Sandgem Town

Sandgem Town (Japanese: マサゴタウン Masago Town) is a town in the Sinnoh region. The town notably has sandy terrain to the south, the beginnings of. The beach, part of, is in close proximity to the town itself.

Professor Rowan's laboratory is located here. It is also the hometown of or, depending on the undefined's gender. The little sister of Dawn or Lucas gives information about swarms she sees on television. It is the first location in Sinnoh where Poké Balls are able to be purchased. The town smells of the salty scent of the sea.

Slogan
Town of Sand! (Japanese:  The sandy town connected to the ocean.)

Pokémon Research Lab
The Lab lies right next to the western entrance into Sandgem Town. Professor Rowan works here along with two assistants, one of whom is the father of Dawn/Lucas. It is here that the Professor gives the player their Pokédex.

Professor assistant's house
As the player's pseudo-rival, (if the player character is male) or  (if the player character is female) will live in the house nearest to the southern entrance. Inside, after receiving the National Pokédex and defeating the Elite Four, their sister will inform the player of any Mass Outbreaks.

Pokémon Center
Sandgem's Pokémon Center is located right next to the Pokémon Research Lab, and is the first Pokémon Center the player will encounter on their journey. It provides an essential place for Trainers from the neighboring routes to stop and rest. A sign outside reads:

Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum
In the population of Sandgem Town is 25.

Poké Mart
The Poké Mart is next to the northern exit, and is the top-right most building of the town. The Poké Mart has a sign outside which reads:

In the anime
In the, Sandgem Town first appeared in Following A Maiden's Voyage!, where left her home in Twinleaf Town and headed to Professor Rowan's Research Lab in order to obtain her first Pokémon. However, by the time she got there, Yuzo and the other assistants informed her that two out of the three starter Pokémon— and —had fled after a fight over some Pokémon food.

Dawn then decided to go looking for them on a nearby forest, where she found Piplup trapped in a web created by a. She managed to rescue him while Chimchar was taken to the lab by Rowan's. Back in the lab, Dawn chose as her partner saying that their  together had already began. After that, Rowan gave her a Pokédex and six Poké Balls and she left for.

In Two Degrees of Separation!, Officer Jenny took to Rowan's lab after he told her that his  was missing. There, Rowan explained that Dawn had placed a call to him earlier saying that she had rescued a Pikachu from a trio of Pokémon thieves and taken it to a Pokémon Center. Ash called the Pokémon Center immediately, but Nurse Joy said Dawn had just left to find Pikachu's. Upon hearing that, Ash decided to go out and meet with Dawn.

In When Pokémon Worlds Collide!, after being reunited with Pikachu and his long-time, Ash returned to Rowan's lab, accompanied by Dawn. There, Dawn shared her plan of entering the Jubilife City Pokémon Contest and Ash said he intended to challenge the Sinnoh Gyms. They agreed to journey together and were about to hit the road when Paul appeared and challenged Ash to a three-on-three battle. Ash accepted and the battle took place just outside the lab, with Ash using his recently, , and Pikachu while Paul used his , , and. The hard-fought battle ended in a draw, upsetting both Ash and Paul. Ash requested another battle, but Paul turned him down and left.

In SS024, after spending some time at home following her narrow defeat at the Sinnoh Grand Festival, Dawn decided to travel to the Hoenn region to compete in Pokémon Contests there. However, she was torn between beginning anew with only Piplup by her side or taking the with her. Seeing this, Johanna suggested that she visited Professor Rowan and asked for his advice. Dawn listened to her mother and rode a bike to Sandgem Town. When she explained the issue to Rowan, he said that a girl named Shinko was having trouble making decisions as well.

Dawn went to talk with Shinko and learned that the girl was unsure about which Pokémon she should start her journey with. When a fight broke out between Piplup and Chimchar, which resulted in them escaping from the lab, both Dawn and Shinko went out to search for them. They found the two caught in an Ariados's web and proceeded to rescue them, but the Ariados was soon joined by its friends. Dawn called out her Pokémon to help, but the swarm of Ariados tied them all up with. In a turn of events, Dawn's evolved into  and scared the Ariados off with its newly learned  attack. After that, Dawn and Shinko headed back to the lab, where Dawn announced that she would take all of her Pokémon to Hoenn as she realized there is still so much more she can do with them, while Shinko decided to study some more before making her big decision.

In the Pokémon Adventures manga
Sandgem Town is where the Berlitz family mansion is located, as well as Professor Rowan's laboratory. At the start of the, is bid an emotional farewell by her butler  as she begins her long journey to the top of Mt. Coronet. The only other Pokédex holder to visit the town is, who is attacked by Sebastian when he trespasses the Berlitz compound, but Sebastian forgives Diamond after he reveals his association with Platinum, and allows him access to the mansion. After fending off a swarm of infiltrating Rowan's lab, Diamond continues towards Lake Verity in order to stop Team Galactic from blowing it up.

Trivia

 * The town's English name was first revealed via dialog in Home is Where the Start Is!.
 * This is the first town that contains a Lab that wasn't in a player's hometown.

Name origin
Sandgemme Pueblo Arena Littorella Sabbiafine マサゴタウン 真砂镇