Template:EpisodePrevNext

Top-Down Training! (Japanese: チャンピオン・シロナ登場！ Champion Shirona Enters!) is the 40th episode of Diamond & Pearl. It first aired in Japan on July 19, 2007 and in the United States on December 8, 2007.

Paul challenges the Champion of the Pokémon League, Cynthia, to a battle.

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

Synopsis

Major events

• Paul battles Cynthia.
• Cynthia beats Paul using only her Garchomp.
• Paul's starter Pokémon is revealed to have been Turtwig.
• Paul is revealed to have traveled through Hoenn, Johto, and Kanto and participated in their respective leagues.
• The Lustrous Orb is discovered near Celestic Town.

Debuts

• Cynthia

Pokémon debuts

• Garchomp
• Torterra

Characters

Humans

• Ash Ketchum
• Brock
• Dawn
• Jessie
• James
• Cynthia
• Paul
• Nurse Joy
• Lucian (on TV)
• Rhonda
• Announcer (Seiyū: 堀川　仁 Jin Horikawa)
• Sinnoh Now staff
• Boys
  • Boy 1 (Seiyū: 川上とも子 Tomoko Kawakami*)
  • Boy 2 (Seiyū: 早水リサ Risa Hayamizu*)
  • Boy 3 (Seiyū: 佐藤智恵 Chie Satō*)
• Pokémon trainers

* No official credit was given for this character.

Pokémon

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Wobbuffet (Jessie's)
• Croagunk (Brock's)
• Garchomp (Cynthia's; debut)
• Ursaring (Paul's)
• Torterra (Paul's; debut)
• Weavile (Paul's; new)
• Chimchar (Paul's)
• Murkrow (Paul's; new)
• Bronzong (Lucian's; on TV)
• Chansey (Nurse Joy's)
• Furret
• Unown (Inscription)

Trivia

• No Professor Oak's Pokémon lecture was aired; instead, a promotion for Dialga vs. Palkia vs. Darkrai aired.
• The tablet that Cynthia was reading before battling Paul had Unown on it. The inscription is the Japanese version of the inscription in Solaceon Ruins. The inscription is in Rōmaji, and is as follows (note that some parts of the inscription do not match the standard Hepburn romanization system):

FRIEND
SUBETE NO
INOCHI HA
BETSU NO
INOCHI TO DEAI
NANIKA WO UMIDASU

They inscription translates to: Friends: all lives bring forth something from different lives and meetings. The dubbed version says that when one living thing meets another living thing, something is born.

• Paul said that the battle would be 6-on-6; however, he only used 4 Pokémon. This is because he gave up the battle.
• Music from Lucario and the Mystery of Mew was used as background music.
• Dawn narrates the next episode preview.

Errors

Dub edits

• The dub places the setting of the episode as Amity Square, while the Japanese version just places it in a nature park that is unique to the anime.

In other languages

• Italian: Il coraggio di Paul

Template:Epstub Template:EpisodePrevNext

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