Super Contests
Ever since their debut in Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, Pokémon contests have been a big part of the games. Now with the DS stylus and touch screen, Pokémon contests have now become more intuitive than ever before. The purpose of this page is to give you a brief overview of the new changes of the contests in Diamond and Pearl. The Contest Hall is located all in one place: Hearthome City.
There are four ranks associated with each contest type (cool, cute, beauty, smart, tough):
- Normal Rank
- Great Rank
- Ultra Rank
- Master Rank
There are three stages of judging that takes place the contests:
Stage 1: Dress-Up/Theme
The idea is fairly simple. You've probably been collecting some fashion accessories in your fashion case by now, and it's now time to put them to good use. You need to dress up your Pokémon with attractive accessories within the time limit that go with the theme the judge says. Brightness, Flexibility, Nature, Relaxation, Shapley, Sharpness, The Colored, The Created, The Festive, The Gaudy, The Intangible, and The Solid are the themes the judge may choose. Certain items go with certain themes to help increase your score.
Also, this is where feeding your Pokémon poffins will help increase your Pokémon's appeal to the audience. The more poffins you've fed increases its condition which will help further increase its score in the first round. For example, if you entered your Pokémon in a cute contest, you'd want to make sure you’ve increased its sheen by feeding it poffins that increase its cuteness as much as possible. See the poffins page if you want to learn more.
Stage 2: Dancing
This is a pretty fun new addition to the Pokémon contests. After the first round concludes, you now are to have a dance-off with the other contestants. One Pokémon will start dancing first. Then, the other three contestants are to match it. You match the dance moves that your opponent makes by using the A,B,X, and Y buttons. Press the corresponding button at the right time to match your opponent's moves. When it's your turn to choreograph the moves, you use the A, B, X, and Y buttons to come up with a choreograph that your opponents will follow. Trying to set the markers close together to try to throw off your opponents. Also, alternating between the four buttons is a good way to make it harder for the other contestants to follow.
Stage 3: Acting
This is where the contest can easily be won or lost. You'll have 5 rounds to show off your Pokémon's moves. The idea (like the Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald) is to use moves that appeal to the type of contest (such as using cool moves in a cool contest). It's not that simple though. You want to use moves that will create combos to increase your score represented by hearts. Check out your Pokémon's moves in its summary section and see what each move does what for contests. You'll want to experiment with move combos, and come up with a good stagey that'll help you win at acting. Appealing to different judges can also help increase your score. There are not one, but three judges you can appeal to: Jordan, Dexter, and Keira. You can earn a bonus at the end of your turn if your Pokémon is the only one who appealed to a certain judge:1
- If no one else appealed to the judge you choose: +3 Hearts
- If one other Pokémon appealed to your judge: +2 Hearts
- If two other Pokémon appealed to your judge: +1 Hearts
- If all of the Pokémon appealed to the same judge: +0 Hearts
You can get an even bigger bonus by maxing out the judge’s voltage levels. Voltage is gained by performing a move of the same type as the contest and has not been used over again (Howell 2008). If you manage to do this with Jordan and Keira, you'll get 5 additional hearts; 8 hearts if you max out Dexter's voltage.
At the end of the rounds, your points will be tallied, and a winner will be decided. If your Pokémon wins the contest, not only will its picture go on the wall in the contest lounge, but you'll also get a ribbon for that contest. You can view it at anytime in the Pokémon's summary menu under "ribbons".
Sources:
1 Howell, Jason. "Pokémon Diamond (DS)." GameFAQS. 18 Aug 2008. 16 Nov 2008 http://www.gamefaqs.com/portable/ds/file/925601/48628.
