JAPANIMATION</br>Run Time:</br>Release Date: 3/31/2009</br></br>Product Description</br></br>Ash and his friends fight their way across the Battle Frontier--the ultimate Pok?mon tournament! Will Ash defeat the Frontier Brains? Will May qualify for the Kanto Grand Festival? Will Team Rocket ever give up on stea"ing Pok?mon? Find out in the first half of the final season of the Pok?mon Advanced Generation series!</br></br>Amazon.com</br></br>The 50-episode <I>Battle Frontier</I> adventure comes between the Pok?mon <I>Advanced Battle</I> story and the <I>Diamond and Pearl Saga</I>. Ash?? May?? Max?? and Brock roam through forests?? towns?? and islands?? making friends with humans and new Pok?mon. Although Max does little but read out the data from the Pok?dex?? May and Brock have larger roles than usual. May competes in Pok?mon Contests?? a combination battle and performance that suggests rhythmic gymnastics with an edge. Unlike Ash?? she doesn't always win. Brock reveals an unexpected paternal streak when he adopts a baby Bonsly that needs constant bottle feeding and cuddling. Ash and Pikachu remain the focus of the stories?? and they win several Frontier "rather than badges). Some of the material has obviously been re-edited as Ash wins his second symbol in Episode #4?? but the episode in which he won the first one isn't included. Episode #15 features an obnoxious?? effete gay male stereotype who's out of keeping with the normally innocuous tone of <I>Pok?mon</I>. The new voice cast takes some getting used to?? as Sara Natachame lacks Veronica Taylor's familiar rasp as Ash. <I>Battle Frontier</I> is an unusually lavish <I>Pok?mon</I> set?? with lots of CG special effects (bubbles?? fire?? rainbows?? etc.) and strange machines for Team Rocket to pi