Brendan and May in a Pokémon Contest Spectacular in Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire
A Pokémon Contest is a competition introduced in Generation III. They return in Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire with the title Pokémon Contest Spectaculars.
Description[]
Pokémon Contests are held in Pokémon Contest Halls and features a setup where three Contest Judges rate Pokémon based on their performance, especially their conditions and moves. The main participants are Pokémon Coordinators, similarly to how Pokémon Trainers engage in battles, but Pokémon Contests are still open to Pokémon Trainers. Winners of a Pokémon Contest receive an honorary ribbon.
Pokémon Coordinators who register for a Pokémon Contest are given a Contest Pass to prove that they are authorized to enter. They are also given a Ball Capsule and Pokémon Seal upon registering, while in Pokémon the Series, the items have to be bought first. Ball Capsules are purple, see through, ball-shaped items used as a medium for Pokémon Seals to operate. After applying a seal to a Ball Capsule, the player would put the Ball Capsule around the Poké Ball. With this appliance, when a Coordinator releases their Pokémon, special effects specific on the seal emits around the Pokémon to make for a presentational entrance.
A successor was introduced in the Generation IV games, titled Pokémon Super Contests.
Appearances[]
Core series[]
There are five categories of to these contests, each one having its own condition: Those being Beauty (titled "Beautiful in Contest Spectaculars), Cool, Cute, Smart (titled "Clever" in Contest Spectaculars) and Tough. Each category has four ranks, which determines the difficulty of the competition. These ranks are: Normal, Super, Hyper and Master. Up to four contestants compete, one of whom is the player.
In the first round, the judges base a trainer's Pokémon by their condition. The condition of a Pokémon falls under the same five condition categories as their moves. Pokéblocks are used as a source to up one or more of a Pokémon's conditions.
In the second round, there are four turns to have a trainer's Pokémon perform a move to impress the judges. Each move has their own effect, which can vary from upping the user's score to changing the order of appeals. A move can also bring down other Pokémon's score, which is known as jamming. A move used should be correspondent to the condition of the contest, such as moves with the Beauty condition being used in Beauty Contests, as any other kind of move can have a negative and/or less effective effect on the user.
Anime[]
Pokémon the Series[]
Pokémon Contests are a lot more common in Pokémon the Series than in the core series, and they are held in several towns and cities. They are held under a Single Performance or Double Performance rule. The Judges are usually Raoul Contesta, Mr. Sukizo and Nurse Joy. There is also an announcer who introduces the contestants and comments during the battles.
The first round involves the Coordinator's Pokémon demonstrating its moves in an appealing manner. This is usually done through a Pokémon or group of Pokémon using moves or combining multiple moves to create visually stunning performances in order to wow the judges. During the appeal, the judges score the Coordinator's performance. Those with the highest scores proceed to the next round. The amount of people varies for every Contest.
In the second round, the Coordinators battle with others to beat each other and get rated by the judges to see how graceful the Pokémon did during battle. The battle ends when the five minutes pass and the Coordinator that has the least of the circle loses. And before the time ends, if the circle is out before the five minutes is up the one with the circle out first loses. In addition, if a Coordinator's Pokémon get knocked out/are unable to battle then victory goes to the Coordinator whose Pokémon haven't been knocked out.
After Coordinators collect five ribbons of a region, they are allowed to enter the region's Grand Festival.
Unlike the games, there are Pokémon Contests held in Kalos, but are known as Pokémon Showcases, where victors win a Princess Key.
By Pokémon Journeys: The Series, Contests and Showcases have merged into one.
Manga[]
Pokémon Adventures[]
In the Ruby & Sapphire Chapter, Ruby has a goal to win every Ribbon in the Hoenn region. To do this, Ruby assigns a different condition to each of his Pokémon: Cool for Mightyena, Cute for Delcatty, Tough for Swampert, Smart for Castform, and Beauty for Milotic (formerly a Feebas). Part of Ruby's bet with his rival, Sapphire, is that Ruby would obtain every Ribbon within 80 days and Sapphire would collect every Gym Badge within the same timeframe. Wallace also took part in Beauty contents, while Courtney and Daisy Oak participated in several Contests together during the past.
In "Mind-Boggling with Medicham", Ruby participates in the Normal Rank Pokémon Contest, hosted in Verdanturf Town. Both the audience and judges are surprised that Ruby used a Feebas (which had not yet evolved into Milotic) as his Pokémon.
In "I More Than Like You, Luvdisc I", Ruby participates in the Super Rank Pokémon Contest, hosted in Fallarbor Town. Although Ruby wins the Cool, Clever, Cute, and Tough contests, he cannot be part of the Beauty contest because registration for it has closed, so he watches Wallace participate. After Wallace wins, Ruby asks him to be his mentor for Pokémon Contests, which the latter accepts after a short time. In "Tanks, But No Tanks, Anorith and Lileep", Ruby does manage to participate in the Beauty competition of the Fallarbor Town Pokémon Contest and win.
In "Always Keep Whiscash on You for Emergencies", Ruby participates in the Hyper Rank Pokémon Contest, hosted in Slateport City, even though it had already been flooded by Kyogre. Ruby wins every competition except the Beauty Contest, which Wallace has won. However, Ruby blames his Feebas for the defeat, so it abandons him temporarily.
In "It All Ends Now VII", Ruby is reunited with his Feebas, whom he gives the Hyper Rank Beauty Ribbon that had been held by Wallace previously, causing it to evolve into Milotic.
In "It All Ends Now VIII", Ruby participates in the Master Rank Pokémon Contest, hosted in Lilycove City, and wins again. Ruby achieved a draw in his bet with Sapphire, who won every Gym Badge by the end of the 80 days.
