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| Season | Season 13 of the English dub · the fourth and final season of Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl, broadcast as Pokémon: DP Sinnoh League Victors · the first dubbed season with every episode in widescreen |
| Series | Diamond & Pearl series (ポケットモンスター ダイヤモンド＆パール Pocket Monsters Diamond & Pearl) |
| Region | Sinnoh — from the road to Daybreak Town by way of Sunyshore City, Valor Lakefront and Lily of the Valley Island to Twinleaf Town; the last scenes are in Kanto, as Ash runs home to Pallet Town |
| Episodes | 34 (DP158–DP191) — the same in Japan, on TV and on video, the shortest season of the anime up to then; the English DVDs swap the order of DP168 and DP169 |
| First episode | Regaining the Home Advantage! (DP158) · Japan 7 January 2010 · US 5 June 2010 |
| Last episode | Memories are Made of Bliss! (DP191) · Japan 9 September 2010 · US 5 February 2011 |
| Japanese opening themes | Saikō – Everyday! (サイコー・エブリデイ！ The Greatest – Everyday!) – Fumie Akiyoshi (DP158–DP182) · its Band Version, with The Greatest-Band (DP183–DP191) |
| Japanese ending themes | Dotchi~nyo? (Which One ~ Is It?) – Moomoo Milk and Araki-san (DP158–DP182; Version 2 from DP170) · Kimi no Mune ni LaLaLa (In Your Heart, LaLaLa) – MADOKA. (DP183–DP191) |
| English opening theme | We Will Carry On! – Adam Elk (all 34 episodes; its instrumental plays under the end credits) |
| Travelling companions | Ash Ketchum & Pikachu, Dawn and Brock — the whole season, until Dawn stays in Sinnoh and Ash and Brock part in Kanto (DP191) |
| Badges won | Beacon Badge (Sunyshore Gym, DP179) — Ash’s eighth and last Sinnoh Badge |
| League | Lily of the Valley Conference (DP182–DP189): Ash reaches the Top 4, beating Paul in the quarter-final and losing to the eventual winner, Tobias — his best League result at the time |
| Contests | Dawn: Daybreak Ribbon, her fifth (DP162); runner-up to Zoey at the Sinnoh Grand Festival (DP177) · Jessie, as Jessilina: Neighborly Ribbon (DP167) and the Arrowroot Ribbon, won by Princess Salvia and given to her (DP171) · Zoey: Grand Festival winner and Top Coordinator (DP177) |
| Related movies | Zoroark: Master of Illusions (Japan 10 July 2010, between DP183 and DP184 · US TV 5 February 2011, the day of the finale) · Arceus and the Jewel of Life (US DVD 1 February 2011) |
| Previous season | Season 12: Galactic Battles |
| Following season | Season 14: Black & White |
Pokémon DP: Sinnoh League Victors is the thirteenth season of the English-language Pokémon anime and the fourth and final season of Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl, known in Japan simply as Pocket Monsters Diamond & Pearl. It covers Japanese episodes DP158 to DP191, which TV Tokyo broadcast from 7 January to 9 September 2010, and Cartoon Network aired all 34 of them from 5 June 2010 to 5 February 2011. With 34 episodes in Japan, on TV and on DVD alike, it was the shortest season of the anime up to then; it is also the first dubbed season in which every episode is in widescreen, the third recorded at DuArt Film and Video, and the first in which the Japanese and English openings both change in the middle of a region, with The Greatest – Everyday! and We Will Carry On! starting together in DP158.
With Team Galactic gone, Ash, Dawn and Brock set out after Ash’s last Badge and Dawn’s last Ribbon. Monferno evolves into Infernape during a Blaze rampage (DP163) and Grotle into Torterra aboard a Sunyshore Tower that Team Rocket launch into the sky (DP166), and once Flint of the Elite Four has shaken the bored Gym Leader Volkner back into battling, Ash wins the Beacon Badge, his eighth, as Infernape finally controls its Blaze (DP179). Dawn wins her fifth Ribbon at Daybreak Town by breaking Ursula’s Encore with Flame Ice (DP162), receives a Togekiss from her look-alike Princess Salvia (DP171) and reaches the final of the Sinnoh Grand Festival, where Zoey beats her on points to become Top Coordinator (DP177). At the Lily of the Valley Conference Ash calls up his old Pokémon, sees Cyndaquil evolve into Quilava, beats Nando and Conway and at last defeats Paul in a three-episode Full Battle (DP186–DP188), before the mysterious Tobias and his Darkrai and Latios stop him in the semi-final: Top 4, his best League result at the time.
Along the way the friends meet two more members of the Elite Four, Flint and Bertha, Ranger Ben and a Heatran in the volcanic Ranger special DP169 — which Cartoon Network held back until Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs came out in North America — Marley and the Shaymin in her care, a pair of shape-shifting Ditto and the treasure hunter Buck. Team Rocket win two Ribbons, quit Contests and are promoted by Giovanni’s new secretary, Matori. Then the journey ends: Brock’s Happiny evolves into Chansey as he decides to become a Pokémon Doctor (DP190), Dawn stays in Sinnoh, and Ash and Pikachu run home to Pallet Town in the last of the 191 Diamond and Pearl episodes (DP191). There is still no Who’s That Pokémon?. Our complete episode guide below has a synopsis, both titles and the air dates for all 34 episodes.
- 34episodes — the same in Japan, on Cartoon Network and on DVD
- 8Sinnoh Badges for Ash — the Beacon Badge completes the set in DP179
- 52episodes between his seventh and eighth Badges, the longest gap in one region
- 3episodes for the Ash–Paul Full Battle, the first battle to span more than two
- 4Ash’s place at the Lily of the Valley Conference — Top 4, his best yet
- 191episodes of Diamond and Pearl, the longest regional journey, ending in DP191
Watch Ash, Dawn, and Brock travel across the Sinnoh region to face challenges, battles, and the antics of Team Rocket! With Team Galactic out of the way, Ash can now focus on qualifying for the Sinnoh League. And Dawn will train to compete for her final Contest Ribbon, which would allow her to compete in the Grand Festival!
— Official description
Quick Answers
How many episodes are in Pokémon DP: Sinnoh League Victors?
34, everywhere. TV Tokyo aired DP158 to DP191 from 7 January to 9 September 2010, and Cartoon Network, the VIZ Media DVDs, the Australian sets and Pokémon TV all have the same 34 — nothing was banned, skipped or left undubbed, and it was the shortest season of the anime up to then. Only the order differs: Cartoon Network showed Keeping In Top Forme! (DP168) eleventh, on 14 August 2010, but held the Ranger special Heatran Rescue! (DP169) back until 16 October 2010, and Pokémon.com and the DVDs number the Heatran episode 11 and the Shaymin episode 12. Japan’s two later Diamond & Pearl specials (DPS01–DPS02, 3 February 2011) were never dubbed and are not part of the season.
Does Ash win the Sinnoh League?
No — he reaches the Top 4, his best League result at the time. At the Lily of the Valley Conference he beats Nando in the first round (DP183), a Grumpig user in the second (DP184), Conway and his Trick Room in the Top 16 (DP185) and Paul in a six-on-six quarter-final (DP186–DP188). In the semi-final his Sceptile hands Tobias’s Darkrai its first defeat of the tournament, but Tobias’s Latios beats Sceptile and Swellow and goes down in a double knockout with Pikachu, Ash’s last Pokémon (DP189). Tobias then wins the final with Darkrai alone.
Does Ash finally beat Paul?
Yes, in the quarter-final Full Battle of the Lily of the Valley Conference, which runs over three episodes, a first for the anime (DP186–DP188). Ash leads two to nothing after Infernape beats Aggron and Buizel beats Gastrodon, but Drapion’s Toxic Spikes swing it back until Infernape burns them away with an underground Flare Blitz; in the end Paul’s Electivire knocks out Gliscor and Pikachu, and a poisoned Infernape activates Blaze to beat it. It is Ash’s first win over Paul in a regular battle, and the rivals part with respect, Paul smiling and setting off to challenge Brandon again.
Who wins the Sinnoh Grand Festival?
Zoey. Dawn qualifies with her fifth Ribbon at Daybreak Town (DP162), and at Valor Lakefront she beats Ursula in the battle rounds with seven seconds left (DP175) and Jessilina in the semi-final (DP176). In the final Zoey’s Glameow and newly evolved Gallade face Dawn’s Piplup and Togekiss, and when time runs out Zoey is narrowly ahead on points: she wins the Ribbon Cup and the title of Top Coordinator, and Dawn is runner-up (DP177) — the first time a main character had reached the final of a major tournament. Jessie, a semi-finalist, gives up Contests afterwards.
What Pokémon evolve or join the team in Sinnoh League Victors?
Nobody catches anything, but four main-character Pokémon evolve: Ash’s Monferno into Infernape (DP163), Grotle into Torterra (DP166) and Cyndaquil into Quilava (DP182), and Brock’s Happiny into Chansey (DP190). Dawn is given a Togekiss by Princess Salvia (DP171), completing her party of six, Gible finally masters Draco Meteor (DP185) and Gliscor returns from the Air Battle Master (DP185). For the League, Professor Oak sends Ash Corphish, Totodile, Snorlax, Bayleef, Cyndaquil and Heracross, then Glalie, Torkoal, Noctowl, Donphan and Muk, and Sceptile and Swellow fight in the semi-final.
What happens to Dawn and Brock at the end of Diamond and Pearl?
They both leave Ash. On the ferry to Twinleaf Town Brock treats a Day Care’s poisoned baby Pokémon as Happiny evolves into Chansey, and he decides to become a Pokémon Doctor (DP190). In Twinleaf Town Ash invites Dawn to Kanto, but Buneary has been chosen to model for Poké Chic magazine, so Dawn stays in Sinnoh; after watching Cynthia beat Flint on TV, Ash and Brock sail home, part at a crossroads, and Ash and Pikachu run down the hill to Pallet Town (DP191). In the Japan-only special DPS01 Dawn sets off for Hoenn, and in DPS02 Brock helps Forrest become Pewter City’s Gym Leader.
Story Arcs
Pokémon DP: Sinnoh League Victors runs for 34 episodes and follows Ash, Dawn and Brock from the road to Daybreak Town through the Grand Festival and the Lily of the Valley Conference to their farewells in Twinleaf Town. Here is how the season breaks down, with stills from our episode guide below.
On the road to Daybreak TownDP158–DP160
With Team Galactic gone, Ash, Dawn and Brock set out for Sunyshore City and Dawn’s next Contest. A Pokémon Ranger, Crispin, needs their help with a rampaging wild Magnezone and Metagross that normally spar in a mountain basin to release their built-up magnetism; once Croagunk, Buneary and Happiny have drained the flooded crater, the pair can battle safely again, and Gible’s wayward Draco Meteor begins a running gag at Piplup’s expense. A black belt, Clayton, and his Mr. Mime teach Buizel Ice Punch, which wins a rain-soaked rematch once Swift Swim kicks in, and in Camellia Town Ash enters his first Pokéathlon, finishing second when Daniel’s Snorlax wins the Hurdle Dash by a belly.
The Daybreak ContestDP161–DP162
In Daybreak Town Ursula returns with a Plusle and Minun, the very species that shocked Dawn in kindergarten and earned her the nickname “Dee Dee” from her childhood friend Kenny; Dawn faints at the sight of them, while Jessie makes her comeback as Jessilina. All three reach the Battle Stage of the Double Performance Contest, where Ursula’s Helping Hand combination knocks Jessilina out. In the final Plusle and Minun’s Encore locks Cyndaquil and Mamoswine into their last moves, but Dawn breaks it by having her Pokémon hit each other, shakes off her fear and wins with Flame Ice about thirty seconds from time: the Daybreak Ribbon, her fifth, and a place in the Grand Festival.
Infernape, Volkner & Sunyshore TowerDP163–DP166
Barry and Paul both have eight Badges by now; Paul refuses Barry’s challenge, and in Barry’s battle with Ash, Monferno’s Blaze runs wild again. When Team Rocket’s burning mecha collapses on the caged Pokémon, Ash holds the raging Monferno until it calms down and evolves into Infernape. Piplup, tired of Gible’s misfiring Draco Meteor, runs off with Team Rocket’s fake “Pokémon Rescue Corps” and learns Hydro Pump. In Sunyshore City the bored Gym Leader Volkner is handing out Badges without battling, until his childhood friend Flint of the Elite Four beats Ash to rekindle his passion. Their Gym battle has barely begun when Team Rocket launch Sunyshore Tower like a rocket; aboard it Grotle evolves into Torterra and learns Leaf Storm, and the battle is postponed for repairs.
The road to Lake ValorDP167–DP173
While Johanna judges the Neighborly Contest, which Jessilina wins for her fourth Ribbon, Ash, Dawn and Brock teach her beginners’ class and Dawn perfects Ice Chandelier. Brock escorts the shy Marley and her poisoned Shaymin to a Gracidea flower, where it changes into its Sky Forme, and in the Ranger special Ben captures a Heatran inside a volcano with the group’s help. Bertha of the Elite Four, travelling incognito, helps recover a stolen Magby and beats Torterra with Hippowdon. Dawn’s look-alike Princess Salvia swaps places with her, wins the Arrowroot Contest in her name and gives the Ribbon to Jessilina, her fifth, and her Togekiss to Dawn, who learns to trust its graceful style; a pair of transforming Ditto see the group into Valor Lakefront.
The Sinnoh Grand FestivalDP174–DP177
At Valor Lakefront 108 Coordinators perform on three stages at once, judged by Raoul Contesta, Mr. Sukizo, three sister Nurse Joys and the guest judge Fantina. Ursula evolves her two Eevee in mid-appeal, Nando combines Sing with Perish Song, Dawn’s Cyndaquil and Buneary finish inside an icy Poké Ball, and Kenny is eliminated. In the battle rounds Dawn beats Ursula with seven seconds to spare and Jessilina in the semi-final, while Zoey edges Nando. The final pits Dawn’s Piplup and Togekiss against Zoey’s Glameow and newly evolved Gallade: a fiery Peck-and-Sky-Attack combination brings the scores level, but when time runs out Zoey is slightly ahead and becomes Top Coordinator. Dawn returns her mother’s good-luck Ribbon, and Jessie throws away her Jessilina costume.
The Beacon Badge & the voyageDP178–DP181
Meowth falls for Mamie’s Glameow and resigns from Team Rocket, until she evolves into a bossy Purugly. Back in Sunyshore, Ash’s rematch with Volkner is a three-on-three against the Gym Leader’s Platinum team: Electivire beats Torterra and falls to Pikachu, Infernape beats Jolteon, and when Luxray knocks out Pikachu and the Gym lights fail, Infernape controls its Blaze for the first time to win the Beacon Badge, Ash’s eighth. At Sunyshore Port Kenny, now training with Jasmine, beats Buizel in a bid to have Dawn travel with him; she leaves him a letter instead, Flint sails off to challenge Cynthia, and on the ferry the treasure hunter Buck catches a Claydol on Dandelion Island.
The Lily of the Valley ConferenceDP182–DP185
On Lily of the Valley Island Ash calls up his old Pokémon from Professor Oak’s laboratory, and Cyndaquil evolves into Quilava, learning Eruption, as it wrecks Team Rocket’s mecha. The three-on-three preliminary rounds go his way: Staraptor, Quilava and Heracross beat Nando, Snorlax wins round two, and in the Top 16 Gible finally masters Draco Meteor to beat Conway’s Shuckle and his Trick Room Dusknoir. Paul crushes Barry three to nothing with a newly evolved Electivire, a mysterious Trainer named Tobias wins every match with a lone Darkrai, and on the eve of the quarter-finals Gliscor flies back from the Air Battle Master to rejoin Ash.
Ash vs Paul: the Full BattleDP186–DP188
The quarter-final is a six-on-six Full Battle, the first anime battle to run over three episodes. Infernape beats Paul’s Aggron and Buizel’s Ice Punch beats Gastrodon for a two-nothing lead, but Drapion’s Toxic Spikes poison the field and knock out Buizel, Staraptor and Torterra. Infernape tunnels underground and bursts out with Flare Blitz to burn the spikes away and beat Ninjask, Pikachu breaks out of Froslass’s ice with Volt Tackle, and Gliscor’s Fire Fang finishes Drapion. Electivire knocks out Gliscor and Pikachu, but the poisoned Infernape activates Blaze and its Flare Blitz overcomes Thunder Punch: Ash’s first win over Paul. Paul thanks Electivire, admits that Infernape is strong and leaves to challenge Brandon again.
The semi-final & farewellsDP189–DP191
In the semi-final Tobias’s Darkrai beats Heracross, Torkoal and Gible before Sceptile wakes from Dark Void and defeats it with Leaf Blade, but Latios beats Sceptile and Swellow, and its Luster Purge and Pikachu’s Volt Tackle end in a double knockout: Ash finishes in the Top 4, and Tobias wins the Conference. On the ferry to Twinleaf Town Brock’s Happiny evolves into Chansey as he treats a Day Care’s poisoned babies, and he decides to become a Pokémon Doctor. Buneary’s modelling job keeps Dawn in Sinnoh, Team Rocket are promoted by Giovanni’s new secretary, Matori, Cynthia beats Flint on TV, and Ash and Brock sail for Kanto, where they part at a crossroads and Ash runs home to Pallet Town.
Episode Guide
All 34 episodes of Pokémon DP: Sinnoh League Victors are listed below in Japanese order. The # column is the season number in that order, as in Japan and on English Wikipedia, and the orange code is the Bulbapedia DP number used by most fan sites; Pokémon.com, the VIZ Media DVDs and the Australian sets swap two episodes, numbering Pokémon Ranger: Heatran Rescue! (DP169) 11 and Keeping In Top Forme! (DP168) 12. 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, one a week on Saturday mornings from 5 June 2010 to 5 February 2011, with no new episode on 25 December 2010 or 1 January 2011; the Ranger special was held back until 16 October 2010, between DP177 and DP178. There is no Who’s That Pokémon? this season: the Diamond and Pearl dub has no mid-episode quiz or eyecatch at all, and Japan closed its episodes with Professor Oak’s Big Pokémon Examination instead.
| # | Episode | First aired | In short | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
1DP158 | Regaining the Home Advantage!爆走！ジバコイルＶＳメタグロス！！ | Japan 7 Jan 2010 US 5 Jun 2010 |
On the way to Sunyshore City, Ash, Dawn and Brock help a Pokémon Ranger return a rampaging wild Magnezone and Metagross to the mountain basin… · Season premiere Episode guide → |
 |
2DP159 | Short and To the Punch!唸れれいとうパンチ！ブイゼルＶＳバリヤード！！ | Japan 14 Jan 2010 US 12 Jun 2010 |
Ash’s Buizel learns Ice Punch from a black belt named Clayton and his Mr. · Buizel learns Ice Punch Episode guide → |
 |
3DP160 | A Marathon Rivalry!燃えよカビゴン！ポケスロンの王者！！ | Japan 21 Jan 2010 US 19 Jun 2010 |
Ash competes in his first Pokéathlon against Daniel, a scientist who trains his Snorlax by data rather than feeling. · Ash’s first Pokéathlon Episode guide → |
 |
4DP161 | Yes in Dee Dee, It’s Dawn!開幕！ポケモンコンテスト・アサツキ大会！！ | Japan 28 Jan 2010 US 26 Jun 2010 |
At the Daybreak Contest, Dawn meets her rival Ursula again and reveals why a Plusle and Minun terrify her. · Daybreak Contest, part 1 Episode guide → |
|
5DP162 | Playing the Performance Encore!ダブルバトル！ＶＳプラスル・マイナン！！ | Japan 4 Feb 2010 US 3 Jul 2010 |
Dawn defeats Ursula in the Daybreak Contest final to win her fifth Ribbon and a place in the Grand Festival. · Daybreak Ribbon Episode guide → |
 |
6DP163 | Fighting Ire with Fire!爆進化！ゴウカザル！！ | Japan 11 Feb 2010 US 10 Jul 2010 |
Ash’s Monferno evolves into Infernape after its Blaze Ability runs wild during a battle with Barry. · Monferno evolves into Infernape Episode guide → |
 |
7DP164 | Piplup, Up and Away!ポッチャマはぐれる！ | Japan 18 Feb 2010 US 17 Jul 2010 |
Dawn’s Piplup, fed up with being hit by Gible’s misfiring Draco Meteor, runs away and learns Hydro Pump. · Piplup learns Hydro Pump Episode guide → |
 |
8DP165 | Flint Sparks the Fire!四天王オーバとジムリーダー・デンジ！ | Japan 25 Feb 2010 US 24 Jul 2010 |
Ash reaches the Sunyshore Gym and finds that its bored Leader, Volkner, hands out Badges without battling. · Volkner & Flint debut Episode guide → |
 |
9DP166 | The Fleeing Tower of Sunyshore!発進！ナギサタワー！！ | Japan 4 Mar 2010 US 31 Jul 2010 |
Ash’s Gym battle with Volkner is cut short when Team Rocket steal Sunyshore Tower, and aboard it Grotle evolves into Torterra. · Grotle evolves into Torterra Episode guide → |
 |
10DP167 | Teaching the Student Teacher!海辺のポケモンスクール！ | Japan 11 Mar 2010 US 7 Aug 2010 |
Ash, Dawn and Brock fill in for Dawn’s mother Johanna at her beginners’ class, and Dawn perfects a new combination called Ice Chandelier. · Jessilina’s fourth Ribbon Episode guide → |
 |
11DP168 | Keeping In Top Forme!飛べシェイミ！空の彼方へ！！ | Japan 18 Mar 2010 US 14 Aug 2010 |
Brock escorts a mysterious girl named Marley over the mountain so that the poisoned Shaymin in her care can reach a Gracidea flower. · Shaymin’s Sky Forme Episode guide → |
 |
12DP169 | Pokémon Ranger: Heatran Rescue!ポケモンレンジャー！ヒードラン救出作戦！！ | Japan 18 Mar 2010 US 16 Oct 2010 |
Ash and his friends help a Pokémon Ranger named Ben capture a runaway Heatran inside a volcano. · Ranger special Episode guide → |
 |
13DP170 | An Elite Coverup!四天王キクノ！カバルドンＶＳドダイトス！！ | Japan 1 Apr 2010 US 21 Aug 2010 |
Ash loses a battle to Bertha of the Elite Four after she helps the group recover a boy’s stolen Magby. · Bertha debuts Episode guide → |
 |
14DP171 | Dawn of a Royal Day!トゲキッス舞う！王女さまのポケモンコンテスト！！ | Japan 1 Apr 2010 US 28 Aug 2010 |
Dawn trades places with her look-alike, Princess Salvia, who wins the Arrowroot Contest and then gives Dawn her Togekiss. · Dawn receives Togekiss Episode guide → |
 |
15DP172 | With the Easiest of Grace!トゲキッス！華麗なるバトル！！ | Japan 15 Apr 2010 US 4 Sep 2010 |
Dawn learns to work with her new Togekiss, whose habit of dancing through the air before every move worries her. · Togekiss’s graceful style Episode guide → |
 |
16DP173 | Dealing With a Fierce Double Ditto Drama!メタモン・へんしんバトル！本物はドッチ～ニョ！？ | Japan 22 Apr 2010 US 11 Sep 2010 |
Ash and his friends are baffled by doubles of their Pokémon that turn out to be two Ditto belonging to a Trainer named Narissa. · Two Ditto Episode guide → |
 |
17DP174 | Last Call—First Round!グランドフェスティバル開幕！炎と氷のアート！！ | Japan 29 Apr 2010 US 18 Sep 2010 |
The Sinnoh Grand Festival opens at Valor Lakefront, and every one of Dawn’s rivals except Kenny clears the Performance Stage. · Grand Festival begins Episode guide → |
 |
18DP175 | Opposites Interact!マンムー、パチリス！決めろ氷のシャンデリア！！ | Japan 6 May 2010 US 25 Sep 2010 |
Dawn defeats Ursula in the Grand Festival’s Battle Stage with seven seconds left on the clock. · Dawn beats Ursula Episode guide → |
 |
19DP176 | Coming Full-Festival Circle!セミファイナル！決勝へ進むのは！？ | Japan 13 May 2010 US 2 Oct 2010 |
Zoey and Dawn win their Grand Festival semi-finals against Nando and Jessilina to set up a final between the rivals. · Grand Festival semi-finals Episode guide → |
 |
20DP177 | A Grand Fight for Winning!決着ライバル対決！ヒカリＶＳノゾミ！！ | Japan 20 May 2010 US 9 Oct 2010 |
Zoey narrowly defeats Dawn in the Sinnoh Grand Festival final to become Top Coordinator. · Zoey wins the Grand Festival Episode guide → |
 |
21DP178 | For The Love Of Meowth!さよならロケット団！ニャースの恋！？ | Japan 27 May 2010 US 23 Oct 2010 |
Meowth falls in love with a girl’s Glameow and deserts Team Rocket for it, until it evolves into a Purugly. · Meowth in love Episode guide → |
 |
22DP179 | The Eighth Wonder of the Sinnoh World!電撃バトル！最後のバッジ！！ | Japan 3 Jun 2010 US 30 Oct 2010 |
Ash wins the Beacon Badge, his eighth Sinnoh Badge, in his rematch with Volkner at the repaired Sunyshore Gym. · Beacon Badge Episode guide → |
 |
23DP180 | Four Roads Diverged in a Pokémon Port!サトシＶＳケンゴ！それぞれの船出！！ | Japan 10 Jun 2010 US 6 Nov 2010 |
At Sunyshore Port, Kenny challenges Ash on the condition that Dawn travels with him if he wins, and Dawn must decide where her journey goes next. · Kenny beats Ash Episode guide → |
 |
24DP181 | Bucking the Treasure Trend!トレジャーハンター・バクとヤジロン！ | Japan 17 Jun 2010 US 13 Nov 2010 |
On the ferry to the Sinnoh League, the friends join a young treasure hunter named Buck on Dandelion Island, where he catches a Claydol. · Buck catches Claydol Episode guide → |
 |
25DP182 | An Old Family Blend!熱戦前夜！サトシのポケモン大集合！！ | Japan 24 Jun 2010 US 20 Nov 2010 |
Ash reaches Lily of the Valley Island for the Sinnoh League and calls on his old Pokémon, and Cyndaquil evolves into Quilava. · Cyndaquil evolves into Quilava Episode guide → |
|
26DP183 | League Unleashed!開幕！シンオウリーグ・スズラン大会！！ | Japan 1 Jul 2010 US 27 Nov 2010 |
Ash defeats his friend Nando in the first round of the Lily of the Valley Conference. · Ash beats Nando Episode guide → |
 |
27DP184 | Casting a Paul on Barry!シンオウリーグ三回戦！シンジ対ジュン！！ | Japan 15 Jul 2010 US 4 Dec 2010 |
Paul defeats Barry three to nothing in the Sinnoh League’s third round. · Paul beats Barry Episode guide → |
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28DP185 | Working on a Right Move!恐怖のトリックルーム！サトシ対コウヘイ！！ | Japan 22 Jul 2010 US 11 Dec 2010 |
Ash defeats Conway’s Trick Room strategy in the third round as Gible finally masters Draco Meteor. · Ash beats Conway Episode guide → |
 |
29DP186 | Familiarity Breeds Strategy!ライバル決戦！サトシ対シンジ！！ | Japan 5 Aug 2010 US 18 Dec 2010 |
Ash takes a two-nothing lead in the first part of his six-on-six quarter-final Full Battle against Paul. · Full Battle vs Paul, part 1 Episode guide → |
 |
30DP187 | A Real Rival Rouser!激闘フルバトル！サトシ対シンジ！！ | Japan 12 Aug 2010 US 8 Jan 2011 |
Paul’s Drapion turns the Full Battle with Toxic Spikes before Infernape and Pikachu fight back to give Ash a three-to-two lead. · Full Battle, part 2 Episode guide → |
 |
31DP188 | Battling a Thaw in Relations!決着ライバルバトル！サトシ対シンジ！！ | Japan 19 Aug 2010 US 15 Jan 2011 |
Ash defeats Paul in their Full Battle when Infernape overcomes Electivire, ending their rivalry with mutual respect. · Ash beats Paul Episode guide → |
 |
32DP189 | The Semi-Final Frontier!シンオウリーグ準決勝！ダークライ登場！！ | Japan 26 Aug 2010 US 22 Jan 2011 |
Ash’s Sinnoh League run ends in the semi-finals against Tobias, who goes on to win the Lily of the Valley Conference. · Ash loses to Tobias Episode guide → |
 |
33DP190 | The Brockster Is In!ポケモンドクター・タケシ！ | Japan 2 Sep 2010 US 29 Jan 2011 |
On the ferry back to Twinleaf Town, Brock saves a Day Care’s poisoned baby Pokémon and decides to become a Pokémon Doctor, as his… · Happiny evolves into Chansey Episode guide → |
 |
34DP191 | Memories are Made of Bliss!想い出はパール！友情はダイヤモンド！！ | Japan 9 Sep 2010 US 5 Feb 2011 |
Ash, Dawn and Brock spend a last day together in Twinleaf Town before Ash and Brock return to Kanto and Dawn stays in Sinnoh. · Series finale Episode guide → |
Characters & Travelling Companions
Ash completes his Sinnoh Badges and reaches the Top 4 of the Sinnoh League. His Monferno evolves into Infernape during a Blaze rampage (DP163) and his Grotle into Torterra, learning Leaf Storm, aboard the stolen Sunyshore Tower (DP166) — the first time he has had two fully evolved first partners from one region. Buizel learns Ice Punch (DP159), Ash finishes second in his first Pokéathlon (DP160) and loses unofficial battles to two members of the Elite Four, Flint (DP165) and Bertha (DP170), then wins the Beacon Badge, his eighth, when Infernape controls Blaze for the first time (DP179), before Kenny’s Empoleon beats Buizel at Sunyshore Port (DP180). At the Lily of the Valley Conference he calls up his old Pokémon — Cyndaquil evolves into Quilava (DP182) — and beats Nando, Conway and, at last, Paul, with Gible mastering Draco Meteor and Gliscor returning from the Air Battle Master McCann (DP185), before losing to Tobias in the semi-final (DP189). He ends the season back home in Pallet Town (DP191). Pikachu lures the rampaging Magnezone and Metagross back to their basin (DP158), beats Volkner’s Electivire (DP179) and Paul’s Froslass (DP187) and goes down with Tobias’s Latios in a double knockout (DP189).
Dawn begins the season with four Ribbons and wins her fifth at Daybreak Town, beating Ursula’s Plusle and Minun — the species behind her “Dee Dee” nickname — with Flame Ice (DP161–DP162). She perfects the Ice Chandelier combination while teaching her mother’s beginners’ class and receives a new dress for the Grand Festival (DP167), is given a Togekiss by her look-alike, Princess Salvia, which completes a party of six (DP171), and learns to work with its sky-dancing style (DP172). At the Sinnoh Grand Festival she beats Ursula and Jessilina and reaches the final, losing narrowly to Zoey (DP174–DP177); she returns Johanna’s good-luck Ribbon and decides to keep travelling with Ash. Piplup learns Hydro Pump after running away from Gible’s stray Draco Meteors (DP164). She turns down Kenny’s offer to travel with him (DP180), cheers Ash through the League and, when Buneary is chosen to model for Poké Chic, stays in Sinnoh (DP191).
Brock keeps Sudowoodo, Croagunk and Happiny. Croagunk’s Brick Break drains the flooded basin (DP158), Brock pedals a generator to keep the Sunyshore Pokémon Center running (DP166), escorts Marley and the poisoned Shaymin in her care over the mountain (DP168), coaches Narissa and her Ditto (DP173) and spars with Sudowoodo while Infernape learns Flare Blitz (DP185). Unsure of his own future after the League (DP189), he treats a Day Care’s poisoned baby Pokémon on the ferry home as Happiny evolves into Chansey and learns Soft-Boiled (DP190), decides to become a Pokémon Doctor and parts from Ash at a crossroads in Kanto (DP191) — his last long-term journey with Ash for 567 episodes. In English Ash is voiced by Sarah Natochenny, Dawn by Emily Jenness and Brock by Bill Rogers, while Ikue Ōtani remains Pikachu in both languages.
Ash KetchumChasing the Sinnoh League
DawnTwinleaf Town’s rookie Coordinator
BrockAsh’s companion, studying to be a Pokémon Doctor later in Sinnoh
Team Rocket
Jessie spends the season as Jessilina. Ursula beats her at Daybreak Town (DP162); she wins the Neighborly Ribbon, her fourth, with Seviper’s Haze and Poison Tail while Johanna judges (DP167); and Princess Salvia, having beaten her in the Arrowroot final, gives her that Ribbon, her fifth and enough for the Grand Festival (DP171). There she reaches the semi-final before losing to Dawn (DP176), then throws away her costume and gives up Contests (DP177). James mourns a prized bottle cap swept away in Sunyshore City (DP165), and his Mime Jr. calls out its name in the motto for the last time in DP170 and makes its last Diamond and Pearl appearance in DP176. Meowth falls for Mamie’s Glameow and resigns from Team Rocket in a note, coming back once she evolves into a bossy Purugly (DP178).
The trio steal Sunyshore Tower and launch it like a rocket bound for Giovanni (DP166), go after its generator again (DP179), pose as a Day Care (DP170), a “Pokémon Rescue Corps” (DP164) and a massage tent (DP160), and chase Shaymin, Heatran and Togekiss. During the Conference they run a vendor booth instead of stealing the torch, cheer Ash’s win over Paul (DP188) and never recite their motto: the last Diamond and Pearl motto is in DP181. In the finale a Delibird brings a summons from Giovanni’s new secretary, Matori, who tells them they have been promoted and chosen for an important mission (DP191). Jessie is voiced by Michele Knotz and James and Meowth by James Carter Cathcart; Kayzie Rogers voices Wobbuffet and, for the last time in DP176, Mime Jr.
JessieTeam Rocket
JamesTeam Rocket
MeowthTeam Rocket’s talking Meowth
Rivals, Gym Leaders, the Elite Four & recurring characters
Paul already has eight Badges when he refuses Barry’s challenge, though his Electabuzz shields the caged Pokémon with Protect (DP163). At the Conference he beats Barry three to nothing with Magmortar, Ursaring and a newly evolved Electivire (DP184); in the quarter-final Full Battle he reveals an Aggron, an East Sea Gastrodon, Drapion, Ninjask and Froslass before losing to Ash, then thanks Electivire, smiles and leaves to challenge Brandon again (DP186–DP188), while his brother Reggie watches from home. Barry, also with eight Badges, battles Ash (DP163), reaches the Top 16 and makes his final appearance at the semi-final (DP189). Zoey wins the Grand Festival with Gastrodon and Lumineon, Mismagius and Leafeon and Glameow and a new Gallade (DP174–DP177); Ursula evolves two Eevee in mid-appeal but loses to Dawn again (DP175); Kenny, now with an Empoleon and a Floatzel, is out at the appeals (DP174) and later trains with Jasmine (DP180); and Nando reaches the Grand Festival semi-final (DP176) before losing to Ash in the first round of the Conference (DP183). Conway’s Trick Room takes him to the Top 16 (DP185), and the mysterious Tobias, who beats every opponent with a lone Darkrai until Sceptile stops it, wins the Lily of the Valley Conference with Latios (DP183–DP189).
The Sunyshore Gym Leader Volkner (DP165–DP166, DP179), bored by challengers who cannot match him, has been handing out Badges without a battle; his childhood friend Flint of the Elite Four, a Fire-type specialist with an Infernape, beats Ash to rekindle his passion (DP165), beats Jasmine’s Steelix (DP180) and challenges Cynthia for the Championship, losing to her Garchomp on TV (DP191). Bertha, the Elite Four’s Ground-type specialist, hides her identity and beats Torterra with Hippowdon (DP170), completing the Sinnoh Elite Four — the first full Elite Four line-up to debut within one series. The Olivine Gym Leader Jasmine meets Dawn for the first time (DP180), the Hearthome Gym Leader Fantina is a guest judge at the Grand Festival (DP174–DP177), the Champion Cynthia watches the Conference and presents Tobias’s trophy with Charles Goodshow (DP189), and Professor Oak sends Ash’s old Pokémon from Pallet Town (DP182, DP185).
One-off guests include Ranger Crispin (DP158), the black belt Clayton (DP159), the data-driven Pokéathlete Daniel (DP160), Marley and the Shaymin she protects (DP168), Ranger Ben of Guardian Signs (DP169), Dawn’s look-alike Princess Salvia and her attendant Freesia (DP171), Narissa “the Rumbler” and her Ditto (DP173), Mamie (DP178), the treasure hunter Buck (DP181) and the Day Care trainee Normajean (DP190). Dawn’s mother Johanna judges the Neighborly Contest (DP167) and watches the Grand Festival final (DP177). The MC Marian, Raoul Contesta — voiced from DP161 by Mike Pollock — and Mr. Sukizo, now voiced by Tom Wayland, make their last appearances at the Grand Festival (DP177), as do Zoey and Ursula; Kenny’s last appearance is DP180, Nando’s DP183 and Conway’s DP185, Rhonda of Sinnoh Now reports for the last time in DP174, and Giovanni’s secretary Matori debuts in the finale (DP191).
VolknerThe Sunyshore Gym Leader, who awards Ash his eighth Badge (DP179)
Ash KetchumAsh faces Flint of the Elite Four in Flint Sparks the Fire! (DP165)
MarleyWho protects a poisoned Shaymin from Team Rocket (DP168)
Pokémon Ranger BenFrom Guardian Signs, in the Heatran special (DP169)
Bertha of the Elite FourTravelling incognito in An Elite Coverup! (DP170)
Princess SalviaDawn’s look-alike, who gives her Togekiss (DP171)
ZoeyThe winner of the Sinnoh Grand Festival and Top Coordinator (DP177)
TobiasThe winner of the Lily of the Valley Conference (DP189)
MatoriGiovanni’s new secretary, in the series finale (DP191)
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 | Yūji Ueda |
| Paul | Julián Rebolledo | Kiyotaka Furushima |
| Barry | Jamie McGonnigal | Tatsuhisa Suzuki |
| Zoey | Emily Williams | Risa Hayamizu |
| Kenny | Rhonda Krempa (to DP161) · Erica Schroeder as “Bella Hudson” (DP174–DP180) | Yuko Mita |
| Ursula | Melissa Schoenberg | Ayako Kawasumi |
| Nando | Billy Regan | Kazuya Nakai |
| Conway | Billy Regan | Kōzō Mito |
| Tobias | J. Michael Tatum | Hiroki Takahashi |
| Volkner | Eli James | Hirofumi Nojima |
| Flint | Tom Wayland | Tōru Nara |
| Bertha | Mary O’Brady | Yōko Matsuoka |
| Cynthia | Emily Jenness | Tomo Sakurai |
| Johanna | Sarah Natochenny | Makoto Tsumura |
| Marley | Dani Marcus | Miyuki Sawashiro |
| Ben | Wayne Grayson | Tatsuya Hasome |
| Princess Salvia | Erica Schroeder (as “Bella Hudson”) | Yumi Kakazu |
| Jasmine | Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld | Yumi Kakazu |
| Fantina | Erica Schroeder (as “Bella Hudson”) | Kikuko Inoue |
| Reggie | Tom Wayland | Tetsuya Kakihara |
| Professor Oak | James Carter Cathcart | Unshō Ishizuka |
| Matori | Emily Jenness | Kiyomi Asai |
| Narrator | Rodger Parsons | Unshō Ishizuka |
Pokémon: Captures, Changes, Encounters & Evolutions
In brief:
- Ash catches nothing this season but sees three of his Pokémon evolve: Monferno into Infernape (DP163), Grotle into Torterra (DP166) and, after his old Pokémon come from Professor Oak’s laboratory for the League, Cyndaquil into Quilava (DP182). Gliscor returns from the Air Battle Master McCann (DP185), so his Sinnoh team at the end is Pikachu, Staraptor, Torterra, Infernape, Buizel, Gliscor and Gible.
- Buizel learns Ice Punch (DP159), Torterra Leaf Storm (DP166), Quilava Eruption (DP182) and Infernape Flare Blitz (DP185); Infernape learns to control Blaze (DP179) and Gible finally masters Draco Meteor (DP185). At the Conference his reserves show off Sleep Talk and Focus Punch (Heracross, DP183), Sky Attack, Air Slash and Extrasensory (Noctowl, DP185) and Leaf Storm (Sceptile, DP189).
- Dawn is given Togekiss by Princess Salvia (DP171), giving her a full party of six; Piplup learns Hydro Pump (DP164), and she invents Flame Ice with Mamoswine and Cyndaquil (DP162) and Ice Chandelier with Buneary and Pachirisu (DP167). Pachirisu and Cyndaquil make their last main-series appearances in DP177, and in the Japan-only special DPS01 her Cyndaquil evolves into Quilava.
- Brock’s Happiny evolves into Chansey and learns Soft-Boiled (DP190), the last time one of his Pokémon evolves on screen.
- Team Rocket’s teams do not change: Jessie keeps Wobbuffet, Seviper and Yanmega and James Carnivine and Mime Jr., while Meowth’s crush, Mamie’s Glameow, evolves into Purugly (DP178).
- Elsewhere Paul’s Electabuzz has become an Electivire (DP184) and his Lairon an Aggron (DP186), and he reveals a Ninjask and a Froslass (DP187); Zoey’s Shellos, Finneon, Misdreavus and Kirlia have all evolved by the Grand Festival, as has Kenny’s Prinplup; Ursula’s two Eevee evolve into Vaporeon and Flareon in mid-appeal, the first Eevee evolution shown on screen (DP174); Nando has a Roserade and an Armaldo; Buck catches a Claydol (DP181), Ben captures a Heatran (DP169), and the Shaymin in Marley’s care changes into its Sky Forme (DP168).
New Pokémon captured or hatched
Heatran#0485 · Ranger Ben · calmed and captured with his Styler in a volcano, then taken to the National Park · DP169
Togekiss#0468 · Dawn · given to her by Princess Salvia — the season’s only addition to a main character’s team · DP171
Claydol#0344 · Buck · the guardian of the Dandelion Island ruins · DP181
Evolutions
Monferno → Infernape#0392 · Ash · during a Blaze rampage, saving the caged Pokémon · DP163
Grotle → Torterra#0389 · Ash · aboard the airborne Sunyshore Tower, learning Leaf Storm · DP166
Eevee → Vaporeon#0134 · Ursula · with a Water Stone, in mid-appeal at the Grand Festival · DP174
Eevee → Flareon#0136 · Ursula · with a Fire Stone, in the same appeal · DP174
Prinplup → Empoleon#0395 · Kenny · evolved off screen, revealed at the Grand Festival · DP174
Shellos → Gastrodon#0423 · Zoey · evolved off screen, revealed in her appeal · DP174
Finneon → Lumineon#0457 · Zoey · evolved off screen, revealed in her appeal · DP174
Misdreavus → Mismagius#0429 · Zoey · revealed in the semi-final against Nando · DP176
Roselia → Roserade#0407 · Nando · evolved off screen · DP176
Kirlia → Gallade#0475 · Zoey · revealed in the Grand Festival final · DP177
Glameow → Purugly#0432 · Mamie’s · ending Meowth’s crush · DP178
Cyndaquil → Quilava#0156 · Ash · against Team Rocket’s mecha, learning Eruption · DP182
Electabuzz → Electivire#0466 · Paul · evolved off screen, revealed against Barry · DP184
Lairon → Aggron#0306 · Paul · evolved off screen, revealed in the Full Battle · DP186
Happiny → Chansey#0113 · Brock · healing a poisoned Pichu, learning Soft-Boiled · DP190
Releases, departures and returns
Nobody releases, trades or gives away a Pokémon this season; the only change of ownership among the main characters is Princess Salvia’s gift of Togekiss to Dawn (DP171). Instead the season is about returns. For the League Professor Oak sends Ash two groups of his old Pokémon — Corphish, Totodile, Snorlax, Bayleef and Cyndaquil, with an unrequested Heracross, then Glalie, Torkoal, Noctowl, Donphan and Muk (DP182) — Sceptile and Swellow join them for the semi-final (DP189), Buizel goes to the laboratory and is sent back, and Gliscor flies in from McCann on the eve of the Full Battle (DP185). Apart from Pikachu, none of the Pokémon Ash caught in Kanto battles at the Conference.
Among the guests, Marley lets the Shaymin she has protected fly away with two others in Sky Forme (DP168), Ben takes Heatran to the National Park (DP169), Meowth deserts Team Rocket for Mamie’s Glameow and comes back once she evolves (DP178), and Buck keeps the Claydol that guarded the treasure (DP181). At the end the travelling party itself splits up: Dawn stays in Sinnoh with all six of her Pokémon, and Ash and Brock sail back to Kanto with theirs (DP191).
Teams at the end of the season (DP191)
| Trainer | Pokémon | Changes this season |
|---|---|---|
| Ash | Pikachu, Staraptor, Torterra, Infernape, Buizel, Gliscor, Gible | Monferno evolved into Infernape (DP163); Grotle evolved into Torterra (DP166); Gliscor returned from McCann (DP185); his old Pokémon used at the League, and Cyndaquil evolved into Quilava (DP182) |
| Dawn | Piplup, Buneary, Pachirisu, Mamoswine, Cyndaquil, Togekiss | Received Togekiss from Princess Salvia (DP171); Piplup learned Hydro Pump (DP164) |
| Brock | Sudowoodo, Croagunk, Chansey | Happiny evolved into Chansey (DP190) |
| Jessie | Wobbuffet, Seviper, Yanmega | No changes |
| James | Carnivine, Mime Jr. | No changes; Mime Jr.’s last Diamond and Pearl appearance (DP176) |
Ash at the Lily of the Valley Conference
| Round | Opponent | Ash’s Pokémon | Result | Episode |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round 1 (Top 64), three-on-three | Nando — Roserade, Armaldo, Kricketune | Staraptor, Quilava, Heracross | Win | DP183 |
| Round 2, three-on-three | An unnamed Trainer — Grumpig and two others not shown | Snorlax and two others not shown | Win | DP184 |
| Round 3 (Top 16), three-on-three | Conway — Shuckle, Lickilicky, Dusknoir | Noctowl, Donphan, Gible | Win — Gible beats Shuckle and Dusknoir | DP185 |
| Quarter-final (Top 8), Full Battle | Paul — Aggron, Gastrodon, Drapion, Ninjask, Froslass, Electivire | Pikachu, Infernape, Staraptor, Buizel, Torterra, Gliscor | Win — his first over Paul | DP186–DP188 |
| Semi-final (Top 4), Full Battle | Tobias — Darkrai, Latios | Heracross, Torkoal, Gible, Sceptile, Swellow, Pikachu | Loss — Pikachu and Latios knock each other out | DP189 |
Ribbons won this season
| Coordinator | Ribbon | Final | Episode |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dawn | Daybreak Ribbon — her fifth, qualifying her for the Grand Festival | Cyndaquil and Mamoswine beat Ursula’s Plusle and Minun with Flame Ice | DP162 |
| Jessie, as Jessilina | Neighborly Ribbon — her fourth | Seviper’s Haze and Poison Tail win the Contest | DP167 |
| Princess Salvia, disguised as Dawn, for Jessie | Arrowroot Ribbon — Jessie’s fifth | Togekiss beats Jessilina’s Seviper with Safeguard and Aura Sphere | DP171 |
| Zoey | Ribbon Cup — Sinnoh Grand Festival, and the title of Top Coordinator | Glameow and Gallade beat Dawn’s Piplup and Togekiss on points | DP177 |
Pokémon making their anime debut this season
Eight Pokémon make their first appearance in the TV series during Sinnoh League Victors. Seven are species already seen in a movie: Magnezone, Shaymin and Togekiss in Giratina and the Sky Warrior, Infernape and Gallade in The Rise of Darkrai, Heatran in Arceus and the Jewel of Life and Latios in Pokémon Heroes; the eighth is the East Sea form of Gastrodon, new to the anime, whose West Sea form had appeared before. With Zoey’s Gallade (DP177) every non-Legendary Generation IV species except Porygon-Z had appeared, and Paul’s Gastrodon (DP186) is the last Generation IV debut of the Diamond and Pearl series. Latias makes its TV debut in the Japan-only special DPS02, and the thirteenth movie introduced Zorua and Zoroark, who reached the TV series only in Black & White.
Magnezone#0462 · DP158 · after Giratina and the Sky Warrior- Infernape#0392 · DP163 · Ash’s; after The Rise of Darkrai
Shaymin#0492 · DP168 · Land and Sky Forme; after Giratina and the Sky Warrior- Heatran#0485 · DP169 · after Arceus and the Jewel of Life
- Togekiss#0468 · DP171 · Princess Salvia’s; after Giratina and the Sky Warrior
- Gallade#0475 · DP177 · Zoey’s; after The Rise of Darkrai
- Gastrodon#0423 · DP186 · Paul’s, the East Sea form’s debut
Latios#0381 · DP189 · Tobias’s; after Pokémon Heroes
Key Events, Gym Battles & Tournaments
Events of note
- The new openings The Greatest – Everyday! and We Will Carry On!, and a wild Magnezone and Metagross (DP158 – Regaining the Home Advantage!)
- Buizel learns Ice Punch (DP159 – Short and To the Punch!)
- Ash’s first Pokéathlon, at Camellia Town (DP160 – A Marathon Rivalry!)
- Dawn wins the Daybreak Ribbon, her fifth, and qualifies for the Grand Festival (DP162 – Playing the Performance Encore!)
- Monferno evolves into Infernape; Barry and Paul have eight Badges (DP163 – Fighting Ire with Fire!)
- Piplup learns Hydro Pump (DP164 – Piplup, Up and Away!)
- Volkner and Flint debut, and Ash loses to Flint (DP165 – Flint Sparks the Fire!)
- Grotle evolves into Torterra, and the Sunyshore Gym battle is postponed (DP166 – The Fleeing Tower of Sunyshore!)
- Jessilina wins the Neighborly Ribbon, and Dawn perfects Ice Chandelier (DP167 – Teaching the Student Teacher!)
- Shaymin changes into its Sky Forme (DP168 – Keeping In Top Forme!)
- Ranger Ben captures Heatran (DP169 – Pokémon Ranger: Heatran Rescue!)
- Ash loses to Bertha of the Elite Four (DP170 – An Elite Coverup!)
- Princess Salvia wins the Arrowroot Ribbon for Jessilina and gives Dawn her Togekiss (DP171 – Dawn of a Royal Day!)
- The Sinnoh Grand Festival begins; Ursula’s Eevee evolve and Kenny is eliminated (DP174 – Last Call—First Round!)
- Dawn beats Ursula (DP175 – Opposites Interact!)
- Zoey beats Nando and Dawn beats Jessilina in the semi-finals (DP176 – Coming Full-Festival Circle!)
- Zoey beats Dawn to become Top Coordinator, and Jessie quits Contests (DP177 – A Grand Fight for Winning!)
- Meowth leaves Team Rocket for Glameow, who evolves into Purugly (DP178 – For The Love Of Meowth!)
- Ash wins the Beacon Badge, his eighth, as Infernape controls Blaze (DP179 – The Eighth Wonder of the Sinnoh World!)
- Kenny beats Ash’s Buizel, and Dawn turns down his offer to travel together (DP180 – Four Roads Diverged in a Pokémon Port!)
- Buck catches Claydol, and Team Rocket recite their last Diamond and Pearl motto (DP181 – Bucking the Treasure Trend!)
- Ash’s old Pokémon arrive, and Cyndaquil evolves into Quilava (DP182 – An Old Family Blend!)
- Ash beats Nando; Tobias wins with Darkrai (DP183 – League Unleashed!)
- Paul beats Barry three to nothing (DP184 – Casting a Paul on Barry!)
- Gible masters Draco Meteor, Ash beats Conway, and Gliscor returns (DP185 – Working on a Right Move!)
- Ash beats Paul in their Full Battle (DP188 – Battling a Thaw in Relations!)
- Ash loses to Tobias in the semi-final, and Tobias wins the Conference (DP189 – The Semi-Final Frontier!)
- Happiny evolves into Chansey, and Brock decides to become a Pokémon Doctor (DP190 – The Brockster Is In!)
- Dawn stays in Sinnoh, and Ash returns to Pallet Town (DP191 – Memories are Made of Bliss!)
Gym battles & the League
- Ash v Clayton, Buizel v Mr. Mime (lost, then won the rematch) — DP159
- Ash v Daniel, Camellia Town Pokéathlon (second place) — DP160
- Dawn v Ursula, Daybreak Contest final (Dawn wins the Daybreak Ribbon) — DP162
- Ash v Barry, three-on-three (interrupted by Team Rocket) — DP163
- Ash v Flint, unofficial three-on-one (Ash loses) — DP165
- Ash v Volkner, Sunyshore Gym (interrupted and postponed) — DP166
- Ash v Bertha, one-on-one (Torterra loses to Hippowdon) — DP170
- Jessilina v Princess Salvia as Dawn, Arrowroot Contest final (Salvia wins) — DP171
- Ash v Narissa, two-on-two (Ash wins) — DP173
- Dawn v Ursula, Grand Festival battle round (Dawn wins) — DP175
- Zoey v Nando and Dawn v Jessilina, Grand Festival semi-finals — DP176
- Dawn v Zoey, Grand Festival final (Dawn loses) — DP177
- Ash v Volkner, Sunyshore Gym rematch (Beacon Badge) — DP179
- Jasmine v Flint (Steelix loses to Infernape) — DP180
- Ash v Kenny, Buizel v Empoleon (Ash loses) — DP180
- Ash v Nando, Conference round 1 (win) — DP183
- Ash v an unnamed Trainer, round 2 (win) — DP184
- Paul v Barry, round 3 (Paul wins three to nothing) — DP184
- Ash v Conway, round 3 (win) — DP185
- Ash v Paul, quarter-final Full Battle (Ash wins) — DP186–DP188
- Ash v Tobias, semi-final Full Battle (Ash loses) — DP189
- Cynthia v Flint, Championship match on TV (Cynthia wins) — DP191
Gym Badge won this season
| Badge | Gym & Leader | Leader’s Pokémon | Ash’s Pokémon | Result | Episode |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Beacon Badge |
Sunyshore Gym · Volkner | Electivire, Jolteon, Luxray | Torterra, Pikachu, Infernape | Win — at the second attempt: the first match ended after a single exchange between Luxray and Grotle when Team Rocket’s theft of Sunyshore Tower blacked out the city (DP166). In the three-on-three rematch Electivire burns Torterra’s Leaf Storm away with Fire Punch and freezes it with Ice Punch, but although its Motor Drive soaks up Thunderbolt, Pikachu’s Static paralyses it and Iron Tail wins. Infernape’s Mach Punches beat Jolteon, Luxray’s Thunder Fang and Shock Wave knock out Pikachu, and when the Gym lights fail Infernape’s Blaze flares out of control until Ash’s trust calms it; a powered-up Flamethrower, Mach Punch and Flame Wheel beat Luxray. Volkner uses his Platinum team, and the Badge comes 52 episodes and more than a year after the Icicle Badge — the longest gap between two of Ash’s Badges in one region | DP179 |
Dawn’s last Contests
The Daybreak Contest (DP161–DP162) uses Double Performances. In the appeals Dawn’s Piplup and Buneary bounce among frozen bubbles and burst them into glitter, Ursula’s Gabite and Jigglypuff finish with Jigglypuff balanced on Gabite’s claw, and Jessilina’s Seviper emerges from Carnivine’s mouth. On the Battle Stage Ursula’s Plusle and Minun, powered by Helping Hand, knock out Jessilina’s Seviper and Yanmega, while Dawn’s Cyndaquil and Mamoswine beat a Mightyena and a Houndoom even though Flame Ice melts too soon. In the final Plusle and Minun’s Encore locks Dawn’s Pokémon into repeating their moves until she has them hit each other to break it, and Spark and Charge Beam leave her half her points; then Dawn shakes off her fear and Flame Ice — Cyndaquil’s Flame Wheel wrapped round Mamoswine’s Ice Shard — puts her ahead with about thirty seconds left. The Daybreak Ribbon is her fifth, enough for the Grand Festival.
Jessie keeps entering. At the Neighborly Contest (DP167), judged by Johanna in place of Nurse Joy, Jessilina wins with Seviper’s Haze and Poison Tail, her fourth Ribbon, while Dawn, already qualified, teaches her mother’s class. At the Arrowroot Contest (DP171) Princess Salvia, disguised as Dawn, enters with her Togekiss, dazzles with Aura Sphere, Sky Attack and Air Slash and, steadied by the real Dawn’s encouragement from the royal box, beats Jessilina’s Seviper in the final with Safeguard and Aura Sphere; backstage she gives the Ribbon to Jessie — her fifth, qualifying her for the Grand Festival — and later gives Togekiss to Dawn. It is the only Contest in which “Dawn” competes in her everyday clothes, and the last Contest outside a Grand Festival in the anime until Journeys.
The Sinnoh Grand Festival
The Sinnoh Grand Festival (DP174–DP177) at Valor Lakefront, on Lake Valor, draws 108 Coordinators, so the appeals run on three stages at once, the Red, Green and Blue stages, named after the original games. The judges are Raoul Contesta, Mr. Sukizo, the Nurse Joys of Lilycove, Pastoria and Jubilife and the guest judge Fantina, with Marian as MC. Ursula throws a Water Stone and a Fire Stone to evolve her two Eevee into Vaporeon and Flareon in mid-appeal, Nando’s Kricketot and Altaria combine Sing with Perish Song, Zoey’s newly evolved Lumineon and Gastrodon raise water rings, Jessilina flips onto Seviper and unveils a new outfit with Yanmega’s Silver Wind, and Dawn’s Cyndaquil and Buneary finish by revealing Buneary inside an icy Poké Ball; Kenny’s Floatzel and Empoleon collide when Whirlpool collapses into Flash Cannon, and he is out.
In the battle rounds Dawn’s Pachirisu and Mamoswine fall to a fifth of their points against Ursula’s Gabite and Flareon before a new Ice Chandelier, fired up from one of Gabite’s holes, knocks both out with seven seconds left (DP175). In the semi-finals Zoey’s Mismagius and Leafeon beat Nando’s Kricketune and Lopunny by a narrow margin with Lucky Chant, Double Team and a winged fusion of Aerial Ace and Psywave, and Dawn’s Buneary and Cyndaquil outscore Jessilina’s Seviper and Carnivine (DP176). The final sets Dawn’s Piplup and Togekiss against Zoey’s Glameow and newly evolved Gallade: Shadow Claw, Psycho Cut and Fake Out against Hydro Pump, Air Slash and Safeguard, until Dawn’s fiery Peck-and-Sky-Attack combination meets an electrified Psycho Cut launched from Glameow’s tail. When time runs out Zoey is slightly ahead and wins the Ribbon Cup (DP177) — the only Grand Festival to run over four episodes, and the first major tournament in which a main character reached the final.
The Lily of the Valley Conference
The Lily of the Valley Conference (DP182–DP189), the Sinnoh League’s tournament on Lily of the Valley Island, is open to Trainers with eight Sinnoh Badges. The rounds down to the Top 16 are three-on-three battles on rock, grass, dirt or water fields, and from the Top 8 every match is a six-on-six Full Battle in the main stadium. At the opening ceremony Ash for once does not carry the torch and Team Rocket do not try to steal it; another Trainer has entered a Heatran, making this the first Conference with Legendary and Mythical Pokémon. Ash beats Nando with Staraptor, Quilava and Heracross, which keeps fighting with Sleep Talk and finishes with Megahorn and Horn Attack (DP183), and wins round two with Snorlax (DP184). Paul’s Magmortar, Ursaring and newly evolved Electivire beat Barry’s Skarmory, Hitmonlee and Empoleon, Torrent and all (DP184). Against Conway, whose Shuckle uses Power Trick and whose Dusknoir sets up Trick Room, Gible finally lands a perfect Draco Meteor and beats both, after Noctowl has beaten Lickilicky (DP185).
The quarter-final against Paul is the first anime battle to span three episodes and has the most status conditions of any — two burns, five poisonings and two freezes. Infernape burns and beats Aggron and Buizel’s Ice Punch beats Gastrodon (DP186); Drapion’s Toxic Spikes, Pin Missile and Cross Poison then beat Buizel, Staraptor and Torterra, until Infernape tunnels underground and erupts with Flare Blitz to clear the spikes and beat Ninjask, and Pikachu breaks Froslass’s ice with Volt Tackle (DP187). Gliscor’s Fire Fang finishes Drapion, Electivire beats Gliscor and Pikachu, and the poisoned Infernape’s Blaze-powered Flare Blitz overcomes Thunder Punch (DP188). In the semi-final, the only Full Battle of Ash’s to take place within a single episode, Tobias’s Darkrai beats Heracross, Torkoal and Gible before Sceptile beats it with Leaf Blade, but Latios beats Sceptile and Swellow and knocks out Pikachu as it falls itself (DP189). Tobias wins the final with Darkrai against a Magmortar and receives the trophy from Cynthia and Charles Goodshow; with only seven named contestants, it has the fewest of any League Conference.
The Elite Four & other battles
Two members of the Sinnoh Elite Four debut and beat Ash in unofficial battles. Flint’s Infernape beats Buizel with Flare Blitz, Ash’s own Infernape with Mach Punch and Pikachu when Volt Tackle meets Thunder Punch, to show Volkner what a determined challenger looks like (DP165); later it beats Jasmine’s Steelix with Flare Blitz (DP180), and in the finale Flint challenges Cynthia for the Championship, beating two of her Pokémon before her Garchomp beats Infernape on TV (DP191). Bertha’s Hippowdon dodges Leaf Storm by digging, strikes with Iron Head from below and finishes Torterra with Fire Fang (DP170) — the first time Ash has not used Pikachu against an Elite Four member, and his first battle against a Ground-type specialist.
Clayton’s Mr. Mime beats Buizel until it learns Ice Punch and wins the rematch in the rain (DP159). In Ash’s first Pokéathlon, Monferno and Daniel’s Hitmonlee tie the Disc Catch at twenty points each and Pikachu loses the Hurdle Dash to Snorlax by a belly (DP160). Ash’s three-on-three with Barry is interrupted by Team Rocket (DP163), he beats Narissa’s two Ditto in a two-on-two (DP173), and at Sunyshore Port Kenny’s Empoleon beats Buizel with Drill Peck despite Ash borrowing Flint’s defensive style (DP180). The Volkner rematch and Ash’s eighth Badge are in the table above.
Movies & Specials Released During the Season
The thirteenth movie, Zoroark: Master of Illusions (幻影の覇者 ゾロアーク, “Supreme Ruler of Illusions: Zoroark”), opened in Japanese cinemas on 10 July 2010, between League Unleashed! (DP183) and Casting a Paul on Barry! (DP184), and is set during the Lily of the Valley Conference; the anime’s slot two days earlier carried a TV broadcast of Arceus and the Jewel of Life. It took ¥629 million from 600,602 admissions in its first two days, opened second behind Toy Story 3 and ended the year tenth at the Japanese box office with ¥4.16 billion. The only Diamond and Pearl film that stands alone rather than belonging to a trilogy, it introduced Zorua and Zoroark and the anime’s first Shiny Legendary Pokémon — Shiny Raikou, Entei and Suicune — and its end credits show Volkner, Flint, Bertha, Barry, Zoey, Ursula, Kenny and Nando. It has no opening theme; its Japanese ending is Sukima Switch’s Ice Cream Syndrome and its English one I Believe in You. In the US it premiered on Cartoon Network on 5 February 2011, the day of the season finale, with its prologue cut until airings from 16 February, and played in selected cinemas during the Pokémon Black & White Tour (5 February – 20 March 2011); GameStop gave away the Shiny beasts in January and early February 2011, and the US DVD followed on 20 September 2011.
Zoroark: Master of IllusionsMovie 13 · Japan 10 July 2010 · US TV 5 February 2011
Arceus and the Jewel of LifeMovie 12 · US DVD 1 February 2011The twelfth movie, Arceus and the Jewel of Life, which had premiered on Cartoon Network during Galactic Battles, came out on DVD in the US only on 1 February 2011, four days before Memories are Made of Bliss! (DP191), after Australia (2 June 2010) and Japan (18 December 2009). Its Heatran makes its TV debut in this season’s Ranger special (DP169), as the eleventh movie’s Shaymin, Togekiss and Magnezone do in DP168, DP171 and DP158, and Darkrai, the star of the tenth, is Tobias’s partner at the Conference.
Two shorter specials accompanied the season. Pokémon Ranger: Heatran Rescue! (DP169) was made for Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs and aired in Japan on 18 March 2010, twelve days after the game, in a one-hour slot with DP168; Cartoon Network held it until 16 October 2010, after the game’s North American release on 4 October. The two-part Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs animated special, about Ben and his Ukulele Pichu, aired on Pokémon Sunday on 28 February and 7 March 2010 and went up on Pokémon.com as a ten-minute English short on 10 November 2010. After the series had ended, TV Tokyo aired two Japan-only Diamond & Pearl specials as a one-hour broadcast on 3 February 2011: Hikari: Setting Off on a New Journey! (DPS01), in which Dawn’s Cyndaquil evolves into Quilava and she leaves for Hoenn, and Nibi Gym: The Greatest Crisis Ever! (DPS02), in which Brock helps Forrest pass the Pokémon Inspection Agency’s test and become Pewter City’s official Gym Leader; neither has been dubbed.
Side Stories, Specials & Crossovers
Side-story tie-ins
- Japan’s end segment. The Japanese version closed most episodes with Professor Oak’s Big Pokémon Examination, a quiz on a subject Pokémon that ran from DP098 to the finale and was never dubbed; in BW it gave way to Professor Oak’s Pokémon Live Caster. This season’s subjects range from Charmeleon and Mantine to Unown and its 28 forms and the first female Wobbuffet in animation, complete with lipstick (DP173), and the slot gave way to trailers for Zoroark: Master of Illusions after DP169 and DP172, a preview after DP171 and previews of Pokémon Black & White after DP188, DP189 and DP190.
- Pokémon Sunday, TV Tokyo’s Sunday companion show, premiered the two-part Guardian Signs animated special on 28 February and 7 March 2010, with the first footage of Zoroark and Zorua shown alongside Part 2, and ended with its 310th episode on 26 September 2010, to be succeeded by Pokémon Smash!. Between the two anime series TV Tokyo aired Can’t Wait Any Longer! The Pre-Pocket Monsters BW Special!! on 16 September 2010, and Pocket Monsters Best Wishes! began on 23 September.
- The Diamond & Pearl specials. DPS01 and DPS02, aired on 3 February 2011 between BW018 and BW019, are the true end of Dawn’s and Brock’s stories: Dawn, with all her Pokémon, sets out for Hoenn after her Cyndaquil evolves into Quilava to save Professor Rowan’s assistant from an Ariados, and Brock, studying to become a Pokémon Doctor, helps his brother Forrest become Pewter City’s Gym Leader, with Latias making its TV debut. Both used the Band Version of The Greatest – Everyday! and were never dubbed; see Movies & Specials.
- Pikachu shorts. No theatrical Pikachu short accompanied Zoroark. The in-flight short Pikachu’s Strange Wonder Adventure (PK21) premiered on ANA flights from 1 August 2010, and its predecessor, Pikachu’s Sparkle Search! (PK20), came out on Japanese DVD on 18 June 2010; neither has been dubbed.
Characters from the games, manga and specials
- Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs came out in Japan on 6 March 2010 and in North America on 4 October 2010. Heatran Rescue! (DP169) aired in Japan on the day the game’s Heatran and Shaymin download missions began, 18 March 2010, alongside the Shaymin episode, and stars Ben, one of the game’s two player characters, without his Ukulele Pichu; unlike the earlier Ranger specials it is a single episode rather than a two-parter, and it is the only main-series Ranger episode without Solana. Cartoon Network aired it twelve days after the North American launch.
- Pokémon Platinum shaped the endgame. Volkner battles with his Platinum team — Electivire, Jolteon and Luxray, with a Raichu at his side in DP166 — although the other Sinnoh Gym Leaders had used their Diamond and Pearl teams; with Flint and Bertha the anime has shown the games’ whole Sinnoh Elite Four, the first line-up to debut entirely within one series; and Shaymin’s Sky Forme, introduced in Platinum with the Gracidea flower that triggers it, makes its TV debut in Keeping In Top Forme! (DP168).
- HeartGold and SoulSilver, released in North America on 14 March 2010, before the US premiere, are still felt: the Pokéathlon of A Marathon Rivalry! (DP160) is their sport, and its poster shows only Generation II Pokémon; music from the games plays in The Brockster Is In! (DP190); and part of the melody of In Your Heart, LaLaLa can be heard in Lyra’s theme.
- Pokémon Black and White were announced on 9 April 2010 and released in Japan on 18 September 2010 — the day Last Call—First Round! (DP174) premiered in the US. DP191 was the last episode aired in Japan before the games came out, DP188–DP190 ended with previews of them, the dub of DP190 has James mention “black and white”, and DP191’s Team Rocket scene uses Generation V music before the Best Wishes! anime had even premiered. North America got the games on 6 March 2011, a month after the season ended.
- The movies. The season’s TV debuts are almost all movie stars: Magnezone, Shaymin and Togekiss from Giratina and the Sky Warrior, Infernape and Gallade from The Rise of Darkrai, Heatran from Arceus and the Jewel of Life and Latios from Pokémon Heroes. Tobias’s Darkrai, the first Mythical Pokémon owned by a Trainer in the anime, is the same species as the tenth movie’s title character, and many of the season’s rivals and the Elite Four appear in the thirteenth movie’s end credits.
Opening & Ending Themes
Sinnoh League Victors changes every theme. The Japanese opening, Fumie Akiyoshi’s The Greatest – Everyday!, replaced High Touch! 2009 with DP158, the first time both the Japanese and English openings changed in the middle of a region, and switched to a Band Version, recorded with The Greatest-Band, for the last nine episodes from DP183. The ending, Moomoo Milk and Araki-san’s Which One ~ Is It?, carried over from Galactic Battles, with a live-action music video in some episodes and new lyrics from DP170, until MADOKA.’s In Your Heart, LaLaLa took over at DP183; its full version closes the finale. In English, Adam Elk’s We Will Carry On! opened all 34 episodes and its instrumental played under the credits. As usual, the Japanese openings and endings were never dubbed.
Japan’s background music draws on the whole series: Challenger!! as Buizel learns Ice Punch (DP159), instrumentals of By Your Side ~Hikari’s Theme~ for Dawn’s appeals and her win over Ursula (DP161, DP162, DP174) and its new arrangement sung by Megumi Toyoguchi at the climax of the Grand Festival final (DP177), Ready Go! at Monferno’s evolution (DP163), Team Rocket Forever (DP172), the Pokémon Symphonic Medley 2 (DP177, DP182), the High Touch! instrumental as Ash’s second group of Pokémon arrives (DP182), Aim to Be a Pokémon Master 2001 for Gible against Dusknoir (DP185), Oración (DP186, DP190), the last use of the original Type: Wild at the end of the Ash–Paul battle and an instrumental of A Small Thing (DP188), the first movie’s Together With the Wind as Brock’s patients recover (DP190), and in the finale Together 2007 under Flint and Cynthia’s battle, Sora no Hanataba into the credits, instrumentals of the ending and of Friends’ Anniversary and Generation V music during Team Rocket’s call (DP191). Most remarkable is DP179, which plays The Greatest – Everyday! itself from the moment Infernape controls Blaze to the end of the Gym battle. The movie scores, from the first film to the twelfth, and the Pikachu shorts are reused throughout. In the dub, DP162 kept most of the Japanese score and DP189 all of it, but the vocal inserts were replaced — see Dub Edits.
We Will Carry On! — Adam Elk’s English opening, used for all 34 episodes, starts at 1:39 in this compilation of the Sinnoh-era themes. 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 7 January 2010 (Regaining the Home Advantage!) to 9 September 2010 (Memories are Made of Bliss!), the end of Pocket Monsters Diamond & Pearl after 191 episodes. There were two one-hour, two-episode broadcasts: on 18 March 2010 the Shaymin episode DP168 was paired with the Ranger special DP169, on the day Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs’ Heatran and Shaymin download missions began, and on 1 April 2010 DP170 and DP171 marked the anime’s thirteenth anniversary. There was no new episode on four Thursdays: 25 March, 8 April, 8 July, when the slot showed Arceus and the Jewel of Life two days before the thirteenth film opened, and 29 July 2010. A week after the finale TV Tokyo showed a Black & White preview special, and Pocket Monsters Best Wishes! premiered on 23 September 2010. Japan has no “season 13”: these are episodes 158 to 191 of the Diamond & Pearl series.
The US run. Cartoon Network announced the season in May 2010 and premiered it at 7 a.m. on Saturday 5 June 2010, three weeks after the Galactic Battles finale, with repeats on Sundays, as the trade newsletter Cynopsis Kids reported. One new episode followed every Saturday until Memories are Made of Bliss! on 5 February 2011, the same day the channel premiered Zoroark: Master of Illusions; the only gaps were Christmas Day 2010 and New Year’s Day 2011, so the Ash–Paul Full Battle was split across the holidays, part one on 18 December and part two on 8 January. Last Call—First Round! (DP174) premiered on 18 September 2010, the day Pokémon Black and White came out in Japan, and Pokémon: Black & White followed the season on 12 February 2011.
The Ranger special out of order. As with the earlier Ranger specials, the dub aired Pokémon Ranger: Heatran Rescue! (DP169) out of Japanese order, on 16 October 2010, between A Grand Fight for Winning! (DP177) and For The Love Of Meowth! (DP178), closer to the North American release of Guardian Signs on 4 October 2010; its opening and closing narration, which places the group on the way to the Grand Festival, was made generic. Because the schedule had announced the following episode by its Japanese title before Keeping In Top Forme! (DP168) had an English one, some viewers thought the Shaymin episode had been skipped, but it premiered in its Japanese position on 14 August 2010. After its first airing the Ranger special moved back to its place in the English season as listed on Pokémon.com, where, as on the VIZ DVDs and the Australian sets, it is episode 11 and the Shaymin episode 12. The combined English version of the Guardian Signs animated special went up on Pokémon.com on 10 November 2010.
The numbering. There are 34 episodes in Japan and in English, the same set in each, so the season numbers 1–34 differ only in the DP168/DP169 swap. Bulbapedia’s alternate overall numbers are EP624–EP657, and English Wikipedia counts the season as episodes 626–659 in Japan (including the two 1998 specials) and 620–653 in English; Wikipedia also lists the two 2011 Diamond & Pearl specials, DPS01 and DPS02, with the season (“34 + 2 specials”), although they aired after Best Wishes! had begun and were never dubbed.
Elsewhere. In the UK the series aired on Disney XD, and Bulbapedia dates the season’s CITV premiere to 4 January 2011; CITV showed Zoroark on 26 February 2011, and BBC iPlayer added the season on 3 December 2021. Canada’s YTV carried the series and premiered the thirteenth movie on 12 March 2011, though the season’s own Canadian and Australian premiere dates have not been found. In India Disney’s Hindi dub showed Sinnoh League Victors before Galactic Battles, and Marvel HQ was listed airing it in 2020; the Polish dub localised the title cards and “To be continued” captions from DP158; and the season was fully dubbed into Hebrew but never aired, because Disney Channel Israel had stopped showing the series.
Dub Edits & Censorship
Changes in the English version
Nothing banned, one episode moved. All 34 episodes were dubbed and aired on Cartoon Network, uncut apart from the edits below; the only change of order is the Ranger special DP169, held back to 16 October 2010 (see TV Broadcasts). Both openings changed together with DP158, a rare change in the middle of a region. The dub drops every Japanese ending, and in the finale it removes 1 minute 21 seconds — the full version of In Your Heart, LaLaLa with its montages of Dawn, Brock and Ash — and moves the Kanto arrival and parting scenes, which follow the ending in Japan, to before the credits (DP191). DP178’s Japanese title card, with no title-card music and Badges and Ribbons flying past before a fanfare, is read by Jessie, James and Meowth; in English Ash reads it.
No quiz, no eyecatch. Diamond and Pearl is the only series without Who’s That Pokémon? or any other game in the middle of an episode, and its dub episodes have no eyecatches at all; in DP186 the cut eyecatch takes Ash’s line “Goukazaru! Kimi ni kimeta!” with it. Japan’s Professor Oak’s Big Pokémon Examination was never dubbed. Who’s That Pokémon? returned to the dub with Black & White’s first episode, after an almost seven-year absence.
Music. Regaining the Home Advantage! reportedly uses all-new dub music, but from Playing the Performance Encore! (DP162) the dub kept most of the Japanese score, title screen excepted, and The Semi-Final Frontier! (DP189) is the only episode of the season to keep all of it, title-card music included (“the dub is like a million times more watchable now!”, wrote Dogasu’s Backpack). The UK version and foreign dubs of DP162 replaced most of its music with new TPCi tracks, while the North American broadcast kept the Japanese score. The vocal songs still went: a new English song, This is the Moment (known to fans as “The Ultimate Challenge”), replaces By Your Side’s new arrangement at the climax of the Grand Festival final (DP177) and Aim to Be a Pokémon Master 2001 (DP185), and its instrumental replaces Type: Wild (DP188); The Greatest – Everyday! in the Beacon Badge battle becomes stock music (DP179); Together With the Wind becomes an instrumental (DP190); and in DP191 the new Team Rocket theme is replaced, Sora no Hanataba dropped and Together 2007 under Flint and Cynthia’s battle swapped for an extended We Will Carry On!, “which breaks the timing of the animation’s quick cuts”. The High Touch! instrumental in DP182 survived.
Content edits. In Bucking the Treasure Trend! (DP181) the children’s rhyme Meowth uses to choose a cave, a prayer in Japanese, becomes “eeny, meeny, miny, moe”, and “protector god” is twice removed from Buck’s lines about Claydol, probably for religious reasons, though Jessie’s beer is left alone; a reference to guns in Meowth’s taunt is removed from DP178. The out-of-order Ranger special’s narration is made generic and Ben and James swap who calls whom a thief (DP169); Bertha, who uses a pseudonym in Japanese, gives her real name in English (DP170); and Marian’s lines about Top Coordinators and her Hoenn origins are cut from DP174, where the dub adds that the other two Nurse Joys are sisters from Jubilife and Pastoria.
Dialogue changes. Brock’s “boys don’t cry” becomes “You can do it” (DP158); Dawn’s nickname “Dee Dee” is explained as “Diamond Dandruff”, replacing the Japanese Pikari (DP161), and Ursula’s “Candy Onee-sama” for Jessilina is dropped, while Dawn’s explanation of how to break Encore becomes a line about believing in yourself and the dub implies that Contests are held every year (DP162); Volkner’s reason for giving up is softened (DP165); the castle’s 81 guests become 83 and Marian’s “light rains” pun on Hikari is lost (DP171); Narissa’s “yankee” becomes “the Rumbler” (DP173); Ash and Brock call Dawn’s mother “Johanna” instead of “Hikari’s mama” (DP177); Meowth gives up conquering Sinnoh rather than the world (DP178); Volkner’s name pun is lost, a “rubber room” joke added and Suzuran Island becomes Lily of the Valley Island (DP179); Tanpopo Island and Hard Mountain become Dandelion Island and Stark Mountain (DP181); a maneki-neko becomes a Meowth doll and 300 km/h becomes 100 mph (DP184); Barry says “Shiny” where the Japanese says “a different colour”, the first use of the word in the anime (DP185); Paul “dislikes” Ash rather than “used to dislike” him (DP186) and his half-spoken “you’ve gotten stronger” becomes “Well… huh?” (DP188); Brock’s medicine uses a Lava Cookie and the dub’s item names (DP190); and the magazine PokéKyan becomes Poké Chic (DP191).
Voices and slips. The DuArt cast carried on from Galactic Battles, with some changes: from DP161 Mike Pollock voices Raoul Contesta and Tom Wayland Mr. Sukizo, after Craig Blair’s departure; DP161 is Rhonda Krempa’s last episode as Kenny, whom Erica Schroeder, credited as “Bella Hudson”, voices from DP174, as well as Princess Salvia and Fantina; DP166 is the last with Officer Jenny’s original voices and design; Kayzie Rogers voices Mime Jr. for the last time in DP176 and Ash’s Totodile in DP182; and DP190 is Michele Knotz’s last regular episode as Nurse Joy. Many Pokémon keep their Japanese voices — Metagross (DP158), Heatran (DP169), Darkrai and Latios (DP189), Pichu (DP190) and Hoothoot (DP191) — while Baltoy is re-voiced (DP181), and Japanese voices can be heard under the English ones in DP163 and DP178. Ash calls Dawn’s Pokémon “Mammoo-swine” (DP162), Zoey speaks of the “Hearthome Gym” instead of the Contest (DP174) and Barry calls Hydro Cannon “Hydro Pump” (DP184).
Episode titles explained
Almost every English title is a pun or a pop-culture reference. A few worth decoding:
- Regaining the Home Advantage! — the sporting “home advantage”, for a Magnezone and Metagross led back to the basin where they battle
- Short and To the Punch! — “short and to the point”, for Buizel’s crash course in Ice Punch
- Yes in Dee Dee, It’s Dawn! — “yes, indeed”, with Dawn’s embarrassing nickname “Dee Dee”
- Playing the Performance Encore! — an encore performance, for the Encore that Ursula’s Plusle and Minun use in the final
- Fighting Ire with Fire! — “fighting fire with fire”, for a Monferno whose Blaze burns with rage
- Piplup, Up and Away! — “up, up and away” — the 5th Dimension song and Superman’s catchphrase — for a Piplup who runs away
- Flint Sparks the Fire! — a flint striking sparks, for the Fire-type Elite Four member who rekindles Volkner’s passion
- The Fleeing Tower of Sunyshore! — the Leaning Tower of Pisa, for a tower that takes off
- Teaching the Student Teacher! — a student teacher, for three travellers who take over Johanna’s class
- Keeping In Top Forme! — “in top form”, for Shaymin’s change into its Sky Forme
- An Elite Coverup! — a cover-up, for a member of the Elite Four keeping her identity under wraps
- Dawn of a Royal Day! — “the dawn of a new day”, for Dawn’s day as a princess
- With the Easiest of Grace! — “with the greatest of ease”, from the song “The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze”, for Togekiss’s aerobatics
- Opposites Interact! — “opposites attract”, for the ice-and-electricity Ice Chandelier
- Coming Full-Festival Circle! — “coming full circle”, as Dawn’s Contest journey brings her back to her rival Zoey
- A Grand Fight for Winning! — Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “It’s a Grand Night for Singing” from State Fair
- For The Love Of Meowth! — the exclamation “for the love of God!”, for a Meowth in love
- The Eighth Wonder of the Sinnoh World! — the “eighth wonder of the world”, for Ash’s eighth Badge
- Four Roads Diverged in a Pokémon Port! — Robert Frost’s “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood” (“The Road Not Taken”), for four friends choosing their paths at Sunyshore Port
- Bucking the Treasure Trend! — “bucking the trend”, for the treasure hunter Buck
- Casting a Paul on Barry! — “casting a pall”, for Paul’s crushing win over Barry
- Familiarity Breeds Strategy! — “familiarity breeds contempt”, for two rivals who know each other’s every move
- A Real Rival Rouser! — “a real rabble-rouser”
- Battling a Thaw in Relations! — “a thaw in relations”, for the moment Ash and Paul’s frosty rivalry warms into respect
- The Semi-Final Frontier! — Star Trek’s “Space: the final frontier”, for the semi-final that ends Ash’s run
- The Brockster Is In! — “the doctor is in”, for Brock’s decision to become a Pokémon Doctor
- Memories are Made of Bliss! — Dean Martin’s “Memories Are Made of This”, with a nod to Blissey, the evolution of Brock’s new Chansey
DVD & Blu-ray / Streaming
Sinnoh League Victors came out in North America in 2012 from VIZ Media, distributed by Warner Home Video, as three two-disc sets — without the single volumes of earlier seasons — followed by a four-disc Complete Season in 2021; all of them hold the same 34 episodes, with the Ranger special DP169 placed before DP168. Australia and New Zealand got two Collections, a four-disc DigiPack and several repackagings. No UK DVD release of the season is known.
North America (Region 1)
| Release | Date | Contents |
|---|---|---|
| Pokémon: DP Sinnoh League Victors Set 1 — Episodes 1–11 (VIZ Media, 2 discs) | 28 February 2012 | DP158–DP163 and DP164–DP167 with DP169 — the Ranger special closes the set, ahead of DP168; optional English captions, as on every VIZ set; Team Rocket on the cover |
| Set 2 — Episodes 12–22 (2 discs) | 1 May 2012 | DP168, DP170–DP174 and DP175–DP179 — the Grand Festival and the Beacon Badge |
| Set 3 — Episodes 23–34 (2 discs) | 4 September 2012 | DP180–DP185 and DP186–DP191 — the Lily of the Valley Conference and the finale |
| Pokémon the Series Diamond and Pearl: Sinnoh League Victors – The Complete Season (4 DVDs in one case with a slipcover, 3000084251) | 23 February 2021 | All 34 episodes: DP158–DP166; DP167, DP169, DP168 and DP170–DP175; DP176–DP183; DP184–DP191 |
Australia & New Zealand (Region 4)
| Release | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Pokémon: DP Sinnoh League Victors – Collection 1 (Magna Pacific, 13734) | 1 June 2011 (NZ 16 June 2011) | 17 episodes: DP158–DP174; the pre-release cover showed Torterra and Gible in place of Brock, Happiny and Croagunk; the Region 4 sets are listed as 4:3, without captions |
| Collection 2 (13778) | 5 October 2011 (NZ 19 October 2011) | 17 episodes: DP175–DP191 |
| Pokémon Season 13 DigiPack (4 discs, DBX13832) | 1 December 2011 (NZ 8 December 2011) | Discs 13.1–13.4 themed on Magnezone (DP158–DP166), Empoleon (DP167, DP169, DP168, DP170–DP174), Infernape (DP175–DP183) and Gastrodon (DP184–DP191), in packaging designed like a Quick Ball; JB Hi-Fi reissues on 14 July (online) and 21 September 2016 |
| Slimline reissue (Beyond Home Entertainment, BHE5397) | 2 April 2014 | The four-disc set repackaged |
| 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; DP182 is also on Magna Pacific’s Pokémon All-Stars: Cyndaquil disc |
Japan
In Japan the episodes went out on rental DVDs from Media Factory and Shogakukan in the Pocket Monsters Diamond & Pearl 2010 line: Vol. 1 on 23 April 2010, Vols. 2 and 3 on 25 May, Vols. 4 and 5 on 23 July, Vols. 6 and 7 on 22 September, Vols. 8 and 9 on 22 October and Vols. 10 and 11 on 25 November 2010, Vol. 12 on 26 January 2011 and Vol. 13 on 23 February 2011, though which episodes each volume holds has not been confirmed. The Guardian Signs animated special had its own DVD on 23 April 2010, and Zoroark: Master of Illusions came out on DVD on 17 December 2010.
Streaming
Pokémon TV carried the whole season for a time — the date has not been found — before the Diamond and Pearl seasons were rotated out; the service stopped new viewing on 8 January 2024 and closed on 28 March 2024. The Pokémon TV channel on YouTube, launched in December 2024, carries only Seasons 1 to 11 so far (as of October 2026), so Sinnoh League Victors is not on it. In the UK BBC iPlayer has carried the season since 3 December 2021, and in the US the library service Hoopla and Xfinity Stream list it. The English Guardian Signs special was first released on Pokémon.com on 10 November 2010. Check your local service, as availability changes often.
Covers
Pokémon: DP Sinnoh League Victors Set 1 (Region 1, 2012)
Pokémon: DP Sinnoh League Victors Set 2 (Region 1, 2012)
Pokémon: DP Sinnoh League Victors Set 3 (Region 1, 2012)
The Complete Season (Region 1, 2021)
Sinnoh League Victors Collection 1 (Region 4, 2011)
Sinnoh League Victors Collection 2 (Region 4, 2011)
Season 13 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.
- BBC iPlayer (UK)Has carried the season since 3 December 2021.
- DVD – North AmericaPokémon the Series Diamond and Pearl: Sinnoh League Victors – The Complete Season (VIZ Media, 4 discs, 2021) has all 34 episodes in one case.
- DVD – Australia & New ZealandThe Season 13 DigiPack and its slimline reissue, and the season is part of several multi-season box sets.
- Hoopla (US libraries)Lists the season, on its own and in its Pokémon BingePass, for library-card holders.
- Not on Pokémon TVThe Pokémon TV channel on YouTube carries only Seasons 1–11 (as of October 2026), and the Pokémon TV service closed in March 2024.
Trading Cards Released During the Season
Pokémon DP: Sinnoh League Victors aired in the US in the middle of the trading card game’s HeartGold & SoulSilver era, and two expansions came out while it was on Cartoon Network:
- HS—Undaunted — 18 August 2010 — between Keeping In Top Forme! (DP168) and An Elite Coverup! (DP170), 91 cards with Togekiss, Gliscor and Gligar, Eevee with Vaporeon, Flareon, Jolteon and Leafeon, Mismagius, Skarmory, Hitmonlee and the Kyogre & Groudon LEGEND
- HS—Triumphant — 3 November 2010 — between The Eighth Wonder of the Sinnoh World! (DP179) and Four Roads Diverged in a Pokémon Port! (DP180), with Aggron, Drapion, Electivire, Mamoswine, Ambipom, Carnivine, Ditto, Grumpig, Kricketune, Magmortar, Lickilicky and Yanmega, the Trainers Black Belt and Seeker and the Darkrai & Cresselia LEGEND
In Japan these cards had come out months earlier: Undaunted is the English version of Reviving Legends (11 February 2010) and Triumphant of Clash at the Summit (8 July 2010) with cards from the Lost Link subset. HS—Unleashed (12 May 2010) came out less than a month before the season’s US premiere and Call of Legends (9 February 2011) four days after its finale, and the Black & White expansion followed on 25 April 2011; an oversized Zorua and Celebi promo card went to ticket holders of the Pokémon Black & White Tour, at which Zoroark: Master of Illusions was screened in February and March 2011.
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:
Togekiss · HS—Undaunted 9/90HS—Undaunted went on sale on 18 August 2010, ten days before Princess Salvia gave Dawn her Togekiss in the US broadcast of Dawn of a Royal Day! (DP171, 28 August 2010); it then partnered Piplup in the Grand Festival final, A Grand Fight for Winning! (DP177, 9 October 2010).
Electivire · HS—Triumphant 20/102HS—Triumphant came out on 3 November 2010, four days after Volkner’s Electivire fell to Pikachu’s Static and Iron Tail in the Beacon Badge battle on Cartoon Network (The Eighth Wonder of the Sinnoh World!, DP179, 30 October 2010) and a month before Paul’s newly evolved Electivire beat Barry’s Empoleon in Casting a Paul on Barry! (DP184, 4 December 2010); it was Paul’s last Pokémon against Ash in DP188 (15 January 2011).
Drapion · HS—Triumphant 4/102Released in HS—Triumphant on 3 November 2010, six weeks before Paul sent out Drapion against Buizel at the end of Familiarity Breeds Strategy! (DP186, 18 December 2010); its Toxic Spikes and Pin Missile then knocked out Buizel, Staraptor and Torterra in A Real Rival Rouser! (DP187, 8 January 2011).
Firsts & Lasts
- First dubbed season in which every episode is in widescreen.
- First episode in which the Japanese and English openings both change in the middle of a region: Regaining the Home Advantage! (DP158).
- First time Ash has two fully evolved first partners from one region: Infernape (DP163) and Torterra (DP166).
- First fully evolved Pokémon given to a main character, and Dawn’s first party of six: Togekiss (DP171).
- First Eevee shown evolving on screen, and the first evolution in the middle of a Contest appeal: Ursula’s Vaporeon and Flareon (DP174).
- First time a main character reaches the final of a major tournament: Dawn at the Sinnoh Grand Festival (DP177).
- First League Conference with Legendary and Mythical Pokémon, and the first Trainer to own a Mythical Pokémon: Tobias and his Darkrai (DP183).
- First use of the word “Shiny” in the anime, in the dub of Working on a Right Move! (DP185).
- First battle to span more than two consecutive episodes, and Ash’s first win over Paul in a regular battle (DP186–DP188).
- First Top 4 finish for Ash at a Pokémon League (DP189).
- First episode animated by OLM Team Kato: Piplup, Up and Away! (DP164).
- First use of Soft-Boiled and the first Chansey Pokédex entry, as Brock’s Happiny evolves — the last evolution of one of Brock’s Pokémon on screen (DP190).
- Last Diamond and Pearl Team Rocket motto (DP181), and the last appearances of Zoey, Ursula, Marian, Raoul Contesta and Mr. Sukizo (DP177), Kenny (DP180), Nando (DP183), Conway (DP185) and Barry (DP189).
- Last episode of Diamond and Pearl, and the only series finale so far to introduce a recurring human character, Matori: Memories are Made of Bliss! (DP191).
Trivia & Facts
- The end of the Sinnoh journey. Memories are Made of Bliss! (DP191) closes Diamond and Pearl after 191 episodes, the longest regional journey of the anime — it had already passed the Johto saga’s 158 with DP159 — and the series ends with Ash going home to Pallet Town rather than setting out for a new region, though the closing card still reads “Next Time… A New Beginning!”.
- Short and widescreen. At 34 episodes, Sinnoh League Victors was the shortest season of the anime up to then — Bulbapedia calls it the shortest dub season to finish airing — and it is the first dubbed season in which every episode is in widescreen.
- Two new openings at once. Regaining the Home Advantage! (DP158) is the first episode in which both the Japanese and the English opening change in the middle of a region saga; We Will Carry On! is the first dub opening to begin and end with its Japanese counterpart and uses no episode footage, only clips from The Greatest – Everyday!.
- Ash’s best League yet. The Lily of the Valley Conference is the only one in which Ash finished in the Top 4, his best result at the time, and he lost only to Tobias, the first character in the anime to own a Mythical Pokémon and the only Trainer to own both a Legendary and a Mythical one. Latios is the only Pokémon in the anime ever to use Luster Purge.
- A record battle. The Ash–Paul quarter-final (DP186–DP188) is the first battle to span more than two consecutive episodes, has the most status conditions of any battle in the anime — two burns, five poisonings and two freezes — and is the mirror image of their first Full Battle (DP131–DP132), which Paul won. The semi-final against Tobias (DP189), by contrast, is the only one of Ash’s Full Battles to take place within a single episode.
Ash and Paul’s six-on-six quarter-final at the Lily of the Valley Conference (DP186–DP188) — the first battle to run across three episodes, and the one that finally settles their Sinnoh rivalry in Ash’s favour. Screenshot: Pokémon anime, DP188 “Battling a Thaw in Relations!” · via Bulbapedia - The longest Badge drought. The Beacon Badge (DP179) came 52 episodes and more than a year after the Icicle Badge (DP127), the longest gap between two of Ash’s Badges in the same region, and the 179 episodes it took him to collect eight are the most for any region. It was also the fourth Gym battle in a row in which Chimchar or one of its evolutions beat two of the Leader’s Pokémon.
- Dawn’s near miss. Reaching the Grand Festival final (DP177) made Dawn the first main character to reach the final of a major tournament — Ash’s best had been the Top 8 and May’s the Top 4. The Sinnoh Grand Festival is also the only one to run over four episodes and the first major regional tournament with two main characters competing, Dawn and Jessie.
Dawn meets Zoey in the Sinnoh Grand Festival final in A Grand Fight for Winning! (DP177) — the first time a main character reaches the final of a major tournament, even if the Ribbon Cup goes to Zoey. Screenshot: Pokémon anime, DP177 “A Grand Fight for Winning!” · via Bulbapedia - Two fully evolved starters. Infernape (DP163) and Torterra (DP166) give Ash two fully evolved first partners from one region for the first time; Infernape is his first fully evolved Fire type since Charizard, and with Barry’s Empoleon all three evolved Sinnoh first partners belong to Ash and his rivals.
- Generation IV complete. With Zoey’s Gallade (DP177), every non-Legendary Generation IV species except Porygon-Z had appeared in the anime, and Paul’s East Sea Gastrodon (DP186) is the last Generation IV debut of the Diamond and Pearl series.
- A Legendary League. The Lily of the Valley Conference is the first with Legendary and Mythical Pokémon — another Trainer’s Heatran and Tobias’s Darkrai and Latios — and has only seven named contestants, the fewest of any Conference; apart from Pikachu, none of the Pokémon Ash caught in Kanto battle in it.
- The Elite Four and the Champion. Ash loses unofficial battles to Flint (DP165) and Bertha (DP170), whose debut completes the first Elite Four line-up to debut entirely within one series, and in the finale Cynthia defends her title against Flint on TV (DP191).
- An anniversary hour. The one-hour broadcast of DP170 and DP171 on 1 April 2010 marked the anime’s thirteenth anniversary; in DP171 Princess Salvia’s Togekiss became the first fully evolved Pokémon given to a main character and gave Dawn a party of six, the first for a main character other than Ash since Misty.
- Team Rocket’s last motto and new boss’s aide. Bucking the Treasure Trend! (DP181) is the last Diamond and Pearl episode in which Team Rocket recite their motto, and during the Conference they neither recite it nor blast off. The finale introduces Giovanni’s secretary, Matori, making DP191 the only series finale so far to introduce a recurring human character.
- Farewells. Rhonda appears for the last time in DP174; Zoey, Ursula, Marian, Raoul Contesta and Mr. Sukizo in DP177; Kenny in DP180; Nando in DP183; Conway in DP185; and Barry and Charles Goodshow in DP189. Brock’s departure in DP191 ends his time as a long-term travelling companion until 567 episodes later.
- Game timing. The Ranger special aired in Japan twelve days after Guardian Signs came out and in the US twelve days after its North American release; the US premiere of DP174 fell on Black and White’s Japanese launch day, 18 September 2010; DP191 was the last Japanese episode before the Black and White games; and its Team Rocket scene used Generation V music before the Black & White anime had premiered.
- Finale and movie on the same day. Cartoon Network premiered Zoroark: Master of Illusions on 5 February 2011, the day Memories are Made of Bliss! aired and two days after Japan’s two Diamond & Pearl specials; Black & White followed a week later.
- Firsts for moves and mechanics. Ursula’s Eevee are the first Eevee shown evolving on screen, and the first Pokémon to evolve in the middle of a Contest appeal (DP174); Barry’s line in DP185 is the anime’s first use of the word “Shiny”; Encore (DP162), Perish Song (DP174), Sleep Talk (DP183) and Soft-Boiled (DP190) make their anime debuts, Torrent its only appearance (DP184), and Chansey gets its first Pokédex entry (DP190).
- A new studio team. Piplup, Up and Away! (DP164) is the first episode animated by OLM’s Team Kato, which made the rest of the season, the Diamond & Pearl specials and later series; DP163 was the last credited simply to OLM.
- Music that survived the dub. Playing the Performance Encore! (DP162) kept most of the Japanese score and The Semi-Final Frontier! (DP189) all of it, title card included — the only episode of the season to do so — yet the dub replaced Dawn’s vocal theme in the biggest battle of her journey (DP177). The season was also fully dubbed into Hebrew but never broadcast in Israel.
- Games and cards. The Pokéathlon of DP160 comes from HeartGold and SoulSilver, and the trading card expansions released during the US run were HS—Undaunted, with Dawn’s Togekiss and Ash’s Gliscor, and HS—Triumphant, with Paul’s Aggron, Drapion and Electivire, Dawn’s Mamoswine and the Darkrai & Cresselia LEGEND — see our TCG section.
Reception
Ratings. No viewing figures for the season have been found, in the US or in Japan; Cartoon Network gave it its 7 a.m. Saturday slot, with repeats on Sundays. The best-documented success of the period was the thirteenth movie: Zoroark: Master of Illusions took ¥629 million from 600,602 admissions in its first two days, which the film site eiga.com saw as a smooth start towards a ¥5 billion gross, opened second behind Toy Story 3, and finished 2010 as Japan’s tenth-highest-grossing film with ¥4.16 billion; Common Sense Media’s Jeffery Anderson praised its computer-rendered backdrops while noting that it is more violent than usual. IMDb’s episode ratings could not be checked for this page.
Fan favourites. Dogasu’s Backpack, which compared every episode of the season with its dub, found a lot to like. Regaining the Home Advantage! was “classic Kanto”; of the Daybreak final it wrote that “those one episode Contests don’t have a chance of being as memorable as this one” (DP162); Bucking the Treasure Trend! was just what was needed: “We really, really needed a fun adventure episode like this before the League” (DP181). The first part of the Ash–Paul battle was “a decent start to what’s going to be the most important battle in the league” (DP186), and its conclusion “a little by-the-numbers, sure, but it was still a nice ending” (DP188). Of the much-debated semi-final the site admitted, “I can’t bring myself to hate this episode as much as everyone else seems to” (DP189), and the finale “provides the series with a satisfactory conclusion” (DP191).
Mixed notices. The same site thought the Ranger special “…it’s OK”, though it “really liked how most of this episode took place inside a volcano” (DP169), welcomed the bigger role Abilities now played in battles but called Infernape’s controlled Blaze “one big deus ex machina” (DP179), and said that “writing a series finale is hard” and that the company “didn’t really do anything to make this momentous episode stand out in any way” (DP191). The dub’s music drew the sharpest criticism: of the song that replaced Dawn’s theme in the Grand Festival final it wrote, “I hate this edit… Nothing about the new song screams ‘Dawn’ to me at all” (DP177), and of the Full Battle’s climax, “The music in the English version sucked” (DP188). No reviews of the VIZ DVDs or the Complete Season have been found, and the season won no known awards.
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