Pokémon Super Contest
- This article is about the contests held in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl and Pokémon Platinum. For the contests in Generation III, see Pokémon Contest.
A Pokémon Super Contest is an expanded format of the Pokémon Contests for the Generation IV games, specifically in Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum. In it, Pokémon are rated on their appearance and performance, rather than strength. They are different from the previous generation's competitions in that not only do they have more rounds, but rounds from the earlier games have been altered. They come in four rankings in the same five categories as Generation III: Cool, Beauty, Cute, Smart and Tough.
All Super Contests are at the Contest Hall in Hearthome City.
Competitions
Visual Competition
The visual competition score consists of two parts: the condition portion and the dress-up portion. The score from the visual competition is the total number of hearts given from both portions.
Condition
The condition portion is the equivalent of the first round of the contests of Generation III. As in the previous generation, Pokémon are rated based on their condition in the appropriate category. These stats can be raised using Poffins, rather than the Pokéblocks of the previous generation.
Scoring in the condition portion is also similar to that of Generation III. A Pokémon's score in the condition portion is the sum of the following:
- The condition in the contest attribute
- 1/2 of the condition in each of the contest's secondary attributes
- 1/2 of the Pokémon's sheen
This score is boosted by 10% if the Pokémon is holding the scarf in the primary attribute, and 5% if the Pokémon is holding the scarf in either secondary attribute. Depending on what this score is and the rank of the contest, a number of red hearts is shown for this portion:
| Rank | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal Rank | ≤9 | 10-19 | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50-59 | 60-69 | 70-79 | ≥80 |
| Great Rank | ≤89 | 90-109 | 110-129 | 130-149 | 150-169 | 170-189 | 190-209 | 210-229 | ≥230 |
| Ultra Rank | ≤169 | 170-199 | 200-229 | 230-259 | 260-289 | 290-319 | 320-349 | 350-379 | ≥380 |
| Master Rank | ≤319 | 320-359 | 360-399 | 400-439 | 440-479 | 480-519 | 520-229 | 560-599 | ≥600 |
| Link Contest | ≤99 | 100-199 | 200-299 | 300-399 | 400-449 | 450-499 | 500-549 | 550-599 | ≥600 |
Dress-Up
However, in Super Contests, an extra element is added to these competitions by dressing up the Pokémon with accessories found in the Fashion Case. By using the stylus to drag and drop accessories onto the Pokémon, competitors must dress up their Pokémon as well as they can within the 60 second time limit. These competitions will have a randomly picked theme (chosen based on the rank of the contest) which the competitors must follow.
- Normal Rank - The Colorful, The Natural, The Created
- Great Rank - The Shapely, The Sharp, The Solid
- Ultra Rank - The Bright, The Gaudy, The Flexible
- Master Rank - The Festive, The Intangible, The Relaxed
A contest will have its theme chosen from those of its rank and those below it. Link Contests will have a theme selected from all themes.
In the Normal Rank Competition, a maximum of five accessories may be used. As coordinators move up the ranks, they may use five more accessories each time they advance.
The scores for each accessory and the corresponding theme is given on the accessory page. Depending on the accessory score and the rank of the contest, a number of pink hearts is shown:
| Rank | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal Rank | <3 | 4-5 | 6-8 | >9 |
| Great Rank | <5 | 6-10 | 11-15 | >16 |
| Ultra Rank | <7 | 8-15 | 16-23 | >24 |
| Master Rank / Link Contest | <10 | 11-20 | 21-30 | >31 |
Dance Competition
In the next round, all four Pokémon dance on the stage. Competitors control their Pokémon with four buttons known as "Castanets": Left, Right, Front, and Jump. The dancer in front chooses up to three steps in the Normal Rank and Great RankWrong template. See Template:Sup/doc., and four in the Great RankWrong template. See Template:Sup/doc., Ultra and Master Ranks, matching the beat as closely as possible. Then the back-up dancers try to match the lead dancer's moves. Each Pokémon will lead for two measures (a measure is the time it takes for the lead dancer to make its moves and the backup dancers to follow), and each measure will contain 16 beats for both halves in the Normal and Great Ranks and 24 beats in the other ranks.
At the bottom of the top screen, a simple music staff shows the steps with a bouncing Jigglypuff on top of it keeping the beat.
A Pokémon earns 1 point for each step judged as "good", and 2 points for each step judged as "excellent". A step judged as a "miss" does not score. The maximum score for the dance competition is thus 48 points in contests with 3 steps, and 64 points in contests with 4 steps.
Acting Competition
This is the equivalent of the second round of contests in Generation III. Pokémon perform moves for one of the three judges, Jordan, Dexter and Keira, to earn appeal points. At the end of each round, judges award extra points to the Pokémon: 3 points if only one Pokémon performed to them, 2 points each if two Pokémon performed to them, 1 point apiece if three Pokémon performed to them, and none if all Pokémon performed to them. This competition has four rounds, rather than the five rounds found in Generation III. The Pokémon, contrary to the regular contests, get their position by their scoring in reverse. The best scorer goes last and the worst scorer goes first. Performing a Contest-specific move (i.e. a tough move in a tough contest) to any judge causes their voltage to go up by 1, however, an incompatible move (such as a smart move in a cool contest) causes the voltage to go down by 1. The Pokémon who fills the voltage meter will receive a bonus from the judge they performed to: Keira and Jordan give +5, Dexter (as the head judge) gives +8.
Unlike Generation III, a Pokémon cannot perform a move more than twice in a row for any reason; a Pokémon may not enter a Super Contest (including Visual and Dance practice sessions) if they only have one move.
The number of points earned from the acting competition is 10 times the number of hearts received.
Results
To compute a Pokémon's final score, the scores from each competition are first scaled such that the Pokémon with the best score in the competition is given 33 points, and the other Pokémon are given scores proportional to this score. This score is then scaled again such that the best score is given 64 points, and the other Pokémon are given scores proportional to this score. The final score of a Pokémon is the sum of the Pokémon's scores from each of the competitions, and the Pokémon with the highest final score wins. If there is a tie for highest score, a winner among the tied players is randomly chosen.
Awards
The winning Pokémon will receive a ribbon for the contest type and rank. They will also receive a special accessory the first time the contest is completed successfully.
Accessory prizes
Cool Contests
| Rank | Accessory | |
|---|---|---|
| Normal Rank | 
|
Red Barrette |
| Great Rank | 
|
Red Balloons |
| Ultra Rank | 
|
Top Hat |
| Master Rank | 
|
Gold Pedestal |
Beauty Contests
| Rank | Accessory | |
|---|---|---|
| Normal Rank | 
|
Blue Barrette |
| Great Rank | 
|
Blue Balloons |
| Ultra Rank | 
|
Silk Veil |
| Master Rank | 
|
Glass Stage |
Cute Contests
| Rank | Accessory | |
|---|---|---|
| Normal Rank | 
|
Pink Barrette |
| Great Rank | 
|
Pink Balloon |
| Ultra Rank | 
|
Lace Headdress |
| Master Rank | 
|
Flower Stage |
Smart Contests
| Rank | Accessory | |
|---|---|---|
| Normal Rank | 
|
Green Barrette |
| Great Rank | 
|
Green Balloons |
| Ultra Rank | 
|
Professor Hat |
| Master Rank | 
|
Cube Stage |
Tough Contests
| Rank | Accessory | |
|---|---|---|
| Normal Rank | 
|
Yellow Barrette |
| Great Rank | 
|
Yellow Balloon |
| Ultra Rank | 
|
Heroic Headband |
| Master Rank | 
|
Award Podium |
Notable contestants
There are several contestants that are also encountered throughout the storylines of the games. They are only encountered in the Master Rank after the player beats the Elite Four.
Fantina
Fantina is a Gym Leader, from Hearthome City. She competes with her Drifblim, named Loony.
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Johanna
Johanna is the player's mother. She competes with her Kangaskhan, named Jumpy. She also seems to be well acquainted with the judge Keira.
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Jasmine
Jasmine is a Gym Leader, from Olivine City, in Johto. She competes with her Steelix, named Rusty.
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Casey
Casey is a Pokémon Center Nurse (presumably Hearthome's). She competes with her Chansey, named Pinky.
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Trivia
- The Contest Ranks are named after the original Kanto Poké Balls (Normal, Great, Ultra, Master). They also were in Generation III, although it seems the translation team did not catch this, as back then the Japanese Poké Ball names (Normal, Super, Hyper, Master) were used in the English versions.
- Pokémon that have ribbons earned in Generation III contests do not have any advantage when entering a Super Contest; they must go through all four ranks no matter what.
- Pokémon back sprites are often flipped in the Acting portion of the contest, but there are exceptions for noticeably asymmetrical Pokémon, such as Togekiss and Budew.
- In spite of this, Weezing's sprite is flipped, despite its obviously asymmetrical appearance.
- There appears to be a formal or semi-formal dress code for Super Contest entrants—in the Generation IV games, the player character is given a tuxedo or dress (dependent on gender) by Johanna prior to their first contest, and anime characters are also required to dress up for Sinnoh region contests (though Ash didn't do so in his first contest).
- In Pokémon Platinum, the Pokémon keep their sprite from Diamond and Pearl during the Dress Up and Dance competitions, likely due to points being awarded based on where on the Pokémon the accessories are placed.
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Pokémon Contests | 
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|---|---|---|---|
| Necessary Spoils Pokéblocks • Poffins Contest Categories Cool • Beautiful • Cute • Clever • Tough Rounds Appeal • Battle • Dance • Visual |
Participation Contest • Super Contest • Contest Show Coordinator • Contest Hall • Contest Pass The Grand Festival Kanto • Hoenn • Sinnoh Top Coordinator • Ribbon Cup | ||
| Others Combinations • Opponents (III • IV • VI • VIII) • Double Performance • Jamming Ribbons (list) • Stickers • Ball Capsules • Ranks • Judges • Announcers • Wallace Cup | |||
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This game-related article is part of Project Games, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon games. |