Pokémon Season 9: Battle Frontier

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

Pokémon: Battle Frontier is the ninth season of the English-language Pokémon anime and the fourth and final season of Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire, known in Japan as Pocket Monsters Advanced Generation. It covers Japanese episodes AG146 to AG192, which TV Tokyo broadcast from 6 October 2005 to 14 September 2006, and its 47 episodes ran on Cartoon Network from 8 September 2006 to 3 March 2007. It is the first season dubbed by Pokémon USA, recorded at TAJ Productions after 4Kids Entertainment’s eight-year run ended, the first to premiere on Cartoon Network and the first with the new English cast led by Sarah Natochenny as Ash.

Ash, May, Max and Brock spend the whole season in Kanto, the region Ash and Brock call home. Ash takes on the Battle Frontier one facility at a time — Greta’s Battle Arena, Tucker’s Battle Dome, Lucy’s Battle Pike, Spenser’s Battle Palace and Anabel’s Battle Tower — calling up old friends from Professor Oak’s lab along the way, until three battles with Brandon at the Battle Pyramid end with the Brave Symbol, a place in the Hall of Fame and an offer to become a Frontier Brain himself. His Phanpy evolves into Donphan, his Grovyle into Sceptile, and he catches a hat-stealing Aipom. May wins four more Kanto Ribbons, hatches an Eevee, reaches the Top 4 of the Kanto Grand Festival and sees her Combusken become Blaziken; Brock catches Bonsly, enters his first Contest and finds that his Onix has become a Steelix; and the Pokémon Ranger Solana twice crosses the group’s path, rescuing Celebi and calming a frightened Deoxys. The season — and the Ruby and Sapphire series — ends with the friends going their separate ways, Gary’s new Electivire pointing to a region called Sinnoh, and Ash setting sail to find it.

Battle Frontier is also the season in which the English version changed hands. Pokémon USA took the dub in-house with a completely new voice cast, a new opening sung by Jason Appleton and — uniquely for a Western season — an ending song of its own, Pokémon Go!; the mid-episode quiz disappeared altogether, and no episode was banned or skipped. At 47 episodes it is the first season with fewer than 52, ten species make their TV debut — among them all three Regis, Deoxys and the Diamond and Pearl Pokémon Chatot, Weavile and Electivire — and in Japan the opening changed to Spurt! and the ending to May’s own theme, I Won’t Lose!. Our complete episode guide below has a synopsis, both titles and the air dates for all 47 episodes.

• 47episodes — the same count in Japan, in English and on DVD
• 6Frontier Symbols won — seven in all with the Knowledge Symbol
• 3Legendary Regis — Brandon uses all of them against Ash
• 4Kanto Ribbons for May this season — five with Saffron
• Top 4for May at the Kanto Grand Festival
• 10Pokémon species make their TV debut

Quick Answers

Story Arcs

Pokémon: Battle Frontier runs for 47 episodes and keeps Ash, May, Max and Brock in Kanto from the first Frontier battle to the farewells in Pallet Town. Here is how the season breaks down, with stills from our episode guide below.

New voices, new Symbols: the Arena & the DomeAG146–AG153

The first episode with Pokémon USA’s new English cast is a ghost-town filler in which a giant Haunter turns out to be an illusion conjured by Ghost-type Pokémon to silence the parties of some abandoned Psychic types, while Wobbuffet falls for a Kirlia. James then leaves his feverish Chimecho with Nanny and Pop-Pop at his family’s summer home and gains a Mime Jr., and Brock’s Mudkip evolves into Marshtomp in a practice match. At the barefoot Battle Arena, Ash recalls Snorlax from Professor Oak’s lab, and its Hyper Beam-powered Body Slam beats Arena Tycoon Greta for the Guts Symbol. On an egg farm Pikachu turns a Quick Attack into Volt Tackle and May is given a Pokémon Egg; in Silver Town she beats a rock-star salaryman’s Venusaur for the Silver Ribbon; and at Olden Pond Corphish learns to use its surroundings. At the showbiz Battle Dome, Swellow and Corphish beat Dome Ace Tucker’s Arcanine and Swampert in a Double Battle for the Tactics Symbol.

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Toward Fuchsia: Donphan, Celebi, Bonsly & EeveeAG154–AG158

An overcharged wild Elekid runs off with May’s Egg until Phanpy evolves into Donphan, learns Hyper Beam and ends Team Rocket’s attack. Near the Cycling Road the group meet the Pokémon Ranger Solana and her Plusle, who rescue an exhausted Celebi from a forest of its own vines, and Pikachu finally masters Volt Tackle. At a Pokémon Ninja School Brock defends a crying baby Bonsly that the students accuse of theft, catches it and is declared its “new father”. In Fuchsia City a lost locket sends May, Squirtle and Meowth back in time to reunite a young couple on a snowy station platform, and her Egg hatches into an Eevee under the care of the doctors whose happiness she has restored. Team Rocket stage a fake Battle Pike before the real Pike Queen, Lucy, arrives: Donphan beats her Seviper, and Pikachu rides Milotic’s own Twister into a Volt Tackle for the Luck Symbol.

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Islands, Ribbons & a broken heartAG159–AG165

James and Mime Jr. win Potpourri Island’s orienteering race fair and square while Jessie and Meowth sabotage everyone else. In Wisteria Town Harley’s Octillery beats Munchlax in the final — May’s first defeat in Kanto — and an anonymous rose arrives with an invitation to the next Contest. On Camomile Island Grovyle falls for Nurse Joy’s Meganium, beats its rival Tropius and loses Meganium anyway, evolving into Sceptile in its despair — and suddenly it cannot use a single move. On Chrysanthemum Island the rose turns out to be from Brianna, a fan of Drew, and Combusken learns Mega Kick to beat her Vibrava for May’s third Kanto Ribbon. On Metallica Island Sceptile shields Ash from a Beedrill swarm and recovers its moves, the group meet the old Palace Maven, Spenser, and in a battle across the whole island’s jungle Sceptile’s brand-new Solar Beam wins the Spirits Symbol. Bonsly and Mime Jr. are then mistaken for the stars of a TV drama.

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Commerce City, Gardenia & the Battle TowerAG166–AG170

In Commerce City a mysterious “Red Lightning” is beating Trainers and scribbling on their Pokémon; it turns out to be the lonely Luna’s Scizor, which Sceptile and then May’s Squirtle defeat. In Gardenia Town Brock enters his first Contest and reaches the final, where May’s Eevee beats his Marshtomp on points for her fourth Kanto Ribbon. Three Jynx sisters freeze half a town to get their baby sister, a Smoochum, back from Team Rocket. At the Battle Tower the Salon Maiden, Anabel, gives her Pokémon their orders telepathically, and her Alakazam and Metagross hand Ash his first Battle Frontier defeat. In the rematch Corphish beats Alakazam, Tauros and Metagross knock each other out, and Pikachu’s Thunderbolt blacks out the Tower so that Espeon loses its link with its Trainer. Volt Tackle wins the Ability Symbol, and six Symbols reveal the last facility: the Battle Pyramid near Pewter City.

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Pokémon Ranger: the Deoxys CrisisAG171–AG172

An aurora, dead Poké Balls and sick Pokémon bring Solana back: a meteorite that crashed in the mountains ten years earlier is disturbing the Earth’s magnetic field, and a frightened, lonely Deoxys is suffering with it. Deoxys switches Formes to escape every capture attempt, speaks through Meowth’s body and pulls Max and Meowth into its own dimension, where Max convinces it that it is not alone. Team Rocket call a truce to rescue Meowth, and when a surge of solar wind sets the meteorite exploding, Sceptile grabs Deoxys and fires Solar Beam point-blank into its back, forcing it into Normal Forme so that Solana’s Styler can capture and calm it. Made to promote the DS game Pokémon Ranger, the two-parter aired as a one-hour special in Japan and as an hour-long special in the US, where it went out on 28 October 2006, before AG162–AG170. It also makes Destiny Deoxys canon, through Professor Lund’s research in LaRousse City.

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Mulberry, Pewter & the Battle PyramidAG173–AG179

A golden Sudowoodo that has run away from the Trainer whose experiment gilded it is followed by the last Contest before the Grand Festival. In Mulberry City Harley, who already has five Ribbons, forms a villainous alliance with Team Rocket and lends “Jessiebelle” his Cacturne and Banette, but May’s Squirtle wins the final in Sudden Death Overtime for her fifth Ribbon and a place at Indigo Plateau. Team Rocket split up and fall in with Butch and Cassidy’s fake tournament in Sable City. In Pewter City Brock finds his Gym garishly redecorated and his Onix evolved into Steelix, and teams up with Ash’s Donphan to beat Team Rocket’s borrowed Charizard and Aggron. In ruins near the Battle Pyramid Ash is possessed by the spirit of the King of Pokélantis, and the Pyramid King, Brandon, beats the possessed Sceptile with Regirock as Ho-Oh flies overhead. On the road to the Grand Festival a hat-stealing Aipom takes a liking to Ash.

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The Kanto Grand FestivalAG180–AG182

Some 270 Coordinators arrive at Indigo Plateau. Jessie reports on the event as “Jessadia”, Harley performs dressed as May, and May meets Solidad, an old friend of Brock, Drew and Harley who once beat Drew in his very first Contest. Solidad, Drew, Harley and May all reach the battle rounds. May’s Munchlax and Eevee drive Harley’s points to zero, and in her third quarter-final against Drew — after Slateport and the Hoenn Grand Festival — Combusken learns Overheat and wins at the buzzer with Sky Uppercut. In the semi-final, though, Solidad’s Pidgeot and Slowbro counter the aggressive style May has picked up from Ash, and she finishes in the Top 4; Solidad goes on to win the Ribbon Cup and the title of Top Coordinator. Between the battles Ash at last catches Aipom, and Scott brings word that the Battle Pyramid has moved to Fennel Valley.

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Fennel Valley & the Brave SymbolAG183–AG190

On the way to the Battle Pyramid’s new home, Aipom ends up holding a village’s royal crown, a comedian’s Chatot cheers up a children’s hospital and a scarred stray Weavile wins back its pack. At Fennel Valley a battle-mad Nurse Joy’s Chansey trounces Corphish, and Brandon’s Registeel beats Torkoal, swapped in from the lab for Aipom. May, still low after the Festival, loses a practice battle to Drew, who leaves for Johto with Harley and Solidad, while Professor Oak brings a postcard from Gary in a region called Sinnoh. After running the Pokémon Center while Joy has flu, Ash recalls Bulbasaur, Squirtle and Charizard; Scott reveals that he owns the Battle Frontier, and in a four-on-four rematch Dusclops beats Charizard before Bulbasaur, Squirtle and Pikachu defeat Dusclops, Ninjask, Solrock and Regice. The Brave Symbol completes the Frontier: Ash enters the Hall of Fame and turns down Scott’s offer of a Frontier Brain post.

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Farewells: Terracotta Town & Pallet TownAG191–AG192

In Terracotta Town Ash enters an unofficial Contest that needs no Contest Pass, and he and May reach the final. Combusken, exhausted after a fight with Team Rocket, evolves into Blaziken, learns Blaze Kick and meets Sceptile in a battle so even that Solar Beam and Overheat collide at the buzzer: the result is a tie, and Sceptile cuts the prize in half. May sets off alone for Johto, Max goes home to Petalburg City with Ash’s promise of a battle one day, and Brock heads back to Pewter City. In Pallet Town Gary, home from Sinnoh, beats Pikachu with an Electivire that Ash’s Pokédex cannot identify. Ash leaves Sceptile, Donphan, Corphish, Swellow and Aipom at the lab, receives a new Pokédex and Professor Rowan’s name, and sails for Sinnoh with Pikachu — and with Aipom, who has stowed away.

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Episode Guide

All 47 episodes of Pokémon: Battle Frontier are listed below in Japanese order, which is also the order of the English dub and the DVDs. The # column is the season number used by VIZ Media and on streaming, and the orange code is the Bulbapedia AG number used by most fan sites. Every episode has its own page with our full synopsis, both titles, air dates, major events, Pokémon debuts, trivia and dub changes — click the title or the screenshot. US dates are the Cartoon Network premieres: the Pokémon Ranger two-parter (AG171–AG172) aired out of order on 28 October 2006, and AG170 and AG173–AG183 went out as a Monday-to-Thursday run between 27 November and 14 December 2006. There is no Who’s That Pokémon? this season: the new English dub dropped the mid-episode quiz altogether, and Japan ran its Pokémon Trivia Quiz after the ending instead.

	#	Episode	First aired	In short
	1AG146	Fear Factor PhonyエスパーVSゴースト！真夜中の決闘！？	Japan 6 Oct 2005 US 8 Sep 2006	With a storm rolling in and no Pokémon Center anywhere on Max’s PokéNav, the group need somewhere to shelter for the night. · Dub season premiere Episode guide →
	2AG147	Sweet Baby Jamesマネネ登場！休息の館！	Japan 13 Oct 2005 US 9 Sep 2006	On the road to the Battle Arena, May’s Munchlax suddenly loses its appetite and comes down with a fever. · James leaves Chimecho Episode guide →
	3AG148	A Chip Off the Old Brockミズゴロウとモココ！恋の特効薬！？	Japan 20 Oct 2005 US 16 Sep 2006	Before Ash takes on the Battle Arena, Brock gives him a warm-up match, pitting Mudkip against Grovyle. · Mudkip evolves into Marshtomp Episode guide →
	4AG149	Wheel of Frontierバトルアリーナ！格闘対決！！	Japan 27 Oct 2005 US 16 Sep 2006	At a Pokémon Center near the Battle Arena, Scott catches up with Ash, who vows to win his second Frontier Symbol. · Guts Symbol Episode guide →
	5AG150	May’s Egg-Cellent Adventureそだて屋さんとポケモンのタマゴ！	Japan 3 Nov 2005 US 23 Sep 2006	With the Guts Symbol won, the group head for the Battle Dome. · Pikachu learns Volt Tackle Episode guide →
	6AG151	Weekend Warriorライバルはサラリーマン！？	Japan 10 Nov 2005 US 23 Sep 2006	May is getting ready for the Silver Town Contest when Squirtle goes missing backstage. · Silver Ribbon Episode guide →
	7AG152	On Olden Pondハクリューの湖！	Japan 17 Nov 2005 US 30 Sep 2006	May is so excited about her new Egg and Ribbon that she wears Max out, while in the woods Ash and Pikachu practise Volt Tackle, which fizzles out… · Corphish vs Crawdaunt Episode guide →
	8AG153	Tactics Theatrics!!バトルドーム！炎と水のフュージョン！！	Japan 24 Nov 2005 US 30 Sep 2006	The moment Ash arrives at the Battle Dome he is mobbed by reporters and staff, and Scott steers him into a press conference to answer questions about… · Tactics Symbol Episode guide →
	9AG154	Reversing the Chargesドッキリ！ビックリ！エレキッド！！	Japan 1 Dec 2005 US 7 Oct 2006	Ash adds his third Symbol to his case, and Max’s PokéNav shows that the next facility is the Battle Pike near Fuchsia City. · Phanpy evolves into Donphan Episode guide →
	10AG155	The Green Guardianポケモンレンジャー登場！セレビィ救出作戦！！	Japan 8 Dec 2005 US 7 Oct 2006	A forest fire is raging when Celebi appears and seals the flames away, but the effort leaves the Mythical Pokémon so drained that it barely… · Solana debuts Episode guide →
	11AG156	From Cradle to Saveウソハチと忍者スクール！！	Japan 15 Dec 2005 US 14 Oct 2006	During a picnic, while May polishes her Egg, Ash sets up a practice match between Pikachu and Donphan. · Brock catches Bonsly Episode guide →
	12AG157	Time Warp Heals All Wounds時を超えるハルカ！！	Japan 22 Dec 2005 US 14 Oct 2006	At the Fuchsia City Pokémon Center, Nurse Joy admires May’s Egg, and Brock gets knocked flat by Bonsly when he stops feeding it to flirt… · May’s Egg hatches into Eevee Episode guide →
	13AG158	Queen of the Serpentine!熱闘バトルチューブ！VSチューブクイーン・アザミ！！	Japan 5 Jan 2006 US 21 Oct 2006	Leaving the Pokémon Center, Brock suddenly bursts into tears because it is Bonsly’s feeding time, and Max explains that May has taken… · Luck Symbol Episode guide →
	14AG159	Off the Unbeaten Path優勝は誰の手に！？ポケモンオリエンテーリング！	Japan 12 Jan 2006 US 21 Oct 2006	On Potpourri Island, Nurse Joy explains to Ash, who has never heard of it, that the island is about to hold a Pokémon Orienteering event, a… · James wins the Teamwork Medal Episode guide →
	15AG160	Harley Rides Againゴンベのデビュー戦！ハーリーと真剣勝負！！	Japan 19 Jan 2006 US 28 Oct 2006	In Wisteria Town, May trains Munchlax for her bid at a third Kanto Ribbon by having it smash a thrown ball with Focus Punch, filling the air with… · May loses to Harley Episode guide →
	16AG161	Odd Pokémon Out!ジュプトルVSトロピウス！草原の決闘！！	Japan 26 Jan 2006 US 28 Oct 2006	There is no direct ferry to Chrysanthemum Island, so the group stop on Camomile Island to catch a connecting boat and let their Pokémon out to… · Grovyle evolves into Sceptile Episode guide →
	17AG162	Spontaneous Combusken!ポケモンコンテスト！ユズリハ大会！！	Japan 2 Feb 2006 US 4 Nov 2006	On Chrysanthemum Island, Ash keeps working with Sceptile outside the Contest Hall, but the heartbroken Pokémon’s Bullet Seed produces… · Chrysanthemum Ribbon Episode guide →
	18AG163	Cutting the Ties that Bind!ジュカイン！復活の夜明け！！	Japan 9 Feb 2006 US 4 Nov 2006	At the Pokémon Center on Metallica Island, everyone trains: Ash for the Battle Palace, May with Eevee on a new Shadow Ball for her Contests,… · Sceptile recovers its moves Episode guide →
	19AG164	Ka Boom With a View!激闘！バトルパレスでジャングルバトル！！	Japan 16 Feb 2006 US 10 Nov 2006	At the Battle Palace, Spenser and Scott ask whether Ash is ready, and because the sun is shining Spenser decides to hold the battle in the jungle… · Spirits Symbol Episode guide →
	20AG165	King and Queen for a Day!ウソハチキングとマネネクイーン！？	Japan 23 Feb 2006 US 11 Nov 2006	With five Symbols in his case, Ash sails for the Battle Tower near Cremini Town, and Max reminds him that collecting six will reveal the location of… · Bonsly & Mime Jr. on TV Episode guide →
	21AG166	Curbing the Crimson Tide!摩天楼の赤いイナズマ！	Japan 2 Mar 2006 US 18 Nov 2006	In a back alley of Commerce City, a mysterious figure known as Red Lightning challenges three boys and flattens Hiroshi’s Poliwag with a single… · Red Lightning Episode guide →
	22AG167	What I Did for Love!大一番！ハルカVSタケシ！！	Japan 9 Mar 2006 US 18 Nov 2006	May is training Eevee for the Gardenia Town Contest when it bursts out of the ground and knocks over a girl named Mollie, who has come to register… · Gardenia Ribbon Episode guide →
	23AG168	Three Jynx and a Baby!ムチュールとルージュラ三姉妹！！	Japan 16 Mar 2006 US 25 Nov 2006	On the road to Cremini Town and the Battle Tower, May spots an adorable Smoochum hiding in the bushes, but as she approaches it, the little… · Smoochum evolves into Jynx Episode guide →
	24AG169	Talking a Good Game!タワータイクーン、リラ登場！！	Japan 23 Mar 2006 US 25 Nov 2006	Racing toward the Battle Tower in search of his sixth Symbol, Ash and Pikachu are attacked by a Beedrill until a girl named Anabel steps in and calms… · Anabel debuts Episode guide →
	25AG170	Second Time’s the Charm!バトルタワー！以心伝心バトル！！	Japan 30 Mar 2006 US 27 Nov 2006	The day after his loss, Ash decides that his rematch with Anabel must be won with strategy rather than raw power. · Ability Symbol Episode guide →
	26AG171	Pokémon Ranger – Deoxys’ Crisis! (Part 1)ポケモンレンジャー！デオキシス・クライシス！！（前編）	Japan 13 Apr 2006 US 28 Oct 2006	The group are travelling on, with May one Ribbon short of the Kanto Grand Festival, Brock looking forward to visiting Pewter City and Ash preparing… · Ranger special, part 1 Episode guide →
	27AG172	Pokémon Ranger – Deoxys’ Crisis! (Part 2)ポケモンレンジャー！デオキシス・クライシス！！（後編）	Japan 13 Apr 2006 US 28 Oct 2006	Back at the Pokémon Center, Team Rocket beg Ash’s group to help rescue Meowth, and the two sides agree to work together. · Solana captures Deoxys Episode guide →
	28AG173	All That Glitters is Not Golden!ウソッキー！黄金伝説！？	Japan 20 Apr 2006 US 28 Nov 2006	Stopping for lunch on the way to the Battle Pyramid, Ash and May go to fetch water and find a golden Sudowoodo beside a lake. · Golden Sudowoodo Episode guide →
	29AG174	New Plot, Odd Lot!ハーリー＆ロケット団！悪役同盟結成！？	Japan 27 Apr 2006 US 29 Nov 2006	At the Mulberry City Pokémon Center, Nurse Joy reminds May that this is the last Contest before the Kanto Grand Festival, which begins in a… · Mulberry Contest Episode guide →
	30AG175	Going for Choke!ハルカVSムサシ！最後のコンテスト！！	Japan 4 May 2006 US 30 Nov 2006	Lilian announces the Mulberry Contest Battle pairings, and backstage Jessiebelle confronts May, almost giving away that Harley is helping her while… · Mulberry Ribbon – Grand Festival qualified Episode guide →
	31AG176	The Ole’ Berate and Switch!ロケット団解散！？それぞれの道！	Japan 11 May 2006 US 4 Dec 2006	Team Rocket finally catch Pikachu, only for it to pick the lock on its cage and blast them away with Thunderbolt. · Team Rocket split up Episode guide →
	32AG177	Grating Spaces!タケシ＆サトシ！タッグバトルでニビジムを守れ！！	Japan 18 May 2006 US 5 Dec 2006	On the way to the Battle Pyramid the group reach Pewter City, and Brock is horrified to find his Gym redecorated in garish style. · Onix revealed as Steelix Episode guide →
	33AG178	Battling the Enemy Within!バトルピラミッド！VSレジロック！！	Japan 25 May 2006 US 6 Dec 2006	The Battle Pyramid is finally in sight when the ground gives way and the group tumble into an ancient ruin covered in hieroglyphs, with Team Rocket… · Brandon debuts Episode guide →
	34AG179	Slaking Kong!驚異！巨大ケッキングの山！！	Japan 8 Jun 2006 US 7 Dec 2006	On the road to Indigo Plateau and the Kanto Grand Festival, the group are overrun by a band of Aipom that have stolen a farmer’s watering can… · Aipom steals Ash’s hat Episode guide →
	35AG180	May, We Harley Drew’d Ya!開幕！ポケモンコンテスト・グランドフェスティバル！！	Japan 15 Jun 2006 US 11 Dec 2006	The day before the Kanto Grand Festival, the group reach Indigo Plateau and May races ahead to the stadiums. · Kanto Grand Festival begins Episode guide →
	36AG181	Thinning the Hoard!ハルカVSハーリー！ダブルバトルでステージ・オン！！	Japan 22 Jun 2006 US 12 Dec 2006	Drew’s new Absol lights up the stadium with Flash, which Solidad and May agree is a difficult move to make shine on such a pale, sleek… · May beats Harley Episode guide →
	37AG182	Channeling the Battle Zone!ハルカVSシュウ！最後の戦い！！	Japan 29 Jun 2006 US 13 Dec 2006	The quarter-final continues, with Squirtle filling the arena with Bubble and Combusken’s Sky Uppercut chipping at Drew’s points, while… · May Top 4 – Solidad wins Episode guide →
	38AG183	Aipom and Circumstance!エイパムと王様！	Japan 6 Jul 2006 US 14 Dec 2006	On the way to Fennel Valley and Ash’s rematch with Brandon, the newly caught Aipom makes herself a flower crown to get Ash’s attention,… · Aipom the king Episode guide →
	39AG184	Strategy Tomorrow – Comedy Tonight!ペラップとポケモン漫才！	Japan 20 Jul 2006 US 6 Jan 2007	Walking toward Fennel Valley, the group hear a voice repeating Pikachu’s name and find a Chatot in a tree, a Pokémon that, as Brock… · Chatot debuts Episode guide →
	40AG185	Duels of the Jungle!襲撃！はぐれマニューラ！！	Japan 27 Jul 2006 US 13 Jan 2007	During a rest in a forest clearing on the way to Fennel Valley, Aipom wanders off after some flowers and runs into a wild Weavile with a scar on its… · Weavile debuts Episode guide →
	41AG186	Overjoyed!バトルピラミッド再び！VSレジスチル！！	Japan 3 Aug 2006 US 20 Jan 2007	The group finally reach Fennel Valley, where the Battle Pyramid now stands, and are greeted by Scott and by a Nurse Joy who turns out to be a devoted… · Ash loses to Registeel Episode guide →
	42AG187	The Unbeatable Lightness of Seeing!ハルカVSシュウ！ライバルよ永遠に！！	Japan 10 Aug 2006 US 27 Jan 2007	Soaking in a hot spring after his loss to Brandon, Ash wonders what he can teach himself that nobody else can. · First mention of Sinnoh Episode guide →
	43AG188	Pinch Healing!ポケモンセンターはおおいそがし！	Japan 17 Aug 2006 US 3 Feb 2007	Outside the Fennel Valley Pokémon Center, Ash is training Pikachu, Corphish, Sceptile and Aipom to knock down bowling pins as he works on his… · Nurse Joy has flu Episode guide →
	44AG189	Gathering the Gang of Four!最初のポケモン！最後の戦い！！	Japan 24 Aug 2006 US 10 Feb 2007	Outside the Fennel Valley Pokémon Center, Ash prepares for the final stretch of the Battle Frontier with some very old friends. · Bulbasaur, Squirtle & Charizard return Episode guide →
	45AG190	Pace – The Final Frontier!決戦！VSレジアイス！！	Japan 31 Aug 2006 US 17 Feb 2007	Ash sends Bulbasaur in next. Dusclops traps it with Mean Look and hits it with Shadow Punch, and although Razor Leaf lands, Vine Whip misses. · Brave Symbol Episode guide →
	46AG191	Once More With Reeling!サトシVSハルカ！ラストバトル！！	Japan 7 Sep 2006 US 24 Feb 2007	With the Battle Frontier conquered, the group arrive in Terracotta Town, where their journey is coming to an end: May and Max plan to sail home to… · Combusken evolves into Blaziken Episode guide →
	47AG192	Home is Where the Start Is!旅の終わり、そして旅の始まり！	Japan 14 Sep 2006 US 3 Mar 2007	When the smoke clears at the Terracotta Contest, the scoreboard shows that Ash and May have finished in a dead heat. · Season & Ruby and Sapphire finale Episode guide →

Characters & Travelling Companions

Ash spends the whole season in his home region, conquering the Battle Frontier that Scott introduced in Advanced Battle. He wins the Guts (AG149), Tactics (AG153), Luck (AG158), Spirits (AG164) and Ability Symbols (AG170, after his first Frontier defeat in AG169), then needs three attempts at Brandon’s Battle Pyramid before the Brave Symbol completes his set (AG190), puts him in the Frontier Hall of Fame and earns him the offer of a Frontier Brain post, which he turns down. His Phanpy evolves into Donphan (AG154) and his Grovyle into Sceptile (AG161) — which cannot use a single move until AG163 — and he catches a hat-stealing Aipom (AG182); for individual Frontier battles he calls up Snorlax, Heracross, Tauros and Torkoal and, for the finale, his original Bulbasaur, Squirtle and Charizard. Pikachu learns Volt Tackle (AG150), masters it (AG155) and uses it to beat Milotic, Espeon and Regice. Ash is also possessed by the spirit of the King of Pokélantis (AG178) and enters his first Contest, which ends in a tie with May (AG191–AG192), and after losing to Gary’s Electivire he leaves for Sinnoh with Pikachu — and with Aipom, who stows away.

May sets her sights on the Kanto Grand Festival. She wins the Silver (AG151), Chrysanthemum (AG162), Gardenia (AG167, beating Brock in the final) and Mulberry Ribbons (AG175), which with Saffron (AG144) make five, although Harley beats her at Wisteria Town (AG160), her first loss in Kanto. Christopher and Jeannie’s egg farm gives her an Egg (AG150) that hatches into Eevee (AG157); her Combusken learns Mega Kick (AG162) and Overheat (AG182) and finally evolves into Blaziken (AG191). At the Grand Festival she beats Harley and Drew and loses the semi-final to Solidad, finishing in the Top 4 (AG180–AG182). A practice defeat by Drew (AG187) convinces her to find a style of her own, and in the finale she sets off alone for Johto to compete against Drew, Harley and Solidad (AG192).

Max keeps the group on course with his PokéNav, befriends Deoxys inside its own dimension (AG171–AG172) and goes home to Petalburg City in the finale, once Ash has promised him a battle when he becomes a Trainer (AG192) — his last speaking appearance. Brock sees his Mudkip evolve into Marshtomp (AG148), catches a crying baby Bonsly (AG156) — his only on-screen Rock-type capture — enters his first Contest and reaches the Gardenia final (AG167), and finds back in Pewter City that his Onix has evolved into Steelix in Forrest’s care (AG177); he heads home to Pewter when the group split up (AG192). The whole party has new English voices: Sarah Natochenny (Ash), Michele Knotz (May), Kayzie Rogers credited as “Jamie Peacock” (Max) and Bill Rogers (Brock), while Ikue Ōtani remains Pikachu in both languages.

• 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

Team Rocket

Jessie, James and Meowth lose one Pokémon and gain another in the season’s second episode: James leaves his feverish Chimecho with Nanny and Pop-Pop, the elderly couple who raised him at his family’s summer home, confesses to them that he belongs to Team Rocket, and is chosen by a Mime Jr. that hops into an empty Poké Ball (AG147); from AG148 it takes Chimecho’s place in the motto. Jessie keeps Wobbuffet, Seviper and Dustox, and James Cacnea. Their disguises keep coming: Jessie enters Contests as “Jessiebelle” with Mime Jr. (AG162) and with Harley’s borrowed Cacturne and Banette after he forms a “villainous alliance” with the trio (AG174–AG175), and reports on the Grand Festival as “Jessadia” (AG180–AG182); James wins Potpourri Island’s orienteering race fair and square (AG159); and Meowth becomes Deoxys’s voice and is pulled into its dimension with Max (AG171–AG172).

The trio fall out and split up, Jessie with Butch and James with Cassidy, in Sable City (AG176), where May and Max meet Butch and Cassidy for the first time; in Pewter City HQ’s Delibird delivers them a Charizard and an Aggron, only to take them back because they were meant for Butch and Cassidy (AG177). Giovanni appears only in daydreams, and his Japanese voice actor, Hirotaka Suzuoki, died on 7 August 2006, during the Japanese run. In English Jessie is voiced by Michele Knotz, James and Meowth by James Carter Cathcart (credited as “Billy Beach”) and Wobbuffet and Mime Jr. by Kayzie Rogers; Three Jynx and a Baby! (AG168) has the last “Looks like Team Rocket’s blasting off again!” before the dub switches to “We’re blasting off again!”. In the finale they cling to the side of Ash’s boat to Sinnoh until a wave washes them off (AG192).

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

Frontier Brains, rivals & recurring characters

Six new Frontier Brains join Noland, the Factory Head from Advanced Battle. Greta (AG149), the Arena Tycoon, drills a dojo of barefoot students and admires Brawly and Chuck; Tucker (AG153), the Dome Ace, is a showman whose battles come with a press conference; Lucy (AG158), the Pike Queen, battles with Seviper and Milotic and is left flustered by a proposal from Brock; Spenser (AG163–AG164), the Palace Maven, is an old man who rides a Venusaur and nurses Pikachu back to health before their battle; Anabel (AG169–AG170), the Salon Maiden of the Battle Tower, commands her Pokémon telepathically and is left blushing after holding Ash’s hand; and Brandon (AG178, AG186, AG189–AG190), the Pyramid King, is an explorer of ruins who catches Regice during the season to complete a Regi trio. In Japanese they are the Arena Captain, Dome Superstar, Tube Queen, Palace Guardian and Tower Tycoon. Scott turns out to own the whole Battle Frontier (AG189) and makes his last appearance offering Ash a Brain post (AG190).

For May there is Harley, who beats her at Wisteria Town for his only on-screen Ribbon (AG160), allies with Team Rocket in Mulberry City (AG174–AG175), performs at the Grand Festival dressed as May and finishes in the Top 16; Drew, who has five Ribbons by Mulberry, rescues the boys with Flygon (AG175), unveils a new Absol (AG180) and Butterfree (AG187) and finishes in the Top 8; and Solidad (AG180), an old friend of Brock, Drew and Harley who once beat Drew in his first Contest, wins the Grand Festival with Slowbro, Lapras, Pidgeot and Butterfree. All three leave for Johto after The Unbeatable Lightness of Seeing! (AG187), Drew’s and Harley’s last speaking appearances. Brianna (AG162), a starstruck fan of Drew, sends May the mysterious rose. The Contests are run by Lilian Meridian, with Raoul Contesta, Mr. Sukizo and the local Nurse Joy as judges, and Lilian’s sister Vivian guest-judges at the Grand Festival.

Solana (AG155, AG171–AG172), a Rank 3 Pokémon Ranger with a Plusle and a Capture Styler, is the player character of the DS game Pokémon Ranger and returns in Diamond and Pearl. Professor Oak follows the Battle Frontier by video call, visits Fennel Valley with gifts from home and a postcard from Gary in Sinnoh (AG187) and sends Ash off with a new Pokédex and Professor Rowan’s name in the finale (AG192), the episode in which Gary makes his only physical Ruby and Sapphire appearance, alongside Delia and Tracey. Brock’s parents Flint and Lola — her main-series debut — and his brother Forrest, who now runs the Pewter Gym, appear in AG177; May’s mother Caroline has her last speaking role on the phone before the Grand Festival (AG180); and Fennel Valley’s fiercely competitive Nurse Joy stays with the story from AG186 to AG190. Matt the Pokésitter (AG188) is the last character of the day of the Ruby and Sapphire series.

• GretaThe Arena Tycoon of the Battle Arena (AG149)
• TuckerThe Dome Ace of the Battle Dome (AG153)
• SolanaThe Pokémon Ranger (AG155)
• LucyThe Pike Queen of the Battle Pike (AG158)
• SpenserThe Palace Maven of the Battle Palace (AG164)
• AnabelThe Salon Maiden of the Battle Tower (AG169)
• BrandonThe Pyramid King of the Battle Pyramid (AG178)
• SolidadWinner of the Kanto Grand Festival (AG180)

Voice cast

Character	English voice actor	Japanese voice actor
Ash Ketchum	Sarah Natochenny (from AG146, replacing Veronica Taylor)	Rica Matsumoto
Pikachu	Ikue Ōtani	Ikue Ōtani (on maternity leave mid-season; back from AG176)
May	Michele Knotz	KAORI.
Max	Kayzie Rogers (credited as Jamie Peacock)	Fushigi Yamada
Brock	Bill Rogers	Yūji Ueda
Jessie	Michele Knotz	Megumi Hayashibara
James	James Carter Cathcart (credited as Billy Beach)	Shin-ichiro Miki
Meowth	James Carter Cathcart (credited as Billy Beach)	Inuko Inuyama
Wobbuffet	Kayzie Rogers (credited as Jamie Peacock)	Yūji Ueda
Mime Jr.	Kayzie Rogers (credited as Jamie Peacock)	Ikue Ōtani (Tomoe Hanba in AG161)
Scott	Bill Rogers	Kōichi Sakaguchi
Greta	Sonny Dey	Sanae Kobayashi
Tucker	Bill Rogers	Kenta Miyake
Lucy	Emlyn Morinelli	Atsuko Tanaka
Spenser	Eric Schussler	Nachi Nozawa
Anabel	Hilary Thomas	Akiko Kimura
Brandon	Craig Blair	Masayuki Omoro
Solana	Rhonda Krempa	Atsuko Enomoto
Drew	Bill Rogers	Mitsuki Saiga
Harley	Billy Regan	Jun’ichi Kanemaru
Solidad	Sarah Natochenny	Rie Tanaka
Raoul Contesta	Craig Blair	Kōichi Sakaguchi
Lilian Meridian	Kayzie Rogers (credited as Jamie Peacock)	—
Professor Oak	James Carter Cathcart (credited as Billy Beach; from AG186)	Unshō Ishizuka
Narrator	Rodger Parsons (back from AG146)	Unshō Ishizuka

Pokémon: Captures, Changes, Encounters & Evolutions

In brief:

• Ash catches only Aipom (AG182), which is briefly swapped for Torkoal (AG186–AG188) and stows away on the boat to Sinnoh in the finale; his Phanpy evolves into Donphan (AG154) and his Grovyle into Sceptile (AG161), which cannot attack until AG163 and learns Solar Beam in AG164.
• Pikachu learns Volt Tackle (AG150) and masters it (AG155), and it settles the Luck, Ability and Brave Symbol battles against Milotic, Espeon and Regice.
• May’s Egg (AG150) hatches into Eevee (AG157), which learns Shadow Ball (AG163) and Dig (AG167); Munchlax learns Focus Punch (AG150), Squirtle Rapid Spin (AG152), and Combusken Mega Kick (AG162) and Overheat (AG182) before it evolves into Blaziken (AG191).
• Brock’s Mudkip evolves into Marshtomp (AG148), he catches Bonsly (AG156), and his Onix turns out to have evolved into Steelix in Forrest’s care (AG177).
• James leaves Chimecho with Nanny and Pop-Pop and catches Mime Jr. (AG147); Jessie borrows Harley’s Cacturne and Banette for the Mulberry Contest (AG174–AG175).
• Elsewhere, Solana’s Styler captures Linoone, Diglett and Dugtrio (AG155), then Altaria, Miltank and Deoxys (AG171–AG172); a wild Smoochum evolves into Jynx (AG168); Luna’s Scyther has become a Scizor (AG166); Brandon catches Regice off screen between AG186 and AG188; and Drew shows off a new Absol (AG180) and Butterfree (AG187), Harley an Octillery (AG160) and a Wigglytuff (AG181).

New Pokémon captured or hatched

• Mime Jr.#0439 · James · it hops into an empty Poké Ball · AG147
• Bonsly#0438 · Brock · his only on-screen Rock-type capture · AG156
• Eevee#0133 · May · hatched from her egg-farm Egg · AG157
• Deoxys#0386 · Solana · a Capture Styler capture · AG172
• Aipom#0190 · Ash · the hat thief, caught at the Grand Festival · AG182

Evolutions

• Mudkip → Marshtomp#0259 · Brock · in a practice match with Grovyle · AG148
• Phanpy → Donphan#0232 · Ash · fighting Team Rocket’s mecha · AG154
• Grovyle → Sceptile#0254 · Ash · heartbroken over Meganium · AG161
• Smoochum → Jynx#0124 · wild · the Jynx sisters’ baby sister · AG168
• Onix → Steelix#0208 · Brock · evolved off screen in Forrest’s care · AG177
• Combusken → Blaziken#0257 · May · at the Terracotta Contest · AG191

Releases, departures and returns

Nobody releases a Pokémon for good this season, but the teams change constantly. James leaves his feverish Chimecho with Nanny and Pop-Pop to recover (AG147). The Battle Frontier keeps Professor Oak’s transfer machine busy: Snorlax (AG149), Heracross (AG164) and Tauros (AG169–AG170) are called up for one facility each, Aipom is swapped for Torkoal before the Fennel Valley battle (AG186) and back again afterwards (AG188), and for the final rematch Tracey sends Bulbasaur, Squirtle arrives from the Squirtle Squad on Officer Jenny’s motorcycle and Charizard flies in from the Charicific Valley (AG189); all three go home once the Brave Symbol is won (AG190).

May has Skitty and Beautifly sent over from Petalburg City after the Grand Festival (AG187), Brock leaves Steelix at the Pewter Gym (AG177) and goes home himself in the finale, and Ash leaves Sceptile, Donphan, Corphish, Swellow and Aipom at the lab before setting off for Sinnoh with Pikachu alone — until Aipom turns out to have stowed away (AG192). Among the guest Pokémon, the cured Elekid returns to the wild (AG154), Smoochum stays with her sisters after evolving (AG168), Deoxys flies off to explore a world it now knows is full of Pokémon (AG172) and Keenan’s Sudowoodo goes home with its gold coating removed (AG173).

Pokémon Ash called up for the Battle Frontier

Pokémon	Sent from	Battle	Result
Snorlax	Professor Oak’s lab	Battle Arena v Greta (AG149)	Beats Hariyama and Medicham
Heracross	Professor Oak’s lab	Battle Palace v Spenser (AG164)	Knocked out by Venusaur’s Solar Beam
Tauros	Professor Oak’s lab	Battle Tower v Anabel (AG169–AG170)	Loses to Alakazam, then knocks out Metagross in a double KO — its last on-screen battle
Torkoal	Professor Oak’s lab, in exchange for Aipom	Battle Pyramid v Brandon (AG186)	Loses to Registeel despite its new Heat Wave; swapped back for Aipom (AG188)
Charizard	The Charicific Valley	Battle Pyramid v Brandon (AG189)	Loses to Dusclops, immune to its Seismic Toss
Bulbasaur	Professor Oak’s lab, sent by Tracey	Battle Pyramid v Brandon (AG189–AG190)	Beats Dusclops; double KO with Solrock — its last on-screen battle
Squirtle	The Squirtle Squad	Battle Pyramid v Brandon (AG190)	Beats Ninjask, loses to Solrock — its last on-screen battle

Teams at the end of the season (AG192)

Trainer	Travelling with	Left behind this season
Ash	Pikachu, Aipom (a stowaway on the boat to Sinnoh)	Sceptile, Donphan, Corphish and Swellow at Professor Oak’s lab (AG192)
May	Blaziken, Munchlax, Squirtle, Eevee	Heads for Johto alone (AG192); Skitty and Beautifly rejoined her in AG187
Brock	Marshtomp, Bonsly, Forretress	Steelix at the Pewter Gym (AG177); goes home to Pewter City (AG192)
Max	— (no Pokémon of his own)	Goes home to Petalburg City with a promise of a battle from Ash (AG192)
Jessie	Wobbuffet, Seviper, Dustox	—
James	Cacnea, Mime Jr.	Chimecho with Nanny and Pop-Pop (AG147)

Pokémon making their anime debut this season

Ten species make their first appearance in the TV series during Battle Frontier, and all but one had already been seen on the big screen: Mime Jr., Bonsly, Weavile and the three Regis in Lucario and the Mystery of Mew, Celebi in Celebi: Voice of the Forest, Deoxys in Destiny Deoxys, and Chatot in the short Pokémon 4D: Pikachu’s Ocean Adventure and the ninth movie. The exception is Gary’s Electivire (AG192), the only Generation IV Pokémon to debut outside a movie before Diamond and Pearl. Regice (AG190) is the last Generation III species to debut in a Ruby and Sapphire episode, and by Celebi’s episode (AG155) every Generation II species except Porygon2 has appeared. The main characters’ new evolutions make their debuts as well: Brock’s Marshtomp and Steelix, Ash’s Donphan and Sceptile, and May’s Eevee and Blaziken.

• Mime Jr.#0439 · AG147 · TV debut
• Celebi#0251 · AG155 · TV debut
• Bonsly#0438 · AG156 · TV debut
• Deoxys#0386 · AG171 · TV debut; first Speed Forme
• Regirock#0377 · AG178 · TV debut
• Chatot#0441 · AG184 · TV debut
• Weavile#0461 · AG185 · TV debut
• Registeel#0379 · AG186 · TV debut
• Regice#0378 · AG190 · TV debut
• Electivire#0466 · AG192 · no earlier film appearance

Key Events, Gym Battles & Tournaments

Frontier Symbols won this season

Badge	Gym & Leader	Leader’s Pokémon	Ash’s Pokémon	Result	Episode
Guts Symbol	Battle Arena · Greta, Arena Tycoon	Hariyama, Medicham	Grovyle, Snorlax	Win — the roulette wheel picks a two-on-two; Hariyama’s Focus Punch knocks out Grovyle, Snorlax’s Ice Punch freezes Hariyama, and after Rest thaws Snorlax out it turns a Hyper Beam fired at the ceiling into a Body Slam that beats Medicham	AG149
Tactics Symbol	Battle Dome · Tucker, Dome Ace	Arcanine, Swampert	Swellow, Corphish	Win — a Double Battle: Tucker’s “fusion of fire and water”, a Fire Blast fired into Swampert’s Water Pulse, knocks both of Ash’s Pokémon down, but in the smoke and fog Corphish’s Crabhammer and Swellow’s Aerial Ace knock out Arcanine and Swampert at once; the Symbol is waiting on Tucker’s hat	AG153
Luck Symbol	Battle Pike · Lucy, Pike Queen	Seviper, Milotic	Donphan, Pikachu	Win — after Team Rocket’s fake Battle Pike is exposed, Donphan’s Defense Curl and Rollout knock out Seviper; Milotic’s Hydro Pump knocks out Donphan, and Pikachu rides through Milotic’s own Twister with Volt Tackle	AG158
Spirits Symbol	Battle Palace · Spenser, Palace Maven	Shiftry, Venusaur, Claydol	Sceptile, Heracross, Swellow	Win — a three-on-three across Metallica Island’s jungle: Sceptile beats Shiftry, Venusaur’s Solar Beam beats Heracross, Swellow lures Venusaur under the clouds and beats it with Aerial Ace, Claydol’s Hyper Beam beats Swellow, and Sceptile’s brand-new Solar Beam beats Claydol	AG164
Ability Symbol	Battle Tower · Anabel, Salon Maiden	Alakazam, Metagross, Espeon	Corphish, Tauros, Pikachu	Win at the second attempt — Anabel’s silent, telepathic commands beat Ash first time round (AG169); in the rematch Corphish beats Alakazam, Tauros and Metagross knock each other out, and Pikachu’s Thunderbolt blacks out the Tower so that Espeon loses its link with Anabel and falls to Volt Tackle	AG170
Brave Symbol	Battle Pyramid · Brandon, Pyramid King	Dusclops, Ninjask, Solrock, Regice	Charizard, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Pikachu	Win at the third attempt — after Regirock beats the possessed Ash’s Sceptile (AG178) and Registeel beats Torkoal (AG186), the four-on-four rematch sees Dusclops beat Charizard, Bulbasaur beat Dusclops, Squirtle beat Ninjask, Solrock beat Squirtle and fall with Bulbasaur, and Pikachu beat Regice on an ice-covered field with Volt Tackle	AG190

The Battle Frontier (AG149–AG190)

The Battle Frontier is a chain of seven facilities spread across Kanto, each run by a Frontier Brain who awards a Symbol instead of a Badge. Ash keeps his in the Frontierfolio that Noland gave him with the first, the Knowledge Symbol (AG136), and six Symbols reveal where the seventh facility, the Battle Pyramid, is to be found. Every facility has its own style. At the Battle Arena, a dojo full of barefoot martial-arts students, a roulette wheel sets the number of Pokémon; the Battle Dome is staged like a rock concert, with a press conference and a giant screen replaying the challenger’s career; the Battle Pike belongs to a Seviper-loving Queen; the Battle Palace battle ranges over Metallica Island’s jungle, refereed by the flying robot Jamero, with only the challenger allowed to substitute; the Battle Tower’s Salon Maiden commands her Pokémon without a word; and the Battle Pyramid flies from site to site on rotors, following its King’s archaeological digs.

Every facility up to the Battle Palace falls at the first attempt. Anabel’s Alakazam and Metagross then beat Ash at the Battle Tower (AG169), his first Frontier defeat, before strategy and a blacked-out arena win the rematch (AG170). The Battle Pyramid takes three goes: Brandon’s Regirock beats the Sceptile controlled by the King of Pokélantis in an unofficial one-on-one (AG178), his Registeel beats Torkoal at Fennel Valley (AG186), and only in the four-on-four rematch under the Pyramid’s open roof (AG189–AG190) does Ash prevail. Scott, the cheerful recruiter, turns out to own the Frontier: the plaque with all seven Symbols puts Ash in its Hall of Fame and makes him a candidate for a Frontier Brain post, which he declines because he wants to keep travelling. Pikachu’s win over Regice is the second time one of Ash’s Pokémon has beaten a Legendary one-on-one, after Charizard’s win over Articuno at the Battle Factory (AG136).

May’s Kanto Contests

May arrives with one Kanto Ribbon, from Saffron City (AG144). In Silver Town (AG151) Squirtle’s appeal — a spinning Ice Beam, then a bubble full of bubbles frozen into a sculpture — takes her through, Combusken beats an Exeggutor with Fire Spin, and in the final the rock-loving salaryman Jeremy’s Venusaur cuts her points to almost nothing with two Frenzy Plants before Combusken runs up one of the giant vines and knocks it out with Sky Uppercut, three seconds from time. In Wisteria Town (AG160) Squirtle tops the appeals with a frozen fountain and Munchlax beats a Politoed, but Harley’s Octillery wraps Munchlax in Constrict, sleeps off a Metronome Thunder with Rest and wins with Octazooka — May’s first Kanto defeat and Harley’s fourth Ribbon, the only one he is ever shown winning. On Chrysanthemum Island (AG162) Munchlax recovers from a Metronome-induced nap in mid-appeal by catching a Pokéblock, and Combusken beats Jessie’s Mime Jr. and then Brianna’s Vibrava, with a newly learned Mega Kick, for the Chrysanthemum Ribbon.

In Gardenia Town (AG167) Brock enters his first Contest with a Contest Pass of his own, earns a strong score with Bonsly’s baseball-juggling Flail and beats Mollie’s Absol with Marshtomp; the final is May’s only battle against him, and although Marshtomp floods the field with mud to stop Eevee’s Dig, Eevee hops between the mounds and wins on points for the Gardenia Ribbon. Mulberry City (AG174–AG175) holds the last Contest before the Grand Festival. Harley, who already has five Ribbons, lends “Jessiebelle” his Cacturne and Banette and has James and Meowth trip May with Ariados’s webs, which Combusken’s Fire Spin turns into a dazzling appeal. Squirtle beats a Skarmory on points, and the final against Banette’s Thunder, Will-O-Wisp and Frustration ends level, so Lilian calls Sudden Death Overtime — no time limit, until one side has no points left — and Ice Beam and Tackle win May the Mulberry Ribbon, her fifth, and a place at Indigo Plateau.

The Kanto Grand Festival (AG180–AG182)

Entry needs five Kanto Ribbons, and 270 Coordinators qualify — enough, Bulbapedia notes, to imply at least 1,350 Contests across Kanto. The one-move preliminaries run in two stadiums, one judged by Raoul Contesta, Mr. Sukizo, a Nurse Joy and the guest judge Vivian Meridian from Hoenn, the other by three Nurse Joys with “Jessadia” announcing; the top 64 then give full performances for 16 places in the Double Battle rounds, drawn at random up to the semi-finals. In the preliminaries May’s Combusken slices a frisbee with Sky Uppercut, and in the second round her Munchlax strikes a sphere of Solar Beam energy with Focus Punch to ring it like a bell.

In the round of sixteen Munchlax and Eevee beat Harley’s Cacturne and Wigglytuff, a Focus Punch-powered Shadow Ball and some deliberate misses driving Harley’s points to zero. The quarter-final is May’s third against Drew at that stage of a competition: his “Dragon Formation” of Razor Wind and Dragon Breath meets a fire-and-water combination borrowed from Tucker, Squirtle’s Ice Beam knocks out Flygon, and Combusken learns Overheat and beats Absol with Sky Uppercut as time runs out. In the semi-final Solidad’s Pidgeot and Slowbro blunt Munchlax and Combusken with Psychic, Feather Dance and Yawn and finish them with Aerial Ace and Hyper Beam. The known placings are Solidad winner (the Ribbon Cup and the title of Top Coordinator), May Top 4, Drew Top 8 and Harley Top 16; the runner-up is never named.

The Terracotta Contest & other battles

With the Frontier won, Ash enters his first Contest in Terracotta Town (AG191–AG192), an unofficial event that needs no Contest Pass, with Nurse Joy as the judge. Pikachu’s rings of electricity and Eevee’s Shadow Ball fireworks put May first and Ash second in the appeals, and the final pits Sceptile against the newly evolved Blaziken. With Overgrow and Blaze both activated, Solar Beam and Overheat collide at the buzzer, the scores are level and Sceptile slices the prize in half — the only Contest Ash has ever won, and the only one in which Pikachu has ever taken part.

Along the way Ash’s Corphish beats Mr. Saridakis’s Crawdaunt at Olden Pond (AG152) and two opponents at Butch and Cassidy’s fake Sable City tournament (AG176), but loses to Fennel Valley’s Nurse Joy, whose Chansey turns ferocious the moment its Trainer takes off her cap (AG186); Donphan and Brock’s Steelix defend the Pewter Gym against Team Rocket’s borrowed Charizard and Aggron in a tag battle (AG177); James and Mime Jr. win Potpourri Island’s Pokémon Orienteering and its Teamwork Medal (AG159); May loses a practice Contest Battle to Drew’s Roselia and new Butterfree, judged by Professor Oak and Scott (AG187); and in Pallet Town Gary’s Electivire blocks Volt Tackle with Protect and beats Pikachu with Thunder Punch (AG192).

Movies & Specials Released During the Season

The ninth movie, Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea (ポケモンレンジャーと蒼海の王子 マナフィ), opened in Japanese cinemas on 15 July 2006, between Aipom and Circumstance! (AG183) and Strategy Tomorrow – Comedy Tonight! (AG184), and ran for six weeks. Directed by Kunihiko Yuyama from a screenplay by Hideki Sonoda, who also wrote the season finale, it introduced Manaphy, Buizel and Mantyke and gave Solana a cameo; the Japanese opening Spurt! had been trailing its hero, Jack Walker, since AG171 — the first time a character from a movie alone appeared in the TV series. The Japanese DVD followed on 22 December 2006. In the US the film premiered on Cartoon Network on 23 March 2007, three weeks after the season ended, and reached DVD on 3 April 2007.

The eighth movie, Lucario and the Mystery of Mew, had opened in Japan in July 2005, before the season began, and TV Tokyo showed it in the anime’s Thursday slot on 13 July 2006, two days before the ninth film opened. Its English version — the last Pokémon production dubbed by 4Kids — reached US DVD on 19 September 2006, in the second week of the Cartoon Network run (Australia had it on 16 August 2006). It is the source of most of the season’s “debuts”: Mime Jr., Bonsly, Weavile, Regirock, Registeel and Regice had all appeared in it first.

The season had company on television, too. Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Team Go-Getters Out of the Gate!, a special adapting Red Rescue Team and Blue Rescue Team, premiered on Cartoon Network on 8 September 2006 immediately before Fear Factor Phony — another US-before-Japan premiere, as TV Tokyo did not show it until 23 March 2007. The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon, the new English cast’s first outing, had aired on Kids’ WB on 29 April 2006 and was streamed in Japan from 13 October 2006. In Japan the short Pikachu’s Ghost Carnival (PK15), first shown on ANA flights in August 2005, came out on DVD on 16 June 2006 with Fear Factor Phony as a bonus episode, and Pokémon 4D: Pikachu’s Ocean Adventure (PK16), which debuted Chatot, Manaphy, Mantyke and Buizel, opened on 20 May 2006 to promote the ninth film.

Side Stories, Specials & Crossovers

Side-story tie-ins

• Pokémon Chronicles, the dub of the Weekly Pokémon Broadcasting Station side stories, was still running on Cartoon Network’s Toonami block when the season began, from 3 June to 25 November 2006 — Luvdisc Is a Many Splendored Thing! and Those Darn Electabuzz! aired on 23 September, and the run closed with Pikachu’s Winter Vacation; the video-on-demand service Toonami Jetstream added Chronicles and The Johto Journeys from 9 October 2006.
• Pokémon Sunday, TV Tokyo’s Sunday companion show, ran its Pokémon Research and Pokémon Revival segments throughout the Japanese run — Revival reran the Deoxys two-parter on 23 and 30 July 2006 — and used Battle Frontier (PS053–PS059) and then Spurt! (from PS074) as its ending; a trailer for the ninth movie made for the show alludes to The Green Guardian (AG155).
• The Christmas and Ranger specials. In Japan Time Warp Heals All Wounds (AG157) went out on 22 December 2005 as part of a two-hour Christmas special with the sixth movie, Jirachi: Wish Maker, and the Deoxys two-parter (AG171–AG172) was shown as a one-hour special on 13 April 2006 to promote Pokémon Ranger — an hour-long special in the US, too, on 28 October 2006.
• Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Team Go-Getters Out of the Gate! led into the US premiere on 8 September 2006, and the shorts Pikachu’s Ghost Carnival (PK15) and Pokémon 4D: Pikachu’s Ocean Adventure (PK16) appeared in Japan during the season — see Movies & Specials.

Characters from the games, manga and specials

• The Battle Frontier, its seven facilities, the Frontier Brains and their Symbols come from Pokémon Emerald, with some rules changed; Japanese Wikipedia notes that the arc mixes elements of FireRed and LeafGreen and Emerald, and the anime moves the whole Frontier from Hoenn to Kanto.
• Solana, her Capture Styler and the Ranger Union come from the DS game Pokémon Ranger, released in Japan on 23 March 2006: she is its player character, the Celebi episode (AG155) reuses its music, and the Deoxys two-parter (AG171–AG172) was made to promote it.
• Brandon’s Regis — Regirock, Registeel and Regice — are the Legendary golems of Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald; the ruins he explores and the King of Pokélantis are inventions of the anime, whose boulder traps parody Raiders of the Lost Ark. The Deoxys episodes refer to Professor Lund’s research in LaRousse City, making the seventh movie, Destiny Deoxys, canon.
• Sinnoh is on the way. Mime Jr., Bonsly, Chatot, Weavile and Electivire all appear before Diamond and Pearl was released in Japan on 28 September 2006, two weeks after the finale; Gary’s postcard (AG187) is the anime’s first mention of Sinnoh, AG192 is the first to name Sandgem Town in English and to mention Professor Rowan, and Dawn narrates its next-episode preview.
• Pokémon Mystery Dungeon got its own plug in Japan: on 17 November 2005, the day Red Rescue Team and Blue Rescue Team launched, On Olden Pond (AG152) aired with the games’ box art in place of Weavile and the Mew-and-Lucario shot in the opening.
• Brock’s family returns in Grating Spaces! (AG177): his father Flint, his brother Forrest, now running the Pewter Gym, and his mother Lola in her main-series debut — with a Delibird from Team Rocket HQ in its only Ruby and Sapphire appearance.

Opening & Ending Themes

Battle Frontier is a season of new songs on both sides of the Pacific. In Japan Akina Takaya’s Battle Frontier, the first opening to be updated as the story moved on, ran to AG165 before Rica Matsumoto returned, in character as Satoshi, with Spurt!, the last Advanced Generation opening; the ending moved from the Pokémon Counting Song to a newly animated cut of GARDEN’s GLORY DAY at AG150 and to May’s own theme, sung by her voice actress KAORI., at AG173. The new English dub opened every episode with Jason Appleton’s Battle Frontier, built from clips of Spurt! and the season itself, and — for the only time in a Western season — closed with a song of its own: a shortened cut of the rap section of Pokémon Go!, performed by Atsushi “Toya” Tokuya over the credits with no background animation. As usual, the Japanese openings and endings were never dubbed.

Japan’s background music draws on the whole series: Battle Frontier itself backs several of the Frontier battles, the Pokémon Symphonic Medley returns in a dozen episodes, Smile plays as James says goodbye to Chimecho (AG147), OK! as the newly evolved Sceptile faces Team Rocket (AG161), Advance Adventure in its vocal (AG156) and ballad (AG187) versions, and May’s theme in karaoke and instrumental cuts through the Mulberry Contest and the Terracotta final; the scores of Celebi, Jirachi, Destiny Deoxys and Lucario are reused throughout. The English dub replaced most Japanese vocal cues with a mix of 4Kids-era stock music (first in AG149) and new Pokémon USA tracks — “Best Friends” for Smile in AG147, a piano, bass and maracas “Takeshi’s Paradise” in AG184, “Dance of the Bellossom” from the Pokémon the Movie 2000 soundtrack in AG191 — but kept Polka O Dolka for Mime Jr.’s Teeter Dance in AG165, with Meowth singing in Maddie Blaustein’s old recording, and from AG174 the Pokémon Contest theme. Dogasu’s Backpack called the dub music in the finale “absolutely atrocious”.

Battle Frontier — Jason Appleton’s English opening, used for all 47 episodes. Video: The Official Pokémon YouTube channel.

TV Broadcasts & Original Airing Dates

Japan. TV Tokyo broadcast the season on Thursday evenings at 7 p.m. from 6 October 2005 (Fear Factor Phony), a week after the end of Advanced Battle, to 14 September 2006 (Home is Where the Start Is!); Diamond and Pearl began on 28 September 2006, the day the games of the same name went on sale. From AG146 each episode opened with a cold open — a first for the Japanese version, although the dub had used them since EP145 — and the Pokémon Trivia Quiz question moved to after the ending, with the answer after the next-episode preview. There was no episode on 29 December 2005, a week after Time Warp Heals All Wounds had gone out in a two-hour Christmas special with Jirachi: Wish Maker; on 6 April 2006, before the one-hour Pokémon Ranger special of 13 April; on 1 June 2006, for no recorded reason; or on 13 July 2006, when the slot showed Lucario and the Mystery of Mew. Japan has no “season 9”: these are the last 47 episodes of the 192-episode Advanced Generation series, and the rental DVDs brand them, from AG135 on, as Advanced Generation 2006: Battle Frontier.

The move to Cartoon Network. In 2006 Kids’ WB announced that it would drop the programmes it did not own, and in June Anime News Network reported that the new season would air “exclusively on Cartoon Network this fall”. Battle Frontier premiered there on Friday 8 September 2006 in prime time, straight after the US premiere of the special Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Team Go-Getters Out of the Gate!, and then joined the channel’s 2006–07 Saturday-morning line-up; Kids’ WB’s Pokémon reruns ended that month. Cartoon Network went on to premiere every new season up to XYZ, Season 19.

The US schedule. AG146 was followed the next morning by AG147, and from 16 September Cartoon Network usually showed two new episodes each Saturday. On 28 October 2006 the Pokémon Ranger two-parter (AG171–AG172) went out as an hour-long special alongside AG160 and AG161, ahead of nine earlier episodes, to promote the DS game, which was about to reach North American shops. Ka Boom With a View! (AG164) premiered on Friday 10 November according to Bulbapedia and pocketmonsters.net. From 27 November to 14 December the series ran Monday to Thursday, covering AG170 and AG173–AG183 — the whole Grand Festival included; after a holiday break it returned to Saturdays on 6 January 2007 and ended with Home is Where the Start Is! on 3 March 2007. Three weeks later, on 23 March, Cartoon Network premiered the ninth movie.

The numbering. There are 47 episodes in every count: all 47 aired in Japan, all were dubbed and shown on Cartoon Network, and the same 47 are on every English DVD release. That makes Battle Frontier the first season with fewer than 52 episodes; Dogasu’s Backpack says it was announced at 52 and cut short so that Season 10 could begin with the first Diamond and Pearl episode. Bulbapedia’s alternate overall numbers are EP420–EP466, English Wikipedia counts the season as episodes 422–468 in Japan and 418–464 in English, and Dogasu’s Backpack and pocketmonsters.net, which count the unaired 2004 earthquake episode, run one higher. English Wikipedia’s US dates, from 7 October 2006 to 19 May 2007, match no other source; ours follow Bulbapedia, cross-checked against pocketmonsters.net’s calendars and Dogasu’s Backpack.

Elsewhere. Cartoon Network UK gave the season its British premiere, and it reached free-to-air television on CITV’s Action Stations! block in autumn 2008 — from 30 October according to Bulbapedia’s season page, which calls it the series’ first time on Freeview, or from September according to its history of Pokémon in the UK. Flanders skipped the season altogether, going straight from Advanced Battle to Diamond and Pearl, although the Netherlands showed it. From AG146 the Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish dubs stopped translating move names, and the Hindi dub has its narrator parody the actor Dharmendra in every episode; when the season later reached Pokémon TV, the Castilian Spanish version at first left out Odd Pokémon Out! (AG161) and the Brazilian one Thinning the Hoard! (AG181). Australian and Canadian premiere dates have not been found.

After the season. Diamond and Pearl followed on Cartoon Network with a three-episode “TV movie” on 20 April 2007, keeping the cast and narrator introduced here. Today the season is on the Pokémon TV channel on YouTube (see Where to Watch).

The New Dub, Edits & Censorship

Changes in the English version

A new dub. After 4Kids Entertainment lost the licence at the end of 2005, Pokémon USA — today The Pokémon Company International — took the English version in-house, recording it at TAJ Productions in New York with Armen Mazlumian as voice director and James Carter Cathcart, the dub’s long-serving script adapter, now writing every episode alone. The whole main cast was replaced: the change was discovered on 21 March 2006 and first heard in The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon on 29 April, and from AG146 Sarah Natochenny voices Ash, Michele Knotz May and Jessie, Kayzie Rogers (as “Jamie Peacock”) Max, Wobbuffet and Mime Jr., Bill Rogers Brock, and Cathcart himself (as “Billy Beach”) James and Meowth, while Rodger Parsons, the narrator of the early seasons, returns under his own name. Pokémon USA cited “conflicting contractual commitments”; Veronica Taylor, Eric Stuart, Rachael Lillis and Maddie Blaustein said they had never been asked to continue (see Reception). The new dub also brought a new title-card font and theme, a new opening and an ending song of its own, Pokémon Go!.

A lighter touch — and no quiz. Dogasu’s Backpack found that Fear Factor Phony was the first episode since The Johto Journeys with no time cuts at all — one second was trimmed from the “To be continued” card, possibly by the encoder — that its signs were left unedited and that three Japanese music cues survived. Later episodes typically add three seconds to the “To be continued” and “Next time” cards (AG182, AG190, AG192) and lose a one-second fade for Cartoon Network’s ad breaks (AG182). There are no eyecatches and no mid-episode quiz: Pokémon Trainer’s Choice ended with AG145, AG146 is the first English episode without an eyecatch, and Who’s That Pokémon? did not return until Black & White (BW001). Japan had no eyecatches either; its Pokémon Trivia Quiz, shown after the ending of every episode in a new, less pun-based format of clip questions, shiritori chains, memory tests and puzzles, was never dubbed. Most Japanese vocal music was still replaced, with 4Kids-era stock cues and new tracks (see Music).

Dialogue changes. The script still takes liberties. Meowth’s and Brock’s explanation that the ghost was made with Confuse Ray is dropped (AG146); James calls Chimecho “Chime”, and Nanny and Pop-Pop become his grandparents rather than his caretakers (AG147); the first broadcast of AG148 had Max call Mud Shot an “Earth-type” move and the Pokédex call Marshtomp the “Mud Pokémon”, both fixed later; James’s Japanese joke that the plan was foiled by an “Egg Move” — Volt Tackle — goes (AG150); Solana calls Celebi “Legendary”, as English had no “Mythical” category yet (AG155); Barbara becomes Lucy’s sister (AG158); Bonsly’s “Uso!” pun disappears (AG160); Jessie’s nickname “Deoki-chan” is dropped and the cold open of AG171 is rewritten with lines such as “Raise the roof” — “pretty horrific”, according to Dogasu; Harley’s “Haruka boys” become “boy toys” (AG174) and his threats grow more violent (AG182); and Giovanni tells a knock-knock joke in place of a game of shiritori (AG184).

Slips and fourth-wall jokes. Team Rocket’s split in AG176 brings a “Team Nitwit” and a joint motto that Butch and Cassidy flub in English (in Japanese the two teams recite different mottos and argue); the dub says “Top 4” where the Japanese has the Top 8 (AG181); hints that Brandon is after an Ice type are removed (AG186, AG188); Team Rocket complain that they have waited “nine seasons” (AG189); the narrator calls the rematch Ash’s “last chance”, while Regirock, Registeel and Lock-On go unnamed (AG190); and Ash calls Sinnoh an “island” (AG192). The English title card of Spontaneous Combusken! misspelt “Combusken”, an error fixed in most later releases but not on the DVD or Pokémon TV (AG162); the end credits misspell TV Tokyo as “TV Tok’o’yo”, and until AG157 drop the accent from “The Pokémon Company”. Camera shakes are removed from AG172 and a dodge-and-Dragon Breath command becomes an Iron Tail rock shield in AG177. Some Pokémon keep their Japanese voices — Spenser’s Claydol (AG164), Anabel’s Espeon (AG170), Deoxys (AG171), Regice and Solrock (AG190) — and stock recordings of the 4Kids actors still voice many wild Pokémon.

Other dubs. The season’s foreign versions have their own quirks. The Hindi Hungama TV dub gives Nicolette’s family a Gujarati accent (AG150) and has Max compare Brock to a politician (AG158), and the Hindi Disney XD dub retitles most episodes; the Danish dub gives Ada’s comedy duo a North Sea theme (AG184), and the Portuguese dubs leave Chatot speaking English with subtitles; the Latin American Spanish dub makes Deoxys female (AG171) and calls Wigglytuff “Jigglytuff” (AG181); the Brazilian dub calls Leaf Blade “Razor Leaf” (AG156) and drops the name of Helping Hand (AG155); the Finnish dub has Max read out a title card (AG159) and Scott own “the Frontier Brain” (AG189); and the Netherlands aired the two Deoxys episodes as one.

Episode titles explained

Almost every English title is a pun or a pop-culture reference. A few worth decoding:

• Fear Factor Phony — the TV show Fear Factor; the “ghost” is a phony
• Sweet Baby James — James Taylor’s song “Sweet Baby James”
• A Chip Off the Old Brock — “a chip off the old block”, which Brock once said of his brother Forrest
• Wheel of Frontier — Wheel of Fortune, whose opening Ash and May chant
• May’s Egg-Cellent Adventure — “excellent”
• On Olden Pond — the 1981 film On Golden Pond
• Reversing the Charges — a reverse-charge call, and an overcharged Elekid
• From Cradle to Save — “from cradle to grave”
• Time Warp Heals All Wounds — “time heals all wounds”
• Queen of the Serpentine! — the Pike Queen and her serpentine Seviper
• Off the Unbeaten Path — “off the beaten path”
• Harley Rides Again — Harley-Davidson, or the film Herbie Rides Again
• Odd Pokémon Out! — “odd man out”
• Spontaneous Combusken! — spontaneous combustion
• Cutting the Ties that Bind! — “the ties that bind”
• Ka Boom With a View! — E. M. Forster’s A Room with a View
• King and Queen for a Day! — the game show Queen for a Day
• Curbing the Crimson Tide! — probably the Alabama Crimson Tide, for a red Scizor
• What I Did for Love! — the song from A Chorus Line
• Three Jynx and a Baby! — the 1987 film Three Men and a Baby
• Talking a Good Game! — to “talk a good game”, for a Brain who never says a word
• Second Time’s the Charm! — “third time’s the charm”
• All That Glitters is Not Golden! — the Merchant of Venice line “All that glisters is not gold”, already used for EP184
• Going for Choke! — “go for broke”
• The Ole’ Berate and Switch! — the old “bait and switch”
• Grating Spaces! — the makeover show Trading Spaces
• Battling the Enemy Within! — “the enemy within”, for Ash’s possession
• Slaking Kong! — King Kong, a title suggested by Brock’s English voice actor, Bill Rogers
• May, We Harley Drew’d Ya! — “…we hardly knew ye”
• Thinning the Hoard! — “thinning the herd”
• Aipom and Circumstance! — Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance, after a line in Othello
• Strategy Tomorrow – Comedy Tonight! — Sondheim’s “Comedy Tonight”: “tragedy tomorrow, comedy tonight”
• Overjoyed! — the overpowering Nurse Joy of Fennel Valley
• The Unbeatable Lightness of Seeing! — Milan Kundera’s novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being
• Pinch Healing! — “pinch hitting”
• Gathering the Gang of Four! — Ash’s original four Pokémon, reunited
• Pace – The Final Frontier! — Star Trek’s “Space: the final frontier”
• Once More With Reeling! — “once more with feeling”
• Home is Where the Start Is! — “home is where the heart is”

DVD & Blu-ray / Streaming

Battle Frontier came out in North America in two three-disc volumes from VIZ Media in 2008, with no single-disc releases, followed by a six-disc Complete Collection in 2019; all of them hold the same 47 episodes as the TV run. Australia and New Zealand got a Super Wallet with a bonus special and a long line of repackaged disc sets. No UK DVD release of the season is known.

North America (Region 1)

Release	Date	Contents
Pokémon: Battle Frontier Volume 1 (VIZ Media, three single-disc cases in a box, DPMBBS01)	24 June 2008	Episodes 1–24: AG146–AG153, AG154–AG161 and AG162–AG169
Pokémon: Battle Frontier Volume 2 (DPMBBS02)	16 September 2008	Episodes 25–47: AG170–AG177, AG178–AG185 and AG186–AG192; English closed captions are the only extra on either volume
Pokémon Battle Frontier – The Complete Collection (6 DVDs, VIZ Media via Warner Home Video)	8 January 2019	All 47 episodes in one case with a slipcover, in the same disc groupings, with English SDH subtitles; announced on 18 December 2018 at a list price of US$54.97

Australia & New Zealand (Region 4)

Release	Date	Notes
Pokémon Season 9 Super Wallet (11 discs, Magna Pacific, DSW12994)	4 March 2009	Ten discs of four or five episodes, from AG146–AG149 to AG188–AG192, plus The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon as a bonus disc; Luxury Ball and Premier Ball disc art; no captions on any Region 4 set
Season 9 DigiPack disc set (6 discs, DBX13191)	2 March 2011 (NZ 12 May 2011)	Discs 9.1–9.6 themed on Kirlia (AG146–AG152), Swampert, Combusken, Deoxys, Absol and Dusclops (AG185–AG192); JB Hi-Fi 20th-anniversary reissues on 14 July (online) and 21 September 2016
Slimline reissue (Beyond Home Entertainment, BHE5393)	2 April 2014	The six-disc set repackaged
Shock Entertainment reissue (KAL5660B)	2 June 2021 (NZ 21 July 2021)	The six-disc set repackaged again
Multi-season sets	—	The season is also in the Kanto and Orange Islands collections, the Ruby and Sapphire – Limited Edition Collection, the Heritage Collection and the Seasons 1–19 Deluxe, 1–20 Ultra and 1–21 Mega box sets

Japan

In Japan the episodes went out on rental DVDs from Media Factory and Shogakukan, three episodes per disc, in the line Pocket Monsters Advanced Generation 2006: Battle Frontier (ポケットモンスター アドバンスジェネレーション2006 バトルフロンティア), which began with AG135 on 28 April 2006. Vol. 8 (ZMBS-938R, AG156–AG158) came out on 22 September 2006, the Deoxys two-parter had a disc of its own, Pokémon Ranger! Deoxys Crisis!! (ZMBS-950, 29 September 2006), and the line ended on 23 March 2007 with Vol. 18 (ZMBS-948R, AG188–AG190) and Vol. 19 (ZMBS-949R, AG191–AG192); the contents of the other volumes have not been confirmed. Fear Factor Phony was also a bonus episode on the DVD of the short Pikachu’s Ghost Carnival (16 June 2006), and the ninth movie came out on DVD on 22 December 2006.

Streaming

Pokémon TV added the whole season on 2 April 2021, a month after Season 8, and later rotated it with the other seasons until the service closed on 28 March 2024 (app access had ended on 8 January). The Pokémon TV channel on YouTube began posting Season 9 around 24 May 2026, five episodes a week, in 14 dub languages — English, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Brazilian and European Portuguese, Russian, Castilian and Latin American Spanish, and Swedish — with English and Latin American Spanish captions. Amazon Prime Video has also listed the season; its availability on Netflix and Hulu is not documented. Check your local service, as availability changes often.

Covers

• Pokémon: Battle Frontier Volume 1 box (Region 1, 2008)
• Pokémon: Battle Frontier Volume 2 box (Region 1, 2008)
• The Complete Collection (Region 1, 2019)
• Season 9 Super Wallet (Region 4, 2009)
• Season 9 DigiPack (Region 4, 2011)
• Pokémon Ranger! Deoxys Crisis!! DVD (Japan, 2006)

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 been posting Season 9 since May 2026, in English and 13 other dub languages (as of October 2026).
• DVD – North AmericaPokémon Battle Frontier – The Complete Collection (VIZ Media, 6 discs, 2019) has all 47 episodes in one case.
• DVD – Australia & New ZealandThe Season 9 disc sets have been reissued several times, most recently by Shock Entertainment in 2021, and the season is part of several multi-season box sets.
• Prime VideoAmazon Prime Video has listed the season; check whether it is available in your region.
• Not confirmedSeason 9 on Netflix, Hulu and the digital stores has not been confirmed for this page, and Pokémon TV closed in March 2024.

Trading Cards Released During the Season

Pokémon: Battle Frontier aired in the US at the end of the trading card game’s EX era. EX Crystal Guardians and the promotional POP Series 4 were new when the season premiered, and two more expansions followed while the episodes were fresh:

• EX Crystal Guardians — 30 August 2006 — on sale when the season premiered
• POP Series 4 — August 2006 — promotional packs, tournament-legal from September, with reprints of Sceptile and a Speed Forme Deoxys ex
• EX Dragon Frontiers — 8 November 2006 — between the Chrysanthemum Contest (AG162) and the Spirits Symbol (AG164) on Cartoon Network
• EX Power Keepers — 14 February 2007 — between Dusclops’s win over Charizard (AG189) and the Brave Symbol (AG190), with a Battle Frontier Stadium card and a Scott Supporter

In Japan many of these cards had appeared earlier — EX Dragon Frontiers is the English version of the June 2006 expansion Offense and Defense of the Furthest Ends (さいはての攻防) — while EX Power Keepers reached Japan only afterwards, as the World Champions Pack of July 2007. The first Diamond & Pearl set followed in the US in May 2007, two months after the finale.

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

Three cards from those sets tie straight into the season:

• Dusclops · EX Power Keepers 14/108EX Power Keepers went on sale on 14 February 2007, four days after Brandon’s Dusclops knocked out Ash’s Charizard in the US broadcast of Gathering the Gang of Four! (AG189, 10 February 2007) and three days before Bulbasaur’s Solar Beam brought it down in Pace – The Final Frontier! (AG190, 17 February 2007).
• Blaziken · EX Power Keepers 5/108Reprinted with new artwork by Masakazu Fukuda in EX Power Keepers (14 February 2007), ten days before May’s Combusken evolved into Blaziken in the US broadcast of Once More With Reeling! (AG191, 24 February 2007).
• Milotic δ · EX Dragon Frontiers 5/101EX Dragon Frontiers (8 November 2006) brought a delta-species Milotic 18 days after Pike Queen Lucy’s Milotic knocked out Donphan with Hydro Pump before falling to Pikachu’s Volt Tackle in the US broadcast of Queen of the Serpentine! (AG158, 21 October 2006).

Firsts & Lasts

• First season dubbed by Pokémon USA and the first to premiere on Cartoon Network: Fear Factor Phony (AG146), also the first English episode without an eyecatch.
• First cold open in the Japanese version: AG146, 262 episodes after the dub began using them in EP145.
• First season with fewer than 52 episodes (47), and the only Western season with an ending song of its own, Pokémon Go!.
• First of Ash’s Pokémon to evolve outside the region where it was caught: Phanpy into Donphan (AG154).
• First Water-type first partner of a main character to evolve: Brock’s Mudkip into Marshtomp (AG148).
• First time a main character’s Pokémon is revealed to have evolved off screen: Brock’s Onix, now a Steelix (AG177).
• First movie-only character in the TV series: Jack Walker, in Spurt! from AG171; first English two-parter to keep “Part 1” and “Part 2” in its titles (AG171–AG172).
• First episode featuring a caught Legendary Pokémon, and Ash’s first possession by an evil spirit: Battling the Enemy Within! (AG178).
• First gender difference shown in the anime — a female Sneasel’s shorter ear feather (AG185) — and the first mention of Sinnoh, on Gary’s postcard (AG187).
• Only Contest Ash has won, shared with May, and the only one Pikachu has entered: Terracotta Town (AG191–AG192).
• Last physical appearance of Kadabra in the TV series (AG146) and the last “Looks like Team Rocket’s blasting off again!” in English (AG168).
• Last on-screen battles of Ash’s Tauros (AG170), Bulbasaur and Squirtle (AG190), and Scott’s last appearance (AG190).
• Last speaking roles of Drew and Harley (AG187), the last Ruby and Sapphire character of the day (AG188) and Max’s last speaking appearance (AG192).
• Last Advanced Generation episode and the last animated at 24 frames per second until Sun & Moon: Home is Where the Start Is! (AG192).

Trivia & Facts

• A new English voice. Fear Factor Phony (AG146) is the first episode dubbed by Pokémon USA at TAJ Productions and the first with Sarah Natochenny as Ash, Michele Knotz as May and Jessie, Kayzie Rogers (as “Jamie Peacock”) as Max and Bill Rogers as Brock. Rodger Parsons, who narrated the early seasons as “Ken Gates”, returns under his own name, and James Carter Cathcart, who adapts every script, voices James and Meowth as “Billy Beach” — and, from AG186, Professor Oak.
• A new network. Battle Frontier is the first season to premiere on Cartoon Network, which kept the series until XYZ; AG146 aired on a Friday night straight after the US-first special Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Team Go-Getters Out of the Gate!.
• It is the only Western season with an ending song of its own, Pokémon Go!, rather than a cut-down opening; Jason Appleton’s Battle Frontier is the only English opening never also used as an ending; and this is the only English Ruby and Sapphire season without “Advanced” in its title.
• At 47 episodes Battle Frontier was the shortest season yet. Dogasu’s Backpack, which reports that it was announced at 52, joked that cutting it short was “cheating Cartoon Network out of a handful of episodes”.
• Fear Factor Phony (AG146) is Kadabra’s last physical appearance in the TV series to date — generally linked to Uri Geller’s lawsuit — and Kadabra did not appear in the flesh again until Pokémon Evolutions, more than 15 years later.
• May’s Egg-Cellent Adventure (AG150) is the first Ruby and Sapphire episode without a single Generation III Pokémon, and the first with no Pokémon from the current generation at all.
• Brock has a big season: Bonsly (AG156) is his only on-screen Rock-type capture and the only time he battles to catch a Pokémon on screen, his Gardenia Contest final against May (AG167) is their only battle, and his Steelix (AG177) is the first Pokémon of a main character revealed to have evolved off screen.
• Brandon uses all three Regis against Ash. Pikachu’s win over Regice (AG190) is the second time one of Ash’s Pokémon has beaten a Legendary, after Charizard’s win over Articuno (AG136), and Battling the Enemy Within! (AG178), with Brandon’s Regirock, is the first episode to feature a caught Legendary Pokémon.
  

  

• In Battling the Enemy Within! (AG178) Ash is possessed for the first time by an evil entity, the spirit of the King of Pokélantis — it happens again in the eighteenth movie and in JN091.
• Pokémon Ranger – Deoxys’ Crisis! (AG171–AG172) is Japan’s sixth two-parter and the first English two-parter to keep “Part 1” and “Part 2” in its titles. It gives Deoxys’s Speed Forme its anime debut and makes Destiny Deoxys canon, and while it aired the opening Spurt! showed the ninth movie’s Jack Walker, the first movie-only character to appear in the TV series.
• Sinnoh is coming. Mime Jr., Bonsly, Chatot, Weavile and Electivire all appear before Diamond and Pearl; Gary’s postcard in AG187 is the anime’s first mention of Sinnoh; and AG192 debuts Electivire — the only Generation IV Pokémon to debut outside a movie before Diamond and Pearl — names Sandgem Town in English for the first time and has Dawn narrate the next-episode preview.
• The Unbeatable Lightness of Seeing! (AG187) drew a 4.0% rating in Japan, the lowest of any Ruby and Sapphire episode and the lowest of the whole anime until BW077.
• Ash’s first Contest, in Terracotta Town (AG191–AG192), ends in a tie with May — the only Contest Ash has won and the only one Pikachu has ever entered. There May’s Combusken becomes the first Fire-type first partner of a main character other than Ash to reach its final form, and its Blaze is the only time an Ability of one of May’s Pokémon activates.
  

  

• Technical milestones. AG146 is the Japanese version’s first cold open, Duels of the Jungle! (AG185) the anime’s first depiction of a gender difference — a female Sneasel’s shorter ear feather — Pinch Healing! (AG188) its first depiction of Water Absorb, and Home is Where the Start Is! (AG192) the last episode animated at 24 frames per second until SM001, as Diamond and Pearl, Black & White and XY used 30.
• Behind the scenes. Series director Masamitsu Hidaka’s credit ends with AG158, although he keeps storyboarding; AG159–AG170 and AG173 have no credited director, which Japanese Wikipedia attributes to “director training”, and Norihiko Sudō is credited from AG171. OLM’s Team Iguchi takes over from Team Ota (AG173 is Team Ota’s last episode), and executive producer Kunihiko Yuyama storyboards The Green Guardian (AG155) and is caricatured as the TV director in King and Queen for a Day! (AG165).
• Voice notes. Ikue Ōtani was on maternity leave for part of the Japanese run — Tomoe Hanba voiced Mime Jr. in AG161 and Chinami Nishimura Harley’s Banette in AG174 — and returned in AG176; Giovanni’s Japanese voice actor, Hirotaka Suzuoki, died on 7 August 2006. In English Bill Rogers modelled Tucker’s voice on Kenta Miyake’s Japanese performance, and Sarah Natochenny voices Solidad as well as, from AG192, Delia.
• AG192 is EP466 in Bulbapedia’s alternate overall count — the same number as Electivire in the National Pokédex, and Electivire debuts in it.
• Lasts. Tauros’s last on-screen battle comes in AG170, Jynx’s last TV-series appearance in AG168, Drew’s and Harley’s last speaking roles in AG187, the last Ruby and Sapphire character of the day in AG188, the last battles of Ash’s Bulbasaur and Squirtle and Scott’s last appearance in AG190, and Max’s last speaking appearance — and Gary’s only physical one in Ruby and Sapphire — in AG192.
• Games and cards. The Frontier and its Brains come from Pokémon Emerald, the Japanese opening swapped in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon box art on the games’ launch day (AG152, 17 November 2005), and the Deoxys special promotes Pokémon Ranger. The trading card expansions released during the US run were EX Dragon Frontiers and EX Power Keepers, with EX Crystal Guardians newly on sale at the premiere; EX Power Keepers, built around Emerald, even has a “Battle Frontier” Stadium card (71/108) and a Scott Supporter (81/108) — see our TCG section.

Reception

Ratings. Only scattered figures are documented. In Japan The Unbeatable Lightness of Seeing! (AG187) drew a 4.0% rating, the lowest of the Ruby and Sapphire series and of the whole anime until BW077, while Advanced Generation as a whole peaked at 11.0% with its first episode and averaged 7.1% in the Kantō region (Video Research). No ratings for the Cartoon Network run have been found. MyAnimeList rates the whole 192-episode Advanced Generation series 7.16, from around 126,000 users, with no separate score for this season, and IMDb’s episode ratings could not be checked for this page.

The recast. Fan reaction to Pokémon USA’s new English cast was, in Bulbapedia’s words, “mixed to negative”, with campaigns called “Save Our Voice Actors” and “Support Our Cast And Crew”. Veronica Taylor said that the 4Kids actors had “simply been told”, Eric Stuart called the decision “based on greed”, and the new Brock, Bill Rogers, posted as “NewBrock” that the newcomers were not “stealing jobs”; after complaints about the first Ash voice tried out in The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon, the special was redubbed with Sarah Natochenny. Dogasu’s Backpack found Fear Factor Phony “a pretty amusing filler episode” overshadowed by the controversy, judged Meowth’s new voice “the poorest imitation on the whole cast” and urged readers to “ignore all these dubbing politics”.

Critical commentary. The same site thought the Deoxys two-parter “pretty decent”, despite its “pretty horrific” rewritten cold open, and called May’s quarter-final with Drew “just awesome”, although “everything is way too rushed” and the Grand Festival deserved a fourth episode so that Solidad “could actually get a proper send-off”. The final Frontier battle was “great” until a Pikachu–Regice “train wreck” settled by “one Volt Tackle”, with “dull, uninspired acting” from Brandon’s English voice. Of the finale it wrote “Now this is more like it” — “a big improvement” on the original series’ last episode — though “Masato seems to get more of a farewell than Haruka does” and the Electivire subplot was “a bit useless”. No reviews of the VIZ DVDs or the 2019 Complete Collection have been found, and the season won no known awards.

Continue the journey with Season 10: Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, go back to Season 8: Pokémon Advanced Battle, or browse every season of the Pokémon anime.