AG192 : Home is Where the Start Is!
Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl
DP002 : Two Degrees of Separation!
Following A Maiden's Voyage!
DP001.png
DP001   EP467
旅立ち!フタバタウンからマサゴタウンへ!
Setting Off! From Futaba Town to Masago Town!
First broadcast
Japan September 28, 2006
United States April 20, 2007*
June 4, 2007*
English themes
Opening Diamond and Pearl (TV broadcast) / None (DVD)
Ending
Japanese themes
Opening None
Ending 君のそばで 〜ヒカリのテーマ〜
Credits
Animation Team Iguchi
Screenplay 冨岡淳広 Atsuhiro Tomioka
Storyboard 須藤典彦 Norihiko Sudō
Assistant director 小山賢 Masaru Koyama
Animation director 志村泉 Izumi Shimura
Additional credits

Following A Maiden's Voyage! (Japanese: 旅立ち!フタバタウンからマサゴタウンへ! Setting Off! From Futaba Town to Masago Town!) is the first episode of Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl, and the 467th episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on September 28, 2006, the same day as the Japanese release of the Nintendo DS games, Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. It first aired in the US on April 20, 2007, as part of a special preview, two days before the American release of Diamond and Pearl. It was later broadcast in sequence in the United States on June 4, 2007.

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Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.
201

Blurb

It's always exciting when new Pokémon Trainers receives their first Pokémon, but for a girl named Dawn, things will be far more exciting than she'd ever imagined! Here in the Sinnoh region, Trainers receive their Pokémon from Professor Rowan, whose lab is near Sandgem Town—but soon after Dawn leaves her home in Twinleaf Town and heads for the lab, she's hopelessly lost. Fortunately, she runs into Professor Rowan on the street and follows him to the lab. But while the Professor was out, his assistants accidentally let two of the starter Pokémon, Chimchar and Pilplup,[sic] break out of the lab.

Dawn volunteers to find the missing Pokémon and soon finds Piplup, who runs off and gets into trouble with some Ariados. Though Dawn comes to the rescue, Piplup isn't exactly grateful. Once the angered Ariados return, however, Piplup and Dawn must work together in order to escape. They end up on the shore of Lake Verity, where they spot a mysterious Pokémon. Then, back at the lab, Dawn makes their partnership official and chooses Piplup to be her companion.

Meanwhile, Ash has arrived in Sinnoh with Pikachu and his stowaway Aipom. He's ready for adventure, but not ready for trouble: Team Rocket appears and successfully steals Pikachu! But Team Rocket starts arguing and everyone ends up flying, including Pikachu. Now how will Ash and Pikachu be reunited...?

Plot

Dawn waking up

The rising sun ushers in a new morning for a young girl named Dawn, who is due to start her journey. She eventually gets up and pushes the window open to admire the view of her hometown, Twinleaf Town. As she gets dressed her mother Johanna, along with their pet Glameow, enter the bedroom. Downstairs, mother and daughter discuss Dawn's plans over coffee and Dawn pulls out a postcard that she received from Professor Rowan, inviting her to his laboratory to pick up her first partner Pokémon. Examining the postcard, Dawn considers her three choices: the Grass-type Turtwig, the Fire-type Chimchar, and the Water-type Piplup. Dawn comments that regardless, all three Pokémon would make a great partner in her bid to become a Top Coordinator just like her mother. She begins fantasizing about performing in Pokémon Contests with the three different Pokémon, acting out all her actions while her mother watches on.

Later, Dawn prepares to leave for her journey, lugging a suitcase behind her full of dresses and jewelry. Her mother, standing on the house porch, tells her to pack more sensibly. They go inside, where Johanna fits everything that Dawn will need in a small backpack. Before she can leave on her journey, her mother gives her one last thing to take: her first Contest Ribbon as a good luck charm. Dawn thanks her mom, gladly taking it and dashes over to her bike. Dawn sets out towards Sandgem Town from her home in Twinleaf Town along Route 201. She soon arrives in Sandgem, and runs into a building which she believes to be the Professor's lab, only to find that it is a restaurant. Even with a map as a guide, she gets lost in the town, following every possible direction but unable to find the lab. While reading her map, she bumps into a man who reveals himself to be Professor Rowan, who offers to guide her to his laboratory.

Meanwhile, at the lab, Professor Rowan's assistants are chatting while examining and feeding the three first partner Pokémon. Two other assistants arrive in the room with a Starly and Staraptor. However, a fight quickly brews when Chimchar steals the last of Piplup's food. Piplup begins attacking Chimchar with Bubble Beam while Chimchar runs around the lab. While trying to keep Piplup under control, the chaos irritates Starly and Staraptor, who begin flying around and wrecking books and papers. The gust breaks a window in the lab, allowing the two birds to fly out into the wilderness, followed by Chimchar with Piplup in hot pursuit. The assistants plan to clean up, but as they begin, Professor Rowan arrives with Dawn.

With only the Turtwig remaining, after getting glared at by Rowan, Dawn asks and is allowed to go and search for the four missing Pokémon. After receiving some tips from Professor Rowan, Dawn runs off towards the forest where the Pokémon were headed. Before she reaches the forest, however, she runs into Chimchar and Piplup, Chimchar still swinging away from Piplup's Bubble Beam. Dawn attempts to calm them down, but they ignore her, and Piplup tries to attack her briefly before both disappear into the forest. Dawn runs into the forest after them, only to hear Piplup's cry. She runs toward it, seeing Piplup as well as several other Pokémon trapped in a web created by an Ariados. The Ariados notices Dawn, chasing her through the forest. Dawn quickly hatches a plan, causing the Ariados to destroy its own web, making Piplup land safely in her arms. However, after sliding down a hill, Piplup seems very indignant, using Peck on Dawn several times. Dawn begins to berate him, but then realizes that he is simply hungry. Although Dawn offers him Pokémon food, he seems disdainful and won't eat it. Suddenly the Ariados returns, now with friends, and together they attack Dawn and Piplup.

Dawn and Piplup encountering a mysterious figure

Trapped in a cage created by String Shot, Dawn distracts the Ariados with the Pokémon food while Piplup destroys the cage with Bubble Beam. Unfortunately, before Dawn can escape with Piplup, an Ariados trips her with String Shot. Piplup steps in and uses Bide to absorb the attacks of the Ariados and then destroys them and the cage with a massive energy wave. Shortly after, the Piplup faints, exhausted from having taken all the attacks and the energy used. While walking through the forest, Dawn stumbles upon Lake Verity. Piplup wakes up, recharged, but still hungry. Dawn looks into her Pokémon food can, noticing that she only has three pieces left. Despite being disdainful earlier, Piplup accepts the food. She spots Staraptor carrying Chimchar back to the lab, with Starly close behind. Before they can return to the lab, however, the lake ripples, and a mysterious figure appears for a moment before vanishing.

Upon returning to the lab, Dawn asks Professor Rowan about the figure. He notes that it could be the Legendary Pokémon of the lake. Shortly after, Rowan gives Dawn several Poké Balls and a Pokédex. Lastly, Rowan asks Dawn which Pokémon she wants for a first partner Pokémon. Much to Chimchar's obvious disdain, Dawn immediately chooses Piplup, noting that they are already a team. Dawn sets out for her Pokémon journey in earnest, riding away from the lab, with Rowan and his assistants waving her off.

At the same time, Ash, Pikachu, and Aipom are on a ship bound for Sinnoh. Ash boasts about becoming the Sinnoh Champion while the Team Rocket trio watch from below decks. After the ship docks, Ash calls Professor Oak on videophone to let him know that Aipom has accompanied him to Sinnoh, and Oak muses that he suspected as much and will send Aipom's Poké Ball to Professor Rowan. Before they continue, though, Team Rocket quickly snatches Pikachu from their balloon. Before the trio can leave, Meowth begins to argue with Jessie after she suggests they take a moment to look around. Jessie shields herself behind Wobbuffet, who ends up coping Meowth's Fury Swipes. Wobbuffet uses Counter, destroying the balloon and sending Pikachu falling into the forest below. Ash and Aipom continue running after Pikachu, while Dawn cycles away from the lab.

Major events

Dawn choosing Piplup as her first Pokémon
Ash arriving in Sinnoh
For a list of all major events in Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl, please see the timeline page.

Debuts

Humans

Pokémon debuts

TV episode debuts

Characters

Humans

Pokémon

Trivia

The new title card (Japanese)
The new title card (dub)

Errors

  • Piplup is misspelled as Pilplup on the Pokémon.com blurb.
  • After Dawn finishes the imaginary contest with Turtwig, she twirls around with her boots on, but in the next scene, she is wearing slippers.
  • The Staraptor that appears in this episode is far smaller than normal, being around the size of a Staravia instead.
  • When Piplup is first shown eating in Professor Rowan's lab, he takes a piece of Pokémon food, but his mouth doesn't open when he goes to eat it.
  • Before Chimchar jumps in between the Starly and Staraptor that were brought in the lab, the Staraptor is positioned to the left of Starly. However, it is later shown in close-up to the right of Starly.
  • In the Finnish dub, Dawn uses the Finnish translated name of Razor Leaf in the Turtwig fantasy, although the Finnish dub has used the English names of the moves since Fear Factor Phony.
  • In the Polish dub, Dawn refers to Flame Wheel as "Koło Ognia". However, in the next scene, Marian correctly calls the move "Krąg Ognia".
  • In the Brazilian Portuguese dub, Professor Oak refers to Tracey as if he was a girl.

Dub edits

  • When the first three episodes aired together on April 20, 2007, they were made into a TV movie, cutting several parts out. All of these were restored when the episodes aired separately in reruns.
    • After the narrator finishes the introduction in the beginning of the episode, the English opening theme is aired instead, skipping the eight-second part that shows the English logo for the 10th season. In future airings, the English theme isn't shown for the first episode for reasons unknown.
      • However, in the Indian Disney XD airing of this episode, the opening theme began right after the eight-second English logo showcasing, but skipped over the first three seconds of that sequence.
    • After the narrator finishes introducing Dawn, the episode title was cut out.
    • After Team Rocket is seen blasting off near the ending, the remaining part is cut out. After the commercial break, it moves on to the next episode.
  • On the signpost of Route 201, the Japanese names of Sandgem Town and Twinleaf Town (Masago Town and Futaba Town, respectively) were replaced with their English names.
  • In the English dub, it is implied that Dawn's tenth birthday had already passed before she started her journey. In the original Japanese version, her tenth birthday wasn't mentioned.
  • In the original Japanese version, when Dawn enters the restaurant, she says she wants one Pokémon. The ramen shop owner responds by saying that one Pokémon is coming up but then realizes that is not what they serve and tells Dawn that they don't serve Pokémon there. In the English dub, the owner says that she came to the right place and asks if she is staying for food as well.

In other languages



AG192 : Home is Where the Start Is
Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl
DP002 : Two Degrees of Separation!
Project Anime logo.png This episode article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation.