Pokémon Season 10: Diamond and Pearl

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Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl is the tenth season of the English-language Pokémon anime and the first season of Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl, known in Japan as Pocket Monsters Diamond & Pearl. It covers Japanese episodes DP001 to DP052, which TV Tokyo broadcast from 28 September 2006 — the day the games went on sale in Japan, with a three-episode, two-hour premiere — to 25 October 2007. In the US Cartoon Network showed the first three episodes as a TV movie on 20 April 2007, two days before Pokémon Diamond and Pearl reached North American shops, then ran the season as a weekday strip from 4 June 2007 and on Saturday mornings from September, ending with a 90-minute finale on 1 February 2008. Of the 52 Japanese episodes, 51 were dubbed: the clip show DP048 never left Japan. It is the first season named after its generation’s games and the last recorded by Pokémon USA’s cast at TAJ Productions.

Ash arrives in Sinnoh with Pikachu and a stowaway Aipom and is soon joined by Brock and by Dawn, a novice from Twinleaf Town who chose Piplup as her first partner and wants to become a Top Coordinator like her mother. He catches Starly, which evolves into Staravia, and Turtwig, loses his first Sinnoh Gym battle to Roark before winning the Coal Badge, and takes the Forest Badge from Gardenia without using Pikachu. Dawn catches Buneary, Pachirisu and Buizel, loses her Contest debut to her new rival Zoey, wins her first Ribbon in Floaroma Town against her childhood friend Kenny and fails to pass the Performance Stage in Hearthome City; Brock catches Croagunk, sees Bonsly evolve into Sudowoodo and hatches a Happiny. Ash’s new rival, the cold and calculating Paul, releases any Pokémon that disappoints him, and the season ends with Ash and Paul winning Hearthome City’s Tag Battle Competition as reluctant partners — and with Ash adopting the Chimchar that Paul has just abandoned.

The season also introduces the villains and VIPs who will shape the next three years: Pokémon Hunter J, who turns Pokémon to stone to sell them; the mysterious Team Galactic, glimpsed after Team Rocket’s attempt to steal the Adamant Orb; Lucian of the Elite Four; and the Sinnoh Champion, Cynthia, whose Garchomp single-handedly beats Paul’s team. Forty-three Generation IV species make their TV debut, Japan’s new opening Together went through more animation variants than any opening before or since, and in Japan Professor Oak returned with a Pokémon encyclopedia after every episode. Our complete episode guide below has a synopsis, both titles and the air dates for all 52 episodes, the clip show included.

• 52episodes in Japan — 51 dubbed, without the clip show DP048
• 2Sinnoh Badges for Ash: the Coal Badge and the Forest Badge
• 1Ribbon for Dawn — Floaroma Town, her very first
• 43Pokémon species make their TV debut, all from Generation IV
• 18episodes from Ash’s arrival in Sinnoh to his first Badge
• 9.3%Japanese rating of the two-hour premiere, the series’ best

Quick Answers

Story Arcs

Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl runs for 52 Japanese episodes and takes Ash, Dawn and Brock from Twinleaf Town to Hearthome City. Here is how the season breaks down, with stills from our episode guide below.

A new region, a new companionDP001–DP003

In Twinleaf Town Dawn sets out to follow her mother, Johanna, as a Coordinator. At Professor Rowan’s lab in Sandgem Town the new Pokémon have run away; she rescues Piplup from a swarm of Ariados, glimpses Mesprit at Lake Verity and chooses the proud penguin as her partner. Ash sails into Sinnoh with Pikachu and the stowaway Aipom, but Team Rocket’s bungled snatch leaves Pikachu lost in the woods, where Dawn finds it — and has her bike fried for her trouble. Brock jumps down from a passing lorry to rejoin Ash, Aipom’s Focus Punch wins Ash his first Sinnoh capture, Starly, and a cold young Trainer named Paul sneers at it. Reunited with Pikachu, Ash collects a new outfit from his mother, Dawn joins the group, and Ash and Paul fight a three-on-three draw in Rowan’s garden, after which Paul releases his own Starly. Japan aired the three episodes as a two-hour premiere and Cartoon Network as a TV movie.

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Route 202: Nando, Turtwig & a first defeatDP004–DP009

Dawn’s first battle ends in defeat by the wandering harpist Nando, whose Budew evolves into Roselia when Ash beats him the next morning; torn between Gyms and Contests, Nando decides to try both. Ash registers for the Sinnoh League and catches Turtwig, the guardian of Clara’s lake, which insists on battling Pikachu first. In Bewilder Forest Paul’s Chimchar hands Ash his first loss to his new rival, and Paul catches an Ursaring and releases a Stantler that knows only Tackle. Piplup learns to spin its Bubble Beam while settling a berry feud between Golduck’s gang and three Ludicolo; Team Rocket’s fake “Powerzone Gym” leaves behind a Croagunk, which Brock catches and whose Poison Jab ends his flirting from now on; and Dawn finally catches a Buneary — her first capture, and one with a crush on Pikachu.

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Jubilife City: the Pokétch & the first ContestDP010–DP012

In Jubilife City Dawn foils Team Rocket’s counterfeit Pokétch scheme, wins over Landis and the Pokétch Company’s president and buys a genuine Pokétch. At the Contest Hall she gets her Contest Pass and Seals and meets two rivals: Zoey, a confident Coordinator with a Glameow, and “Jessilina”, Jessie’s new disguise. Dawn freezes on stage before Piplup’s Bubble Beam and charged Peck rescue her appeal, and Ash enters his first official Contest with Aipom. All four reach the battle round, where Zoey beats Ash in the quarter-finals, Dawn by a narrow margin on an iced-over stage in the semi-finals and Jessilina in the final for her second Ribbon. Dawn vows to grow stronger before they meet again.

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Oreburgh City & the Coal BadgeDP013–DP018

On the way to Oreburgh Ash’s Starly evolves into Staravia and masters Aerial Ace while freeing a flock of caged bird Pokémon, and Brock’s Bonsly learns Mimic, then evolves into Sudowoodo while returning a lost Nuzleaf to its home. In Oreburgh City Paul beats the Gym Leader, Roark, with Azumarill, Elekid and Chimchar, and Ash insists on challenging him straight away: Turtwig knocks out Cranidos, but Onix’s Screech drives Pikachu into a rock, and Ash suffers his only official Gym defeat in Sinnoh. When Team Rocket steal one of Dr. Kenzo’s fossil revival machines, a revived Aerodactyl runs riot through the city and Roark’s Cranidos evolves into Rampardos. In the rematch Pikachu borrows Dawn’s spinning dodge to beat Onix, and Turtwig hides in the smoke of a burning Razor Leaf to knock out Rampardos from behind — the Coal Badge, eighteen episodes after Ash landed in Sinnoh.

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Pachirisu, Hunter J & the road to FloaromaDP019–DP024

Dawn catches a hyperactive Pachirisu, releases it when it causes chaos and catches it again once it has saved itself from Team Rocket. Then the friends meet Pokémon Hunter J, a ruthless mercenary who turns Pokémon to stone with a gun on her arm to sell them to clients: she petrifies a gardener’s Gardevoir, Pikachu and Meowth, and Ash and Team Rocket have to sneak aboard her airship before Gardevoir’s Teleport brings everyone safely down. A B-Button League of Magikarp and Feebas fanciers falls for Team Rocket’s evolution machine; at an unofficial village Contest Jessie, competing under her own name with Ash’s borrowed Aipom, beats Dawn’s Pachirisu for her first Contest win; a herd of Bidoof needs saving from a Steelix with shovels stuck in its body; and in a bakery Ash’s Pikachu stands in for “Sugar”, a lost Pikachu that returns as a Raichu.

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Floaroma Town: Kenny & Dawn’s first RibbonDP025–DP029

In Floaroma Town Forsythia and her Roserade teach Dawn to make Poffins, and Dawn meets Kenny, a childhood friend from Twinleaf Town who teases her with the nickname “Dee-Dee” and whose first partner is now a Prinplup; spurred on, her Piplup learns Whirlpool. At the Floaroma Contest Pachirisu stumbles through its appeal, but Piplup beats Jessilina’s Dustox with Bide, a Bagon and finally Kenny’s Prinplup by a whisker for Dawn’s first Ribbon. At Valley Windworks they meet a married Nurse Joy whose daughters fly Drifloon, and when the younger, Paige, is caught in a storm with Ash and Pikachu, her sister Marnie rescues them on the back of Suicune; then the TV duo Rhonda and Jack film Ash and Dawn’s first Tag Battle, which they lose to the Champ Twins before ending the twins’ 17-win streak in a rematch.

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Eterna Forest: Cheryl & the Amber CastleDP030–DP033

In Eterna Forest the treasure hunter Cheryl joins the group in search of the Enchanted Honey; her Burmy evolves into Mothim and follows its scent toward the Amber Castle. Along the way a Grass-type Trainer named Gardenia, who adores Turtwig and James’s Carnivine, beats Ash’s Turtwig and Staravia with a lightning-fast Turtwig of her own — practice, she says, for the Eterna Gym. Inside the castle the group face a swarm of Combee and their Vespiquen, which presents Cheryl with a jar of Enchanted Honey, and Cheryl leaves to travel alone. Outside the forest Rhonda hosts a Pokémon Dress-Up Contest, and Brock wins its prize, a mysterious Pokémon Egg, with Croagunk disguised as Politoed — it stays in character throughout Team Rocket’s attempt to steal the Egg.

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Buizel, Lucian & the Forest BadgeDP034–DP037

A wild Buizel beats Piplup, Zoey’s Glameow and Pikachu before Dawn catches it, but it ignores her orders until Lucian of the Elite Four, who explains the Champion League, lets his Bronzong teach the pair a lesson; by the rematch Buizel is following Dawn’s commands. In Eterna City Team Rocket, hired by an unknown client, try to steal the Adamant Orb from the Historical Museum; Gardenia, vouching for a suspected Nando, turns out to be the Eterna Gym Leader herself, and overhead the new Team Galactic and its Commander, Saturn, make their first appearance. Ash then wins the Forest Badge without Pikachu: Staravia beats Cherubi, Turtwig wins a Turtwig mirror match before falling to Roserade, and Aipom, blinded by Flash, listens for Weather Ball, punches it back and finishes Roserade with Swift and Focus Punch.

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The road to Hearthome: Happiny, Cynthia & GaryDP038–DP047

Brock’s Egg hatches into Happiny on the Cycling Road, and he polishes an Oval Stone for it. The Pokémon are left alone on a runaway steamboat. Then the Sinnoh Champion, Cynthia, arrives: her Garchomp beats Paul’s Chimchar, Weavile, Murkrow and Torterra in a Full Battle that Paul forfeits, and news breaks that the Lustrous Orb has been unearthed near Celestic Town. Zoey explains the Double Performances of the Hearthome Contest, and Dawn’s first try at an Ice Aqua Jet fails. Further side trips cover an Electrike training centre, a Mismagius nightmare in which Team Rocket are blasted off eight times, a lost Hippopotas and a maze where Paul reappears; on Mount Coronet Gary, now a researcher, returns to help Ash save a Shieldon from Hunter J; and the young Mira’s Abra finally teleports the group to Hearthome City.

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Hearthome City: the Contest & the Tag BattleDP048–DP052

Japan marks the first year with a clip show (DP048) that was never dubbed. With the Gym Leader away, Dawn enters the Hearthome Contest, Sinnoh’s first with Double Performances, and fails to pass the Performance Stage; Nando beats Jessilina and then Zoey for the Ribbon, and Zoey consoles Dawn that night. The Hearthome City Tag Battle Competition draws random partners: Dawn with Conway, Brock with Holly — and Ash with Paul. Paul’s brutal treatment of Chimchar, caught for a Blaze it cannot control, comes to a head when Ash commands it himself and wins the second round; at sunset Paul releases it, and Ash invites it to join him. In the final Ash’s Chimchar and Paul’s newly evolved Electabuzz beat Dawn and Conway, Paul tosses his Soothe Bell to Ash, and Ash sets off for his third Badge in Veilstone City, Paul’s home town.

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Episode Guide

All 52 episodes of Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl 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 Cartoon Network, VIZ Media and streaming services, and the orange code is the Bulbapedia DP number used by most fan sites; the clip show DP048 has no English number because it was never dubbed, so Dawn’s Early Night! (DP049) is episode 48 in English. 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: DP001–DP003 first aired as a TV movie on 20 April 2007 and in their original form on 4–6 June, the series then ran Monday to Thursday until 16 July 2007 and on Saturday mornings from 1 September, with double bills on 1 September (DP025–DP026) and 26 January 2008 (DP047 and DP049) and a 90-minute finale of DP050–DP052 on Friday 1 February 2008. There is no Who’s That Pokémon? this season: the English dub had no mid-episode segment at all, and Japan closed each episode with Professor Oak’s Big Pokémon Encyclopedia instead.

	#	Episode	First aired	In short
	1DP001	Following A Maiden’s Voyage!旅立ち！フタバタウンからマサゴタウンへ！	Japan 28 Sep 2006 US 20 Apr 2007	Sunrise over Twinleaf Town finds Dawn throwing open her bedroom window on the most important morning of her life. · Season premiere Episode guide →
	2DP002	Two Degrees of Separation!ピカチュウをさがせ！２０２番道路！	Japan 28 Sep 2006 US 20 Apr 2007	On Route 202, Dawn lets Piplup out to relax in a meadow and decides it is time to catch her first wild Pokémon. · Ash catches Starly Episode guide →
	3DP003	When Pokémon Worlds Collide!ライバルバトル！三対三！！	Japan 28 Sep 2006 US 20 Apr 2007	With Starly scouting overhead, Ash, Brock and Aipom keep searching for Pikachu, and a flash of electricity in the distance draws them off the road. · Ash vs Paul – a draw Episode guide →
	4DP004	Dawn Of A New Era!ポッチャマ対スボミー！ヒカリ初バトル！！	Japan 5 Oct 2006 US 7 Jun 2007	Dawn’s second attempt to catch the wild Buneary goes wrong when her enlarged Poké Ball slips out of her hand and smacks Ash in the face. · Dawn’s first battle Episode guide →
	5DP005	Gettin’ Twiggy With It!ナエトル！ゲットだぜ！	Japan 19 Oct 2006 US 11 Jun 2007	Team Rocket fly off with Pikachu locked in a cage beneath their balloon, and Ash’s Starly cuts the cage loose with Wing Attack. · Ash catches Turtwig Episode guide →
	6DP006	Different Strokes for Different Blokes!迷いの森！シンジふたたび！！	Japan 26 Oct 2006 US 12 Jun 2007	Lunch in the forest turns into a brawl when Aipom, picking oranges in the treetops, teases Piplup and then accidentally drops a fruit straight into… · Ash loses to Paul Episode guide →
	7DP007	Like It or Lup It!ポッチャマがんばる！！	Japan 2 Nov 2006 US 13 Jun 2007	Practising for the Jubilife Contest, Dawn asks Piplup for a spinning Bubble Beam, but the penguin twirls itself dizzy and lands on its head, sending… · Piplup’s spinning Bubble Beam Episode guide →
	8DP008	Gymbaliar!なぞのジムのグレッグル！	Japan 9 Nov 2006 US 14 Jun 2007	Somewhere along the road to Jubilife, a disguised Team Rocket have opened a fake Gym. · Brock catches Croagunk Episode guide →
	9DP009	Setting The World On Its Buneary!ミミロルとあそぼう！？	Japan 16 Nov 2006 US 18 Jun 2007	Morning at the campsite starts with a scream: Dawn’s hair is a mess, and she refuses to let Ash see her until Piplup’s Bubble Beam turns… · Dawn catches Buneary Episode guide →
	10DP010	Not on MY Watch Ya Don’t!ポケッチ入手困難！？	Japan 30 Nov 2006 US 19 Jun 2007	Three days before the Jubilife City Contest, Ash, Dawn and Brock arrive in the big city, and Dawn heads straight for a shop to buy a Pokétch,… · Dawn gets a Pokétch Episode guide →
	11DP011	Mounting a Coordinator Assault!ヒカリ！コンテストデビュー！！	Japan 7 Dec 2006 US 20 Jun 2007	At the Jubilife Pokémon Center, Dawn models her Contest dress for her mother over the videophone, but Johanna notices the matching choker is… · Jubilife Contest Episode guide →
	12DP012	Arrival of a Rival!コンテストバトル！ライバル対決！！	Japan 14 Dec 2006 US 21 Jun 2007	The results are in: Dawn, Ash, Zoey and Jessilina are all among the eight Coordinators heading to the Battle Stage of the Jubilife Contest, and… · Zoey wins the Jubilife Ribbon Episode guide →
	13DP013	A Staravia Is Born!ムックルがんばる！	Japan 21 Dec 2006 US 25 Jun 2007	Ash is drilling Starly on Aerial Ace: dive low at a target on a tree, climb the trunk on his signal and loop around. · Starly evolves into Staravia Episode guide →
	14DP014	Leave It To Brocko!タケシにおまかせ！	Japan 21 Dec 2006 US 26 Jun 2007	In the dark of night, a towering old tree is home to a whole community of Seedot and their evolved forms, and when one Seedot kicks a sleeping… · Bonsly evolves into Sudowoodo Episode guide →
	15DP015	Shapes of Things to Come!クロガネジム！ヒョウタＶＳシンジ！！	Japan 11 Jan 2007 US 27 Jun 2007	Arriving in Oreburgh City, Ash, Dawn and Brock reach the Gym just as Paul walks out with an older man named Ian. · Paul wins the Coal Badge Episode guide →
	16DP016	A Gruff Act to Follow!ズガイドスＶＳピカチュウ！！	Japan 18 Jan 2007 US 28 Jun 2007	Paul laughs at Ash’s demand to stay and watch, and Dawn, offended that he does not even remember her, has to be calmed down by Brock. · Ash loses to Roark Episode guide →
	17DP017	Wild in the Streets!古代ポケモン大進撃！	Japan 25 Jan 2007 US 2 Jul 2007	Refusing to dwell on his loss, Ash trains Pikachu, Aipom and Turtwig hard enough to smash through pillars of coal. · Cranidos evolves into Rampardos Episode guide →
	18DP018	O’er the Rampardos We Watched!クロガネジムふたたび！決戦ラムパルド！！	Japan 1 Feb 2007 US 3 Jul 2007	Ash strides back into the Oreburgh Gym brimming with confidence, while Dawn, in a cheerleader’s outfit, leads Piplup and Buneary in cheering… · Coal Badge Episode guide →
	19DP019	Twice Smitten, Once Shy!パチリスゲットで…大丈夫！？	Japan 8 Feb 2007 US 5 Jul 2007	On the road to Floaroma Town, Dawn falls instantly for a wild Pachirisu chasing its own tail. · Dawn catches Pachirisu Episode guide →
	20DP020	Mutiny in the Bounty!ポケモンハンターJ！	Japan 22 Feb 2007 US 9 Jul 2007	Passing a flower garden on the way to Floaroma Town, the friends see a Salamence fly overhead carrying a rider, and Dawn’s Pokédex… · Hunter J debuts Episode guide →
	21DP021	Ya See We Want An Evolution!最強のコイキングと最も美しいヒンバス！	Japan 1 Mar 2007 US 10 Jul 2007	A weary Team Rocket run into the Magikarp salesman who has swindled them so many times, and James hurls the Magikarp he has just been handed straight… · Magikarp & Feebas Episode guide →
	22DP022	Borrowing on Bad Faith!パチリスＶＳエイパム！コンテストバトル！！	Japan 8 Mar 2007 US 11 Jul 2007	While Ash trains for his next Gym battle, Pikachu works on Volt Tackle, and a jealous Aipom, feeling ignored, snatches Ash’s cap and scampers… · Jessie wins a Contest Episode guide →
	23DP023	Faced with Steelix Determination!爆走ハガネール！ビッパの村を守れ！！	Japan 15 Mar 2007 US 12 Jul 2007	Team Rocket are digging holes in the forest when their shovels strike something hard: the head of a sleeping Steelix. · Bidoof village Episode guide →
	24DP024	Cooking Up a Sweet Story!対決！サトシ対ピカチュウ！？	Japan 29 Mar 2007 US 16 Jul 2007	During a practice battle for the Floaroma Contest, Pikachu dodges Piplup’s attacks with backflips and then absorbs Pachirisu’s Discharge… · Sugar the Raichu Episode guide →
	25DP025	Oh Do You Know The Poffin Plan!怪傑ロズレイドと花伝説！	Japan 29 Mar 2007 US 1 Sep 2007	Late one night, Team Rocket sneak into a garden to snack on Berries, and a caped figure leaps down from a rooftop and blasts them away with Magical… · Dawn learns Poffin-making Episode guide →
	26DP026	Getting the Pre-Contest Titters!ポケモンコンテスト！ソノオ大会！！	Japan 5 Apr 2007 US 1 Sep 2007	With one day left before the Floaroma Town Contest, Dawn is training hard, and Pikachu shows Pachirisu how to store up electricity so its appeal… · Kenny debuts Episode guide →
	27DP027	Settling a Not-So-Old Score!決戦！ポッチャマＶＳポッタイシ！！	Japan 5 Apr 2007 US 8 Sep 2007	As Pachirisu dashes around the stage in a panic, Dawn throws a Poffin into the air, and its sweet scent stops the Electric type in its tracks. · Floaroma Ribbon Episode guide →
	28DP028	Drifloon On the Wind!フワンテと北風の使い！	Japan 12 Apr 2007 US 15 Sep 2007	At Valley Windworks, the friends find a Pokémon Center that looks old and empty. · Suicune Episode guide →
	29DP029	The Champ Twins!サトシとヒカリ！タッグバトルで大丈夫！？	Japan 12 Apr 2007 US 22 Sep 2007	On the road to Eterna City, Ash and Dawn meet Rhonda, a reporter for Sinnoh Now, the most popular show in the region, along with her clumsy boom… · First Tag Battle Episode guide →
	30DP030	Some Enchanted Sweetening!ハクタイの森！ミノムッチ進化作戦！！	Japan 19 Apr 2007 US 29 Sep 2007	Ash and Dawn chase Aipom through the treetops toward a tree dripping with honey, and the sweet scent draws a wild Burmy out of the branches too. · Cheryl joins Episode guide →
	31DP031	The Grass-Type Is Always Greener!ナエトル対ナエトル！スピード対決！！	Japan 26 Apr 2007 US 6 Oct 2007	Following Mothim through Eterna Forest, Cheryl and the friends find only the tree Cheryl smeared with honey earlier, and they make camp for the night. · Gardenia debuts Episode guide →
	32DP032	An Angry Combeenation!琥珀の城のビークイン！	Japan 3 May 2007 US 13 Oct 2007	Mothim leads the group to a field of flowers where a Combee is gathering nectar, and the friends follow it, confident they are close to the Amber… · The Amber Castle Episode guide →
	33DP033	All Dressed Up With Somewhere To Go!スキです！ポケモンなりきり大会！！	Japan 10 May 2007 US 20 Oct 2007	A highlight reel from last year’s Pokémon Dress-Up Contest plays on Sinnoh Now, where Rhonda announces this year’s prize, a… · Brock wins an Egg Episode guide →
	34DP034	Buizel Your Way Out Of This!ブイゼル！最強への道！！	Japan 17 May 2007 US 27 Oct 2007	The episode opens with a glimpse ahead: Pikachu’s Volt Tackle knocks out a wild Buizel, Ash’s Poké Ball swallows it, and the ball… · Dawn catches Buizel Episode guide →
	35DP035	An Elite Meet and Greet!四天王ゴヨウとドータクン！	Japan 24 May 2007 US 3 Nov 2007	When Dawn introduces Buizel to her other Pokémon, it turns its back on them and shoves Piplup away, and Brock guesses that it has spent most… · Lucian debuts Episode guide →
	36DP036	A Secret Sphere of Influence!シンオウ時空伝説！	Japan 31 May 2007 US 10 Nov 2007	Arriving at last in Eterna City, the friends are passing the Eterna Historical Museum when an alarm sounds: the Adamant Orb has been stolen by… · Team Galactic debut Episode guide →
	37DP037	The Grass Menagerie!ハクタイジム！VSナタネ！！	Japan 7 Jun 2007 US 17 Nov 2007	Ash arrives at the Eterna Gym for his official three-on-three battle with Gardenia, while Team Rocket tunnel underneath to steal Pokémon. · Forest Badge Episode guide →
	38DP038	One Big Happiny Family!爆誕！サイクリングロード！！	Japan 21 Jun 2007 US 24 Nov 2007	Riding rented bicycles down the Cycling Road toward Hearthome City, with Pikachu, Piplup and Brock’s Egg in their baskets, Dawn reminds Ash of… · Brock’s Egg hatches into Happiny Episode guide →
	39DP039	Steamboat Willies!ピカチュウのおるすばん！	Japan 5 Jul 2007 US 1 Dec 2007	From a cliff above a broad river, the friends spot their ride to Hearthome City: a steamboat shaped like a Wailord, watched over by an elderly man… · The Pokémon on their own Episode guide →
	40DP040	Top-Down Training!チャンピオン・シロナ登場！	Japan 19 Jul 2007 US 8 Dec 2007	At a Pokémon Center, Ash and Dawn watch Champion Cynthia’s Garchomp block Lucian’s Bronzong’s Flash Cannon with a fin and… · Cynthia debuts Episode guide →
	41DP041	A Stand-Up Sit-Down!ヒカリとノゾミとダブルパフォーマンス！！	Japan 26 Jul 2007 US 15 Dec 2007	Dawn is training in the woods with Piplup when Zoey’s Glameow and Misdreavus arrive looking for help: Zoey has sprained her ankle and cannot… · Double Performances Episode guide →
	42DP042	The Electrike Company!ラクライ訓練センター！	Japan 9 Aug 2007 US 22 Dec 2007	The friends are relaxing by a pond while their Pokémon play when an electric attack falls out of the sky and tears up the ground beside them. · Electrike evolves into Manectric Episode guide →
	43DP043	Malice In Wonderland!ムウマージ！悪夢からの脱出！！	Japan 16 Aug 2007 US 29 Dec 2007	Searching for a Pokémon Center at night, the friends shelter from a downpour under an old gate, then cross a field of tall grass into thick… · Mismagius’s nightmare Episode guide →
	44DP044	Mass Hip-Po-Sis!迷子のヒポポタスを助けろ！	Japan 23 Aug 2007 US 5 Jan 2008	As the friends pack up after lunch, Pikachu’s impression of Turtwig reveals that Turtwig has wandered off alone, and they follow it to a… · A lost Hippopotas Episode guide →
	45DP045	Ill-Will Hunting!ハンターＪ再び！タテトプスを守れ！！	Japan 30 Aug 2007 US 12 Jan 2008	On Mount Coronet, the friends find a wild Shieldon just as a lorry full of Hunter J’s henchmen pulls up, and a henchman’s Golbat dodges… · Gary returns Episode guide →
	46DP046	A Maze-ing Race!迷路でシャッフル！みんなでハッスル！！	Japan 13 Sep 2007 US 19 Jan 2008	Dawn is in a hurry: a Pokémon Center is giving away a new Pokétch app, and she drags Ash and Brock through the forest to get it, only… · The maze Episode guide →
	47DP047	Sandshrew’s Locker!ミルとケーシィと水の底！	Japan 27 Sep 2007 US 26 Jan 2008	A few miles from Hearthome City, Dawn watches Buizel and Piplup swimming in a lake while a girl secretly observes them. · Teleported to Hearthome City Episode guide →
	–DP048	Satoshi and Hikari! Facing a New Adventure!!サトシとヒカリ！新たなる冒険に向かって！！	Japan 27 Sep 2007 US never aired	This Japanese-only episode is the second clip show in the Pokémon anime, following AG120, and the first episode of the Diamond and Pearl… · Clip show Episode guide →
	48DP049	Dawn’s Early Night!ポケモンコンテスト！ヨスガ大会！！	Japan 4 Oct 2007 US 26 Jan 2008	Ash sprints ahead to the Hearthome Gym, eager for his third Badge, only to find the doors shut and a note saying the Gym Leader is away for a long… · Hearthome Contest Episode guide →
	49DP050	Tag! We’re It…!全員参加！タッグバトル！！	Japan 4 Oct 2007 US 1 Feb 2008	To lift Dawn’s spirits after the Hearthome Contest, Ash and Brock hand her an entry card for the Hearthome City Tag Battle Competition, an idea… · Tag Battle Competition begins Episode guide →
	50DP051	Glory Blaze!ヒコザルＶＳザングース！運命のバトル！！	Japan 18 Oct 2007 US 1 Feb 2008	All three teams have reached the next round of the Tag Battle Competition. · Paul releases Chimchar Episode guide →
	51DP052	Smells Like Team Spirit!タッグバトル！ファイナル！！	Japan 25 Oct 2007 US 1 Feb 2008	Paul coldly tells Ash and Chimchar that they deserve each other and walks away. · Ash catches Chimchar Episode guide →

Characters & Travelling Companions

Ash sails into Sinnoh with Pikachu and a stowaway Aipom, whose Poké Ball Professor Oak forwards to Professor Rowan (DP002), and registers for the Sinnoh League in DP004 — but Team Rocket separate him from Pikachu the moment he lands, and it is Dawn who finds it (DP001–DP003). He catches Starly (DP002), which evolves into Staravia while freeing a flock of caged bird Pokémon (DP013), and Turtwig, the guardian of Clara’s lake (DP005); draws with Paul (DP003) and loses to him in Bewilder Forest (DP006); and needs two attempts at the Oreburgh Gym: Roark’s Onix beats Pikachu with Screech in DP016, his only official Gym defeat in Sinnoh, before Turtwig’s burning-leaf smokescreen wins the Coal Badge in DP018, eighteen episodes after he arrived. Gardenia beats him in an unofficial battle (DP031) before the Forest Badge falls to Turtwig, Staravia and Aipom without Pikachu (DP037). Ash also enters his first official Contest, reaching the Jubilife Top 8 with Aipom (DP011–DP012), lends Aipom to Jessie, who wins a village Contest with it (DP022), and wins the Hearthome City Tag Battle Competition with Paul — adopting the Chimchar that Paul has just released (DP051–DP052).

Dawn (Hikari in Japanese), the season’s new heroine, leaves Twinleaf Town to become a Top Coordinator like her mother, Johanna, who gives her the first Ribbon she ever won for luck. She chooses Piplup after rescuing it from a swarm of Ariados (DP001), finds the lost Pikachu and has her bike fried by its Thunderbolt (DP002), and joins Ash and Brock on the way to the Jubilife Contest (DP003). Nando beats her in her first battle (DP004); she catches Buneary (DP009), Pachirisu — released and caught again in the same episode (DP019) — and Buizel (DP034), which obeys her only after a lesson from Lucian (DP035), and buys a Pokétch in Jubilife City (DP010). Her Contests go up and down: Zoey beats her in the Jubilife semi-final (DP012), Jessie in an unofficial village Contest (DP022), she wins her first Ribbon by beating Kenny at Floaroma (DP027), and at Hearthome she fails to pass the Performance Stage at all (DP049), consoled afterwards by Zoey. She reaches the final of the Tag Battle Competition with Conway (DP052). Emily Jenness voices her in English and Megumi Toyoguchi in Japanese.

Brock hitches a ride from Pewter City and jumps down from a lorry to rejoin Ash on Route 202 (DP002), having brought only Bonsly; his other Pokémon stay at the Pewter Gym (DP004). Bonsly learns Mimic (DP013) and evolves into Sudowoodo (DP014) — the first time a main character’s Rock type is seen evolving. He catches Croagunk, left behind at Team Rocket’s fake Gym (DP008), whose Poison Jab cuts short his flirting with every Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny from then on; wins a Pokémon Egg at the Dress-Up Contest with Croagunk disguised as Politoed (DP033); and sees it hatch into Happiny, for which he polishes an Oval Stone (DP038). With Holly he reaches the semi-finals of the Tag Battle Competition (DP052). Bill Rogers voices him in English and Yūji Ueda in Japanese.

• Ash KetchumChasing the Sinnoh League
• DawnTwinleaf Town’s rookie Coordinator
• BrockAsh’s companion, studying to be a Pokémon Doctor later in Sinnoh
• DawnDawn sets out from Twinleaf Town (DP001)

Team Rocket

Jessie, James and Meowth follow Ash to Sinnoh with a giant robot, the Super Sinnoh Slinger Mark 1A, and from DP003 a new motto. James retrieves his old Carnivine from his family’s summer cottage, where it greets him by chomping his head — with Mime Jr. and Cacnea the first time he has held three Pokémon at once — and panics at news of a visit from his parents and his fiancée Jessebelle (DP002); he later refuses all of Gardenia’s offers to trade for it (DP031). Jessie keeps Seviper, Dustox and Wobbuffet and returns to Contests in a new disguise, Jessilina, reaching the Jubilife final (DP011–DP012) and losing at Floaroma (DP027), to Zoey (DP041) and to Nando at Hearthome (DP049); as herself, with Ash’s borrowed Aipom, she wins an unofficial village Contest (DP022), the only Contest she has ever entered under her own name and her first win. She is “Princess Powerzone” at the fake Gym (DP008), and fails to catch a revived Aerodactyl (DP017) and Dawn’s released Pachirisu (DP019).

Meowth disguises himself as a Shiftry (DP014) and a Sunflora (DP033, DP036) and is turned to stone by Hunter J with Pikachu (DP020), and Mismagius’s nightmare blasts the trio off a record eight times in one episode (DP043). Giovanni, who approves the Sinnoh operation (DP002), is now voiced in Japanese by Kenta Miyake, after Hirotaka Suzuoki’s death in August 2006, and in English by Craig Blair. For the first time the trio take a job from an outside client: hired to steal the Adamant Orb from the Eterna Historical Museum, they admit that someone else is paying them but fail to get away with it, while the client, Team Galactic, watches from a helicopter (DP036). In English Michele Knotz voices Jessie (and Mime Jr.) and James Carter Cathcart voices James and Meowth; Wobbuffet’s English lines are stock recordings of Kayzie Rogers after DP001.

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

Rivals, Gym Leaders & recurring characters

Paul (Shinji), Ash’s new rival from Veilstone City, is as cold as Gary was cocky: he judges Pokémon by their Pokédex data and lets them go when they disappoint him. He catches three Starly and releases two on the spot, then the third after his draw with Ash (DP003); catches and releases a Stantler that knows only Tackle and catches an Ursaring (DP006); wins the Coal Badge with Azumarill, Elekid and Chimchar (DP015), then gives Azumarill away to a boy (DP016); and is flattened by Cynthia’s Garchomp in a Full Battle he forfeits (DP040), which reveals his Torterra, Weavile and Murkrow and that he has already travelled through Kanto, Johto and Hoenn. At Hearthome his brutal training of Chimchar, caught for a Blaze it cannot trigger at will, ends with its release (DP051); his Elekid evolves into Electabuzz in the final, and he tosses his Soothe Bell to Ash (DP052). Julián Rebolledo voices him in English and Kiyotaka Furushima in Japanese.

Dawn’s rivals are Zoey (DP011–DP012, DP034, DP041, DP049), a Coordinator with a Glameow, a Misdreavus and a West Sea Shellos who wins the Jubilife Ribbon, her second, teaches Dawn about Double Performances and finishes runner-up at Hearthome; Kenny (DP026–DP027), her childhood friend from Twinleaf Town, who calls her “Dee-Dee” and battles with Prinplup and Alakazam; and Nando (DP004, DP036, DP049), a wandering minstrel with a harp shaped like Mew, who chooses to pursue Badges and Ribbons alike after meeting Ash and Dawn and wins the Hearthome Ribbon with Sunflora, Kricketune and Roselia. The Contests are presented by Marian (in person from DP011), with Raoul Contesta, Mr. Sukizo and the local Nurse Joy as judges. At Hearthome City the Tag Battle draw pairs Dawn with Conway and Brock with Holly (DP050–DP052).

The Gym Leaders are Roark (DP015–DP018), who works in the Oreburgh coal mine and battles with Geodude, Onix and a Cranidos that evolves into Rampardos (DP017), and Gardenia (DP031, DP036–DP037), the Grass-type Leader of Eterna City, who first meets the group as a stranger in the forest and dotes on Carnivine and Cacnea. Lucian of the Elite Four (DP035) explains the Champion League and battles Dawn — the only time one of Ash’s friends faces an Elite Four member — and the Champion, Cynthia (DP040), is the first Champion other than Lance in the anime. Pokémon Hunter J (DP020, DP045), with her Salamence, Drapion, Ariados and petrification gun, and Team Galactic’s Commander Saturn (DP036) are the new villains. Professor Rowan (DP001–DP003, DP045) runs the lab in Sandgem Town; Gary Oak, now a researcher, meets Dawn for the first time on Mount Coronet (DP045); Tracey makes his only Diamond and Pearl appearance in DP001; and the treasure hunter Cheryl (DP030–DP032), the Sinnoh Now crew Rhonda and Jack, and Clara, Rosebay, Forsythia, Marnie, Jaco and Mira are among the characters of the day. In Japanese Kikuko Inoue voiced Nurse Joy from DP025 to DP050 while Yuriko Yamaguchi was on maternity leave.

• PaulAsh’s new rival from Veilstone City (debut DP003)
• NandoThe wandering minstrel who chases Badges and Ribbons alike (debut DP004)
• ZoeyDawn’s first Contest rival (debut DP011)
• RoarkThe Oreburgh Gym Leader (DP016)
• Pokémon Hunter J in her debut (DP020)
• KennyDawn’s childhood friend and Floaroma rival (debut DP026)
• Lucian of the Elite Four(DP035)
• GardeniaThe Eterna Gym Leader (DP037)

Voice cast

Character	English voice actor	Japanese voice actor
Ash Ketchum	Sarah Natochenny	Rica Matsumoto
Pikachu	Ikue Ōtani	Ikue Ōtani
Dawn	Emily Jenness	Megumi Toyoguchi
Brock	Bill Rogers	Yūji Ueda
Jessie	Michele Knotz	Megumi Hayashibara
James	James Carter Cathcart	Shin-ichiro Miki
Meowth	James Carter Cathcart	Inuko Inuyama
Wobbuffet	Kayzie Rogers (stock recordings after DP001)	Yūji Ueda
Mime Jr.	Michele Knotz	Ikue Ōtani
Giovanni	Craig Blair	Kenta Miyake (from DP002)
Paul	Julián Rebolledo	Kiyotaka Furushima
Zoey	Emily Williams (as credited)	Risa Hayamizu
Kenny	Rhonda Krempa	Yūko Mita
Nando	Billy Regan	Kazuya Nakai
Roark	Craig Blair	Masataka Azuma
Gardenia	Lara Starr Rigores	Chieko Honda
Lucian	David Lapkin	Daisuke Namikawa
Cynthia	Emily Jenness	Tomo Sakurai
J	Sonny Dey	Takako Honda
Professor Rowan	Sean Reyes	Iemasa Kayumi
Johanna	Sarah Natochenny	Makoto Tsumura
Professor Oak	James Carter Cathcart	Unshō Ishizuka
Nurse Joy	Michele Knotz	Yuriko Yamaguchi (Kikuko Inoue DP025–DP050)
Narrator	Rodger Parsons	Unshō Ishizuka

Pokémon: Captures, Changes, Encounters & Evolutions

In brief:

• Ash catches Starly (DP002), which evolves into Staravia (DP013), Turtwig (DP005) and, once Paul has released it, Chimchar (DP052) — his first Fire-type first partner since Cyndaquil, 377 episodes earlier; Aipom travels with him all season, and Pikachu borrows Dawn’s spinning dodge to beat Roark’s Onix (DP018).
• Dawn receives Piplup from Professor Rowan (DP001) and catches Buneary (DP009), Pachirisu (DP019) and Buizel (DP034); Piplup learns to spin its Bubble Beam (DP007) and learns Whirlpool (DP026), and her first attempt at an Ice Aqua Jet fails (DP041).
• Brock catches Croagunk (DP008), his Bonsly learns Mimic (DP013) and evolves into Sudowoodo (DP014), and the Egg he wins at the Dress-Up Contest (DP033) hatches into Happiny (DP038).
• James retrieves his Carnivine from his family’s summer cottage (DP002); Paul catches Ursaring (DP006), releases Chimchar (DP051) and sees his Elekid evolve into Electabuzz (DP052).
• Elsewhere, Nando’s Budew evolves into Roselia (DP004), Roark’s Cranidos into Rampardos (DP017), Cheryl’s Burmy into Mothim (DP030) and Jaco’s Electrike into Manectric (DP042); Dr. Kenzo catches a revived Aerodactyl (DP017), Abigail’s lost Pikachu, Sugar, returns as a Raichu (DP024), Mira recovers her Sandshrew from a flooded school (DP047), and in Mismagius’s illusion Johanna’s Feebas evolves into Milotic (DP043).

New Pokémon captured or hatched

• Piplup#0393 · Dawn · her first partner, received from Professor Rowan · DP001
• Starly#0396 · Ash · caught with Aipom while Pikachu is lost · DP002
• Turtwig#0387 · Ash · the guardian of Clara’s lake · DP005
• Ursaring#0217 · Paul · caught in Bewilder Forest · DP006
• Croagunk#0453 · Brock · left behind at Team Rocket’s fake Gym · DP008
• Buneary#0427 · Dawn · her first capture · DP009
• Pachirisu#0417 · Dawn · caught, released and caught again · DP019
• Buizel#0418 · Dawn · after it beat Piplup, Glameow and Pikachu · DP034
• Happiny#0440 · Brock · hatched from the Dress-Up Contest Egg · DP038
• Chimchar#0390 · Ash · released by Paul, it taps Ash’s Poké Ball itself · DP052

Evolutions

• Budew → Roselia#0315 · Nando · in his battle with Ash · DP004
• Starly → Staravia#0397 · Ash · freeing caged bird Pokémon · DP013
• Bonsly → Sudowoodo#0185 · Brock · breaking a cage with Double-Edge · DP014
• Cranidos → Rampardos#0409 · Roark · trapped in Team Rocket’s net · DP017
• Pikachu → Raichu#0026 · Abigail’s Sugar · evolved off screen while it was lost · DP024
• Burmy → Mothim#0414 · Cheryl · fighting Team Rocket in Eterna Forest · DP030
• Electrike → Manectric#0310 · Jaco · at the Electrike training centre · DP042
• Elekid → Electabuzz#0125 · Paul · in the Tag Battle final · DP052

Releases, departures and returns

Paul is the season’s great releaser. He catches three wild Starly, scans them with his Pokédex and lets two go at once, keeping the one that knows Aerial Ace — and releases that one too after his draw with Ash, saying a stronger one will come along (DP003). He catches a Stantler only to release it on discovering that it knows nothing but Tackle (DP006), gives his Azumarill away to a boy after the Oreburgh Gym (DP016), and at sunset after the second round of the Tag Battle Competition releases Chimchar, which Ash invites to join him (DP051) and catches the next day (DP052).

On Ash’s side nobody leaves. Dawn releases Pachirisu when it proves too much to handle and catches it again once it has returned of its own accord (DP019) — the first time a main character recatches a released Pokémon — and Ash lends Aipom to Jessie for an unofficial Contest and takes it back (DP022). Brock’s other Pokémon stay at the Pewter Gym (DP004). Among the guests, the lost Nuzleaf (DP014) and Hippopotas (DP044) are returned to their own kind, Cheryl and her Mothim leave to travel alone (DP032), and Jaco’s Manectric graduates to work at a power plant (DP042).

Paul’s Pokémon this season

Pokémon	First seen	What happens
Starly × 3	DP003	Caught and scanned; two released on the spot, and the third, which beats Ash’s Starly with Aerial Ace, after the draw with Ash
Chimchar	DP003	Loses to Aipom in the draw with Ash; beats Turtwig in Bewilder Forest (DP006) and Onix at the Oreburgh Gym (DP015); beaten by Garchomp (DP040); released after the Tag Battle’s second round (DP051) and caught by Ash (DP052)
Elekid	DP003	Double KO with Pikachu (DP003); wins the Coal Badge against Cranidos (DP015); evolves into Electabuzz in the Tag Battle final (DP052)
Stantler	DP006	Caught and released at once because it knows only Tackle
Ursaring	DP006	Caught after a rampage in Bewilder Forest
Azumarill	DP015	Knocked out by Roark’s Geodude; given away to a boy (DP016)
Torterra, Weavile, Murkrow	DP040	All beaten, with Chimchar, by Cynthia’s Garchomp in a Full Battle that Paul forfeits
Fearow (wild)	DP046	Paul tries to catch it in the maze; the outcome is not shown
Ninjask	DP051	Seen in the flashback to Chimchar’s capture

Teams at the end of the season (DP052)

Trainer	Travelling with	Notes
Ash	Pikachu, Aipom, Staravia, Turtwig, Chimchar	Coal Badge (DP018), Forest Badge (DP037), two Soothe Bells (DP052)
Dawn	Piplup, Buneary, Pachirisu, Buizel	Floaroma Ribbon (DP027) and a Pokétch (DP010)
Brock	Sudowoodo, Croagunk, Happiny	His other Pokémon stay at the Pewter Gym (DP004)
Paul	Torterra, Electabuzz, Ursaring, Weavile, Murkrow, Ninjask	Coal Badge (DP015); released Chimchar (DP051)
Jessie	Seviper, Dustox, Wobbuffet	Jubilife finalist as Jessilina (DP012)
James	Carnivine, Mime Jr., Cacnea	Carnivine retrieved from his family’s summer cottage (DP002)

Pokémon making their anime debut this season

Forty-three species make their TV-series debut in Diamond and Pearl, every one of them from Generation IV — thirteen in the first episode alone, from the three Sinnoh first partners and the Starly and Bidoof lines to Johanna’s Glameow and the lake guardian Mesprit. Only three had been seen before on the big screen: Mantyke and Buizel in Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea and Torterra, Paul’s partner, in The Rise of Darkrai, which opened in Japan five days before DP040. Dialga and Palkia appear only in a fantasy sequence (DP036). A handful of Sinnoh species had already appeared before DP001 — Munchlax, Mime Jr., Bonsly, Chatot, Weavile and Electivire in Ruby and Sapphire and Lucario in the eighth movie — and The Rise of Darkrai gave many more, from Darkrai to Infernape and Empoleon, their first animated appearance during the Japanese run.

• Turtwig#0387 · DP001 · TV debut
• Chimchar#0390 · DP001 · TV debut
• Piplup#0393 · DP001 · TV debut
• Starly#0396 · DP001 · TV debut
• Staravia#0397 · DP001 · TV debut
• Staraptor#0398 · DP001 · TV debut
• Bidoof#0399 · DP001 · TV debut
• Bibarel#0400 · DP001 · TV debut
• Budew#0406 · DP001 · TV debut
• Buneary#0427 · DP001 · TV debut
• Glameow#0431 · DP001 · Johanna’s
• Mantyke#0458 · DP001 · after the ninth movie
• Mesprit#0481 · DP001 · at Lake Verity
• Burmy#0412 · DP002 · Plant Cloak
• Carnivine#0455 · DP002 · James’s
• Prinplup#0394 · DP004 · TV debut
• Kricketot#0401 · DP004 · TV debut
• Croagunk#0453 · DP008 · Brock’s
• Shinx#0403 · DP010 · Landis’s
• Buizel#0418 · DP011 · after the ninth movie
• Cranidos#0408 · DP015 · Roark’s
• Rampardos#0409 · DP017 · Roark’s
• Pachirisu#0417 · DP019 · Dawn’s
• Drapion#0452 · DP020 · J’s
• Roserade#0407 · DP025 · Forsythia’s
• Kricketune#0402 · DP027 · TV debut
• Drifloon#0425 · DP028 · TV debut
• Wormadam#0413 · DP030 · all three Cloaks
• Mothim#0414 · DP030 · Cheryl’s
• Combee#0415 · DP031 · TV debut
• Cherubi#0420 · DP031 · Gardenia’s
• Vespiquen#0416 · DP032 · TV debut
• Bronzong#0437 · DP035 · Lucian’s
• Stunky#0434 · DP036 · Officer Jenny’s
• Dialga#0483 · DP036 · in a fantasy
• Palkia#0484 · DP036 · in a fantasy
• Happiny#0440 · DP038 · Brock’s
• Torterra#0389 · DP040 · Paul’s; after the tenth movie
• Garchomp#0445 · DP040 · Cynthia’s
• Shellos#0422 · DP041 · Zoey’s West Sea form
• Mismagius#0429 · DP043 · TV debut
• Hippopotas#0449 · DP044 · TV debut
• Shieldon#0410 · DP045 · TV debut

Key Events, Gym Battles & Tournaments

Gym Badges won this season

Badge	Gym & Leader	Leader’s Pokémon	Ash’s Pokémon	Result	Episode
Coal Badge	Oreburgh Gym · Roark	Onix, Geodude, Rampardos	Pikachu, Aipom, Turtwig	Win at the second attempt — after Cranidos’s Zen Headbutt and Onix’s Screech beat him in DP016, Pikachu clings to Onix, shatters its Stealth Rock and knocks it out with Iron Tail; Aipom’s Focus Punch beats Geodude before Rampardos knocks out Aipom with Headbutt and Pikachu with Zen Headbutt; then Turtwig hides in the smoke of a burning Razor Leaf and knocks Rampardos out from behind	DP018
Forest Badge	Eterna Gym · Gardenia	Cherubi, Turtwig, Roserade	Turtwig, Staravia, Aipom	Win without Pikachu — under harsh sunlight Turtwig is recalled from Cherubi’s instant Solar Beams, Staravia uses the cloud cover and the sun’s glare to beat Cherubi and then falls to Gardenia’s Turtwig, Ash’s Turtwig wins the mirror match with Synthesis and Tackle before Roserade’s Grass Knot and Weather Ball knock it out, and Aipom, blinded by Flash, punches a Weather Ball back and finishes Roserade with a ring of Swift and Focus Punch	DP037

The Oreburgh and Eterna Gyms

Ash’s first Sinnoh Gym is the Oreburgh Gym, a rocky three-on-three arena refereed by Ian, whose Leader, Roark, also works in the city’s coal mine. Paul gets there first (DP015): Roark’s Geodude beats Azumarill with Hidden Power and Rollout, Elekid beats Geodude with Brick Break, Onix is paralysed by Elekid’s Static and dug out by Chimchar, Cranidos beats Chimchar despite Blaze, and Elekid wins the final clash of Brick Break against Zen Headbutt — four Ability activations in one episode, a series record. Ash challenges Roark at once and loses (DP016): Cranidos knocks out Aipom, Turtwig’s Razor Leaf knocks out Cranidos, Onix’s Double-Edge beats Turtwig, and although Pikachu breaks up the field, Onix’s Screech drives it into a rock. It is Ash’s only official Gym defeat in Sinnoh and his first defeat by a region’s first Leader since Brock in EP005 — both ending with Onix beating Pikachu. After the Aerodactyl rampage in which Cranidos evolves (DP017), the rematch goes Ash’s way (DP018), and the Coal Badge comes eighteen episodes after he set foot in Sinnoh.

Gardenia first meets the group in Eterna Forest as a Grass-type Trainer who cannot resist Turtwig and Carnivine (DP031); her own Turtwig, almost motionless until it moves at lightning speed, beats Ash’s Turtwig and Staravia in a practice two-on-two. In Eterna City she vouches for a suspected Nando, who has just beaten her for a Badge, and the friends learn that she is the Gym Leader (DP036). The Gym battle (DP037), three-on-three under harsh sunlight while Team Rocket tunnel beneath the building, is won without Pikachu: Staravia beats the Chlorophyll-boosted Cherubi by diving out of the sun’s glare, Turtwig wins the Turtwig mirror match, and Aipom beats Roserade by listening for its Weather Ball.

Dawn’s first Contests

Sinnoh Contests use Contest Passes, Seals and Ball Capsules, and an appeal round — the Performance Stage — followed by timed Contest Battles. At the Jubilife Contest (DP011–DP012), presented by Marian and judged by Raoul Contesta, Mr. Sukizo and Nurse Joy, Dawn freezes on stage before Piplup’s Bubble Beam and charged Peck save her appeal, Ash enters his first official Contest with Aipom, and Zoey’s Misdreavus and Jessilina’s Carnivine also go through. Zoey’s Glameow beats Ash in the quarter-finals, Aipom’s Focus Punch landing just as time runs out, edges past Dawn’s Buneary on an iced-over stage in the semi-finals and beats Jessilina in the final for the Jubilife Ribbon, her second; Dawn finishes in the Top 4 and Ash in the Top 8. A few weeks later Dawn loses again, in an unofficial village Contest whose prize is a year’s supply of fruit, to Jessie and Ash’s borrowed Aipom (DP022).

The Floaroma Contest (DP026–DP027) brings Dawn’s childhood friend Kenny, who opens with Alakazam and battles with Prinplup. Pachirisu trips over its own tail in its appeal until a Poffin tossed into the air turns panic into a shower of Discharge and Sweet Kiss, and Piplup beats Jessilina’s Dustox with Bide and a Bagon before meeting Kenny’s Prinplup in the final; with Whirlpool, Bide and a last pair of colliding Bubble Beams, Dawn is narrowly ahead at the buzzer and wins the Floaroma Ribbon, her first. The dub calls the Floaroma Contest an annual event, which the Japanese version does not.

The Hearthome Contest (DP049)

Hearthome City’s Contest is the first in which Sinnoh Contests are called Super Contests, and the first with Double Performances, two Pokémon appearing together, as Zoey had explained in DP041. Dawn’s Pachirisu and Piplup fail to win over the judges, and for the first time she does not get past the Performance Stage — the first time a main character other than Jessie has failed the appeals round. Nando’s Kricketune and Roselia beat Jessilina’s Seviper and Dustox with X-Scissor, and Nando beats Zoey’s Glameow and Shellos in the final to win the Hearthome Ribbon, his second; Zoey finishes runner-up. That night Zoey finds Dawn on the Pokémon Center balcony and tells her to stop moping and work toward next time.

The Hearthome City Tag Battle Competition (DP050–DP052)

With the Gym Leader still away, Hearthome’s Tag Battle Competition, presented by Enta, offers a Soothe Bell to each member of the winning pair, and the draw pairs Trainers at random: Dawn with Conway, Brock with Holly, and Ash with Paul. In the first round (DP050) Dawn and Conway (Piplup and Slowking) beat a Koffing and a Scyther, Brock and Holly (Sudowoodo and Wingull) a Yanma and a Bagon, and Ash and Paul (Pikachu and Chimchar) a Scientist’s Rhydon and an Ace Trainer’s Magmar, Pikachu cutting through Rhydon’s Surf with Iron Tail. Before the second round (DP051) Paul’s brutal night-time training leaves Chimchar unable to stand, and he explains that he caught it after seeing its Blaze erupt against a pack of Zangoose and wants it to master that power. In the battle Chimchar shields Ash’s fallen Turtwig from a Fire Blast, Paul turns his back, and with Ash calling its moves Chimchar knocks out a Psychic’s Metagross before Turtwig beats a Black Belt’s Zangoose; at sunset Paul releases it.

In the semi-finals (DP052) Ash’s Staravia and Paul’s Torterra beat Brock and Holly’s Croagunk and Farfetch’d, and in the final Chimchar, now Ash’s, and Paul’s Elekid, which evolves into Electabuzz mid-battle, beat Dawn and Conway’s Buizel and Heracross. Conway remarks that the least cooperative team has won a tournament meant to celebrate teamwork; Paul tosses his Soothe Bell to Ash, saying he has no use for it. The dub calls the competition annual, and its first broadcast had Enta call the semi-final a “quarterfinal”.

Other battles & competitions

Ash and Dawn’s first Tag Battle (DP029), filmed by Rhonda and Jack for Sinnoh Now, is a defeat by the Champ Twins’ Quilava and Croconaw, until a rematch in which Turtwig and Piplup finally work together ends the twins’ 17-win streak. At the Pokémon Dress-Up Contest (DP033), judged by Mr. Sukizo, an Officer Jenny in a Growlithe hat and a Nurse Joy in a Chansey hat, Brock’s Croagunk, dressed as Politoed, beats Pikachu, Mime Jr., a disguised Meowth and the reigning champion’s Chatot to win the prize Egg. Lucian of the Elite Four lets his Bronzong beat Dawn’s disobedient Buizel with Iron Defense, Gyro Ball and Flash Cannon, then calls off the rematch once the two are working together (DP035) — the only time one of Ash’s companions has battled an Elite Four member.

The season’s most one-sided battle comes in Top-Down Training! (DP040). Paul asks the Champion, Cynthia, for a Full Battle, and her Garchomp beats his Chimchar, Weavile, Murkrow and Torterra in turn, shrugging off Torterra’s Giga Drain and Frenzy Plant before Brick Break, until Paul forfeits — the only Full Battle in the anime lost by forfeit. Dogasu’s Backpack thought “the kid needed to be knocked down a few pegs”.

Movies & Specials Released During the Season

The tenth movie, The Rise of Darkrai (ディアルガVSパルキアVSダークライ, Dialga VS Palkia VS Darkrai), opened in Japanese cinemas on 14 July 2007, between Steamboat Willies! (DP039) and Top-Down Training! (DP040), and became the top-grossing Japanese anime film of the year, taking a franchise-record ¥5.02 billion. Directed by Kunihiko Yuyama from a screenplay by Hideki Sonoda, it opened with Together2007, a new version of the season’s opening, and the TV series trailed it with teasers from DP014 onward; Paul’s Torterra (DP040) had appeared in it first, and its event Darkrai was handed out in Japanese cinemas until 9 September. In the US it was never shown in cinemas: Cartoon Network premiered it on 24 February 2008 at 7 p.m., at the end of an all-day Diamond and Pearl marathon three weeks after the season finale, and VIZ released it on DVD on 27 May 2008. It was the first Pokémon film dubbed by DuArt Film and Video, which also took over the TV series from DP053.

The ninth movie, Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea, had opened in Japan in July 2006, before the season began, and TV Tokyo broadcast it in the anime’s Thursday slot on 12 July 2007, two days before the tenth film opened. Its English version, recorded at TAJ Productions with the TV cast, premiered on Cartoon Network on 23 March 2007, four weeks before the Diamond and Pearl TV movie, and reached DVD on 3 April 2007 with a trailer announcing that the new series would start on 4 June. It gave Buizel and Mantyke their first appearances, so both were already familiar when they turned up in DP011 and DP001.

Two short films flew with All Nippon Airways during the Japanese run: Pikachu’s Island Adventure (PK17), shown on domestic flights in August 2006 and released on a Diamond and Pearl-branded Japanese DVD that carried DP021 as a bonus episode (in the US it came out with the ninth movie on 3 April 2007), and Pikachu’s Exploration Club (PK18), shown in August 2007 and never released in English. On 9 September 2007 Pokémon Sunday premiered the special Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time & Darkness, which reached Cartoon Network almost a year later.

Side Stories, Specials & Crossovers

Side-story tie-ins

• The tenth-anniversary specials. The anime’s tenth year was marked in Japan by one-hour specials: Borrowing on Bad Faith! (DP022) aired on 8 March 2007 with a “Pokémon test” quiz narrated by Misty’s voice actress, Mayumi Iizuka, with Hiroshi Fujioka, Ungirls and Shōko Nakagawa, and a new Dialga vs. Palkia vs. Darkrai trailer, and DP026–DP027 on 5 April with a “10th Anniversary All-Encompassing Review Quiz & Game”. From 8 March until the one-hour special of 4 October 2007, a short tenth-anniversary notice opened every broadcast.
• Pokémon Sunday, TV Tokyo’s Sunday companion show, ran its Pokémon Revival reruns, game segments and the “D&P Project” features throughout the Japanese run, and on 9 September 2007 premiered the special Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time & Darkness, which promoted the new Mystery Dungeon games; its predecessor, Team Go-Getters Out of the Gate!, was rerun on 27 March 2007.
• The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon, the special that had introduced the TAJ cast on Kids’ WB in April 2006, was streamed in Japan by TV Tokyo’s online service from 13 October 2006, the week after Dawn Of A New Era!.
• The shorts Pikachu’s Island Adventure (PK17) and Pikachu’s Exploration Club (PK18) and the tenth movie are covered under Movies & Specials.

Characters from the games, manga and specials

• Pokémon Diamond and Pearl launched in Japan on 28 September 2006, the day of the two-hour premiere, and in North America on 22 April 2007, two days after the US TV movie. The anime follows the games’ route from Twinleaf Town past Jubilife, Oreburgh, Floaroma and Eterna to Hearthome City, borrows their Pokétch and its apps, Poffins, Ball Capsules, Seals and Super Contests, and gives the Sinnoh Gym Leaders, Lucian, Cynthia, Team Galactic and Saturn, Professor Rowan and the lake guardian Mesprit their animated debuts; the dub even borrows the name of Hearthome City’s Amity Square for an anime-only nature park in DP040.
• Dawn is based on the games’ female player character, and the treasure hunter Cheryl on the Trainer who partners the player through Eterna Forest, while Paul, Zoey, Kenny, Nando and Pokémon Hunter J are inventions of the anime.
• The Adamant and Lustrous Orbs — Team Rocket’s target in Eterna City (DP036) and the find near Celestic Town reported in DP040 — are the games’ held items for Dialga and Palkia, and set up Team Galactic’s plans in the seasons that follow. Cynthia’s talk about Sinnoh’s legends echoes her role in the games.
• The tenth movie runs alongside the season: The Rise of Darkrai premiered in Japan between DP039 and DP040, its teasers aired after DP014, DP022 and DP025 among others, and Japan’s end segment gave way to movie promotions in DP039–DP041.
• Gary Oak returns in Ill-Will Hunting! (DP045) as a Pokémon researcher working with Professor Rowan on Mount Coronet — the first time Dawn meets him — and Tracey, Delia and Professor Oak appear from Pallet Town in the first episodes; the Viridian City Officer Jenny visits Eterna City on her day off (DP036).
• Homages. Drifloon On the Wind! (DP028) borrows heavily from My Neighbor Totoro, the gate in Malice In Wonderland! (DP043) is modelled on Rashōmon, Some Enchanted Sweetening! (DP030) remakes the premise of The Problem with Paras (EP044) and Ya See We Want An Evolution! (DP021) echoes Talkin’ ’Bout an Evolution (EP235).

Opening & Ending Themes

Diamond and Pearl brought new theme songs in both languages. In Japan the two-hour premiere had no opening at all; from DP004 every episode opened with Fumie Akiyoshi’s Together, whose lyrics name new moves such as Aqua Jet, Defog and Rock Climb, and which gained more animation variants than any opening before or since as new Pokémon joined the team. The ending, By Your Side ~Hikari’s Theme~, sung by Grin, spotlights Dawn, and switched to a Pop-Up Version at DP024, with new animation from DP025, and to a Winter Version, with the same animation, at DP051. The English dub opened with Diamond and Pearl, a rap by Chris “Breeze” Barczynski, and was the first main-series dub to play its opening’s instrumental over the end credits. As usual, the Japanese openings and endings were never dubbed.

Japan’s background music leans on the movies: the score of Lucario and the Mystery of Mew is the most reused, Sir Aaron’s theme included (DP012), alongside music from Jirachi: Wish Maker, Destiny Deoxys, Pikachu & Pichu (from DP033) and Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea (from DP042, as Electrike evolves). Older songs return too — an alternate cut of Spurt! in DP023, the first song from a previous series in Diamond and Pearl, Advance Adventure, Ready Go!, Polka O Dolka, Gotta Dance!!, Aim to Be a Pokémon Master and the Pokémon Symphonic Medley. The English version is the last with background music produced by 4Kids Entertainment: Dogasu’s Backpack counted only five of the twenty Japanese cues kept in DP001, “about 75%” replaced with “older 4Kids tracks from the late 1990s”, which it called “way below acceptable”; the dub adds cues from Mewtwo Strikes Back (DP005, DP023, DP025, DP040, DP041) and Pikachu’s Vacation (DP007, DP013, DP021) and Bellossom’s Song (DP022), and loops a lengthened cut of its own opening under the DP018 Gym battle — “Lazy lazy lazy”, in Dogasu’s words.

Diamond and Pearl — Chris “Breeze” Barczynski’s English opening, used for all 51 dubbed 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 28 September 2006 — the day Pokémon Diamond and Pearl went on sale — when DP001–DP003 aired as a three-episode, two-hour premiere, the first time the network had done so, drawing the series’ best rating, 9.3%. It ended on 25 October 2007 with Smells Like Team Spirit!. Several weeks carried a pair of episodes as a one-hour special (DP013–DP014 on 21 December 2006, DP024–DP025 on 29 March, DP026–DP027 on 5 April, DP028–DP029 on 12 April, DP047–DP048 on 27 September and DP049–DP050 on 4 October 2007), while the slot went without an episode on several Thursdays — on 15 February 2007 to make way for the premiere of Naruto Shippūden, which delayed DP020, and on 12 July 2007 for a broadcast of the ninth movie. Japan has no “season 10”: these are the first 52 episodes of the 191-episode Diamond & Pearl series.

The US premiere. Cartoon Network had planned to start the series in March 2007, but the date slipped, and the first three episodes premiered instead as a “TV movie” on Friday 20 April 2007, two days before the games’ North American launch. The TV movie was cut: DP001’s Japanese title display gave way to the English rap opening, the title screens, the episode endings and DP003’s recap were removed, and the last shot was frozen so that “To be continued” never appeared. The trailer on the ninth movie’s DVD announced the regular premiere for Monday 4 June, when DP001 aired again in full.

The US schedule. From 4 June to 16 July 2007 Cartoon Network showed the season Monday to Thursday, DP001 to DP024 — O’er the Rampardos We Watched! on 3 July, the day before Independence Day, and DP019 on Thursday 5 July after a break for the holiday. After a summer hiatus the series joined the 2007–08 Saturday-morning line-up on 1 September with DP025 and DP026 together, then ran one new episode a week. On 26 January 2008 Sandshrew’s Locker! was followed straight away by Dawn’s Early Night!, skipping the clip show, and the season ended on Friday 1 February 2008 with DP050–DP052 as a 90-minute special. At 99 days, the gap between the Japanese and English premieres of DP052 was the shortest of any dubbed episode until BW108. English Wikipedia’s dates, one Saturday per episode from DP025 and ending on 1 March 2008, are contradicted by Bulbapedia and pocketmonsters.net’s calendars, which our dates follow.

The numbering. There are 52 episodes in Japan and 51 in English: the clip show DP048 was never dubbed, so the English season numbers DP001–DP047 as 1–47 and DP049–DP052 as 48–51, on TV, on the VIZ Media DVDs and on streaming. Bulbapedia’s alternate overall numbers are EP467–EP518, English Wikipedia counts the season as episodes 469–520 in Japan (including two 1998 specials) and 465–515 in English, and Dogasu’s Backpack numbers the dubbed episodes 1001–1051. An Angry Combeenation! (DP032) was Japan’s 500th TV broadcast, while Buizel Your Way Out Of This! (DP034) is EP500 in Bulbapedia’s count.

Elsewhere. In the UK the season premiered on Cartoon Network Too, with DP001 listed for 4 February 2008, before moving to Cartoon Network and, from 2009, to CITV; it has since aired on POP and CBBC and joined BBC iPlayer on 2 August 2021. New Zealand initially skipped Dawn’s Early Night! (DP049) for unknown reasons, showing it later in repeats, and Australia’s ABC Entertains picked the series up in February 2025. The season brought Pokémon back to television in Bulgaria and Romania after seven years, in the Czech Republic after six and in Poland after two; South Korea and Italy began their Diamond and Pearl runs in September 2007. The Hindi dub gives Paul a running gag of dreaming about Indian dishes.

After the season. On 24 February 2008 Cartoon Network ran an all-day Diamond and Pearl marathon of DP028–DP052 leading into the TV premiere of The Rise of Darkrai. Battle Dimension followed from 12 April 2008, with the same cast but recorded at DuArt Film and Video, as TAJ Productions’ departure had been announced by its president, Larry Juris, on 2 January 2008. Today the season is on the Pokémon TV channel on YouTube (see Where to Watch).

Dub Edits & Censorship

The undubbed clip show

The Japan-only clip show. Satoshi and Hikari! Facing a New Adventure!! (サトシとヒカリ！新たなる冒険に向かって！！, Satoshi to Hikari! Aratanaru Bōken ni Mukatte!!, DP048 — sometimes translated “Head for a New Adventure!!”) aired on 27 September 2007 as the second half of a one-hour special with Sandshrew’s Locker!. Framed as Ash, Dawn and Brock looking back on their first year in Sinnoh on the way to Hearthome City, it recalls Ash’s Gym victories over Roark and Gardenia, his rivalry with Paul and Dawn’s with Zoey and Kenny, and still ends with a Professor Oak’s encyclopedia entry, on Torterra; Bulbapedia lists no staff credits for it. It is the second clip show in the anime, after Advanced Battle’s AG120, and with no new story to tell it was never dubbed into any language or aired outside Japan — the first episode ever skipped by The Pokémon Company International. That is why the English numbering jumps from Sandshrew’s Locker! (47) to Dawn’s Early Night! (48), and why every English DVD has 51 episodes. Nothing in the season was banned: apart from DP048, every episode aired in the US, and only New Zealand briefly skipped one, DP049.

Changes in the English version

The TV movie. For the premiere of 20 April 2007 DP001–DP003 were run together as one programme: the English rap opening replaced DP001’s Japanese title display, the episode title screens (nine seconds each), the episode endings (17 seconds in DP001) and DP003’s recap were cut, the last shot was frozen so that “To be continued” never appeared, and Jessie and Meowth’s closing scene in DP001 and part of Starly’s search from the air in DP002 went too. The June reruns restored the cuts, although later airings of DP001 have run without the English theme, for reasons never explained.

Structure and routine edits. The dub drops the Japanese eyecatches, adds three seconds to the “To be continued” card (DP018, DP025, DP030, DP040 and others), and has no mid-episode segment at all: Who’s That Pokémon? did not return until Black & White, and Japan’s new end segment, Professor Oak’s Big Pokémon Encyclopedia — Professor Oak’s first regular feature in almost two years, each ending with a Pokémon senryū — was never dubbed. Pokémon USA began writing cold opens of its own (DP014 is the first) and in several episodes from DP024 moved the Japanese opening scene to after the theme song, with the title card after it. Dogasu’s Backpack called the paint edit of the Route 201 signpost in DP001 “perfectly understandable”; the made-up script on the Sinnoh Now title screen was replaced with English on the first airings of DP033 (the DVD keeps it), but the Japanese text on Cynthia’s tablet in DP040 was left alone.

Content cuts. The season’s longest cut is a 34-second boss fantasy in Some Enchanted Sweetening! (DP030), in which Giovanni, in swimming briefs, is swarmed and licked by Pokémon — “done on PUSA’s side, no doubt about it”, according to Dogasu. In The Grass Menagerie! (DP037) Jessie’s and James’s lines about having “dug all the way to Hell” and a motto variant mentioning the depths of Hell and Lord Enma were replaced, probably for religious reasons, and Giovanni’s yacht trip around the world in DP034 is trimmed to the part where he is lost at sea. Later broadcasters made their own cuts: a BBC iPlayer and CBBC print of DP002 removes half of James’s “bloody”, and Sky Kids in the UK cut Ash clinging to J’s vehicle in DP020.

Dialogue changes. The script rewrites freely. In DP001 Dawn’s tenth birthday is implied to have passed and a restaurant’s joke is rewritten; in DP003 the introductions drop Paul’s home town, Veilstone, and Ash’s, so Paul’s is first revealed in DP040; James fears being replaced by Butch and Cassidy (DP006); a “gift from God” line goes and an “I’m not a fruit” line arrives in DP007, whose proposed title, “Piplup or Shut Up”, was dropped over Standards and Practices concerns; Johanna no longer scolds Dawn for failing to thank Zoey (DP011); Ash says “Pikachu is the best” where the Japanese has him apologise (DP016); Abigail becomes Theresa’s aunt, a Grand Festival competitor, rather than her grandmother (DP024); Tsubomi becomes Forsythia (DP025); Kenny’s “Pikari” nickname for Dawn disappears (DP026); the Floaroma Contest and the Tag Battle Competition become annual events (DP027, DP052); and Chimchar’s lesson in DP051 becomes “friendship” instead of “love”. In DP040 Brock’s line about Dialga and Palkia nods to a film English audiences had not yet seen.

Voices, slips and other dubs. Misdreavus is now “Mis-DREE-vus” (DP011); Pikachu, Aipom, Elekid, Mothim, Garchomp and Electabuzz keep their Japanese voices, and many minor Pokémon reuse stock recordings of the 4Kids actors. The first broadcast of DP009 had “it’s” for “its” on the title card, DP020’s “Exit stage right” was corrected to “left” in later airings, and Enta calls DP052’s semi-final a “quarterfinal”. Abroad, the Finnish, Swedish and Indian Disney XD dubs replace DP018’s lengthened theme with an instrumental, Brazilian titles reference Tropa de Elite (DP035) and Mrs. Doubtfire (DP039), and the Latin American Spanish J tells her henchmen to “go to Digimon” (DP045).

Episode titles explained

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

• Following A Maiden’s Voyage! — a maiden voyage, for Dawn’s first journey
• Two Degrees of Separation! — “six degrees of separation”, for Ash and Pikachu, lost and just missing each other
• When Pokémon Worlds Collide! — the 1933 novel and 1951 film When Worlds Collide
• Dawn Of A New Era! — “the dawn of a new era”, for Dawn’s first battle
• Gettin’ Twiggy With It! — Will Smith’s “Gettin’ Jiggy wit It”
• Different Strokes for Different Blokes! — “different strokes for different folks”
• Like It or Lup It! — “like it or lump it”, with Piplup
• Gymbaliar! — jambalaya, crossed with a Gym and a liar
• Setting The World On Its Buneary! — to “set the world on its ear”
• Not on MY Watch Ya Don’t! — “not on my watch”, for the Pokétch
• Mounting a Coordinator Assault! — a “coordinated assault”
• Arrival of a Rival! — a rhyme for Zoey’s arrival
• A Staravia Is Born! — the film A Star Is Born
• Leave It To Brocko! — the sitcom Leave It to Beaver, and close to the Japanese title
• Shapes of Things to Come! — H. G. Wells’s The Shape of Things to Come
• A Gruff Act to Follow! — “a tough act to follow”
• Wild in the Streets! — the song “Wild in the Streets”, recorded by Garland Jeffreys and Bon Jovi
• O’er the Rampardos We Watched! — “O’er the ramparts we watched”, from “The Star-Spangled Banner”, aired the day before Independence Day
• Twice Smitten, Once Shy! — “once bitten, twice shy”
• Mutiny in the Bounty! — the mutiny on HMS Bounty, for a bounty hunter
• Ya See We Want An Evolution! — the Beatles’ “Revolution”, sung on the title card
• Borrowing on Bad Faith! — “in bad faith”, for Jessie’s borrowed Aipom
• Faced with Steelix Determination! — “steely determination”
• Cooking Up a Sweet Story! — to “cook up a story”, in a bakery
• Oh Do You Know The Poffin Plan! — the nursery rhyme “Do You Know the Muffin Man?”
• Getting the Pre-Contest Titters! — “pre-contest jitters”
• Settling a Not-So-Old Score! — “settling an old score”, with a childhood friend
• Drifloon On the Wind! — drifting on the wind
• The Champ Twins! — the cartoon The Cramp Twins
• Some Enchanted Sweetening! — “Some Enchanted Evening”, from South Pacific
• The Grass-Type Is Always Greener! — “the grass is always greener on the other side”
• An Angry Combeenation! — “combination”, with Combee
• All Dressed Up With Somewhere To Go! — “all dressed up with nowhere to go”
• Buizel Your Way Out Of This! — to “weasel your way out”
• An Elite Meet and Greet! — a “meet and greet” with the Elite Four; first announced as “The Bells are Bronzing!”
• A Secret Sphere of Influence! — a “sphere of influence”, for the Adamant Orb
• The Grass Menagerie! — Tennessee Williams’s play The Glass Menagerie
• One Big Happiny Family! — “one big happy family”
• Steamboat Willies! — Mickey Mouse’s Steamboat Willie
• Top-Down Training! — top-down management, for a lesson from the Champion
• A Stand-Up Sit-Down! — a sit-down talk between rivals who stand up to each other
• The Electrike Company! — the 1971 children’s series The Electric Company
• Malice In Wonderland! — Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland
• Mass Hip-Po-Sis! — “mass hypnosis”, for Hippopotas’s Yawn
• Ill-Will Hunting! — the film Good Will Hunting
• A Maze-ing Race! — the TV show The Amazing Race, or “Amazing Grace”
• Sandshrew’s Locker! — “Davy Jones’s locker”, for a flooded school
• Dawn’s Early Night! — “by the dawn’s early light”, the season’s second “Star-Spangled Banner” pun, for Dawn’s early exit
• Tag! We’re It…! — “Tag, you’re it!”, for a Tag Battle
• Glory Blaze! — “a blaze of glory”, for Chimchar’s Blaze
• Smells Like Team Spirit! — Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”

DVD & Blu-ray / Streaming

Diamond and Pearl came out in North America from VIZ Media in 2008–09 as three two-disc box sets, each disc also sold on its own, followed by a seven-disc Complete Season in 2019; all of them hold the 51 dubbed episodes, without the clip show DP048. Australia and New Zealand got two four-disc collections 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: Diamond and Pearl Box Set 1 (VIZ Media, 2 discs, DPMDPBS1)	16 September 2008	DP001–DP017 (17 episodes, 374 minutes; list price US$24.98); Disc 1 (DP001–DP008) and Disc 2 (DP009–DP017) were also sold separately
Box Set 2 (DPMDPBS2)	4 November 2008	DP018–DP034 (17 episodes, although the box claims 18); Disc 3 (DP018–DP026) and Disc 4 (DP027–DP034) also sold separately
Box Set 3 (DPMDPBS3)	17 March 2009	DP035–DP052 without the clip show (17 episodes); Disc 5 (DP035–DP042) and Disc 6 (DP043–DP047, DP049–DP052) also sold separately; English closed captions are the only extra on any of the discs
Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl – The Complete Season (7 DVDs, VIZ Media via Warner Home Video)	20 August 2019	All 51 dubbed episodes in one case with a slipcover, seven to eight per disc

Australia & New Zealand (Region 4)

Release	Date	Notes
Diamond and Pearl Collection 1 (4 discs, Magna Pacific, DBX13064)	6 May 2009	DP001–DP025; no captions on any Region 4 set
Diamond and Pearl Collection 2 (4 discs + bonus disc, DBX13066)	6 May 2009	DP026–DP052 without DP048, plus Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time & Darkness as a bonus disc
Season 10 DigiPack disc set (6 discs, DBX13192)	2 March 2011 (NZ 16 June 2011)	Discs 10.1–10.6 themed on Piplup (DP001–DP008), Buneary, Rampardos, Vespiquen, Turtwig and Shieldon (DP043–DP047, DP049–DP052); JB Hi-Fi reissues on 14 July (online) and 21 September 2016
Slimline reissue (Beyond Home Entertainment, BHE5394)	2 April 2014	The six-disc set repackaged
Shock Entertainment reissue (KAL5661B)	2 June 2021 (NZ 21 July 2021)	The six-disc set repackaged again
Multi-season sets	—	The season is also in the Pokémon Sinnoh Collection, the Diamond and Pearl – Limited Edition Collection, the Heritage Collection II 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 in the line Pocket Monsters Diamond & Pearl (ポケットモンスター ダイヤモンド・パール), usually three episodes per volume: Vol. 1 came out on 25 April 2007, two volumes followed most months, and Vols. 16 and 17 completed the season on 22 February 2008. Vol. 7 (ZMBS-967R) holds DP018–DP020 and Vol. 8 (ZMBS-968R) DP022–DP024, because Ya See We Want An Evolution! (DP021) was left off the rental series and issued instead as a bonus on a Diamond and Pearl-branded DVD of the short Pikachu’s Island Adventure; the contents of the other volumes, and whether DP048 was released, have not been confirmed. A promotional Pokémon D&P DVD appeared on 28 September 2006, the ninth movie on DVD on 22 December 2006 and The Rise of Darkrai on 21 December 2007.

Streaming

Hulu added the season for Hulu Plus subscribers on 30 January 2014, with the first five episodes free, after Hulu and Netflix divided the Pokémon catalogue between them; the Pokémon TV app and website carried it at times before rotating it out, until the service closed on 28 March 2024. The Pokémon TV channel on YouTube, launched on 6 December 2024, carries Season 10 as of October 2026 in English, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Brazilian and European Portuguese, Russian, Castilian and Latin American Spanish and Swedish, with some episodes in Czech and Polish — but not in the UK, where BBC iPlayer added the season on 2 August 2021 and Now TV also lists it. In Australia ABC iview added it in February and March 2025. Check your local service, as availability changes often.

Covers

• Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl Box Set 1 (Region 1, 2008)
• Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl Box Set 2 (Region 1, 2008)
• Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl Box Set 3 (Region 1, 2009)
• The Complete Season (Region 1, 2019)
• Diamond and Pearl Collection 1 (Region 4, 2009)
• Season 10 DigiPack (Region 4, 2011)

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 YouTubeCarries Season 10 in English and more than a dozen other dub languages (as of October 2026), though not in the UK.
• DVD – North AmericaPokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl – The Complete Season (VIZ Media, 7 discs, 2019) has all 51 dubbed episodes in one case.
• DVD – Australia & New ZealandThe Season 10 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.
• BBC iPlayer (UK)Added the season on 2 August 2021; Now TV also lists it.
• ABC iview (Australia)Added the season in February and March 2025, alongside broadcasts on ABC Entertains.
• Not confirmedSeason 10 on Netflix, Prime Video and the digital stores has not been confirmed for this page; Hulu carried it from 2014, and Pokémon TV closed in March 2024.

Trading Cards Released During the Season

Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl reached American television just as the trading card game entered its Diamond & Pearl era. The first Sinnoh expansion went on sale between the TV movie and the weekday run, two more followed while the season was on the air, and a fourth arrived days after the finale:

• Diamond & Pearl — 23 May 2007 — 130 cards, between the TV movie (20 April) and the start of the weekday run (4 June); the DP Black Star Promos began the same month with Turtwig, Chimchar, Piplup and Pachirisu
• Mysterious Treasures — 22 August 2007 — 123 cards plus a secret rare, during the summer break between Cooking Up a Sweet Story! (DP024) and Oh Do You Know The Poffin Plan! (DP025)
• Secret Wonders — 7 November 2007 — 132 cards, between An Elite Meet and Greet! (DP035) and A Secret Sphere of Influence! (DP036) on Cartoon Network
• Great Encounters — 13 February 2008 — 106 cards, twelve days after the finale

In Japan the same cards had come out months earlier: Diamond & Pearl is the English version of Space-Time Creation (30 November 2006), Mysterious Treasures of Secret of the Lakes (2 March 2007) and Secret Wonders of Shining Darkness (5 July 2007). With the new games, cards and series all launching in 2007, Pokémon USA expected that year’s TCG sales to triple those of 2006.

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:

• Piplup · Diamond & Pearl 93/130Ken Sugimori’s Piplup went on sale in the Diamond & Pearl set on 23 May 2007, a month after Dawn chose it as her first partner in the US premiere of Following A Maiden’s Voyage! (DP001, 20 April 2007) and twelve days before the episode’s uncut rerun opened the weekday run on 4 June.
• Rampardos · Mysterious Treasures 33/123Mysterious Treasures (22 August 2007) brought a Rampardos seven weeks after Roark’s Cranidos evolved in the US broadcast of Wild in the Streets! (DP017, 2 July 2007) and fell to Turtwig’s burning-leaf smokescreen in the Coal Badge rematch of O’er the Rampardos We Watched! (DP018, 3 July 2007).
• Roserade · Secret Wonders 17/132Secret Wonders went on sale on 7 November 2007, ten days before Gardenia’s Roserade knocked out Turtwig with a sun-boosted Weather Ball and then fell to Aipom’s Focus Punch in the US broadcast of The Grass Menagerie! (DP037, 17 November 2007).

Firsts & Lasts

• First English season named after its generation’s games, and the first time TV Tokyo’s network opened a series with a three-episode, two-hour premiere (DP001–DP003).
• First Generation IV move in the anime: Croagunk’s Poison Jab in Gymbaliar! (DP008); first cold open of the Diamond and Pearl series: DP009.
• Ash’s first official Contest: the Jubilife Contest with Aipom (DP011–DP012).
• First time a main character’s Rock type is shown evolving: Brock’s Bonsly into Sudowoodo (DP014).
• First Electric type obtained by a main character since Pikachu, and the first released Pokémon caught again by a main character: Dawn’s Pachirisu (DP019).
• Jessie’s first Contest win, and the only Contest she enters under her own name: Borrowing on Bad Faith! (DP022).
• Dawn’s first Ribbon: Floaroma Town (DP027).
• First female-only Pokémon caught by a main character: Brock’s Happiny (DP038).
• First Champion other than Lance in the anime, and the only Full Battle lost by forfeit: Cynthia v Paul (DP040).
• First episode skipped by The Pokémon Company International: the clip show DP048, the anime’s second.
• First time Sinnoh Contests are called Super Contests, and the first time a main character other than Jessie fails a Contest’s appeals round: Dawn at Hearthome (DP049).
• Ash’s first Fire-type first partner since Cyndaquil, 377 episodes earlier: Chimchar (DP052).
• Last in-person appearance of Tracey for 736 episodes (DP001), last season with background music by 4Kids Entertainment and last episode recorded at TAJ Productions (DP052).

Trivia & Facts

• Named after the games. Diamond and Pearl is the first English season to take its title from its generation’s games. DP001–DP003 premiered in Japan on the day Pokémon Diamond and Pearl went on sale, 28 September 2006, and the US TV movie aired two days before their North American launch on 22 April 2007.
• The three-episode, two-hour Japanese premiere was a first for TV Tokyo’s network and drew the series’ highest rating, 9.3%. None of the three episodes had an opening on television, and DP001 has none on DVD either.
• TAJ’s last season. Smells Like Team Spirit! (DP052) is the last episode recorded by Pokémon USA’s voice actors at TAJ Productions, and the season is the last with background music produced by 4Kids Entertainment; DuArt Film and Video took over from The Rise of Darkrai and DP053, with Tom Wayland as voice director.
• A slow first Badge. Ash’s defeat by Roark in A Gruff Act to Follow! (DP016) is his only official Gym loss in Sinnoh and his first loss to a region’s first Gym Leader since Brock in EP005 — both ending with Onix beating Pikachu — and the 18 episodes between his arrival and the Coal Badge (DP018) are the longest he has waited for a region’s first Badge.
  

  

• Paul’s habit of scanning and releasing Pokémon set him apart from every earlier rival. Dogasu’s Backpack found it “refreshing to see a jerk like him shaking things up” and was relieved that Pokémon USA “didn’t give Ash’s rival that Gary voice”.
• Together’s records. Japan’s opening went through 17 animation variants (19 counting error fixes), more than any other, and its 94 consecutive episodes (DP002–DP095) were a record for 15 years.
• New voices in Japan. Kenta Miyake makes his debut as Giovanni in Two Degrees of Separation! (DP002), following Hirotaka Suzuoki’s death in August 2006, and Kikuko Inoue stood in as Nurse Joy from DP025 to DP050 while Yuriko Yamaguchi was on maternity leave.
• Satoshi and Hikari! Facing a New Adventure!! (DP048) is the anime’s second clip show, after AG120, and the first episode The Pokémon Company International skipped; it has never aired outside Japan.
  

  

• Villains and VIPs. Pokémon Hunter J (DP020), Lucian of the Elite Four (DP035), Team Galactic and Commander Saturn (DP036) and Champion Cynthia (DP040), the first Champion other than Lance in the anime, all debut this season, and Lucian’s battle with Dawn is the only time one of Ash’s companions has faced an Elite Four member.
• Milestones. An Angry Combeenation! (DP032) was Japan’s 500th TV broadcast of the anime, while Buizel Your Way Out Of This! (DP034) is EP500 in Bulbapedia’s alternate count.
• Records within episodes. Shapes of Things to Come! (DP015) has four Ability activations, the most in any episode; Malice In Wonderland! (DP043) shows Team Rocket blasting off eight times; and Paul’s Full Battle with Cynthia in Top-Down Training! (DP040) is the only one in the anime lost by forfeit.
• Late Pokédex entries. Onix (DP015, 480 episodes after its debut), Magikarp (DP021), Suicune (DP028), Croconaw (DP029) and Sandshrew (DP047, 512 episodes after its debut) receive their first animated Pokédex entries this season.
• Following A Maiden’s Voyage! (DP001) is Tracey’s only Diamond and Pearl appearance and his last in person for 736 episodes, and the only episode between There’s No Place Like Hoenn and In the Shadow of Zekrom! (BW001) in which Brock does not appear.
• Croagunk’s Poison Jab in Gymbaliar! (DP008) is the first Generation IV move used in the anime, and Setting The World On Its Buneary! (DP009), storyboarded by chief director Kunihiko Yuyama, has the series’ first cold open.
• Contest firsts. Ash enters his first official Contest in Jubilife City (DP011); Jessie’s win in Borrowing on Bad Faith! (DP022) is the only Contest she has entered under her own name; and the Hearthome Contest (DP049) is the first in which Sinnoh Contests are called Super Contests and the first in which a main character other than Jessie fails the appeals round.
• Homages. Drifloon On the Wind! (DP028) is full of references to My Neighbor Totoro, and the gate in Malice In Wonderland! (DP043) is modelled on Rashōmon; Dogasu’s Backpack wondered why Some Enchanted Sweetening! (DP030) remade “one of the most hated episodes of all of Kanto”, The Problem with Paras.
• Games and cards. The Diamond & Pearl trading card expansion reached US shops on 23 May 2007, between the TV movie and the weekday run, and Mysterious Treasures and Secret Wonders followed while the season was on air, with cards of Roark’s Rampardos and Gardenia’s Roserade; the first DP Black Star Promos were Turtwig, Chimchar, Piplup and Pachirisu. Pokémon Battle Revolution reached North America on 25 June 2007, during the weekday run — see our TCG section.
• Comebacks abroad: the season returned Pokémon to Bulgarian and Romanian television after seven years, Czech television after six and Polish television after two.

Reception

Ratings. In the US the series debuted on Cartoon Network in June 2007 as “the most watched show for children in the overall 6–11 demographic”, according to VIZ Media’s press release for the DVDs, and ICv2, citing The New York Times, called it “the top-rated show for boys 6–11”; no numeric ratings have been published. In Japan the two-hour premiere drew 9.3%, the best figure of the whole Diamond & Pearl series, which averaged 6.4% in the Kantō region (Video Research). The games around it were huge — over a million copies sold in North America in five days — and The Rise of Darkrai became Japan’s top-grossing anime film of 2007. MyAnimeList rates the whole 191-episode series 7.34; IMDb’s episode ratings could not be checked for this page.

Fan favourites. The season’s rivalries have worn best. Dogasu’s Backpack thought Paul “refreshing”, judged O’er the Rampardos We Watched! a Gym battle that left it “satisfied with the way everything turned out” — adding that Diamond and Pearl could become “the best story arc yet” if the Gyms stayed that good — and found Top-Down Training! “jam-packed with good stuff”, Cynthia having “pretty much flattened” Paul. It called Oh Do You Know The Poffin Plan! “a solid episode all around”, had “no complaints” about The Grass Menagerie!, and summed up the finale as “a pretty decent way to end the series’ first year”, though Holly “just up and left without a good-bye”.

Critical commentary. The same site saw Dawn as “an accumulation of all the experience the writers got from Haruka”, complained that there was “no reason for Pikachu to be as weak as it is”, and kept a running tally of the dub’s weak spots: replacing three-quarters of DP001’s music was “way below acceptable”, the looped theme under DP018’s Gym battle “Lazy lazy lazy”, and Gardenia’s English voice “still can’t act” — Cynthia’s, it suggested, “would have worked very well for Gardenia”. No reviews of the VIZ box sets or the 2019 Complete Season by the major review sites have been found, and the season won no known awards.

Continue the journey with Season 11: Pokémon DP Battle Dimension, go back to Season 9: Pokémon Battle Frontier, or browse every season of the Pokémon anime.