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| Season | Pokémon DP: Sinnoh League Victors (Season 13) · The semi-final & farewells arc (DP189–DP191) |
| Episode | Season 13, episode 32 · English episode 651 · Japanese episode 656 · Bulbapedia code DP189 |
| English title | The Semi-Final Frontier! |
| Japanese title | シンオウリーグ準決勝！ダークライ登場！！ Shin’ō Rīgu Junkesshō! Dākurai Tōjō!! — “Sinnoh League Semi-Finals! Enter Darkrai!!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 26 August 2010 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 22 January 2011 · Cartoon Network |
| Screenplay | Masashi Sogo |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Saikō – Everyday! (The Greatest – Everyday!), Band Version – Fumie Akiyoshi with The Greatest-Band · Kimi no Mune ni LaLaLa (In Your Heart, LaLaLa) – MADOKA. |
| English opening | We Will Carry On! – Adam Elk |
| Previous episode | Battling a Thaw in Relations! (DP188) |
| Next episode | The Brockster Is In! (DP190) |
Plot episodeAsh loses to TobiasTop 4
The Semi-Final Frontier! is the 32nd episode of Pokémon DP: Sinnoh League Victors, the thirteenth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 651st episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 656, Bulbapedia code DP189). It first aired in Japan on 26 August 2010 and in the United States on 22 January 2011. It falls within the season’s The semi-final & farewells stretch (EP189–EP191).
Synopsis
Ash’s Sinnoh League run ends in the semi-finals against Tobias, who goes on to win the Lily of the Valley Conference. Tobias’s Darkrai puts Heracross to sleep with Dark Void and finishes it with Dream Eater, then defeats Torkoal and Gible with Dark Pulse.
Sceptile falls asleep too, but hears Ash calling in its dream, wakes and defeats Darkrai with Leaf Blade, the first time Darkrai has lost in the tournament. Tobias then sends out Latios, which overpowers Sceptile with Giga Impact and outflies Swellow before knocking it out with Luster Purge.
Pikachu, Ash’s last Pokémon, clings to Latios’s back and keeps attacking, then cuts through Luster Purge with Volt Tackle and Iron Tail; the blast knocks out both Pokémon, and Tobias wins. Brock notes Ash has reached the Top 4 for the first time. Tobias uses Darkrai to beat a Magmortar in the final and receives the trophy from Cynthia, Barry promises to beat Ash next time, and the friends set off for Twinleaf Town.
Major Events
- Ash loses to Tobias in the semi-final and finishes in the Top 4. Sceptile beats Darkrai, but Latios and Pikachu knock each other out
- Tobias wins the Conference
- The last appearances of Barry and Charles Goodshow
- The dub keeps all of the Japanese music
- Latios’s TV debut
Pokémon making their anime debut
Latios#0381 · DP189
Trivia
- The English title plays on Star Trek’s “Space: the final frontier”, for the semi-final that ends Ash’s run.
- The screenplay is by Masashi Sogo.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Sinnoh storyline.
Changes in the English Dub
- Darkrai and Latios keep their Japanese voices
- The dub keeps all of the Japanese music, title card included — the only episode of the season to do so
Part of our Pokémon DP: Sinnoh League Victors guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.