Floaroma Town: Sinnoh's Flower Town, Its Honey Meadow, the Legend of Shaymin and Dawn's First Ribbon

Floaroma Town has no Gym, but it has flowers as far as the eye can see. This small Sinnoh town revolves around a flower shop that takes payment in Berries, a meadow that holds the region's monopoly on selling Honey, and an old legend that points to Shaymin. In the anime, this is where Dawn wins her first Ribbon as a Coordinator.

Contents

• Floaroma Town, a Town for Flower Lovers
• A Barren Hill and the Legend of Shaymin
• Honey and the Grunts of Floaroma Meadow
• Pick a Peck of Colors, the Flower Shop That Takes Berries
• Gifts and Rematches with the People of Floaroma Town
• Floaroma Town in the Anime: Dawn's First Ribbon
• Floaroma Town at a Glance
• Frequently Asked Questions

Floaroma Town, a Town for Flower Lovers

Floaroma Town is a small town in Sinnoh that you pass through in Diamond and Pearl, Platinum and their remakes, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. It nestles between Route 204 to the south, Route 205 to the east, and its large meadow to the north. Some twenty residents share a Pokémon Center, a Poké Mart and a flower shop, but the town has no Gym.

Its residents chose to build their homes in the middle of a sea of flowers, and the sign at the entrance sums it up in a slogan: "Vivid & Scented". The setting is inspired by Biei and Furano, two Hokkaido towns famous for their flower fields, which comes as little surprise when you know that Sinnoh itself is modeled on that island in northern Japan.

The French name, Floraville, blends "floral" and "ville" (town). The English Floaroma Town combines flower and aroma, the Japanese Sonō Town evokes a garden, and the Italian Giardinfiorito a flowered garden: from one language to the next, it's all about flowers, gardens or fragrance.

A Barren Hill and the Legend of Shaymin

According to local folklore, the site was originally nothing more than a dry, dreary hill. The residents had tried planting flowers to brighten it up, but nothing would grow. The day one of them expressed gratitude toward nature, flowers finally covered the hill.

This tale points to Shaymin, known as the Gratitude Pokémon. The game keeps the link alive: in Platinum as in the remakes, a resident gives the Gracidea to players who show up with Shaymin in their party, the flower that lets the little hedgehog take on its Sky Forme.

The anime retells this story with a twist. It's no longer an anonymous villager but a beautiful woman, who climbed to the top of a hill and whose thanks made flowers spring up in abundance on land that had been bare until then.

Honey and the Grunts of Floaroma Meadow

North of town, Floaroma Meadow rolls out a huge carpet of multicolored flowers. It's home to a sought-after specialty: it's the only place in Sinnoh where you can buy Honey, the kind you slather on certain trees to attract wild Pokémon.

You still have to get in, though. On your first visit, two Grunts from Team Galactic block the way. The player must first beat one of them near the Valley Windworks, then return to the meadow to defeat the pair: the path then opens onto the rest of the meadow, and the player receives the Works Key.

The Pokémon Adventures manga stages a comical scene there. Lured by a tree smeared with Honey, Diamond rushes at it and ends up uprooting it, to the dismay of the little girl it belongs to. When the Drifloon belonging to her father comes back carrying a torn jacket, it becomes clear that the man is in danger: Diamond and Pearl hurry off to the Valley Windworks, soon joined by Platinum.

Pick a Peck of Colors, the Flower Shop That Takes Berries

The local pride and joy sits at the heart of town: the Pick a Peck of Colors Flower Shop. Its rule comes as a surprise: you can't pay for anything with money, only with Berries. In Diamond, Pearl and Platinum, the florist offers dress-up Accessories for your Pokémon, from flowers in every color to sunglasses, a cape or a surfboard.

Prices vary by version. Platinum is far less demanding: a flower costs just one Berry there, while Diamond and Pearl ask for ten to thirty. In the remakes, the stock changes and the shop sells Stickers, the decorations that liven up a Pokémon's exit from its Poké Ball.

Oran and Cheri Berry plants grow in front of the shop, and a woman inside gives out a random Berry every day. A customer also hands out the Sprayduck, the watering can shaped like a Psyduck that's used to tend Berry plants.

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Gifts and Rematches with the People of Floaroma Town

In a house next to the flower shop, a little girl gives TM88 to players who answer "yes" to her question. In the remakes, it's the little girl in the northwest house who hands it out, with three copies up for grabs.

Platinum adds a Trainer to the Pokémon Center. Ariel, a Poké Kid, only accepts battles on Mondays and Thursdays; she fields three Pichu, whose levels rise in rematches as your adventure progresses.

Finally, the remakes reward longtime fans of the series. A couple living in the southwest part of town gives you Mew if your console has save data for Let's Go, Pikachu or Let's Go, Eevee, and Jirachi if it has save data for Sword or Shield: two Mythical Pokémon obtained without fighting a single battle.

Floaroma Town in the Anime: Dawn's First Ribbon

The anime gives Floaroma Town a Contest Hall; like the Pokémon Center, it's decorated with flowers, and many flower beds line the streets. The town is first mentioned in episode DP017, when a TV report by Marian announces a Contest there, then appears in DP025 of season 10. Ash Ketchum, Dawn and Brock take a class with Forsythia there to learn how to make Poffins; only Ash lets his burn.

In DP026, Dawn and Pachirisu train under the eyes of Ash and Brock, but also of an unexpected spectator: Kenny, a childhood friend who, like her, comes from Twinleaf Town. He also started out with a Piplup, which has already evolved into Prinplup, and he enjoys telling embarrassing stories about Dawn. The Contest in DP027 gets off to a rough start, with Pachirisu running out of control, but a Poffin sets things right. Dawn eliminates Jessie in the quarterfinals, then wins a close final against Kenny, despite her Piplup's disadvantage against Prinplup: it's her very first Ribbon.

The town returns briefly in DP150, during season 12. Forsythia waters her flowers there with help from Roserade and Lotad, while the group stops at the Pokémon Center on the way to Sunyshore City and learns from Marian that a Double Performance Contest is coming up in Daybreak Town.

Floaroma Town at a Glance

Frequently Asked Questions

• Where can you buy Honey in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl?
  At Floaroma Meadow, just north of town. No other place in Sinnoh sells it.
• What does the Pick a Peck of Colors flower shop sell?
  Dress-up Accessories in Diamond, Pearl and Platinum, then Stickers in the remakes. Either way, it only accepts payment in Berries.
• How do you get the Gracidea in Floaroma Town?
  Just talk to a resident with Shaymin in your party. She gives it out in Platinum as well as in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.
• How do you get Mew and Jirachi in Floaroma Town?
  In Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, a couple in the southwest part of town gives you Mew at level 1 if you have Let's Go save data on your console, and Jirachi at level 5 if you have Sword or Shield save data.
• In which episode does Dawn win her first Ribbon?
  In DP027, at the Floaroma Contest. She eliminates Jessie in the quarterfinals before beating Kenny in the final.

In short

Floaroma Town doesn't carry much weight in the race for badges, but it makes for a stop like no other: a meadow with a monopoly on selling Honey, a flower shop that swears by Berries, and a legend that evokes Shaymin. The anime adds a milestone in Dawn's career: her first Ribbon.