A sandy town that is located right next to a beach. It is redolent with the salty scent of the sea. Prof. Rowan's lab is the town's landmark. He conducts his studies on Pokémon here.
Sandgem Town (Japanese: マサゴタウンMasago Town) is a town in the Sinnohregion. The town notably has sandy terrain to the south, the beginnings of Sandgem Beach. The beach, part of Route 219, is in close proximity to the town itself.
Professor Rowan's laboratory is located here. It is also the hometown of Dawn or Lucas, depending on the player's gender. The little sister of Dawn or Lucas gives information about mass outbreaks she sees on television. It is the first location in Sinnoh where Poké Balls are able to be purchased. The town smells of the salty scent of the sea.
Town of Sand! (Japanese: うみにつながる すなのまちThe sandy town connected to the ocean.)
Places of interest
Inside the professor's lab
Pokémon Research Lab
The Lab lies right next to the western entrance into Sandgem Town. Professor Rowan works here along with two assistants, one of whom is the father of Dawn/Lucas. It is here that the Professor gives the player their Pokédex.
Professor's assistant's house
Professor Rowan's assistant, Dawn (if the player is male) or Lucas (if the player is female), lives in the house nearest the town's southern exit. Inside, after the player has obtained the National Pokédex and entered the Hall of Fame, the professor's assistant's younger sister will inform the player of any mass outbreaks.
Sandgem's Pokémon Center is located right next to the Pokémon Research Lab, and is the first Pokémon Center the player will encounter on their journey. It provides an essential place for Trainers from the neighboring routes to stop and rest. A sign outside reads:
Dawn then decided to go looking for them on a nearby forest, where she found Piplup trapped in a web created by a wildAriados. She managed to rescue him while Chimchar was taken to the lab by Rowan's Staraptor. Back in the lab, Dawn chose Piplup as her partner saying that their journey together had already began. After that, Rowan gave her a Pokédex and six Poké Balls and she left for Route 202.
In Two Degrees of Separation!, Officer Jenny took Ash to Rowan's lab after he told her that his Pikachu was missing. There, Rowan explained that Dawn had placed a call to him earlier saying that she had rescued a Pikachu from a trio of Pokémon thieves and taken it to a Pokémon Center. Ash called the Pokémon Center immediately, but Nurse Joy said Dawn had just left to find Pikachu's Trainer. Upon hearing that, Ash decided to go out and meet with Dawn.
Professor Rowan's Research Lab
In When Pokémon Worlds Collide!, after being reunited with Pikachu and his long-time traveling companionBrock, Ash returned to Rowan's lab, accompanied by Dawn. There, Dawn shared her plan of entering the Jubilife CityPokémon Contest and Ash said he intended to challenge the SinnohGyms. They agreed to journey together and were about to hit the road when Paul appeared and challenged Ash to a three-on-three battle. Ash accepted and the battle took place just outside the lab, with Ash using his recently caughtStarly, Aipom, and Pikachu while Paul used his Starly, Chimchar, and Elekid. The hard-fought battle ended in a draw, upsetting both Ash and Paul. Ash requested another battle, but Paul turned him down and left.
In DPS01, after spending some time training at home following her narrow defeat at the Sinnoh Grand Festival, Dawn decided to travel to the Hoennregion to compete in Pokémon Contests there. However, she was torn between beginning anew with only Piplup by her side or taking the whole team with her. Seeing this, Johanna suggested that she visited Professor Rowan and asked for his advice. Dawn listened to her mother and rode a bike to Sandgem Town. When she explained the issue to Rowan, he said that a girl named Shinko was having trouble making decisions as well.
Dawn went to talk with Shinko and learned that the girl was unsure about which Pokémon she should start her journey with. When a fight broke out between Piplup and Chimchar, which resulted in them escaping from the lab, both Dawn and Shinko went out to search for them. They found the two caught in an Ariados's web and proceeded to rescue them, but the Ariados was soon joined by its friends. Dawn called out her Pokémon to help, but the swarm of Ariados tied them all up with String Shot. In a turn of events, Dawn's Cyndaquilevolved into Quilava and scared the Ariados off with its newly learned Eruption attack. After that, Dawn and Shinko headed back to the lab, where Dawn announced that she would take all of her Pokémon to Hoenn as she realized there is still so much more she can do with them, while Shinko decided to study some more before making her big decision.
In the manga
This section is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it. Reason: image and information of its appearance in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Adventure!
Pokémon Adventures
Sandgem Town is where the Berlitz family mansion is located, as well as Professor Rowan's laboratory. Diamond is the only other Pokédex holder that was seen visiting the town.
At the start of this chapter, Platinum is bid an emotional farewell by her butler Sebastian as she begins her long journey to the top of Mt. Coronet.
Diamond is attacked by Sebastian when he trespasses the Berlitz compound, but Sebastian forgives Diamond after he reveals his association with Platinum, and allows him access to the mansion. After fending off a swarm of Yanmega infiltrating Rowan's lab, Diamond continues towards Lake Verity in order to stop Team Galactic from blowing it up.
