Pokémon Dash
- Dash redirects here. For the symbol, see -.
Pokémon Dash (Japanese: ポケモンダッシュ Pokémon Dash) is a Pokémon racing game for Nintendo DS. It was the first Pokémon game released for the Nintendo DS and the first game to feature a Generation IV Pokémon, Munchlax. The player plays as Pikachu, using the stylus to move across the touch screen to keep Pikachu moving, and competing against other Pokémon in the various game modes and tourneys.
| Pokémon Dash ポケモンダッシュ | |
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 Pokémon Dash's North American box art | |
Basic info
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| Platform: | Nintendo DS |
| Category: | Racing game |
| Players: | 1-6 |
| Connectivity: | DS Wireless |
| Developer: | Ambrella |
| Publisher: | Nintendo |
| Part of: | Generation III spin off |
Ratings
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| CERO: | All |
| ESRB: | E |
| ACB: | G |
| OFLC: | N/A |
| PEGI: | 3 |
| GRAC: | N/A |
| GSRR: | N/A |
Release dates
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| Japan: | December 2, 2004 |
| North America: | March 13, 2005[1] |
| Australia: | April 7, 2005 |
| Europe: | March 11, 2005[2] |
| South Korea: | March 22, 2007 |
| Hong Kong: | N/A |
| Taiwan: | December 2, 2004 |
Websites
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| Japanese: | ホーム ＞ ゲーム ＞ ポケモンダッシュ Nintendo.co.jp |
| English: | Pokémon.com (US) Pokémon.com (UK) Nintendo.com Nintendo.co.uk |
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Japanese boxart
 Japanese boxart of Pokémon Dash | |
To allow the player to learn the game's controls, the game will offer a practice mode. After the player completes the tutorial, various game modes and Cups become accessible.
The game has 5 Cups: Green Cup, White Cup, Blue Cup, Yellow Cup, and Red Cup, each consisting of 5 courses. The courses differ in the various Grand Prix courses and the other game modes too unlocks a new Grand Prix, but the player needs to complete the previous Prix first by winning all five of the Cups.
There is also a mode that allows the player to create their Cups with courses made of different Pokémon sprites from Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, FireRed, LeafGreen, and Emerald versions. This mode is unlocked along with the Hard Grand Prix mode after the player has completed the Regular Grand Prix cups.
Blurb
Become the Pokémon Dash Grand Prix Champion!
Make tracks as you put Pikachu through its paces around the course. Race against the clock and other Pokémon rivals passing the checkpoints as you head toward the goal. Fast-Action Fun!
Race your rivals! - You can race as Pikachu in a whole new way using the stylus slide-action to reach the goal in record time. Don't be beaten by your rivals!
Meet Munchlax! - It's a mad dash racing against rival Pokémon. Don't be surprised when you run across an unfamiliar face. Meet Munchlax, the pre-evolved form of Snorlax.
Connect for more courses! - Hook up with Game Boy Advance Pokémon versions: Ruby, Sapphire, Firered, Leafgreen, and Emerald to create new courses in the shape of your GBA Pokémon!
- Up to six players can compete using their own Pokémon Dash Game Card!
Single player
Regular GP and Hard GP
In these modes, the player races from checkpoint to checkpoint in a specified order. Races take place on different maps for each cup. Maps have different landscapes, which affect the speed of player or prevent linear advencement. There is special pads that enable to move faster on rugged terrain, Lapras to cross water obstacles and Diglett with balloons for flying.
Courses in the game are:
- Green Fields, Running Through, Beach Path, Footprint of Mankey, Pikachu Island for Green Cup;
- White Snow Land, Trial Swamp, Lake of Mystery, Cracked Plains, Luvdisc Island for White Cup;
- Zigzag Road, Steering Stream, Mud Plateau, Star Lake, Jirachi Mountain for Blue Cup;
- Smeargle's Mark, Lava Island, Glacier Island, Sand Island, Pallet Island for Yellow Cup;
- Twiddle Meadow, Heat Land, Vortex Lagoon, Freezing Spiral, Pokémon Park Island for Red Cup.
The player competes with about equally-sized Pokémon.
In Regular GP, the opponents are: Torchic, Teddiursa, Bulbasaur, Munchlax, and Meowth.
In Hard GP, the opponents are: Pichu, Mudkip, Wynaut, Torchic, Charmander, and Jigglypuff.
Expert GP
In the Expert mode, the player starts from the hot-air balloon with a view over the whole course. The players then dives towards the ground and the race begins. All checkpoints must be reached, but in any order. This gives the player the opportunity to choose where to start the race and allows them to play in their own way and with their own strategy. The player will now also compete with larger Pokémon such as Blaziken or Mightyena, making the races more difficult.
In Expert GP, the opponents are Treecko, Marill, Blaziken, Mightyena, Aipom, and Pikachu.
Time Attack
Time Attack mode allows a player to re-play any course they have previously completed. The objective of a Time Attack is to complete the entire course in the fastest amount of time possible. Time Attacks are not competitive and there are no CPU-controlled opponents, only the player's Pikachu.
Multiplayer
There is a multiplayer mode which can support up to six players. Players may race in any previously completed course. Pokémon Dash does not support DS Download Play, requiring every player to own a copy of the game.
Special courses
After completing Regular Cup, Special courses are unlocked. Pokémon Dash includes 420 special courses in the shape of pokemon sprites. Most of them are obtainable by inserting a core series game in the Game Boy Advance slot of a Nintendo DS and selecting from the party a Pokémon whose Pokémon Emerald sprite will become a course map. Besides these 417 different courses (every Pokémon prior to Generation IV, including Unown's and Deoxys's alternate forms, and an Egg), there are also three event-exclusive special courses that can be downloaded from official events which star a flying Munchlax, a Flying Pikachu and a Pikachu on a Lapras.
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| Flying Munchlax | Flying Pikachu | Pikachu and Lapras |
Downloadable Courses
ポケパークのデオキシスカップ
During PokePark 2005 in Japan, a special "Deoxys Cup" was downloadable. From March 18 - May 8, 2005, a 4-course cup for each Deoxys form could be downloaded via Download play and stored to Pokémon Dash's cartridge with the Special courses.[3] Due to the forms being restricted to different GBA cartridges in Gen 3, it is not otherwise possible to obtain all four courses at once.
ゴンベのコース
During World's Hobby Fair in Japan, a special "Munchlax course" was downloadable. A single-course cup of a Munchlax could be downloaded via Download play and stored to Pokémon Dash's cartridge within the Special courses.[4] This was the only way to play this exclusive course.
Production
Pokémon Dash was announced in October 7, 2004.[5]
Reception
The game received a lukewarm reception, mainly due to the fact that the player could only play as Pikachu in single player. Another common complaint was that the game could potentially be finished within hours. Gaming magazine Famitsu gave Pokémon Dash a score of 31 out of 40. IGN rated the game a "Mediocre" 5.0/10.[6] It holds a rating of 48.91% on GameRankings, based on 31 reviews.[7]
Sales
Japanese sales
Pokémon Dash sold 56,337 units on its first week on the Japanese market. By December 31, 2006, the end of its 109th week, it had sold 360,185 copies.
| Week | Week ending | Ranking | Units sold | Total units sold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | December 5, 2004 | 4th | 56,337 | 56,337 |
| 4 | December 26, 2004 | 12th | - | - |
| 5 | January 2, 2005 | 9th | 48,056 | 247,700 |
| 6 | January 9, 2005 | 10th | 29,813 | 277,513 |
| 7 | January 16, 2005 | 22nd | - | - |
| 8 | January 23, 2005 | 24th | - | - |
| 9 | January 30, 2005 | 34th | - | - |
| 10 | February 6, 2005 | 38th | - | - |
| 11 | February 13, 2005 | 39th | - | - |
| 12 | February 20, 2005 | 42nd | - | - |
| 109 | December 31, 2006 | - | - | 360,185 |
Staff
- Main article: Staff of Pokémon Dash
Trivia
- Although this is a Generation III game, it features Munchlax fairly prominently (moreso than other games in which Munchlax appeared, such as Pokémon XD).
- If Bulbasaur, Pikachu, Meowth, Teddiursa, and Munchlax are all present in My Pokémon Ranch, the Dash event may trigger, where these Pokémon race against each other.
- Some of the music from this game is reused in Pokémon Rumble U.
- The player can stretch Pikachu's tail, arms, and cheeks with the touch screen on the opening screen, and after winning a race.
- In the Japanese version of Pokémon Dash's tutorial, there is only one arrow. This was changed in the international releases to three arrows.
- The title screen was taken from Pikachu: DS Tech Demo, only stripped down.
- This is the first Pokémon game to be released in Taiwan.
References
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This article is part of Project Sidegames, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon Sidegames. |