DP093

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Diamond & Pearl series

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Playing the Leveling Field!

DP093   EP559 踊るジムリーダー！メリッサ登場!! Dancing Gym Leader! Enter Melissa!

First broadcast Japan September 11, 2008 United States February 7, 2009

English themes Opening We Will Be Heroes Ending

Japanese themes Opening Together2008 Ending 風のメッセージ

Credits Animation Team Iguchi Screenplay 冨岡淳広 Atsuhiro Tomioka Storyboard 秦義人 Yoshito Hata Assistant director 秦義人 Yoshito Hata Animation director 木下和栄 Kazue Kinoshita Additional credits

Screenshots on Filb.de

Playing the Leveling Field! (Japanese: 踊るジムリーダー！メリッサ登場!! Dancing Gym Leader! Enter Melissa!) is the 93rd episode of the Diamond & Pearl series, and the 559th episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on September 11, 2008 and in the United States on February 7, 2009.

Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.

Synopsis

Template:Incomplete synopsis Ash and his friends are continuing their journey when they encounter Zoey battling Fantina, a talented Coordinator who is also the long-absent Hearthome City Gym Leader. After a talk with Ash about her absence from the Gym, Fantina agrees to an unofficial battle... but will Ash's Pokémon be able to withstand the hypnotic talents of her Drifloon?

Major events

• Fantina has a battle with Zoey and wins.
• Ash has an informal battle with Fantina and forfeits.
• Zoey is revealed to have won her third ribbon.

Debuts

• Fantina

Pokémon debuts

TV episode debuts

• Drifblim (Fantina's)

Characters

Humans

• Ash
• Brock
• Dawn
• Jessie
• James
• Zoey
• Fantina
• Juan (flashback)
• Alan (flashback)
• Enta (flashback)

Pokémon

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Wobbuffet (Jessie's)
• Turtwig (Ash's)
• Staravia (Ash's)
• Chimchar (Ash's)
• Buizel (Ash's)
• Gliscor (Ash's)
• Piplup (Dawn's)
• Croagunk (Brock's)
• Happiny (Brock's)
• Yanmega (Jessie's)
• Glameow (Zoey's)
• Misdreavus (Fantina's) (flashback)
• Mismagius (Fantina's)
• Drifloon (Fantina's, evolves)
• Drifblim (Fantina's, newly evolved; debut)
• Gengar (Fantina's) (flashback)
• Nosepass (Alan's) (flashback)
• Probopass (Alan's) (flashback)
• Luxray (flashback)
• Ponyta (flashback)
• Abra (flashback)

Trivia

• Music from Lucario and the Mystery of Mew and Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea is used as background music.
• Professor Oak's lecture: Riolu
• The dub title for this episode is a reference to the phrase "level the playing field".
• In the English dub, the title card appears at a later point and with different music.
• In this episode, Zoey orders her Glameow to use Shock Wave and it misses. This is impossible in the games unless one has used a move that grants invulnerability for a turn.

In other languages

• German: Eine ganz besondere Gegnerin!
• Italian: Imparare dalle proprie sconfitte!
• Latin American Spanish: ¡Jugando en un campo superior!
• Czech: Neobyčejný zápas

Template:Epstub

← DP092 : A Lean Mean Team Rocket Machine!

Diamond & Pearl series

DP094 : Doc Brock! →

This episode article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation.