DP176

Coming Full-Festival Circle! (Japanese: セミファイナル！決勝へ進むのは！？ The Semi-Finals! Who is Heading to the Finals!?) is the 176th episode of the, and the 642nd episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on May 13, 2010 and in the United States on October 2, 2010.

Blurb
Coming down to the wire at the Pokémon Contest Grand Festival, our four semifinalists are Nando, Zoey, Jessilina, and Dawn. First up is Zoey versus Nando, and both Coordinators and their Pokémon put on a spectacular performance. As Zoey begins to take control by using Nando's attacks against him, the five-minute time limit expires, leaving Zoey as the victor!

Next up, it's Dawn versus Jessilina. It becomes clear early on that Dawn has grown a lot as a Coordinator since her journey began. She is decisive, determined, and confident, and her crisp commands propel her Buneary and Cyndaquil to new heights! And when the time runs out, much to Jessilina's dismay, Dawn is declared the winner!

So it's Dawn and Zoey in the finals, just as they hoped... And next time, the girls will face off for the title of Top Coordinator!

Plot
The Sinnoh Grand Festival continues with Jessilina's victory in the third round of the Battle Stage with and. Because of a comment by Fantina, Jessilina suggests that they should forget about the rest of the Grand Festival and crown her as Top Coordinator already, to which Fantina replies that it's impossible and that Jessilina will just have to win the tournament herself. The match-ups for the semifinals are then revealed with facing Jessilina and Zoey facing Nando. Dawn's mother Johanna is then shown for a brief moment as she remarks that she seems to be more excited than the contestants.

Dawn and her are then shown to be brooding on the balcony at night. Dawn is nervous but and  give her a confidence boost. The group then hears the music of a harp and go downstairs to investigate. Their investigation reveals Nando on a rock in the clearing. His music has attracted dozens of wild Pokémon to listen and a flies down to join them. Noticing them, Nando stops and gets up to greet the group and Dawn compliments Nando on his musical skills. Nando reveals that he is surprised at having made it this far in the Grand Festival and is using his harp to soothe him. They are interrupted by Zoey, who joins them, and promises Nando a good battle. Since everyone is out, Brock wonders what Jessilina is doing and it is shown that Jessie are in a warehouse with James and. Before them are piles of boxes containing Jessilina memorabilia. While James and Meowth are sure that the memorabilia will earn them lots of money, Jessie daydreams about what it means to be Top Coordinator. She is shown to be riding around in a white sports car, being on a talk show, being a fashion star in magazines, and being surrounded by dozens of men in white tuxedos.

The next day, the semifinals have officially started and it's Zoey vs Nando first. Zoey sends out her and her  while Nando sends out his  and his new. Mismagius and Leafeon come out in a shower of Star Seals while Kricketune and Lopunny are released in a shower of Song Seals. Ash notes that Zoey's Misdreavus had evolved. He and his friends are also surprised by Nando's choice of Lopunny. They had thought that he was going to use either a Bug- or a  that knows the move.

Unfazed, Zoey tells Leafeon to use and Mismagius to use. The Shock Wave fuses with the Energy Ball to create an electrifying meteorite. This combination causes Nando to already lose a portion of his points. Nando orders Lopunny to use and Kricketune to use. Lopunny kicks Zoey's fusion move away and Kricketune's Bug Buzz then immobilizes Leafeon. Lopunny meanwhile dances around and wrap the streamers created by Bug Buzz around itself to create an elegant effect and also take away a portion of Zoey's points. Zoey is amazed by Nando's use of Lopunny while Brock comments that the combination of Lopunny's elegance with Kricketune's music makes it look like a ballerina.

Suddenly, the Energy fusion Ball that Lopunny had kicked away returns, shooting straight down. Kricketune then blasts away the fusion ball to create a shower of rainbow sparks, which is used to further emphasize Lopunny elegance. Zoey once more loses points.

Recovering, Zoey orders Leafeon and Mismagius to use. The two Pokémon alternate between each other with their Double Teams as they surround Nando's Pokémon. Nando is amazed by the stunning contrast of the double Double Team. Brock notes that Zoey is using her Pokémon in perfect sync while also bringing out the fact that this is a Double Battle. Ash and Dawn, however, note that Nando is still in the lead and that Zoey will lose if she doesn't do something quick. Lopunny uses but the light from the disappearing doubles only make Leafeon and Mismagius shine all the more. This causes Nando to lose some points. Dawn comments that Nando had fallen for Zoey's trick while Brock notes that Zoey had used the sparkles from the disappearing doubles to her advantage.

Angered, Nando tells Kricketune to use Sing, which causes Zoey to lose some points. However, Zoey had been expecting Sing and tells Mismagius to use. Mismagius hops on top of Leafeon while using Lucky Chant. Brock explains that Lucky Chant prevents opponents from landing critical hits for a short duration of time but wonders how Zoey plans to use this move. The gems on Mismagius's body glows as Mismagius soars into the air. Purple tendrils then appear out of the gems and knock away the music notes created by Sing and Nando loses points as a result. Zoey reveals that she had specially created this move to counter Nando's Sing. With a little less than four minutes left on the clock, Nando and Zoey are now tied in points.

Leafeon uses while Lopunny counters with. However, Leafeon cuts the Focus Blast in two and strikes Lopunny. Nando is now down to half his points. Nando tells Kricketune to use against Leafeon while Zoey tells Mismagius to use  against Kricketune. Startled, Nando tells Lopunny to quickly help out. Lopunny carries Kricketune out of the harm of the floating bluish-white tendrils of Psywave and then throws Kricketune back into the battle. Zoey tells Leafeon to use Leaf Blade again to take up the X-Scissor. Kricketune and Leafeon then collide several times with neither of them giving an inch. Both Nando and Zoey lose the same amount of points and are once more tied.

While Dawn is amazed at the elegance of the battle and wishes that the battle will never end, Zoey and Nando's Pokémon are shown to release several more attacks shown in stills. Mismagius is shown to use Psywave again but Lopunny blocks the attack with its long ears. Leafeon then releases an Energy Ball while Kricketune cuts the Energy Ball in half with its X-Scissor. Meanwhile, Nando and Zoey continue to be tied in points. Another collision between X-Scissor and Leaf Blade is shown while Lopunny dodges a Lucky Chant from Mismagius. With thirty seconds left in the battle, Nando and Zoey are still tied.

We are returned back to the Contest Battle. Nando orders Kricketune to use while Lopunny uses Blizzard by spinning around Kricketune. The Blizzard and the Silver Wind combine to form snowflakes that float gently down to the ground while Lopunny continues to show off its elegant dance moves. Zoey orders Leafeon to use while Mismagius uses Psywave. The Aerial Ace and the Psywave combine to give Leafeon beautiful bluish-white wings, and the leaf on Leafeon's head glows white in preparation for a blade attack. Nando prepares his counter by having Lopunny intercept Leafeon. However, Mismagius blocks the way with a Shock Wave. Lopunny's kick collides with Mismagius's shield of thunder and an explosion occurs that knocks both Pokémon back. Kricketune then uses X-Scissor to counter Leafeon's fusion. The two collide and orange sparks fly off. The orange sparks cause Leafeon's psychic wings to disappear while neither Kricketune nor Leafeon budge. The power level reaches it max and an explosion occurs that leaves the stadium dark as bright sparkles fall to the ground. The lights are returned as Zoey and Nando grin at each other.

Time is up and Nando is shown to be the with the lesser amount of points, meaning that Zoey wins the battle and will be advancing to the final stage. A happy Zoey thanks her Pokémon for the hard work they did. Nando congratulates Zoey on her win and wishes her good luck in the finals. Absolutely stunned by the beautiful performance, Fantina appears out of the blue and raises both Nando and Zoey's arms up in victory.

Next up is Dawn against Jessilina. Dawn runs down the halls to enter the stadium but stops when she sees Zoey returning. Both grin at each other and Dawn tells Zoey to "wait for her at the finals". While Jessilina blows heart-filled kisses to the crowd, Dawn takes a deep breath and tells herself that she just needs to believe in her Pokémon. The battle starts and Dawn sends out her and her  in a shower of Star Seals. The scene then changes to Johanna and her as they anxiously watch the battle on TV. From the TV one can hear that Jessilina chose to use her and Carnivine. They enter using their unique "Rocket Start" before Buneary counters with and Cyndaquil with. Johanna notes that the look in Dawn's eyes have changed as she sets her eyes on becoming the Top Coordinator. Meanwhile, Buneary spins around as she uses and Cyndaquil uses  on television.

Back to the real battle, Flame Wheel knocks into Carnivine while the Ice Beam freezes Seviper. Cyndaquil then uses while Buneary uses  to spin around the golden stars. Carnivine retaliates with while Seviper uses its signature. Seviper tries to strike Buneary with its Poison Tail but Buneary jumps out of the way and, as a result, Seviper gets hit with Swift. Carnivine then tries to get Buneary once more with Vine Whip but Buneary once more jumps out of the way and sends Carnivine crashing into Seviper. Seviper traps Cyndaquil in its attack while Cyndaquil's Swift collides with Carnivine. Dawn then uses another combination of Ice Beam and Swift while Jessilina counters with Seviper's and Carnivine's.

The battle ends when time is called and Dawn is shown to lead by a huge amount of points. As a result, Dawn wins her semifinal battle and will be advancing into the finals to face Zoey. Meanwhile, Jessilina realizes that her dreams of stardom and fame have been destroyed and approaches Dawn angrily. Everyone else is confused while James and Meowth look nervous because of their knowledge of Jessie's scary tempers. However, Jessilina wasn't looking to pick a fight with Dawn. Instead, she pinches both of Dawn's cheeks and tells her to win the Grand Festival...or else. She then walks off while Dawn thanks her.

The episode ends with the very start of the final battle of the Grand Festival between Dawn and Zoey.

Major events

 * , Zoey, Nando, and Jessilina advance to the semifinals of the Sinnoh Grand Festival.
 * Zoey's is revealed to have evolved into a.
 * Nando is revealed to have obtained a and his  is revealed to have evolved into a.
 * Zoey and Dawn defeat Nando and Jessilina, respectively, and advance to the finals of the Sinnoh Grand Festival.

Pokémon debuts

 * Nando's Roserade

Humans

 * Jessie
 * James
 * Nurse Joy
 * Zoey
 * Nando
 * Fantina
 * Johanna
 * Marian
 * Mr. Contesta
 * Mr. Sukizo
 * Sinnoh Now staff (fantasy)
 * Cameraman
 * Assistant
 * Men (fantasy)
 * Audience
 * Cameraman
 * Assistant
 * Men (fantasy)
 * Audience
 * Audience

Pokémon

 * (Zoey's)
 * (Zoey's)
 * (Nando's)
 * (Nando's)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (Zoey's)
 * (Nando's)
 * (Nando's)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)

Trivia

 * Professor Oak's Big Pokémon Examination:
 * and Zoey narrate the preview for the next episode.
 * Two characters of the day who appeared in Tanks For The Memories! make a reappearance in this episode in Jessie's fantasy.
 * Also, the character standing to the immediate left of Jessie in her fantasy and holding the bouquet of flowers bears a resemblance to.
 * Music from Lucario and the Mystery of Mew is used during this episode.
 * This episode marks the first time in the that a main character has made it to the finals of a major tournament. Before this, the furthest  had ever advanced in a tournament was when he made it to the Top 8 of the Silver Conference and the Ever Grande Conference, while the furthest  had ever advanced to was when she made it to the Top 4 of the Kanto Grand Festival.
 * The episode's dub title comes from the idiom "to come full circle".
 * When Nando is about to send out and, they are shown to have different Seals on their Poké Balls. However, when they come out, they have the same entrance.
 * This is the final appearance of James's Mime Jr.

Errors

 * The that Jessilina defeats at the start of the episode had been previously revealed to be in the A block with Dawn in Opposites Interact!, which Jessie was not in. No other similar Trainers appeared in the group of 32 Trainers revealed to have qualified for the second round in Last Call — First Round!.
 * When Jessilina is shown cheering because she won her battle, there are five judge stands behind her when there should be four.
 * When Nando is outside singing to all the Pokémon, two appear in their Sunshine Form despite the fact it is dark outside.
 * During the montage of battles leading up to the semifinals, Zoey's 's head is colored fully pink.
 * Despite having being shown next to Marian mere seconds before, the Ribbon Cup was missing from the final shot of the episode.
 * During 's and  Combo, Nando's Kricketune charges  twice.
 * When Leafeon was using and Kricketune uses X-Scissor, the leaf on Leafeon's head disappears.
 * Zoey's 's was mistakenly referred to as  in the dub.

In other languages
Versprochen ist versprochen! (Staffel 13) EP645 DP176 DP176 DP編第176話 精灵宝可梦 钻石＆珍珠 第174集