Grand Festival

The Grand Festival (Japanese: グランドフェスティバル Grand Festival) is an -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, something 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 his or her achievement.

In contrast with regular Pokémon Contests, where contestants have to use the same 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 qualified 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 '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 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 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, he or she is bestowed the title of Top Coordinator and awarded the Ribbon Cup.

Top Coordinator
The title of Top Coordinator (Japanese: トップコーディネーター Top Coordinator) is an bestowed upon a Pokémon Coordinator who has won the Grand Festival in recognition of his or her merits. The person bestowed does not have to carry out any specific duties.

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 his or her 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 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.