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 BDSPInside the Professor's lab DPPt
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:
Before Version 1.1.0, Infernape knew Overheat, Stone Edge and Grass Knot instead of Earthquake, Flare Blitz and Acrobatics. It also held a Choice Scarf instead of a White Herb.
Before Version 1.1.0, Infernape knew Overheat, Stone Edge and Grass Knot instead of Earthquake, Flare Blitz and Acrobatics. It also held a Choice Scarf instead of a White Herb.
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 Gates of Warp!, Dawn was in Sandgem Town, preparing for her next Contest, when Piplup was unexpectedly taken away by someone who looked exactly like Dawn and disappeared through a mysterious portal. Dawn called Ash and Goh to help her, only for another portal to soon appear near them and a different kind of Team Rocket trio to come through it and steal Ash's Lucario and Goh's Inteleon. Dawn and Goh pursued them through the portal, winding up in an alternate universe version of Sandgem Town. As Team Rocket was nowhere in sight, they decided to visit Dawn's home in Twinleaf Town to figure out where they were. In the next episode, the alternate Team Rocket trio stole Pokémon reverted into Eggs by a time reversal from the alternate Sandgem Town's Pokémon Center.
In Stagestruck Starly, the daughter of the Berlitz family, Platinum, left her family's mansion in Sandgem Town to fulfill the family tradition of making herself a copy of the family crest at the summit of Mt. Coronet. Due to a mishap, her intended bodyguards, Paka and Uji, had their mission description swapped with Diamond and Pearl's comedy contest prize of a bicycle ride in Sandgem Park, causing the two bodyguards to wait at the park until Extreme Luxio, when they realized something was wrong and left to find their client.
In Well Met, Weepinbell, Diamond arrived at Platinum's home estate on his way to Lake Verity. The Berlitz family's butler, Sebastian, initially mistook Diamond for an intruder and attacked him, until Diamond revealed that he was Platinum's friend. After saving Roseanne from a swarm of Yanmega sent by Team Galactic, Diamond resumed his journey, deciding to stop by at Twinleaf Town along the way to get some new clothes to replace the ones destroyed by the Yanmega.
