S08

Ash earns his final two Badges and secures himself a spot in the Hoenn League Championships, while May comes dangerously close to not getting her final Ribbon—setting the stage for epic showdowns with both of her rivals in the Grand Festival. Ash meets two Trainers that become his own Hoenn rivals, facing off against both of them during the course of the tournament. Upon returning to Kanto and reuniting with old friends, Ash is recruited for a new challenge—the Battle Frontier!

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

• Teams Magma and Aqua awaken Groudon and Kyogre, only to realize the true danger in unleashing their power. Lance helps to resolve the situation. (AG097 - AG098)
• Ash tries his luck against the Hoenn Elite Four member Drake. (AG101)
• May meets a new rival Harley, not knowing of his penchant for trickery. (AG103)
• On the way to Slateport City, Ash meets Morrison, who becomes his rival. (AG118)
• Ash and his friends stop Brodie, now independent, from stealing the Ribbon Cup. (AG119)
• The Hoenn Grand Festival takes place. (AG121 - AG123)
  • May, Drew, Harley, and Robert get past the preliminary and main Appeals Round. (AG121 - AG122)
  • May defeats Harley in the Contest Battles, but loses to Drew, ending up in the top eight. (AG123)
  • Robert defeats Drew in the finals, winning the Ribbon Cup and becoming a Top Coordinator. (AG123)
• Upon arriving at Ever Grande City, Ash and friends meet Tyson, an Ever Grande Conference participant and torch runner. (AG125)
• The Ever Grande Conference takes place (AG126 - AG131)
  • Ash, Morrison, and Tyson make it past the preliminary round. (AG126)
  • Ash, Morrison, and Tyson make it through the qualifying rounds. (AG127 - AG128)
  • Ash battles Katie and wins. (AG128 - AG129)
  • Ash battles Morrison and wins. (AG129 - AG130)
  • Ash battles Tyson, and loses. Ash comes in the top eight in the Hoenn League, while Tyson becomes the Ever Grande Conference winner. (AG130 - AG131)
• Ash and his friends part ways. Ash later meets Scott and Agatha at the Viridian Gym. Scott tells Ash of the Battle Frontier. (AG132)
• Ash, May and Max reunite at Professor Oak's Laboratory, and Brock rejoins the group in the very end of the episode. (AG133)
• Misty makes an appearance for three episodes. (AG132 - AG134)
• Ash and May begin their quests to participate in the Battle Frontier and Kanto Contests, respectively. (AG133)

• For reasons unknown, this season was never aired on New Zealand television. However DVDs were made available, which at the time was unusual for recent season in New Zealand. It was also aired on the Australian Cartoon Network, which can be viewed in New Zealand through Sky.
• The episodes of this season, Pokémon: Advanced, and Pokémon: Advanced Challenge for sale on iTunes are missing the Who's That Pokémon? and Pokémon Trainer's Choice segments, as well as the season-based eyecatches from the final commercial breaks.
• This is the final season to air on Kids' WB!
  • This is also the final season dubbed by 4Kids Entertainment.