Grand Festival

The Grand Festival (Japanese: グランドフェスティバル Grand Festival) is an anime-exclusive competition organized by the Pokémon Activities Committee that is held once every year in several regions in the Pokémon world.

The Grand Festival logo

It is the goal of every Pokémon Coordinator to enter the Grand Festival. The competition marks the end of a region's Pokémon Contest circuit and gives rise to a new Top Coordinator.

Competition

 
Judges in the Hoenn Grand Festival

The general structure of each Grand Festival tournament is similar: Pokémon Coordinators must register for a Contest Pass, something which they can do at any Contest Hall, and then must collect at least five Ribbons in order to become eligible to enter the competition. The winner is awarded the title of Top Coordinator and given the Ribbon Cup as proof of their achievement.

In contrast with regular Pokémon Contests, where contestants have to use the same Pokémon for the entire Battle Stage, Coordinators in the Grand Festival are allowed to switch Pokémon between battles. As a result, contestants have the opportunity to showcase their full party throughout the competition. Another distinguishing aspect is that Grand Festival tournaments have more judges in attendance to evaluate the work presented by the large number of Coordinators taking part in the event.

The Hoenn, Kanto, Johto, and Sinnoh regions are all confirmed to have Grand Festival tournaments. The locations chosen to host these competitions appear to change every year and are announced weeks in advance so that everyone who qualified has ample time to prepare and work out their personal schedule.

Format

The Grand Festival is divided in two stages: one focuses on performances, which can be either single or double, and the other revolves around two-on-two Contest Battles.

Performances

In the Performance Stage, Pokémon Coordinators show off their Pokémon's unique moves in order to impress the judges and the audience. The performances are awarded points by a panel of judges, and the Coordinators with the highest scores proceed to the next stage.

In the tournaments held in Hoenn and Kanto, this stage is further divided in two rounds. In the first one, known as the preliminary round, Coordinators have one of their Pokémon performing with no more than one move used one time. The 64 highest-scoring contestants advance to the second round, where they are allowed to use as many moves as necessary to showcase the charms of their Pokémon. Contrasting this, the tournament taking place in Sinnoh has just one round reserved for performances, during which Coordinators must showcase two Pokémon at once as the competition is held under the Double Performance rule.

The number of Coordinators advancing to the Battle Stage varies. In Hoenn and Sinnoh, 32 contestants will move on to compete in single-elimination Contest Battles, while in Kanto, only the 16 best scorers will be allowed to show their battling capabilities.

Battles

In the Battle Stage, Pokémon Coordinators are randomly matched-up by a computer up to the semifinals. The battles adhere to the Double Battle format and victory goes to the Coordinator whose attacks most effectively lower the opponent's points within the five-minute time limit. A battle will also end due to judges ruling Battle Off when understanding that both of a contestant's Pokémon are unable to battle, or when they perceive that the one standing after its partner has been previously knocked out can no longer continue.

Contestants move up the brackets in single-elimination style. Highly skilled Coordinators move on to compete with a smaller pool of contestants, and each losing Coordinator is placed accordingly. After a winner is decided, they are bestowed the title of Top Coordinator and awarded the Ribbon Cup.

List of Grand Festival tournaments

Region Grand Festival Location Starting episode Final episode Winner Other notable contestants
Hoenn Hoenn Grand Festival  
Slateport City
 
Hi Ho Silver Wind!
 
Rhapsody in Drew
 
Robert
Drew (Runner-up)
May (Top 8)
Harley (Top 32)
Kanto Kanto Grand Festival  
Indigo Plateau
 
May, We Harley Drew'd Ya!
 
Channeling the Battle Zone!
 
Solidad
May (Top 4)
Drew (Top 8)
Harley (Top 16)
Sinnoh Sinnoh Grand Festival  
Lake Valor
 
Last Call — First Round!
 
A Grand Fight for Winning!
 
Zoey
Dawn (Runner-up)
Jessilina (Top 4)
Nando (Top 4)
Ursula (Top 32)
Kenny (Appeals)

Awards

Top Coordinator

Main article: Top Coordinator

The title of Top Coordinator (Japanese: トップコーディネーター Top Coordinator) is an honorary title bestowed upon a Pokémon Coordinator who has won the Grand Festival in recognition of their merits. The person bestowed does not have to carry out any specific duties.

Ribbon Cup

Main article: Ribbon Cup

The Ribbon Cup (Japanese: リボンカップ Ribbon Cup) is a trophy awarded to a Pokémon Coordinator who has won the Grand Festival to mark their achievement. It denotes its recipient as having become a Top Coordinator. It is made of pure gold and its design varies depending on the region.

Trivia

In other languages

Language Title
Mandarin Chinese 大型慶典 Grand Festival
  Finnish Suurfestivaali (S06-S08)
Suurjuhla (S09-present)
  French Grand Festival
  German Großes Festival
  Hebrew הגרנד פסטיבל Grand Festival
  Hindi महॉ मुक़ाब्ला Maha Muqaabla
  Italian Grand Festival
  Polish Wielki Festiwal
  Portuguese Grande Festival
  Russian Большой Фестиваль Bol'shoy Festival
  Spanish Gran Festival
  Swedish Grand Festival

See also


  Pokémon Contests  
Necessary Spoils
PokéblocksPoffins
Contest Categories
CoolBeautifulCuteCleverTough
Rounds
AppealBattleDanceVisual
Participation
ContestSuper ContestContest Show
CoordinatorContest HallContest Pass
The Grand Festival
KantoHoennSinnoh
Top CoordinatorRibbon Cup
Others
Combinations • Opponents (IIIIVVIVIII) • Double PerformanceJamming
Ribbons (list) • StickersBall CapsulesRanksJudgesAnnouncersWallace Cup


Anime-exclusive Pokémon competitions
Multiregional Grand FestivalPokémon Baccer World CupPokémon League ConferencePokéRingerWallace Cup
World Coronation Series (Masters Eight Tournament)
Kanto Aura Guardian FestivalBeach Beauty and Pokémon Costume ContestBig P Pokémon RaceIndigo Plateau Conference
Kanto Grand FestivalMagikarp High Jump CompetitionP1 Grand PrixPokémon Grand Eating ContestPokémon Orienteering
Queen of the Princess Festival
Johto Extreme Pokémon RaceFire and Rescue Grand PrixGrass TournamentMareep FestivalPokémon Balloon Race
Pokémon Beauty ContestRock and Tumble One-on-One Tauros CompetitionRunning of the Tauros
Seaking Catching CompetitionSilver ConferenceSumo ConferenceSunflora FestivalTour de Alto MareWhirl Cup
Hoenn Battle Frontier Flute CupCrossgate PokéRingerEver Grande ConferenceFriendship FestivalHoenn Grand Festival
Marine Athletic RaceTrick House Contest
Sinnoh Croagunk FestivalFestival Battle ChallengeHearthome City Tag Battle CompetitionHearthome Collection
Lily of the Valley ConferencePokémon Dress-Up ContestPokémon Iceberg RacePokémon Ping Pong Tournament
Pokémon Summer AcademyPokémon TriathlonSinnoh Grand FestivalSinnoh Pokémon HustleSquallville PokéRinger
Unova Club BattleClubsplosionEindoak Harvest FestivalPokémon Performance CompetitionPokémon World Tournament Junior Cup
Pokéstar Studios Film CompetitionSubway Bosses' Stamp RallyVertress ConferenceWishing Bell Festival
Decolore Marine Cup TournamentPokémon Sumo TournamentScalchop King Competition
Kalos Lumiose ConferencePoké Puff ContestPokémon ShowcasePokémon Sky RelayPokémon Summer Camp
Alola Alola Bread FestivalCharjabug raceManalo Conference‎‎Pokémon Catch Adventure RacePokémon Pancake Race
Pokémon Ping-Pong tournamentPokémon Sled Jump GamesVikavolt race
Galar All-Alcremie Decoration Challenge
Unknown Pigton Town Tag BattlePokémon Catch Race


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