Pokéathlon

File:Pokéthlon art.png

Artwork of the Pokéathlon games

Pokéathlon (Japanese: ポケスロン Pokéthlon) is a type of competition involving Pokémon racing and similar athletic competitions, in the manner of Olympic track and field competitions. It was introduced in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver. The Pokéathlon Dome, where the competitions are held, is north of Goldenrod City, next to National Park.

The Pokéathlon is handled similarly to Pokémon Contests and Super Contests in the Hoenn and Sinnoh regions, as a sidequest to complete while the player challenges the gyms and the Pokémon League. Like in Contests, four competitors participate at once; however, each uses a team of three Pokémon instead of only one. The Pokémon that take part are known as "Pokéathletes".

Like the five stats introduced for Contests, five additional stats were added for the Pokéathlon: Speed, Power, Skill, Stamina, and Jump. Like the Contest conditions and battle stats, a Pokémon's performance stats are affected by its nature (more directly so, like the battle stats, than the condition). Using the Apriblender, Aprijuice can be made and used to boost or lower these Performance Stats.

By winning events in the Pokéathlon, the participating Pokémon will earn medals for their species. Their Trainers will earn points for the competition based on how well the team did, if they qualified for any of the several bonuses, and a win will earn their Trainer an additional 100 points (300 points in the Supreme Cup), all which can be spent on prizes at the Salon Shop or Data Cards with which the player may see records of various actions, course wins and losses, and multiple other statistics in the Pokéathlon Dome.

Once the National Pokédex is obtained and the player has talked with Magnus in the Friendship Room, the Supreme Cup is unlocked. The opponents are slightly harder, but Trainers who get in first place here will earn a bonus 300 points instead of the regular 100.

File:Pokéthlon Dome.png

The Pokéathlon Dome

Events

Hurdle Dash

Cyndaquil holds first place in Hurdle Dash, while Totodile and Pikachu try to catch up.

Hurdle Dash (Japanese:ダッシュハードル Dash Hurdle) pits the twelve competing Pokéathletes against one another in a race down a track, with hurdles standing every so often for the Pokémon to jump over. Tapping the Pokémon on the touchscreen will cause it to jump, with Pokémon tapped just before jumping a hurdle gaining a speed boost. It is even possible for a Pokémon to bounce off a hurdle when it would ordinarily crash-land by tapping the Pokémon the instant it touches the hurdle - in this manner, it is not slowed down and may even get a speed boost. The final score is based on a combination of the finish time of all three Pokémon on an individual team. In order to get a Potential Trophy, the player must complete the course in 80 seconds or less.

The Hurdle Dash appears as the first course in the Speed competition and as the final course in the Jump competition.

Performance	Effect
Speed	Movement speed
Jump	Length of jump
Skill	Acceleration rate

Ring Drop

Totodile and Marill go head-to-head in Ring Drop

Ring Drop (Japanese:リングアウトファイト Ring-Out Fight) is somewhat based on sumo, however, it is between four Pokéathletes, rather than two. Pokémon compete by tackling each other, trying to knock opponents out of the ring. Jumping tackles are also allowed. A Pokémon ousted from the ring will be replaced by their teammate.

Scoring is determined by the number of successful jumping tackles (2 points for each jumping tackle that lands), the number of successful tackles (1 point for each tackle that lands), the number of times the player's Pokémon run off the edge of the ring (minus ten points for each time this occurs), and opponent's Pokémon knocked out of the ring (ten points for each time this occurs). The final score from these results is then multiplied by 1.5 and is used as the point score, to later be converted into Athlete Points.

This is the first event in the Stamina competition, the only competition it is a part of.

Performance	Effect
Speed	Movement speed
Power	Tackle power
Stamina	Endurance to attacks
Jump	Jumping distance, press power

Snow Throw

Slowpoke takes a direct hit in Snow Throw.

Snow Throw (Japanese:シューティングスノー Shooting Snow) is an all-out snowball fight between the four teams of Pokémon, with each throwing snowballs at any of the members of the other three teams in order to knock them out for points. Being hit by a snowball causes a Pokémon to be stunned for a short while. Snowballs are made by the Pokémon by tapping them on the touchscreen, and thrown by flicking the stylus in the direction of the target.

Scoring is determined by the number of snowballs that make contact with the opponent's Pokémon. Each hit is worth one point. At the end of the time period, the total points are multiplied by three and used to calculate the score, which will later be turned into Athlete Points.

This event is the first in the Skill competition, the only competition it is part of.

Performance	Effect
Power	Ability to KO opponent
Stamina	Ability to withstand being KO'd
Skill	Accuracy of throw

Lamp Jump

Pikachu and Cyndaquil wait to be launched in Lamp Jump.

Lamp Jump (Japanese:バウンドフィールド Bound Field) is a game similar to pachinko, only using the Pokéathletes themselves, rather than balls. The player must drag the Pokémon down to the bottom of the screen with the stylus, then release to catapult it high into the air, where lamps shine. For each lamp a Pokémon touches, points are gained, with more points gained from lamps that are touched in a row before the Pokémon lands again. The danger comes in this event not from opponents, but from the player's own Pokémon, which can hit each other and knock each other out. In order to receive a Potential trophy, the player must earn at least 500 points.

This is the first event in the Jump competition, which it is exclusive to.

Performance	Effect
Jump	Height of jump
Power	Teammate collision bounce-length
Stamina	Speed of recovery after KO
Skill	Accuracy of jump

Relay Run

Pikachu and Growlithe race towards completion of another lap in Relay Run.

Relay Run (Japanese:チェンジリレー Change Relay) has Pokéathletes race each other around a circular track, trying to complete as many laps as they can in 90 seconds. Pokémon are controlled by flicking them along with the stylus. Colliding with another Pokémon will stun both for a short while, longer if the Pokémon is fatigued already, depending on the Power and Stamina of each. Pokéathletes will be slowed down when traveling over rocks, and cannot pass through the large obstacles on the course. When fatigued, a Pokémon will need to switch out to the next Pokémon to continue.

Scoring is determined by the total distance run. At the end of the 90 seconds, the total number of laps is multiplied by ten and is used as the score, to later be converted to Athlete Points (ex. 15.5 laps becomes 155 points).

Relay Run is the third and final course of the Speed competition and the second course of the Stamina competition.

Performance	Effect
Speed	Movement speed
Skill	Acceleration of dash
Power	Ability to lower opponents' Stamina
Stamina	Running endurance

Block Smash

Totodile tries its hardest to smash the blocks quickly.

Block Smash (Japanese:ブレイクブロック Break Block) sets four Pokéathletes, one from each team, against a stack of ten cement blocks. The Pokémon must demonstrate its might by breaking through each of them, at which point ten more will be available to break. The blocks can be broken by tapping them on the touchscreen, with the cracks in each being a weak point. After a certain amount have been broken, depending on the Stamina and Power of the Pokéathlete, they will become fatigued and will need to switch out with the next team member. The player will also earn Athlete Points equal to the number of blocks broken.

Block Smash is the first course in the Power competition and the third in the Stamina competition.

Performance	Effect
Skill	Critical-hit ratio
Power	Ability to smash blocks
Stamina	Endurance

Circle Push

Pikachu, Totodile, and Cyndaquil duke it out with the other nine Pokéathletes.

Circle Push (Japanese:プッシュサークル Push Circle) features all twelve Pokéathletes on the field at once. They must each attempt to stay inside of the circles projected onto the field, all while keeping others out. With each round, the time allotted to the Pokéathletes for this gets shorter and shorter, while the point values on the circles get higher and the diameters get smaller.

This is the second course of the Power competition, the only competition in which it appears.

Performance	Effect
Speed	Movement speed
Power	Power behind push
Stamina	Endurance when pushing opponents

Disc Catch

Croconaw, Hoothoot, and Pidgeotto compete with the other Pokémon to catch the discs.

Disc Catch (Japanese:キャッチソーサー Catch Saucer) features the twelve Pokéathletes lined up on a small pier in the middle of the water, where they must catch discs that are thrown through the air at them. The arena is striated with four regions. Depending upon which region the Pokémon is in when it catches a disk, it will gain either 1, 2, 3, or 5 points. The 1 point region is closest to the origin of the discs while the 2 point region is farther back and so on. Pokémon can fall off the pier, but will however return to the field of play shortly. The minimum number of points that can be earned in this event is 30.

This is the second event in the Jump competition, the only competition it appears in.

Performance	Effect
Speed	Movement speed
Jump	Height, duration of jump
Power	Ability to push opponents around

Pennant Capture

Psyduck and Pikachu competing over the pennant flags.

Pennant Capture (Japanese:スティールフラッグ Steal Flag) brings the Pokéathletes into a sandbox-like area, where small pennant flags appear every so often. One Pokémon per team at a time is allowed to roam the field, collecting the various flags in the sand, with a maximum holding capacity of nine at one time. After collecting flags, the Pokémon must return to the start area to tag off the next Pokémon and deposit their flags, which will not count towards the score unless this is done. Flags can be stolen by a Pokémon that hits another from behind. Pokémon move when flicked with the stylus.

This event appears as the second event in the Speed competition and as the third event in the Skill competition.

Performance	Effect
Speed	Movement speed
Skill	Turning difficulty
Power	Ability to KO opponents
Stamina	Ability to withstand being KO'd

Goal Roll

The Red team has successfully scored a goal.

Goal Roll (Japanese:スマッシュゴール Smash Goal) is in essence a four-way soccer match with three Pokémon on each team. Pokéathletes score a goal for their team by being the last one to hit it before it enters the goal of an opponent team. One point is added for each goal scored with a white ball, while two points are added for a goal scored with a golden ball. Each goal scored against a team's goal will reduce their score by one (unless it is 0, where there will be no change). There will always be one ball on the field during the first 60 seconds of play, during which time the countdown is visible on the top screen. However, with only 30 seconds left, where the countdown was displayed, it will begin to read 'second wind,' and a second ball will appear on the field. Pokémon with low Stamina are prone to fatigue in this game.

This is the third event in the Power competition and the second event in the Skill competition.

Performance	Effect
Speed	Movement speed
Skill	Shot range, dribbling ability
Power	Shot power
Stamina	Resistance to fatigue

Supreme Rank NPC

Maylene

Maylene will compete in the Power Course with her Lucario, Meditite, and Machoke.

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Primo

Primo will compete in the Power Course with his Machamp, Rhydon, and Granbull.

	???  Course Supreme Cup
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Falkner

Falkner will compete in the Jump Course with his Swellow, Pidgeot, and Staraptor.

	???  Course Supreme Cup
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Jasmine

Jasmine will compete in the Stamina Course with her Steelix, Magneton, and Magnemite.

	???  Course Supreme Cup
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Whitney

Whitney will compete in the Speed Course with her Miltank, Clefairy, and Clefable.

	???  Course Supreme Cup
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Kuni

Kuni will compete in the Skill Course with her Espeon, Umbreon, and Eevee.

	???  Course Supreme Cup
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In the anime

Its location

File:Pokéthlon Break Block anime.png

Block Smash in the anime

In A Marathon Rivalry!, the Pokéathlon was held in Camellia Town. Ash joined the competition using his Monferno and Pikachu for Disc Catch and Hurdle Dash, respectively. However, he lost to Daniel and his Snorlax in Hurdle Dash. Other events of the Pokéathlon were also shown in the episode via a poster.

Trivia

• Since Diglett and Dugtrio have a maximum jump stat of one, they are incapable of jumping; in Lamp Jump they can't move at all, in Disc Catch they can only move around, and in Hurdle Dash they dig under the hurdles. This makes earning a Jump medal for these two species much more of a challenge than other species.
• The player can compete against major NPC's in the Supreme Rank, such as Maylene, Primo, Falkner, Jasmine, Whitney, and Kuni.
• Sunkern and Ditto are both relatively common Pokémon that are capable of maximum stars.

See Also

• Pokéathlon Dome