Ribbon


 * For the Ribbons in the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series, see and .

A Ribbon (Japanese: リボン Ribbon) is a special item that can be awarded to a for a variety of reasons. Ribbons stay on a Pokémon permanently even across generations and can be checked in different ways depending on the game version.

In the games
Ribbons were first introduced in Generation III. In Generation III, the large majority were obtained by competing in and winning Pokémon Contests, but in later generations, a larger variety of Ribbons have been added. Besides competing in Contests, some Ribbons are awarded for conquering special like the Battle Tower, others are obtainable from various NPCs in-game, and some are only distributed on event Pokémon. In Generation III, Ribbons also had no names, they only had unique icons and descriptions.

In the Generation V games, there are no ways to earn any Ribbons in-game, but Pokémon distributed through events could have Ribbons, and Pokémon transferred from a previous generation also retained their Ribbons.

Prior to Generation VI, Ribbons were only added (and a few changed), and if a Pokémon had Ribbons and was transferred to a later generation, all of its Ribbons would be retained and could be viewed on its status screen. Generation VI, however, reduced the total number of Ribbons from 80 to 46 (48 counting different versions of the Contest/Battle Memory Ribbons) by consolidating the Contest and Tower Ribbons from previous generations. If a Pokémon with Contest or Tower Ribbons is transferred from Generation V to VI or VII through Poké Transporter, all of its Contest and Tower Ribbons are replaced by a Contest Memory Ribbon or a Battle Memory Ribbon.

Checking Ribbons
Since Generation IV, a Pokémon's Ribbons can be viewed on its summary screen, but in Generation III, Ribbons could only be viewed on the PokéNav in and could not be viewed at all in  (though the data would still be safely retained if a Pokémon had any Ribbons).

Categories
The Generation V games introduced categories for the Ribbons, dividing them into League, Contest, Tower, Memorial, and Gift Ribbons.

League Ribbons
League Ribbons (Japanese: リーグリボン League Ribbons) are awarded to every Pokémon in the undefined's current party when they defeat the Elite Four and enter the Hall of Fame in most games. Different Ribbons are awarded for this in Generation III, in, in , in , and in. All of these Ribbons are retained if a Pokémon that has them is transferred to a later generation.

Contest Ribbons
Contest Ribbons (Japanese: コンテストリボン Contest Ribbons) are awarded to the winning Pokémon in Pokémon Contests or Pokémon Super Contests. Different Ribbons are awarded for each of the five different Contest categories. In Generations III and IV, different Ribbons are also awarded for each of the four different s therein, but in Generation VI, a Ribbon is only earned after winning a Master Rank Contest. A Ribbon for winning all Master Rank Contests is also granted in Generation VI.

Any Contest Ribbons obtained in Generation III are retained if a Pokémon that has them is transferred to Generation IV or Generation V, and any Contest Ribbons earned in Generation IV are retained into Generation V, but if a Pokémon with any Contest Ribbons is transferred from Generation V to Generation VI through Poké Transporter, the Ribbons will be consolidated into a Contest Memory Ribbon.

Contest Ribbons are the only type of Ribbons found in the games to be featured in the.

Tower Ribbons
Tower Ribbons (Japanese: タワーリボン Tower Ribbons) are awarded to Pokémon that have been used to conquer various challenges in certain.


 * In Generation III, the facility is the located in an island in Hoenn's southeastern sea, only accessible by boat.
 * In Generation IV, the facility is the located north of Fight Area in Sinnoh or west of Olivine City in Johto.
 * In Generation VI, the facility is the Battle Maison located in Kiloude City in Kalos or in the Battle Resort in Hoenn.
 * In Generation VII, the facility is the Battle Tree located in Poni Island in Alola.

In the Generation III Battle Tower in Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, two Ribbons are awarded for clearing the Level 50 Battle Tower and the Level 100/Open Level Battle Tower. Ribbons are awarded to party Pokémon upon completion of the eighth consecutive Battle Tower challenge (defeating 56 s in a row) and for completion of any challenge thereafter if a Pokémon does not already have a Ribbon.

In the Generation IV Battle Tower, one Ribbon is awarded for defeating Tower Tycoon Palmer the first time in a challenge, and one for defeating him the second time. Three additional Ribbons are rewarded for winning 50 times in a row in Double Battles, Multi Battles against the CPU, or Multi Battles with someone, and another Ribbon is awarded for reaching Rank 5 in the Wi-Fi mode.

In Generation VI, two Ribbons are rewarded for defeating a in either a normal battle or a super battle at the Battle Maison. In Generation VII, two Ribbons are awarded for winning against a in the Battle Tree.

Any Tower Ribbons obtained in Generation III are retained if a Pokémon that has them is transferred to Generation IV or Generation V, and any Tower Ribbons earned in Generation IV are retained into Generation V, but if a Pokémon with any Tower Ribbons is transferred from Generation V to Generation VI through Poké Transporter, the Ribbons will be consolidated into a Battle Memory Ribbon.

Memorial Ribbons
Memorial Ribbons (Japanese: メモリーリボン Memory Ribbons) are usually awarded for an in-game achievement, but some require nothing more than talking to the correct NPC at the correct time. They are often awarded only to the first Pokémon in the player's party, but some are awarded to all members of the player's party.

Gift Ribbons
Gift Ribbons (Japanese: プレゼントリボン Present Ribbons), in contrast to all other types, cannot be obtained in-game in core series Pokémon games. Most are found on event Pokémon. The and the  can be earned in Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness.

Some Gift Ribbons prohibit Pokémon with them from being traded over the GTS or through Wonder Trade.

Gift Ribbon descriptions
By participating in certain Pokémon activities, (such as the Regional, National, and Global tournaments for 2003, 2004, and 2005) Ribbon descriptions would be associated with certain Gift Ribbons distributed, based on the event itself.

These variable descriptions were removed in the Generation V games.

In the anime
In the, Ribbons are not attached to individual like in the. Instead, they can be compared to Badges received from Gym Leaders in that they are considered proof that a Pokémon Coordinator has won a Pokémon Contest. In contrast with Gym Badges, Coordinators only get one chance of earning a particular Ribbon in a certain Pokémon Contest within a specific time period. They also must compete with other Coordinators to earn it.

Ribbons are awarded by the Chief of the Pokémon Activities Committee, Raoul Contesta, and once a Coordinator collects five Ribbons, they are able to enter the Grand Festival and compete for the title of Top Coordinator. Ribbons do not expire, and multiple years can be used to collect the five needed for the Grand Festival. However, after being used to enter the competition, the five Ribbons cannot be used again. In addition, Ribbons can only be used in the Grand Festival of the region where they were earned, with the notable exception of the.

For a collection of images depicting Ribbons in the anime, please see Ribbons on the Bulbagarden Archives. The following is a list of all known Ribbons from the regions of Kanto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh. There are also Ribbons for the Johto region, although the locations where they are obtained are unknown.

Kanto Ribbons

 * Ribbon
 * Ribbon
 * Ribbon
 * 🇮🇸 Ribbon
 * Ribbon
 * Ribbon

Hoenn Ribbons

 * Ribbon
 * Ribbon
 * Ribbon
 * Ribbon
 * Ribbon
 * Ribbon
 * Ribbon
 * Ribbon

Sinnoh Ribbons

 * Ribbon
 * Ribbon
 * Ribbon
 * Ribbon
 * Ribbon
 * Ribbon
 * Ribbon
 * Ribbon
 * Ribbon
 * Ribbon
 * Ribbon
 * Ribbon
 * Ribbon
 * Ribbon
 * Ribbon
 * Ribbon
 * Ribbon

Aqua Ribbon
The Aqua Ribbon (Japanese: アクアリボン Aqua Ribbon) is the prize given to the winner of the Wallace Cup. It can be used for entering every known Grand Festival, not merely that of the region it is won in. For this reason, Pokémon Coordinators from all over the travel to the hosting city, which changes every year, to take part in the event.

Terracotta Medal
The Terracotta Medal (Japanese: トネリコメダル Toneriko Medal) is a commemorative Ribbon awarded to the winner of the unofficial Pokémon Contest held annually in Terracotta Town. It cannot be used to enter the Grand Festival.

In the Pokémon Adventures manga
In the Pokémon Adventures, two Pokédex holders, and , have obtained Ribbons.

Ruby obtained 20 Hoenn Pokémon Contest Ribbons during the as a part of a bet with. He also had obtained eleven unknown Ribbons prior to the events of the chapter.

Platinum obtained a Normal Rank Cool Contest Ribbon during the. Later Dr. Footstep gave her, as well as and, a  as a sign of the bond between them and their Pokémon.

In addition to main characters, some other characters have been seen with Ribbons in their possession. Notably, is seen burning one in Going to Eleven with Loudred & Exploud I.