Dawn

For the core series version of Dawn, see: Dawn (core series)

* BW
* DP
 Birth date
 Eye color
 Region
 Family
 Friends
 Occupation
 Trainer class
 **Voiced by** | Emily Jenness

**Dawn** (Japanese: **ヒカリ** *Hikari*) is a Pokémon Coordinator from Twinleaf Town and a former traveling companion of Ash and Brock. Her goal is to become a great Top Coordinator like her mother, Johanna. Her first Pokémon was a Piplup that she received from Professor Rowan in the first episode of *Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl*.

She returns in *Pokémon Journeys: The Series*, as a veteran Coordinator, who became friends with Chloe and assisted Ash during several crises involving Team Rocket and Team Galactic.

## History

### Pre-series

Dawn grew up in Twinleaf Town in the Sinnoh region with her mother, Johanna, and was inspired to become a Top Coordinator just like her. Sometime later, she attended a kindergarten class, where she met her friends Kenny and Leona. She also knew Barry and Noelle from before leaving Twinleaf Town, but it is unclear how and when Dawn first met them.

In *Yes in Dee Dee, It's Dawn!*, Dawn revealed the story behind her nickname, **Dee Dee** (Japanese: **ピカリ** *Pikari*). She explained that she, Kenny, and Leona had been selected as the week's Pokémon caretakers at their kindergarten, and were responsible for looking after the school's pets, Plusle and Minun. While Kenny and Leona cleaned down the pen, Dawn hugged the two Electric-type Pokémon tightly and received an electric shock as a result. This caused Dawn's hair to fizz out and sparkle, earning her the nickname "Diamond Dandruff" or "Dee Dee" for short. From then on, many of her classmates called Dawn by this embarrassing nickname. This led to Dawn developing a fear of Plusle and Minun.

### Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl

Dawn began her Pokémon journey with an overconfident Piplup. She wasn't able to gain his trust at first, but after rescuing him from a swarm of Ariados, the two became friends. Unlike May, she knew from the beginning that she wanted to follow in her mother's footsteps and be a Coordinator. After meeting Ash and Brock, she decided to travel with them, as their experience would likely be helpful to her. Like Ash, she saw a Legendary Pokémon at the start of her journey, the projected soul of Mesprit in *Following A Maiden's Voyage!*.

When Dawn began her journey she took a bicycle, but like Misty's and May's bikes, Ash's Pikachu destroyed it with his Thunderbolt. However, she did not mention this to Ash until more than thirty episodes after it happened, yet only to acknowledge it as an honest accident due to a desperate situation, and didn't hold it against either Ash or Pikachu. Dawn had also planned to take a large suitcase full of clothing with her, but her mother made her leave it at home due to its impracticality. Instead, Dawn took a backpack her mother had prepared for her. Johanna also gave Dawn the first Ribbon she earned as a Coordinator as a good luck charm, an item that would recur throughout the series as a symbol of Dawn's determination.

Upon arriving in Jubilife City, Dawn registered for a Contest Pass for the Sinnoh region. She also obtained a Ball Capsule and some Seals and introduced her Contest cry, which is "Spotlight!" in the English dub and "Charm up!" in the original Japanese version. Dawn lost her first Pokémon Contest in *Arrival of a Rival!* to Zoey, who became one of her closest friends and greatest rivals. After her loss, an upset Dawn called her mother, but Johanna told Dawn not to rely on her and instead rely on friends and Pokémon. Eventually, in Dawn's second official Contest, she was able to narrowly beat her childhood friend Kenny to win her first Ribbon.

Dawn regularly trained her Pokémon and took the opportunity to practice her skills with Zoey whenever the two met, such as in *A Stand-Up Sit-Down!*. Zoey was always helpful to Dawn during their meetings and helped inspire her to come up with new combinations. However, even with Zoey's help Dawn was not able to perfect Buizel's Ice Aqua Jet despite coming up with the idea. Ash later accomplished Ice Aqua Jet in the Wallace Cup, after Buizel had been traded to him.

In *Dawn's Early Night!*, Dawn felt confident but lost in the Performance Stage of the Hearthome Contest. In the Solaceon Contest, which took place in *Team Shocker!*, she did not pass the Performance Stage for the second time in a row, due to being overzealous with Ambipom's Swift appeal out of desperation to make up for the previous loss. This marked a notable change in Dawn's character. After the second blow to her self-esteem, she didn't know what to do and was still very upset throughout *Tanks for the Memories!*. After this, she became more focused and regained her confidence after battling Maylene in *Crossing the Battle Line!*. She also began to practice in earnest for all her Contest's performances and battles. Following Zoey's advice to show off the Pokémon and not its moves, Dawn was able to pass through the first round in the Wallace Cup and eventually break her losing streak by narrowly defeating May in the final round of the competition in *Strategy With a Smile!*. Since this turning point, Dawn has maintained her focus and humility.

After learning of the upcoming Contest in Celestic Town, Dawn became very dedicated in her training to the point of overworking her Pokémon in *A Lean Mean Team Rocket Machine!*. Due to her intense efforts, she managed to win the Contest in *Battling The Generation Gap!*. One of Dawn's combinations in that Contest inspired one of Ash's notable tactics, the Counter Shield. In *A Breed Stampede!*, her Mamoswine began to disobey her after evolving. Despite this, she was still eager to train it well and finally gained its trust after healing it in *Trials and Adulations!*. However, Mamoswine still rebelled and disobeyed Dawn after it was hit by an attack and lost its temper in the semifinals of the Lilypad Contest in *Dressed for Jess Success!*. Even though this caused Dawn to lose, she remained calm and optimistic that she and Mamoswine would be victorious the next time.

Dawn traveled back home with Ash and Brock for the annual Twinleaf Festival in *Strategy Begins at Home!*. Dawn went on to compete against her mother in a two-on-two Contest Battle. Johanna's Glameow and Umbreon versed Dawn's Piplup and Pachirisu. Although Johanna won the match with relative ease, she was impressed by Dawn's teamwork and complimented her. The homecoming helped Dawn to regain her focus, especially after a venture into her own subconscious in *Historical Mystery Tour!*. Once the festival ended, the group left Twinleaf Town at the end of *Challenging a Towering Figure!*.

Her encounter with Mesprit, like Ash and Brock's encounters with Azelf and Uxie respectively, proved to be fate as Team Galactic intended to capture the lake guardians to awaken Dialga and Palkia at Spear Pillar. The lake guardians communicated telepathically with Ash, Dawn, and Brock, and teleported them to the Team Galactic Headquarters. With the help of Cynthia, the three Trainers foiled Team Galactic's plans and freed the lake guardians in *The Battle Finale of Legend!*

In *Double-Time Battle Training!*, Dawn and her friends watched Zoey compete in the Brussel Town Pokémon Contest. Zoey was victorious, and Candice brought over an array of desserts to celebrate. During their meal, Candice introduced the Tamato Berry Ice Cream Sandwich, describing it as "hot and spicy on the inside and cold on the outside", and saying that oftentimes things that don't seem to go well together are actually the most compatible. The dessert and Candice's words inspired Dawn to create a new combination using Ice- and Fire-type moves. After many failed attempts, she perfected her technique called Flame Ice, which involved Cyndaquil using Flame Wheel while being encased in Mamoswine's Ice Shard attack. She used this move later in the Daybreak Contest.

Dawn revealed the story behind her nickname, "Dee Dee", to Ash and Brock in *Yes in Dee Dee, It's Dawn!*, though Ursula happened to overhear the conversation. In the final round of the Daybreak Town Contest, Ursula battled Dawn using her Plusle and Minun and deliberately had her Pokémon shock Dawn's hair to recreate "Diamond Dandruff". Even though Dawn temporarily succumbed to her trauma, she was able to overcome her inhibition with Mamoswine's and Cyndaquil's encouragement. Ultimately, she defeated Ursula, winning her final fifth Ribbon as well as the opportunity to participate in the Sinnoh Grand Festival.

She later trained in *Teaching the Student Teacher!* where she came up with a new tactic for the Grand Festival, the Ice Chandelier, which she managed to perfect by trial and error. Though she originally wanted to see Pachirisu use its Discharge attack while surrounded by Mamoswine's Ice Shard, she eventually decided to cover Pachirisu in a larger bubble of ice from Buneary's Ice Beam. This gave Pachirisu enough room to run, making Ice Chandelier look its best. Besides coming up with combination moves, she also acquired a new Pokémon, Togekiss. Dawn trained with Togekiss in *With the Easiest of Grace!* to find a way to battle with it while not ignoring its need to move gracefully, and she was eventually able to adjust her own battling style to accommodate her new Pokémon.

Dawn entered the Sinnoh Grand Festival in *Last Call — First Round!*, using her Buneary and Cyndaquil in the Appeals Round. She progressed through the round and battled Ursula first in the next episode. With Mamoswine and Pachirisu she was able to successfully use her combination Ice Chandelier to defeat Ursula's Gabite and Flareon. In the following episode, she defeated Jessilina and progressed to the finals. Dawn would face Zoey in the final round, which fulfilled the promise the two had made with each other after their first Contest to someday meet in the last round of the Grand Festival.

It was a very evenly matched and close fight between her Piplup and Togekiss and Zoey's Glameow and Gallade, but in the end, Dawn lost. After the finals, she met with her mother and returned the Ribbon Johanna had given her as a good luck charm at the very start of her journey. Dawn said that she no longer needed to walk in her mother's shadow, and only needed her Pokémon's care and support to become a Top Coordinator, proving to her mother and to herself how much she had grown as a Trainer.

After the competition, Zoey told Dawn that Candice was throwing a victory party for her in Snowpoint City and that Dawn was also welcome; however, Dawn declined the invitation, stating that she still wanted to support Ash in his upcoming battle at Sunyshore Gym and in the Lily of the Valley Conference. She then thanked all the Pokémon that had traveled with her through Sinnoh for their hard work and pledged to not give up her dream of being a Top Coordinator.

After Ash competed in the Sinnoh League, she contemplated whether or not to go with Ash and Brock to Kanto. However, she received an invitation by Paris for her Buneary to work with her for a short while as a Pokémon fashion model and decided to stay in Sinnoh. Dawn and Ash later shared a final high-five, their trademark exchange throughout *Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl*, before Ash and Brock left for Kanto.

After Buneary's modeling work with Paris was completed, Dawn decided to spend some time at home before considering her next move on her journey to become Top Coordinator. In DPS01, Dawn decided to go to the Hoenn region, since Hoenn is the region Contests originated from. However, though she was certain she would take Piplup, she did not know if she should take all of her other Pokémon with her to Hoenn or not. She sought advice from Professor Rowan, who instead sent her to help a new Trainer who was having trouble deciding what her first Pokémon would be. Dawn and Shinko ran into an Ariados' web, reminiscent of the first challenge Dawn faced with Piplup. Dawn's Cyndaquil evolved into Quilava in order to protect the two Trainers, and it was then that Dawn realized all of her Pokémon still had the potential to grow with her. She decided to take all her Pokémon to Hoenn with her and soon left on her new adventure with her dream of becoming a Top Coordinator burning as bright as ever.

Dawn briefly appeared in a picture on Brock's memory wall in the special episode DPS02.

### Pokémon the Series: Black & White

In *All for the Love of Meloetta!*, it was revealed that Dawn had traveled to the Unova region and was staying in Cynthia's villa in Undella Town while the Champion was visiting Virbank City. Dawn later reunited with Ash and his new friends, Iris and Cilan, whom Dawn met for the first time. She also battled Cilan, using her Piplup against his Pansage, but because the battle was interrupted, no winner was identified. She became good friends with Iris when they traveled to the Onix Island in *Expedition to Onix Island!*, where she playfully agreed with her that Ash is a little kid, and was surprised by the unfamiliar Pokémon native to the Unova region, such as Foongus.

Before coming to Undella Town, Dawn had visited Nimbasa City where she watched a Pokémon Musical and one of Elesa's fashion shows. She also revealed that she would enter the Pokémon World Tournament Junior Cup. Dawn later made it to the second round before her Mamoswine was defeated by Iris' Dragonite, despite the fact that Dragonite still wasn't listening to Iris's orders.

Later, in *Goodbye, Junior Cup - Hello Adventure!*, she met Cameron, along with Ash, Iris, and Cilan. When they arrived at Cynthia's villa in Undella Town, she announced her intention to head to Johto to compete in the Wallace Cup being held there. After battling Ash, using her Quilava against Ash's Pikachu, and saying their farewells, she and Piplup boarded a flight to Blackthorn City.

Dawn later appeared during a fantasy in *The Dream Continues!*.

### Pokémon Journeys: The Series

Dawn reappeared in *Nightfall? Nightmares!*, where she met up with Chloe when Piplup tried to eat some of the food she was preparing. As the two camped out in a forest, Dawn revealed that she was participating in the Sinnoh Contest circuit again, having already competed in Contests in Hoenn, Johto, and Unova, and was due to compete in the upcoming Eterna City Pokémon Contest. Upon learning Chloe was also on her way to Eterna City to watch the Contest, Dawn suggested they should travel there together. The two later worked together to fight off an enraged Rhydon that had been sleep-deprived due to Darkrai's nightmares, before coming across an injured Cresselia.

In *A Midsummer Night's Light!*, she tended to the injured Cresselia and showed Chloe how to perform in a contest. After getting attacked by Team Rocket and getting saved by Darkrai, she reunited with Ash and also met Goh. Together they fought off Matori and her group, the Matori Matrix and were aided by Darkrai, but got captured. After getting saved and Cresselia healed Darkrai, she bid farewell to the two Pokémon. Later, they were seen playing on a beach.

In *The Gates of Warp!*, after her Piplup was stolen by someone who looked exactly like her, Dawn called Ash, who traveled to Sinnoh with Goh and Chloe to help. Following an attack by Alternate World Team Rocket, Dawn and Goh traveled to an alternate world version of Sinnoh, where they met Dawn's alternate world counterpart, an accomplished Trainer who once placed second in the Sinnoh League. After recovering Piplup from her, Dawn and Goh learned that this world's Pokémon had started to devolve recently due to unknown reasons. Based on her past experiences, Dawn figured Dialga and Palkia could be responsible.

In *Showdown at the Gates of Warp!*, Dawn and Goh reunited with Ash and Chloe, and decided to investigate the devolutions. They eventually learned that Alternate World Team Rocket had locked Dialga and Palkia into a battle using a Red Chain in order to steal the devolved Pokémon. After Team Rocket had been defeated, Ash, Dawn, Goh, Chloe, and their alternate selves prayed for Arceus to stop Dialga and Palkia's battle. Responding to their desperate pleas, a shape of Arceus emerged from the Red Chain and made the artifact disappear. Dialga and Palkia then reversed all the devolutions and sent Ash and his friends back to their own world.

Dawn reunited with Ash and Goh again in *The Arceus Chronicles (Part 1)*, meeting them at the Sinnoh Festival in Canalave City. After being given a quick lesson of Sinnoh's past by Cynthia and a chance to experience using recreated ancient Pokéballs, the group learned of suspicious activity on Mount Coronet and headed out to investigate.

In *The Arceus Chronicles (Part 2)*, the group encountered Brock, who joined them. It eventually turned out that the suspicious activity was caused by Team Galactic's project to bring back Cyrus, which had resulted in a Heatran going on a rampage. In *The Arceus Chronicles (Part 4)*, Ash, Dawn, and Goh, assisted by the lake guardians, managed to stop the rampaging Heatran.

In *Reuniting for the First Time!*, Dawn was shown in a flashback about the Wallace Cup, alongside May. She also appeared in a flashback in *Friends, Rivals, Lend Me Your Spirit!*.

Dawn reappeared in *A Flood of Torrential Gains!* to *Partners in Time!*, where it was revealed she traveled to Galar with Chloe to watch Ash's match against Leon in the Masters Eight Tournament finals. After Ash became the winner of the competition and became the new Monarch of the World Coronation Series, Dawn attended the awards ceremony.

### I Choose You!

Dawn made a cameo appearance in the ending credits of *I Choose You!*.

## Character

Dawn grew up inspired by her mother's achievements and from a very young age decided that she wanted to be a Coordinator. She takes immense pride in what Johanna was able to accomplish and this is reflected in her determination to follow in her footsteps and become a respected Top Coordinator. As a kid, she would help Johanna prepare Poffins for her Pokémon, something which led Dawn to discover the perfect recipe for her own Pokémon years later.

Dawn is notable for her confidence since she almost always tries to look towards the future rather than dwell on her mistakes. In the Japanese version, Dawn's catchphrase is "Daijōbu!", which can be translated as "It'll be fine!" or "Don't worry!". Although not consistently translated in the English dub at first, she began to regularly use "No need to worry!".

In stark contrast to May's inexperience and self-doubt at the start of *Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire*, Dawn was overly confident and assured in her own strength at the beginning of her journey. Because of this, she became emotional after she was eliminated from Pokémon Contests, and often cried after losing. After failing to pass the Performance Stage two times in a row, Dawn became depressed. In *Tanks for the Memories!*, Dawn remembered these failures and had to excuse herself so she could cry. These behaviors were completely opposite those she had exhibited at the beginning of her journey, something Ash and Brock took notice of. Their encouragement was not enough to renew her psyche though, and it was not until she defeated May to win the Wallace Cup that she truly regained her confidence and focus. After this point, Dawn took on a more positive and determined personality. In addition, she became more mature. Instead of reverting to her old headstrong and confident attitude, she became more aware of her faults and how she could work to overcome them. Dawn was also more aggressive than May whenever she had to confront Team Rocket.

Dawn has a close relationship with Ash, and they often share a high five when one of them accomplishes something. Throughout their journey, they were very supportive of each other, usually training together and pushing one another to become better versions of themselves. Sometimes when Ash challenged a Gym Leader, Dawn would wear her cheerleading outfit and perform a routine alongside her Pokémon to encourage him. In *Uncrushing Defeat!*, upon noticing how disappointed in himself Ash was for losing a Full Battle against Paul, Dawn presented a circus act to cheer him up.

A key example of Dawn's growth and maturity occurred in *Trials and Adulations!*, in which she was separated from Ash and Brock and her Mamoswine's leg was badly injured. Instead of panicking or trying to force Mamoswine to continue walking, Dawn thought back to lessons Brock had given her about Pokémon care. She recalled that the sap of a plant could help soothe pain and called upon her Pokémon to search for it. Dawn applied the sap, wrapped the wound, formed a bed of leaves for Mamoswine, and gathered food and Berries for it to eat. Dawn was ultimately rewarded as she gained her Mamoswine's respect and loyalty. Dawn's actions go deeper than that though, they are evidence of her growth as a Trainer and person.

Over the course of her journey in Sinnoh, Dawn was able to come up with various combinations to show up her Pokémon's looks and strength. This began with something as simple as making her Piplup's beak grow longer when using Peck, a technique she used even until the end of the Grand Festival. She later followed with simple spinning, which her Piplup and Buneary first practiced for a while in Oreburgh City. The spinning move was adapted by Ash in his first Gym battle in Sinnoh. Later on, Dawn began experimenting with more complex combinations, such as Flame Ice and Ice Chandelier. After a lot of practice, Dawn's Pokémon were able to master these combinations in battle. Coincidentally, both of these moves were used to defeat Ursula.

Dawn also had a fear of Plusle and Minun, after the Cheerleading Pokémon that her class had when she was younger shock her hair and her childhood friends, Kenny and Leona, started calling her Diamond Dandruff, Dee Dee for short. Ever since, Dawn would get annoyed when Kenny and Leona would call her Dee Dee, and would panic if her friends, especially Ash, asked them as to why they call her that, due to the nickname being part of her fear of Plusle and Minun. Dawn would also freak out whenever she sees a Plusle and Minun, as shown in *Yes in Dee Dee, It's Dawn!*, when she got frightened when she saw Ursula's Plusle and Minun and fainted when they sparkled her hair. However, through her Mamoswine and Cyndaquil's encouragement in the *next episode*, Dawn overcame her fear of Plusle and Minun, and was no longer bothered in being called Dee Dee.

Originally, Dawn had great concern about her appearance and would not show herself to Ash or Brock until she felt that her appearance was acceptable. In fact, Dawn often slept in a tent while Ash and Brock slept outside. However, after *Tears for Fears!*, Dawn began to sleep outside as well and was less concerned with her appearance in front of Ash and Brock. This may have been an indicator that she had become more focused as a Trainer and Coordinator, paying more attention to her Pokémon and less attention to her looks. Even so, whenever Dawn knew she was going to be on camera, she would pause to brush her hair, such as in *Last Call - First Round!* when Rhonda wanted to interview her for her broadcast of the Grand Festival.

Dawn also has an interest in fashion and often reads the Poké Chic magazine. In *The Bells Are Singing!*, Dawn revealed that she was the one to design Buneary's vest, but also admitted that her mother was the one to sew it. In *Arriving in Style!*, she demonstrated her talent for designing again, sketching many different outfits for the Hearthome Collection. Though she was initially unsure about her creations, she set her mind on designing simple dresses and accessories after realizing the actual role of a Pokémon Stylist. For that, she was praised by Hermione, who said Dawn has the true spirit of a Stylist.

## Pokémon

Most of the Pokémon that Dawn caught were cute and small like her starter, Piplup.

Initially, due to her lack of experience, Dawn had difficulties dealing with her Pokémon properly. For instance, she would often bicker with Piplup and her Pachirisu would hit unwanted targets with its Discharge. Even later on in *Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl*, after most of her Pokémon had become obedient, her Mamoswine had a tendency to get angry and disobey her. It was not until *Trials and Adulations!* that Dawn was fully able to manage all of her Pokémon. Despite the many issues she had at first, Dawn always deeply cared for her Pokémon, especially for Piplup.

As a Pokémon Coordinator, Dawn trained her Pokémon for both appeals and battles. Because of this, she learned to utilize her Pokémon's capabilities creatively. For example, she trained Buneary to use Ice Beam various ways, which proved helpful in the many Pokémon Contests she participated in. She was also able to pull off successful combinations with her Togekiss in the finals of the Grand Festival, despite not having trained it for very long compared to her other Pokémon.

This is a listing of Dawn's Pokémon. Pokémon listed as "on hand" have been seen during *Pokémon Journeys: The Series*.

### Released

 Debut
 Japanese

### Temporary

 Debut
 Japanese
 English

 Debut
 Japanese
 English

When Ash was training for his Pastoria Gym battle, he lent Chimchar and Staravia to Dawn so they can practice.
 Debut
 Japanese
 English

When Ash was training for his Pastoria Gym battle, he lent Staravia and Chimchar to Dawn so they can practice.
 Debut
 Japanese
 English

 Debut

 Debut

 Debut

## Contests

### Sinnoh Ribbons

This listing is of the Ribbons Dawn has obtained in the Sinnoh region:

* Floaroma Ribbon (*Settling a Not-So-Old Score!*)
* Aqua Ribbon (for winning the Wallace Cup; *Strategy with a Smile!*)
* Celestic Ribbon (*Battling The Generation Gap!*)
* Chocovine Ribbon (*Another One Gabites the Dust!*)
* Daybreak Ribbon (*Playing the Performance Encore!*)

### Grand Festival ranking

Dawn has competed in the following Grand Festival tournaments:

* Sinnoh Grand Festival - Runner-Up (*A Grand Fight for Winning!*)

### Other achievements

Dawn has competed in the following Pokémon Contests:

* Jubilife Contest - Top 4 (*Arrival of a Rival!*)
* Unofficial Contest - Runner-up (*Borrowing on Bad Faith!*)
* Alamos Contest - Unknown (*The Rise of Darkrai*)
* Hearthome Contest - Appeal Round (*Dawn's Early Night!*)
* Solaceon Contest - Appeal Round (*Team Shocker!*)
* Sandalstraw Contest - Runner-up (*Old Rivals, New Tricks!*)
* Lilypad Contest - Top 4 (*Dressed for Jess Success!*)

## Pokémon competitions

Dawn has competed in the following Pokémon competitions:

* Pokémon Dress-Up Contest - N/A (*All Dressed Up With Somewhere To Go!*)
* Hearthome City Tag Battle Competition - Runner-up (with Conway; *Smells Like Team Spirit!*)
* Hearthome Collection - Winner (*Arriving in Style!*)
* Pokémon Summer Academy - Winner (with Red Team; *One Team, Two Team, Red Team, Blue Team!*)
	+ Pokémon Triathlon - N/A (*One Team, Two Team, Red Team, Blue Team!*)
* Pokémon Ping Pong Tournament - Top 4 (*To Thine Own Pokémon Be True!*)
* Festival Battle Challenge - Top 4 or Top 8 (*Challenging a Towering Figure!*)
* Pokémon World Tournament Junior Cup - Top 8 (*Battling Authority Once Again!*)

## Trivia

* Dawn is the first main character other than Ash to:
	+ Own an Electric-type Pokémon.
	+ Battle an Elite Four member and challenge an official Gym.
* Dawn is the first female main character to:
	+ Not be related to a Gym Leader.
	+ Not have siblings.
	+ Own a Pokémon that habitually disobeys her.
	+ Hold a full team of six Pokémon consistently, and the second overall to hold a full team, the first being Misty.
* Dawn is the only main character to receive a Water-type starter as her first Pokémon.
* Dawn is the first traveling companion to have the new Sugimori-style eyes.
* On the Pokémon Learning League website, her clothing has been altered so that her white undershirt has sleeves and she is wearing black stockings or tights.
* Dawn's socks have shifted position on her legs from mid-knee to below-knee several times throughout the anime.
* Dawn's Japanese name is Hikari, and her main rival's is Nozomi. The *Hikari* and the *Nozomi* are two Shinkansen "bullet train" lines in Japan. The Nozomi is faster than the Hikari, possibly symbolizing the trend of Zoey being farther along in her coordinating skills than Dawn in the anime.
* When Dawn temporarily returned in *Pokémon the Series: Black & White* and *Pokémon Journeys: The Series*, she returned for a total of 21 episodes across both series (including the four episodes of *Pokémon: The Arceus Chronicles*), the most out of Ash's traveling companions.
* Out of Ash's female traveling companions, Dawn has met the most of Ash's main rivals, having met Gary and Paul during *Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl*, Trip during *Pokémon the Series: Black & White*, and Leon during *Pokémon Journeys: The Series*.
* Dawn is the only Pokémon Coordinator in the anime to compete for the same Contest Ribbon twice.
* Dawn has competed in at least one Pokémon Contest in each region where they are known to be held in the anime, with the exception of the Kanto region.
* Dawn is the only main character to be mentioned in the summary of the Japanese opening themes along with Ash.
* In Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, if the player character is male and their starter Pokémon choice was Turtwig, after they have entered the Hall of Fame ten times, Dawn's game counterpart's team consists of fully evolved members of Dawn's anime team, excluding replacing Pachirisu with a Bellossom.

## References

1. ↑ *(DP001) Narrator: "And this young lady, Dawn, is one of those people, as her **10th birthday** has come and gone, and her Pokemon now waits in the wings!*"