S9 redirects here. For the Japanese TCG release with the set symbol S9, see Brilliant Stars (TCG).
Pokémon: Battle Frontier
Season 9
Battle Frontier logo.png
Logo for the season
Opening Battle Frontier
Episodes 47
Region Kanto
Series Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire
Preceded by Pokémon: Advanced Battle
Followed by Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl

Pokémon: Battle Frontier is the ninth season of the dubbed version of the Pokémon anime. It is the fourth and final season of Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire. It follows Ash as he continues to collect Symbols from the Kanto Battle Frontier while May participates in Pokémon Contests.

It began on September 8, 2006 with the dub premiere of Fear Factor Phony, and concluded on March 3, 2007 with Home is Where the Start Is!. It originally aired in the United States as part of the 2006-2007 Cartoon Network Saturday morning lineup. It also began broadcasting on CITV/Action Stations! on October 30, 2008 in the United Kingdom, this is the first time this series has been shown on Freeview.

The English dub underwent many changes at the start of the season. 4Kids Entertainment's licensing rights to the dub expired and in an agreement with Pokémon USA they decided not to renew. Meanwhile, Kids' WB! (a broadcast network) dropped all anime from its lineup, leading to Cartoon Network, a cable network, picking up the series, where it remained until season 19.

It is preceded by Pokémon: Advanced Battle and succeeded by Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl, the first season of the dub of Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl, which is based on the Generation IV games.

Blurb

The territory might be familiar, but even Ash and Brock can find more than a few surprises in their home region of Kanto, like a Pokémon Ranger hot on the cases of two Legendary Pokémon! May’s back on the Contest path, blazing a trail to the Kanto Grand Festival, while Ash seeks out the hidden facilities of the Battle Frontier. If finding them wasn’t hard enough, he’s still got battles with the Frontier Brains to deal with—much tougher than any Gym Leader he’s ever faced.

Important events

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

Party changes

Additions

The following Pokémon are obtained:

Evolutions

The following Pokémon evolve:

Other

Battle Frontier

Ash battles the following Frontier Brains:

Symbol Opponent Epicode Result
Guts Symbol Greta AG149 Victory
Tactics Symbol Tucker AG153 Victory
Luck Symbol Lucy AG158 Victory
Spirits Symbol Spenser AG164 Victory
Ability Symbol Anabel AG169 Defeat
AG170 Victory
Brave Symbol Brandon AG178 Defeat
AG186 Defeat
AG189
AG190
Victory

Pokémon Contests

May participates in the following Pokémon Contests:

Location Epicode Result
Silver Town AG151 Victory
Wisteria Town AG160 Defeat
Chrysanthemum Island AG162 Victory
Gardenia Town AG167 Victory
Mulberry City AG174
AG175
Victory
Terracotta Town* AG191
AG192
Tie

Episodes

Epicode Episode Title #
AG146 Fear Factor Phony 1
AG147 Sweet Baby James 2
AG148 A Chip Off the Old Brock 3
AG149 Wheel of Frontier 4
AG150 May's Egg-Cellent Adventure 5
AG151 Weekend Warrior 6
AG152 On Olden Pond 7
AG153 Tactics Theatrics!! 8
AG154 Reversing the Charges 9
AG155 The Green Guardian 10
AG156 From Cradle to Save 11
AG157 Time Warp Heals All Wounds 12
AG158 Queen of the Serpentine! 13
AG159 Off the Unbeaten Path 14
AG160 Harley Rides Again 15
AG161 Odd Pokémon Out! 16
AG162 Spontaneous Combusken! 17
AG163 Cutting the Ties that Bind! 18
AG164 Ka Boom with a View! 19
AG165 King and Queen for a Day! 20
AG166 Curbing the Crimson Tide! 21
AG167 What I Did for Love! 22
AG168 Three Jynx and a Baby! 23
AG169 Talking a Good Game! 24
AG170 Second Time's the Charm! 25
AG171 Pokémon Ranger - Deoxys' Crisis! (Part 1) 26
AG172 Pokémon Ranger - Deoxys' Crisis! (Part 2) 27
AG173 All That Glitters is Not Golden! 28
AG174 New Plot, Odd Lot! 29
AG175 Going for Choke! 30
AG176 The Ole' Berate and Switch! 31
AG177 Grating Spaces! 32
AG178 Battling the Enemy Within! 33
AG179 Slaking Kong! 34
AG180 May, We Harley Drew'd Ya! 35
AG181 Thinning the Hoard! 36
AG182 Channeling the Battle Zone! 37
AG183 Aipom and Circumstance! 38
AG184 Strategy Tomorrow - Comedy Tonight! 39
AG185 Duels of the Jungle! 40
AG186 Overjoyed! 41
AG187 The Unbeatable Lightness of Seeing! 42
AG188 Pinch Healing! 43
AG189 Gathering the Gang of Four! 44
AG190 Pace - The Final Frontier! 45
AG191 Once More With Reeling! 46
AG192 Home is Where the Start Is! 47

Home video releases

North American DVD releases

Main article: List of English language Battle Frontier home video releases (Region 1)

Australian DVD releases

Main article: List of English language Battle Frontier home video releases (Region 4)

Trivia

  • Battle Frontier is the only English season to have its own ending theme, instead of just a shortened or instrumental version of the opening theme.
  • Battle Frontier is the only English season of Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire not to contain the word "Advanced" in its title.
  • This is the first season to be dubbed by The Pokémon Company International.
  • Battle Frontier is the first English season to consist of less than 52 episodes.
  • In Flanders (the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium), this season was initially skipped, and the broadcast of Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl started immediately after AG145 with the Dutch dub. However, in the Netherlands, Battle Frontier was not skipped.
  • This is the first season to premiere on Cartoon Network in the United States, with the final season being Pokémon the Series: XYZ.
  • In the Hindi Hungama TV/MarvelHQ dub, the narrator parodies Indian actor Dharmendra in each episode. This practice continues in the Sinnoh and Unova arcs, with his accent becoming less humorous in Unova.
  • This is the first anime dub season, and the only one outside of Pokémon: The Series: Diamond and Pearl, to not feature any eyecatches at all.
  • This is the first season where Ash doesn't earn a Badge, as he's competing for Symbols instead.

In other languages


Original series (list) Indigo LeagueAdventures in the Orange Islands
The Johto JourneysJohto League ChampionsMaster Quest
Ruby and Sapphire (list) AdvancedAdvanced ChallengeAdvanced BattleBattle Frontier
Diamond and Pearl (list) Diamond and PearlBattle DimensionGalactic BattlesSinnoh League Victors
Black & White (list) Black & WhiteRival DestiniesAdventures in Unova and Beyond
XY (list) XYKalos QuestXYZ (Mega Evolution Specials)
Sun & Moon (list) Sun & MoonUltra Adventures‎Ultra Legends
Journeys (list) JourneysMaster JourneysUltimate Journeys (The Arceus Chronicles)
Horizons (list) Horizons
Specials (list) Pikachu's Winter VacationSide StoriesPokémon Chronicles
Planetarium specialsPikachu shorts
Mewtwo ReturnsThe Legend of Thunder!Pichu Bros. in Party Panic
The Mastermind of Mirage PokémonPokémon Ranger: Guardian SignsA Ripple in Time
Complete listMoviesOther anime series


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