Grand Festival
The Grand Festival (Japanese: グランドフェスティバル Grand Festival) is an animated series-exclusive competition organized by the Pokémon Activities Committee that is held once every year in several regions in the Pokémon world.
It is the goal of every Pokémon Coordinator to enter the Grand Festival. The competition marks the end of a region's Pokémon Contest circuit and gives rise to a new Top Coordinator.
Competition
The general structure of each Grand Festival tournament is similar: Pokémon Coordinators must register for a Contest Pass, which they can do at any Contest Hall, and then must collect at least five Ribbons in order to become eligible to enter the competition. The winner is awarded the title of Top Coordinator and given the Ribbon Cup as proof of their achievement.
In contrast to regular Pokémon Contests, where contestants have to use the same Pokémon for the entire Battle Stage, Coordinators in the Grand Festival are allowed to switch Pokémon between battles. As a result, contestants have the opportunity to showcase their full party throughout the competition. Another distinguishing aspect is that Grand Festival tournaments have more judges in attendance to evaluate the work presented by the large number of Coordinators taking part in the event.
The Hoenn, Kanto, Johto, and Sinnoh regions are all confirmed to have Grand Festival tournaments. The locations chosen to host these competitions appear to change every year and are announced weeks in advance so that everyone who qualifies has ample time to prepare and work out their personal schedule.
Format
The Grand Festival is divided in two stages: one focuses on performances, which can be either single or double, and the other revolves around two-on-two Contest Battles.
Performances
In the Performance Stage, Pokémon Coordinators show off their Pokémon's unique moves in order to impress the judges and the audience. The performances are awarded points by a panel of judges, and the Coordinators with the highest scores proceed to the next stage.
In the tournaments held in Hoenn and Kanto, this stage is further divided in two rounds. In the first one, known as the preliminary round, Coordinators have one of their Pokémon performing with no more than one move used one time. The 64 highest-scoring contestants advance to the second round, where they are allowed to use as many moves as necessary to showcase the charms of their Pokémon. Contrasting this, the tournament taking place in Sinnoh has just one round reserved for performances, during which Coordinators must showcase two Pokémon at once as the competition is held under the Double Performance rule.
The number of Coordinators advancing to the Battle Stage varies. In Hoenn and Sinnoh, 32 contestants will move on to compete in single-elimination Contest Battles, while in Kanto, only the 16 best scorers will be allowed to show their battling capabilities.
Battles
In the Battle Stage, Pokémon Coordinators are randomly matched-up by a computer up to the semifinals. The battles adhere to the Double Battle format and victory goes to the Coordinator whose attacks most effectively lower the opponent's points within the five-minute time limit. A battle will also end due to judges ruling Battle Off when understanding that both of a contestant's Pokémon are unable to battle, or when they perceive that the one standing after its partner has been previously knocked out can no longer continue.
Contestants move up the brackets in single-elimination style. Highly skilled Coordinators move on to compete with a smaller pool of contestants, and each losing Coordinator is placed accordingly. After a winner is decided, they are bestowed the title of Top Coordinator and awarded the Ribbon Cup.
List of Grand Festival tournaments
| Region | Grand Festival | Location | Starting episode | Final episode | Winner | Other notable contestants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hoenn | Hoenn Grand Festival |  Slateport City |
 Hi Ho Silver Wind! |
 Rhapsody in Drew |
 Robert |
Drew (Runner-up) May (Top 8) Harley (Top 32) |
| Kanto | Kanto Grand Festival |  Indigo Plateau |
 May, We Harley Drew'd Ya! |
 Channeling the Battle Zone! |
 Solidad |
May (Top 4) Drew (Top 8) Harley (Top 16) |
| Sinnoh | Sinnoh Grand Festival |  Lake Valor |
 Last Call — First Round! |
 A Grand Fight for Winning! |
 Zoey |
Dawn (Runner-up) Jessilina (Top 4) Nando (Top 4) |
Awards
Top Coordinator
- Main article: Top Coordinator
The title of Top Coordinator (Japanese: トップコーディネーター Top Coordinator) is an honorary title bestowed upon a Pokémon Coordinator who has won the Grand Festival in recognition of their merits. The person bestowed does not have to carry out any specific duties.
Ribbon Cup
- Main article: Ribbon Cup
The Ribbon Cup (Japanese: リボンカップ Ribbon Cup) is a trophy awarded to a Pokémon Coordinator who has won the Grand Festival to mark their achievement. It denotes its recipient as having become a Top Coordinator. It is made of pure gold and its design varies depending on the region.
Trivia
- Apparently, a Pokémon Coordinator may enter the Grand Festival with Contest Ribbons that were earned by someone else. This is seen by the fact that Jessilina entered the Sinnoh Grand Festival with a Ribbon that was won by Princess Salvia.
In other languages
| Language | Title | |
|---|---|---|
| Mandarin Chinese | 大型慶典 Grand Festival | |
| Finnish | Suurfestivaali (S06-S08) Suurjuhla (S09-present) | |
| French | Grand Festival | |
| German | Großes Festival | |
| Hebrew | הגרנד פסטיבל Grand Festival | |
| Hindi | महॉ मुक़ाब्ला Maha Muqaabla | |
| Italian | Grand Festival | |
| Polish | Wielki Festiwal | |
| Portuguese | Grande Festival | |
| Russian | Большой Фестиваль Bol'shoy Festival | |
| Spanish | Gran Festival | |
| Swedish | Grand Festival | |
Related articles
|
Pokémon Contests | 
| |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation. |