays on screen, in AG006; a Sharpedo biting Seviper in AG019; a Carvanha biting the back of Ash’s head in AG024; two PokéDolls painted out of Keanu’s Secret Base in AG027 (one is still visible behind Mightyena); and the machine-gun sound of Shiftry’s Bullet Seed in AG037. The most heavily edited episode is All Things Bright and Beautifly! (AG013): a 13-second shot of a Coordinator’s Jynx — the last appearance of its original black-faced design — is cut, Team Rocket’s fantasy of saluting grunts is heavily repainted for its resemblance to a Nazi salute, and the “Pokémon Contest” sign becomes “Pokémon Competition”.

Segments and previews. Japan’s Who’s That Pokémon? had ended with Hoenn Alone!; the AG episodes use a plain eyecatch instead, updated to add Max (AG003) and Brock (AG004). The dub kept its own segment — a random Pokémon with an on-screen hint — over a Master Quest eyecatch with the Advanced logo added: the first 21 answers are all Generation II, the first Generation III answer is Vigoroth (AG022), and AG040’s Meditite is the last until Black & White, almost seven years later. Japan’s post-credits Professor Oak’s Pokémon Lecture, which covers only Generation II Pokémon this season, was never dubbed. The March 2003 preview of AG001 had May say “between you and I” (later corrected to “me”) and lacked the added line “There it is, Littleroot Town, up ahead!”.

Names and dialogue. The Japanese names were localised as usual — Haruka became May, Masato Max, Odamaki Birch, Senri Norman, Tsutsuji Roxanne, Tōki Brawly, Tessen Wattson, Shū Drew and Daigo Steven. May’s kinoko/hinoko (mushroom/Ember) mix-up became “Amber!” (AG003), Tabitha and Shelly were introduced as “Field Commander Harlan” and “Tactical Commander Isabel” and the Red and Blue Orbs as the “Rose” and “Indigo” Orbs (AG027) — prompting Dogasu to remark that 4Kids “seems to have forgotten that this show is based on a video game” — Calm Mind was called “Meditate” (AG030), and the dub of AG040 implies that Wattson repaired the robot Raikou that Pikachu had wrecked, while mispronouncing “Raikou” throughout. On the music side 4Kids replaced almost the whole Japanese score with its own synthesiser library, and from AG021 the narration passes from Rodger Parsons to Mike Pollock.

Episode titles explained

Almost every English title is a pun. A few worth decoding:

• A Ruin with a View — E. M. Forster’s A Room with a View
• There’s No Place Like Hoenn — “there’s no place like home”
• You Never Can Taillow — “you never can tell” (it was announced as You Can Never Taillow)
• In the Knicker of Time! — “in the nick of time”, plus Nicholai’s knickerbockers
• A Poached Ego! — a poached egg, and the poacher Rico
• Tree’s a Crowd — “two’s company, three’s a crowd”
• A Tail with a Twist — a tale with a twist
• Taming of the Shroomish — Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew
• A Bite to Remember — A Night to Remember, and Poochyena’s Bite
• All Things Bright and Beautifly! — the hymn “All Things Bright and Beautiful”
• All in a Day’s Wurmple — “all in a day’s work”
• The Winner by a Nosepass — “winner by a nose”
• Stairway to Devon — Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven”
• On a Wingull and a Prayer! — “on a wing and a prayer”
• A Hole Lotta Trouble — “a whole lot of trouble”
• Gone Corphishin’ and A Corphish Out of Water — “gone fishin’” and “a fish out of water”
• Turning Over a Nuzleaf — turning over a new leaf
• Ready, Willing, and Sableye — “ready, willing and able”
• Just One of the Geysers — the 1985 film Just One of the Guys
• Having a Wailord of a Time — having a whale of a time
• Win, Lose or Drew! — “win, lose or draw”
• The Spheal of Approval — the seal of approval
• A Different Kind of Misty! — the fog on the mountain, and Alyssa, voiced by Misty’s actress Rachael Lillis
• A Poké-BLOCK Party! — a block party
• Watt’s with Wattson? — “what’s with…?” (listed as What’s With Wattson? on Pokémon.com and iTunes)

DVD & Blu-ray / Streaming

Advanced has had two different lives on disc. North American releases use the 40-episode season — eight single volumes in 2004–05, two box sets and a Complete Collection in 2017 — while the Australian and New Zealand sets follow the 52-episode television season, so the first three discs of a Region 4 “Season 6” are Johto episodes. No UK release of these episodes is known.

North America (Region 1)

Release	Date	Contents
Pokémon Advanced Vols. 1 and 2 (DVD and VHS, Viz Video)	20 July 2004	DVD AG001–AG005 (two labelled “bonus episodes”) and AG006–AG010; the VHS tapes hold three episodes each
Vol. 3 A Bite to Remember and Vol. 4 Stairway to Devon	21 September 2004	DVD AG011–AG015 and AG016–AG020
Vol. 5 A Hole Lotta Trouble and Vol. 6 A Three Team Scheme	9 November 2004	DVD AG021–AG025 and AG026–AG030
Vol. 7 Abandon Ship! and Vol. 8 Jump for Joy	25 January 2005	DVD AG031–AG035 and AG036–AG040; early covers for Vol. 7 showed Kyogre (prerelease art)
Pokémon: Advanced – Volume 1 box set (3 DVDs)	25 October 2005	AG001–AG020, with the bonus videos Pokémon Trading Card Game: Rise to the Top and The Power of Pokémon
Pokémon: Advanced – Volume 2 box set (3 DVDs)	22 August 2006	AG021–AG040
Pokémon Advanced – The Complete Collection (5 DVDs, VIZ Media)	16 May 2017	All 40 episodes, eight per disc, in a single case with slipcover; the Badge-case paint edits are absent
VIZ Pokémon All-Stars and Pokémon Elements compilations	—	Themed single discs including AG005 (on two of them), AG007, AG008, AG011, AG016, AG025, AG026, AG033, AG034 and AG038

Australia & New Zealand (Region 4)

Release	Date	Notes
Vols. 6.1–6.3 (Magna Pacific)	19 January & 9 March 2005	The twelve Johto episodes EP263–EP274 that open the 52-episode TV season
Vols. 6.4 A Ruin with a View to 6.9 Which Wurmple’s Which?	9 March 2005 – 5 July 2006	Four episodes per disc, AG001–AG024; Vols. 6.4–6.6 also as Pokémon Advanced Box Set 1 (7 June 2006)
2-disc sets 6.10–6.11 and 6.12–6.13	16 August & 4 October 2006	AG025–AG032 and AG033–AG040
Season 6 Super Wallet (13 Nest Ball discs + Premier Ball bonus disc)	10 October 2007	52 episodes, four per disc, plus Trouble in Big Town, Big Meowth, Little Dreams and two Pikachu shorts
Season 6 DigiPack disc set (6 discs)	8 September 2010 (NZ 19 February 2011)	Discs themed on Sneasel, Torchic, Treecko, Wurmple, Corphish and Roselia; MetalPak and alternate-cover versions followed
Re-releases (Beyond Home Entertainment)	2 April 2014 · 2016 · 5 February 2020 (NZ 18 March 2020)	Slimline, JB Hi-Fi anniversary and new-cover editions; also in the Hoenn Collection, Ruby and Sapphire limited edition, Heritage Collection and the multi-season box sets

Japan

In Japan the season went out on a rental-only DVD series, Pocket Monsters Advanced Generation Vols. 1–13, three episodes per disc: Vols. 1 and 2 (AG001–AG006) arrived on 27 January 2006 and Vol. 13 (AG038–AG040) on 24 March 2006, after later episodes had already been issued in the separate “2004” and “2005” rental lines. No sell-through DVD of these episodes is known. Prime Video Japan streams the series, with Jynx recoloured purple in AG013.

Streaming

Pokémon TV rotated the season in and out of its library until the service closed on 28 March 2024; since 6 December 2024 the Pokémon TV channel on YouTube has carried seasons 1–11, Advanced included. DisneyNOW lists Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire, Hoopla’s BingePass offers seasons 6–13, and Prime Video sells the season with its Who’s That Pokémon? segments and eyecatches intact — unlike the iTunes and Amazon digital versions, which drop them and list the finale as What’s With Wattson?. Availability changes frequently, so check your local service.

Covers

• Pokémon Advanced Vol. 1 DVD (Region 1, 2004)
• Stairway to Devon DVD (Region 1, 2004)
• Jump for Joy DVD (Region 1, 2005)
• Pokémon: Advanced – Volume 1 box set (Region 1, 2005)
• The Complete Collection (Region 1, 2017)
• Vol. 6.4 A Ruin with a View (Region 4, 2005)
• Season 6 Super Wallet (Region 4, 2007)
• Season 6 DigiPack (Region 4, 2010)

Where to Watch & Buy

Availability changes constantly, so treat this as a snapshot (October 2026) and check your local service. Links will be added here once we have settled on referral partners.

• The Pokémon TV channel on YouTubeHas carried seasons 1–11, Advanced included, since December 2024.
• Prime VideoSells the season in many territories, with its Who’s That Pokémon? segments and eyecatches intact.
• DisneyNOW & HooplaDisneyNOW lists Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire; Hoopla’s BingePass offers seasons 6–13.
• DVD – North AmericaPokémon Advanced – The Complete Collection (VIZ Media, 5 discs, 2017) has all 40 episodes in one case, without the Badge-case paint edits.
• DVD – Australia & New ZealandBeyond Home Entertainment’s Season 6 sets (the 52-episode TV season) are regularly re-issued and included in the multi-season box sets.
• Not currently onPokémon TV closed in March 2024, and Netflix and Hulu are not known to have carried this season recently.

Trading Cards Released During the Season

Pokémon: Advanced aired in the US as the trading card game settled into its EX era under Nintendo. EX Sandstorm (17 September 2003) was the newest set when Kids’ WB launched its “sixth season” that autumn, and these expansions followed while the Hoenn episodes were new:

• EX Dragon — 24 November 2003 — three weeks into the Hoenn run
• EX Team Magma vs Team Aqua — 15 March 2004 — the villains of the season get their own set
• EX Hidden Legends — 14 June 2004 — during the summer break
• EX FireRed & LeafGreen — 30 August 2004 — between the last two double bills

In Japan the run coincided with the first expansions of the ADV series — the sets that became EX Ruby & Sapphire, EX Sandstorm and EX Dragon in English.

Our TCG section has a full card list, print variations and the most valuable cards for every one of them.

Cards with a link to the season

One card from each of the first three sets ties straight into the season:

• Corphish · EX Dragon 52/97EX Dragon (24 November 2003) was on sale three months before Ash’s Corphish burst out of the Dewford sand in the dub of Gone Corphishin’ (AG023, 21 February 2004).
• Team Aqua’s Crawdaunt · EX Team Magma vs Team Aqua 2/95The Team Aqua grunt who raids the Devon Corporation fights Pikachu with a Crawdaunt in Stairway to Devon (AG017, US 17 January 2004); this holo followed on 15 March 2004.
• Steven’s Advice · EX Hidden Legends 92/101Steven Stone’s only appearance of the season, A Hole Lotta Trouble (AG022), aired in the US on 14 February 2004; his Supporter card arrived on 14 June 2004, during the dub’s summer break.

Firsts & Lasts

• First episode of the Advanced Generation series and the first set in Hoenn: Get the Show on the Road! (AG001), broadcast in Japan on the day Ruby and Sapphire launched.
• First Pokémon Contest in the anime: Rustboro City (AG013), won by Janet’s Beautifly — and May’s first Contest, at Slateport (AG035).
• First main character other than Ash to receive a first partner Pokémon, the first to start with a Fire type and the first female main character with a Pokédex: May (AG001).
• First encounters with Team Magma (AG002) and Team Aqua (AG017).
• First Double Battle for Ash: Treecko and Pikachu against Forrester’s Yanma and Ariados (AG014).
• First Pokémon James is seen catching: Cacnea (AG006); only Pokémon caught after a human physically beat it: Jessie’s Seviper (AG008).
• First Berries and the first Egg Move reference in the anime (AG012); first use of Protect (AG015).
• First Japanese opening sung by a man and the first to show the series logo at the end: Advance Adventure; first ending not composed by Hirokazu Tanaka: Because the Sky is There.
• First Generation III answer in the dub’s Who’s That Pokémon?: Vigoroth (AG022); last segment until Black & White: Meditite (AG040).
• Only official Hoenn Gym defeat for Ash: Brawly (AG020) — followed by the longest wait for a rematch, eleven episodes (AG031).
• Last time Ash wins a badge in the same episode he meets the Leader: the Dynamo Badge (AG040).
• Only first partner Pokémon Brock ever owns: Mudkip (AG025).
• Last episode narrated by Rodger Parsons in the 4Kids era: Brave the Wave (AG020); Mike Pollock’s first: Which Wurmple’s Which? (AG021).
• Last appearance of Jynx’s original design (AG013, cut from the dub) and last main-series appearance of Jigglypuff for 668 episodes (AG039).

Trivia & Facts

• Get the Show on the Road! aired in Japan on 21 November 2002, the day Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire went on sale, and its English sneak preview on 15 March 2003 came two days before the games’ North American release.
• Ash leaves every Pokémon except Pikachu at Professor Oak’s lab and gets a new outfit and hat. AG001 is the first region opener with no Legendary Pokémon cameo, and Bulbapedia notes that it begins much like the very first episode: an ailing Pikachu destroys a girl’s bike.
• With Brock’s Mudkip (AG025) every eligible main character owned a Hoenn starter — a situation not repeated until XY’s Mega-Mega Meowth Madness!, 510 episodes later. The same episode’s Pokédex shot of two Mudkip on a rock became the “so I herd u liek Mudkips” internet meme.
  

  

• All in a Day’s Wurmple (AG014) is the only episode in which two main characters catch the same species. May’s and Jessie’s Wurmple then evolve on the same day into different Pokémon (AG024) and reach their final forms together (AG028).
• Jessie’s Seviper (AG008) is the only Pokémon in the anime caught after a human physically wore it down, and James’s Cacnea (AG006) is the first Pokémon he is seen catching.
  

  

• Steven Stone appears only once, in A Hole Lotta Trouble (AG022), as a strong Trainer hunting for evolution stones — never called the Champion. He did not return to the TV anime until Mega Evolution Special II, eleven years later.
• Ash’s defeat by Brawly (AG020) was his first Gym battle without Pikachu in over 200 episodes, and the eleven-episode wait for the rematch (AG031) is the longest gap between a lost Gym battle and its rematch. The Dynamo Badge (AG040) is the last badge he wins in the episode in which he meets the Leader, the only one won by a single Pokémon against several, and his only Hoenn Gym battle without a Hoenn-caught Pokémon.
• Iron Tail, learned between AG013 and AG016, is the first Steel-type move used by one of Ash’s Pokémon and the last non-Electric move Pikachu ever learns.
• I Wanna Be a Hero holds the record for opening spoilers in the English dub, with eleven; Advance Adventure is the first Japanese opening sung by a man, and Because the Sky is There the first ending not composed by Hirokazu Tanaka.
• The English narrator changes mid-season: Rodger Parsons, credited as Ken Gates, narrates AG001–AG020, and Mike Pollock takes over from AG021 — staying until AG145, after which Parsons returned for the TPCi dub.
• A Corphish Out of Water (AG024) is the 300th episode produced if Holiday Hi-Jynx and Snow Way Out! are counted. Typhlosion’s TV debut in AG015 completes every form of the Johto starters and is the latest debut of any first partner evolution.
• Bulbapedia notes that no Ruby and Sapphire episode uses traditional cel animation except in flashbacks, such as the reused footage of Meowth’s backstory in AG022.
• Kids’ WB promoted Now That’s Flower Power! (AG033) as May’s first battle, although she had already battled Nicholai in AG005. Nicholai’s costumes in that episode matched ones sold in the Pokémon.com Trainer Store, and AG004’s Taillow scene was reanimated for the “World of Pokémon” opening of Jirachi: Wish Maker.
• Jigglypuff’s visit in A Poké-BLOCK Party! (AG039) is its only Ruby and Sapphire appearance, the first time it is drawn with green eyes, Rachael Lillis’s last time voicing it and its last main-series appearance for 668 episodes.
• Jirachi’s Japanese voice actress, Tomiko Suzuki, died on 7 July 2003, less than two weeks before Jirachi: Wish Maker opened. It was the last Pokémon film released with a Pikachu short until the fifteenth movie.
• Ready, Willing, and Sableye (AG029) was adapted as the book Haunted!, and Advanced is the only Ruby and Sapphire season ever shown in Croatia, Lithuania and Poland.
• The games of the moment were Ruby and Sapphire throughout, joined by Pokémon Channel on GameCube (Japan 18 July 2003, North America 1 December 2003), whose Pichu Bros. in Party Panic shorts are listed alongside the anime; the Eon Ticket distributions for Latias and Latios began with the sixth movie’s release on 19 July 2003.
• Kids’ WB’s autumn 2003 sweepstakes gave away 500 Nintendo e-Readers with EX Sandstorm cards, and the trading card expansions released during the US run were EX Dragon, EX Team Magma vs Team Aqua, EX Hidden Legends and EX FireRed & LeafGreen — see our TCG section.

Reception

Ratings. Kids’ WB’s own figures for the launch of its 2003–04 “sixth season” on 13 September 2003 — still a Johto episode, Address Unown! — put Pokémon at 10 a.m. third among all programmes that morning with boys aged 6–11 (a 7.4 rating and 24 share) and male tweens 9–14 (7.2/28), second among broadcast programmes with boys 2–11 (5.8/19), and third with kids 2–11 (3.9/15). No sweeps figures specific to the Hoenn episodes have been found, though in January 2005 Kids’ WB called the Destiny Deoxys premiere the series’ best ratings in its slot since 2003. Japanese ratings for 2002–03 are not reliably documented in English-language sources.

Fan favourites. IMDb scores could not be checked for this page, but MyAnimeList’s per-episode polls (October 2026, out of five) put the Team Magma introduction A Ruin with a View on top at 4.5, followed by the Team Rocket episode A Poached Ego! and the Knuckle Badge rematch Just One of the Geysers at 4.4, with You Never Can Taillow, Tree’s a Crowd, The Winner by a Nosepass and On a Wingull and a Prayer! close behind at 4.3. The lowest-rated is Drew’s debut, Now That’s Flower Power! (3.8). A Poached Ego! is also the most discussed, and the whole 192-episode Advanced Generation series scores 7.16 on the site from around 126,000 users.

Critical commentary. Reviews summarised by Wikipedia were mixed: THEM Anime Reviews liked that the anime “does stuff from the video games in this season” and that May “isn’t just a replacement of Misty”, Movie Reviews Simbasible found the new characters “actually more annoying instead of likeable” while allowing that some episodes were “very good”, and Alfah of Pokeblog scored it 8/10 as “an awesome start to the Advanced Generation series”. Dogasu’s Backpack called the premiere a “pretty decent set-up episode”, praised the “grade-A” humour of AG003 for capturing “the early Kanto feel”, and judged All Things Bright and Beautifly! “a great episode” even though 4Kids “got a little edit happy”; after Slateport it predicted that “Contest episodes are going to become as important as Gym Leader battles”, though it found the dub’s finale “pretty uneventful”.

Continue the journey with Season 7: Pokémon Advanced Challenge, go back to Season 5: Pokémon Master Quest, or browse every season of the Pokémon anime.