This article is about the thirdseries of thePokémon animated series. For the series of thePokémon Trading Card Game, seePokémon Trading Card Game → Diamond & Pearl Series.For other uses, seeDiamond and Pearl (disambiguation).

Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl (Japanese:ポケットモンスターダイヤモンド＆パールPocket Monsters Diamond & Pearl) is the thirdseries of thePokémon animated series in Asia (including Japan) and the fourth series ofPokémon the Series in the West. The series is based on the events of theGeneration IVcore seriesPokémon games. It followsPokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire and was succeeded byPokémon the Series: Black & White. It ran from September 28, 2006 to September 9, 2010 in Japan (with twospecialepisodes on February 3, 2011) and from June 4, 2007 to February 5, 2011 inthe United States, although the first three episodes aired as a sneak peak in the United States on April 20, 2007. It was not given an English name until after the release ofPokémon the Series: XY.

For the first time in the animated series, a second protagonist is introduced alongsideAsh Ketchum. While previous series revolved around Ash and hisjourney first and foremost,Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl follows Ash traveling through theSinnohregion alongside his new companionDawn, a rookiePokémon Coordinator fromTwinleaf Town who wishes to follow in the footsteps ofher mother and gain the title ofTop Coordinator. Likewise, Ash continues his goal to be aPokémon Master by aiming to conquer theSinnoh League, while both are joined by Ash's longtime companionBrock, who resumes his role of cooking for and advising his friends after reuniting with Ash.

Like withPokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire, both Ash and Brock received a change of clothes. Similarly, theirprevious female companion returns for a few episodes, wearing new clothes based on that of hergame counterpart inPokémon Emerald.

Much like how theoriginal series transitioned from cel-based coloring to digital coloring in its final few episodes,Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl featured the show's move from a standard definition 4:3 presentation to a high-definition 16:9 format around the middle of its run. Additionally, moves likeWater Gun andHydro Pump started being rendered in CGI following this transition.

Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl is different from the previous two series in that it is more story driven. While there are fewer episodes dedicated toGym battles orPokémon Contests than previous series had in the same amount of time, more captures, more departures, and morerivals have been introduced when compared to earlier series.

Additionally, this series is more violent and dramatic than its predecessors, in part stemming from the characterPaul whose training method sharply contrasts with Ash's so much that he abusesone of his Pokémon for not doing well, and likewise stemming from the cataclysmic nature of the plot of Sinnoh's residentvillainous team,Team Galactic, as well as the actions of the heartless mercenaryJ.

Episodes inPokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl are numbered withthe prefixDP onBulbapedia. For a complete episode listing, see thelist ofPokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl episodes.

Blurb

If Gary Oak is headed for the Sinnoh region, then Ash Ketchum won’t be far behind! Ready to take on the Sinnoh League, Ash brings along Pikachu and meets up with Brock in Sinnoh, where the pair of Trainers are soon joined by a third—Dawn, a novice Pokémon Coordinator determined to follow in the footsteps of her mother. Both Ash and Dawn struggle with their respective paths, but it’s easy for them to make new friends, gaining new Pokémon like Turtwig and Piplup.

Arcs and seasons

WhenPokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl came to be dubbed into English and other languages, it was divided up into four seasons.

The following table summarizes the Japanese titles, the English titles, and theJapanese andEnglish opening themes used during the series.

Japan				United States
Title	Opening theme	First episode		Title	Opening theme	First episode
Pocket Monsters Diamond & Pearl	Together	DP001		Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl	Diamond and Pearl	DP001
				Pokémon: DP Battle Dimension	We Will Be Heroes	DP053
	High Touch!	DP096		Pokémon: DP Galactic Battles	Battle Cry - (Stand Up!)	DP105
	The Greatest - Everyday!	DP158		Pokémon: DP Sinnoh League Victors	We Will Carry On!	DP158

Movies

• Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai
• Pokémon: Giratina and the Sky Warrior
• Pokémon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life
• Pokémon—Zoroark: Master of Illusions

Home video releases

North American DVD releases

• List of English language Diamond and Pearl home video releases (Region 1)
• List of English language Battle Dimension home video releases (Region 1)
• List of English language Galactic Battles home video releases (Region 1)
• List of English language Sinnoh League Victors home video releases (Region 1)

Australian DVD releases

• List of English language Diamond and Pearl home video releases (Region 4)
• List of English language Battle Dimension home video releases (Region 4)
• List of English language Galactic Battles home video releases (Region 4)
• List of English language Sinnoh League Victors home video releases (Region 4)

Japanese DVD releases

• List of Japanese language Diamond & Pearl home video releases

Gallery

For more images, please seeartwork from Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl on theBulbagarden Archives.

Posters

• 
  Japanese teaser poster forDiamond & Pearl
• 
  Japanese start date poster forDiamond & Pearl
• 
  Japanese poster forDiamond & Pearl
• 
  Japanese poster forDiamond & Pearl
• 
  Pokémon Asia poster forPokémon: Diamond and Pearl
• 
  Pokémon Asia poster forPokémon: Diamond and Pearl
• 
  An English poster forPokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl

Characters

Main characters

• 
  Ash
• 
  Dawn
• 
  Brock
• 
  Team Rocket

Supporting characters

• 
  Paul
• 
  Professor Rowan
• 
  Johanna
• 
  Solana

Antagonists

• 
  Hunter J

Trivia

• This is the onlyseries ofPokémon the Series in which:
  • Ash does not have a new maletraveling companion.
  • A character other than Ash is mentioned in the summary of theJapanese opening themes.
  • There are noeyecatches in the Englishdub.
  • Team Rocket appears in every episode (they did not appear inthe first episode in theoriginal series; they were absent in thePokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire episodeAG120; and they have been absent in several episodes fromPokémon the Series: Black & White onward).
  • Ash starts off with more than one of his Pokémon, arriving inSinnoh withPikachu andAipom, the latter of which stowed away.
  • Ash meets all four of the primaryregion'sElite Four.
    • Ash has met all of the members ofKanto's original Elite Four, but did not do so by the end of the original series.
    • He later went on to meet all ofAlola's Elite Four members, but none of them presented themselves as such due to theAlola League being a new establishment.
  • Ash begins hisjourney still wearing his outfit from the previous series.
  • Ash catches multiple of the current generation'sfirst partner Pokémon and has up to two of themevolve into their final forms.
  • There are no episodes revolving around filming.
  • All of the Pokémon Ash obtains make an appearance in amovie.
  • None of its music is used during thePokémon: To Be a Pokémon Master arc ofPokémon Journeys: The Series.
• This is the only series in which:
  • There are episodes in two different aspect ratios.
    • It is the first series to have episodes in a 16:9 aspect ratio, and the last series to have episodes in a 4:3 aspect ratio.
  • AFull Battle takes place outside of a major tournament, not counting movies.
  • A recurringCharizard doesn’t appear.
• This is the first series in which:
  • Ash has only one new traveling companion.
  • Ash shares the role of protagonist with one of his traveling companions, withDawn being promoted as a co-protagonist alongside him sharing equal focus.
  • 4Kids Entertainment had no part in dubbing.
  • Episodes have a frame rate of 30 frames per second.
  • There are no references to or Pokémon from the followinggeneration, aside from thethirteenth movie.
  • Ash and his friends only travel across a single region together.
  • A battle spans across more than two consecutive episodes.
  • Ash is not shown traveling to a new region at the end of the series, simply returning home toPallet Town instead.
  • No episodes arebanned, but at least one episode is undubbed.
• This is the last series in which:
  • There is background music produced by 4Kids Entertainment in the dub.
  • Characters are drawn usingKen Sugimori's older art style.
  • James has awalking Pokémon.
  • Ash's female traveling companion gets her bicycle destroyed by Ash's Pikachu.
  • Ash's female traveling companion obtains six or more Pokémon.
  • A Pokémon Ash had caught in a previous series evolves.
  • Ash uses Pokémon he had obtained in a previous series in a major tournament, aside from Pikachu.
  • The dub has at least four seasons.
• The Sinnoh journey is the longest regional story arc out of all the arcs in theanimated series with 191 episodes, not counting special episodes. The Johto journey previously held this distinction with 158 episodes total.
• In this series, everyTrainer who is part of the regular cast—Ash, Dawn,Brock,Jessie and James—owns at least one Pokémon that is part of across-generational evolutionary line that includes a member introduced inGeneration IV.
  • The same holds true about rivalsPaul,Barry,Zoey,Nando, andConway.
• In the re-dubbed Hindi version, James has a flamboyant accent.
• This is the last series to be dubbed byTAJ Productions, and the first series to be dubbed byDuArt Film & Video.
• This is the first English-dubbed series to air its complete run on a single channel. Theoriginal series was split between syndication andKids' WB, whilePokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire was split between Kids WB andCartoon Network.
• In Japan, this is the only series to not be aired onKids Station; instead, it was aired onDisney XD, although the series' movies were still aired on Kids Station.

In other languages

External links

• Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl at the Pokémon official site for Asia
• Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl PV
• TV Tokyo (Japanese)

Related articles

This article is part ofProject Anime, aBulbapedia project that covers all aspects ofPokémon animation.

• Series of the Pokémon animated series