| Dawn's Early Night!
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ポケモンコンテスト！ヨスガ大会！！
Pokémon Contest! Yosuga Convention!!
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First broadcast
| Japan
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October 4, 2007
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| United States
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January 26, 2008
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English themes
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Japanese themes
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Credits
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Dawn's Early Night! (Japanese: ポケモンコンテスト！ヨスガ大会！！ Pokémon Contest! Yosuga Convention!!) is the 49th episode of Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl, and the 515th episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on October 4, 2007 as part of a two-hour special alongside DP050, and in the United States on January 26, 2008.
Blurb
As our Heroes make their way through Hearthome City and to the Hearthome City Gym, they run into their friend Nando at the Gym door who tells them that the Gym Leader will be away for quite awhile, much to Ash’s dismay. But telling them about the upcoming Hearthome City Pokemon Tag Battle, Ash and Brock decided to enter that instead – as a team. Meanwhile, the Hearthome City Pokemon Contest is just getting underway, and Dawn finds herself competing along with Nando, Zoey, and Jessilina, who of course is actually Jessie in disguise. Feeling very confident, Dawn gives a superb performance, but is sadly shocked to learn that she hasn’t even made it past the 1st round. As she struggles to cope with the situation, Jessilina is defeated by Nando, leaving Zoey and Nando battling in the finals, which Nando ultimately wins. Sharing feelings about their losses proves to cement Dawn and Zoey’s friendship even further, and as they both marvel at Nando’s ability to compete in both Pokemon Gym battles and Contests, the future begins to look much brighter for both of them, as the Pokemon Tag Battle is set to take place for Ash and Brock in a matter of days.
Plot
Leaving his friends trailing behind, Ash races towards the Hearthome Gym, excited to win his third Gym Badge. However, the doors are shut and Brock reads a note on the door that states that the Gym Leader is out and won't be back for a while. Budding Trainer and rival Nando confirms this, and suggests Ash enter the Hearthome City Tag Battle Competition, a tournament where skilled Trainers pair up to compete in several rounds of Tag Battles. Ash is thrilled by the tournament, and Brock agrees to compete as well. With the Gym closed, Nando turns his attention to the upcoming Pokémon Contest instead, which reminds Dawn that she needs to register.
As Nando and Dawn walk to the Contest Hall, Dawn learns that he still has one Ribbon and one Badge. Dawn knows that it has been some time since the Floaroma Contest, but thanks to Zoey's help, she is confident about Double Performances. At the Contest Hall, Zoey relaxes with her Pokémon as Dawn and Nando find her, Zoey's leg fully healed from her injury. Nando meets Zoey for the first time, but when Nando reveals his decision to participate in both Pokémon Contests and Gym battles, it draws criticism from Zoey. Meanwhile, Jessie puts on her "Jessilina" disguise and trains with Dustox and Seviper, but decides to use Mime Jr. in the performance instead.
The next day, the Hearthome Contest begins as the stadium roof opens, letting the sunshine in as Marian talks about Double Performances and introduces the Contest Judges: Raoul Contesta from the Pokémon Activities Committee, Mr. Sukizo from the Pokémon Fan Club, and the Nurse Joy from the local Pokémon Center. The Performance Stage begins with Nando as the first contestant, using his Sunflora and Kricketune. Sunflora's Grass Whistle and Kricketune's Sing combined with Nando's harp captivates the audience with the melodic music. The performance also earns him Zoey's respect as Nando earns high marks.
Other Coordinators take their turns, as Dawn is still confident despite many high-experience Coordinators. Zoey cautions Dawn against overconfidence, but still believes Dawn will do well. Dawn's turn arrives as she takes the stage with Pachirisu and Piplup. Pachirisu launches Sweet Kiss while Piplup encases the attack with Bubble Beam. Pachirisu follows up with Discharge as Piplup whips up a Whirlpool, the electricity causing the whirlpool to dissipate in a flash of sparkles. Marian expresses joy at a Water type and an Electric type working so harmonious with each other. Each of the three judges give Dawn's performance positive reviews, commenting particularly on the power and visuals, while her mother watches from home intently.
Jessie takes her turn, sending out Mime Jr. and Cacnea. Cacnea uses Needle Arm, which Mime Jr. Mimics before using Tickle on Jessie as both Cacnea and Mime Jr. hug and tickle Jessie, spinning her around the stage. The unique experience gets Dawn's attention but actually creeps out Ash and Brock. Cacnea fires Pin Missile, which Mime Jr. mimics, into the sky and creating fireworks.
Jessie gets a very high score as Zoey takes the stage with Glameow and Shellos. Shellos fires Mud Bomb as Glameow's Iron Tail breaks the attack. Glameow transitions right into Secret Power, which results in a pink wave of light engulfing the stage. Brock explains to Ash that Secret Power has various effects depending upon the user's present location: on stage, it can create a paralyzing light. Glameow jumps and slashes the light with Shadow Claw to create a dazzling visual. Shellos than launches Water Pulse, surrounding Glameow as it descends. Glameow uses its claws to split the Water Pulse, causing the water to rebound on itself and create multiple rainbows. Her performance also gets a great score.
The first round ends as the results are calculated. Backstage, Dawn is confident that she passed, even predicting that her and Zoey will be in the finals. However, her hopes are quickly dashed as she fails to make the cut while Nando, Zoey, and Jessilina all clear the Performance Round. Dawn is clearly upset by the result as her friends notice, with Dawn's Pokémon and her friends all trying to cheer her up. Despite their attempts, however, Dawn is still distraught, even angry, as she gets up and runs out of the room. Zoey suggests that they leave her be for the moment as Dawn runs outside and lets out a scream of frustration. Meanwhile, Jessie and Nando wind up battling as Nando's Kricketune and Roselia easily corner Seviper and Dustox. Kricketune finishes the fight with X-Scissor, depleting all of Jessilina's points and sending Nando to the finals.
Backstage, Dawn gets back into her travel clothes and as she heads out, Ash and Brock inform her that the final round will pit Nando against Zoey. Dawn joins her friends and watches from the stands as her two rivals battle it out. That night, Ash and Brock talk to Johanna over the videophone, as she knows that both Dawn and Zoey are upset, since Nando managed to beat Zoey in the final round. Johanna decides to leave Dawn talk to Zoey instead as both can sympathize with one another. On the balcony, Zoey reveals her respect for Nando and her inspiration. Dawn is still upset over losing in the first round, but Zoey orders her to cut it out and focus on how to improve for next time. With Zoey’s encouragement, Dawn cheers up and looks forward to her next Contest.
Major events
- For a list of all major events in the animated series, please see the history page.
Debuts
Pokémon debuts
Characters
Humans
Pokémon
Trivia
- Paul's Torterra, Ursaring, and Weavile are added to the Japanese opening.
- The ending is omitted in the original Japanese broadcast, with the credits moved to the opening instead (scrolling from right to left).
- Music from Destiny Deoxys, Lucario and the Mystery of Mew, the instrumental version of By Your Side ~Hikari's Theme~, and its ballad version are used as background music.
- This marks the second time that a main character lost in the appeal round. The only previous time took an extreme amount of ignorance on the part of Jessie.
- This episode is the first time Sinnoh's Pokémon Contests are referred to as Super Contests in the anime.
- The episode's English dub title is a slight corruption of a lyric from The Star-Spangled Banner. This is the second time such a reference is used, after O'er the Rampardos we Watched.
- Fantina wasn't at her Gym in this episode and had not left anybody to stand in for her, despite the fact that if the Pokémon Inspection Agency's rules from Cerulean Blues still applied, that kind of behavior would lead to the Gym being shut down. However, it is possible that they do not have that kind of authority in the Sinnoh region.
- This episode was initially skipped in New Zealand for unknown reasons. When the season was repeated, the episode aired as normal. It is also readily available on DVD in New Zealand.
- This is one of the few episodes prior to Pokémon the Series: Black & White in which Team Rocket neither blast off nor recite their motto in any form.
- This episode was not originally listed on Pokémon.com. It was fixed shortly afterwards.
- This is the first time that one of Ash's friends has lost a Pokémon Contest in the appeal round.
Errors
- In one scene during Dawn and Zoey's conversation, Piplup's cape is colored light-blue instead of dark-blue.
Dub edits
In other languages
Czech
Danish
Dutch
Finnish
European French
German
Italian
Korean
Polish
Brazil
Portugal
Russian
Latin America
Spain
Swedish
Thai
