Sinnoh, the region of focus for the Pokémon Diamond & Pearl games and anime, is a vast and varied land full of vibrancy and substance. Although the story of the anime is based around the games and given locations, additional anime-exclusive locations are required in order to add more depth to the region in this different format, allowing for several one-off episodes and sub-plots.

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These anime-exclusive locations are often given a point of direction and distance, relating to locations from the games, so it is simple enough to guess and understand where these new places are situated within Sinnoh.

10 Alamos Town And The Space-Time Towers Were Introduced In The Rise Of Darkrai

Alamos Town Space-Time Tower

The Space-Time Towers are a pair of impressive towering buildings located in Alamos Town in Sinnoh. Alamos is an anime-exclusive location, but other than being presented as a diorama in the Eterna Historical Museum during the Diamond & Pearl series, it is only really featured in detail in the movie The Rise of Darkrai.

In the movie, the towers were shown to play a song that was capable of soothing the Legendary Pokémon Dialga and Palkia, preventing them from causing catastrophic damage and destruction. Alamos Town is said to be located to the northwest of Oreburgh City and northeast of Jubilife.

9 A Huge Maze Near Mt. Coronet Divided The Group

Sinnoh Maze Dawn Croagunk Graveler Golem

When Ash and friends fell victim to one of Team Rocket's schemes and were tricked into getting lost and separated in a cave system, they were all split into interesting groups and combinations, with Dawn and Croagunk being one example.

The caves led onto an outdoor maze, which had plenty of of inconveniences from stampeding Graveler and Golem to frequent dead-ends. It was situated near to Mt. Coronet, and could well have been an extension of it. The maze area would certainly fit into the game well as a puzzle of sorts.

8 The Pokémon Summer Academy Was A Welcome Break From The Main Story For A Few Episodes

Sinnoh Pokemon Summer Academy Conway on a Floatzel Dawn on a Sharpedo

Ash and friends attended the Pokémon Summer Academy, which also served a purpose as Professor Rowan's research facility on Mt. Coronet. Spanning four episodes, students were split into three teams, red, blue and green, and took part in various activities and competitions while being assessed.

Not only was the Academy in a prime location, but it was also nearby a picturesque lake, and the mysterious Summit Ruins. The activities took the students to these locations so they could be explored further.

7 Sunyshore Tower Was Almost Stolen By Team Rocket

Sunyshore Tower in Sunyshore City

While Sunyshore City has the Lighthouse in the games, it doesn't have the Sunyshore Tower, an anime exclusive. The Sunyshore Tower was where Ash and friends were introduced to Volkner by Flint in "Flint Sparks the Fire," before their match was scheduled for the Gym.

The following episode saw one of Team Rocket's most daring heists in the history of the anime, as they attempted to steal and fly off with the Tower, with it already beginning its launch by the time that Ash and friends noticed. They were eventually thwarted and the Tower was returned, but it was certainly a unique moment.

6 Shelter Town Was A Pleasant Pit Stop On The Road To Snowpoint City

Pokemon Ash Brock Dawn Pikachu Piplup arrive at Shelter Town

Although Shelter Town is thought to be loosely based on the Snowbound Lodge on Route 216 in the Gen IV games, the town itself is an anime-exclusive location.

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Ash and friends arrived there shortly after leaving Sandalstraw Town on their way to Snowpoint City. They were soon distracted by a cuteness-obsessed trainer named Marilyn, who challenged Dawn and later Brock to battle her. In this picturesque location, Marilyn defeated Dawn using unconventional methods and was battling Brock when Team Rocket interrupted.

5 Mt. Shady Was Home To A Dangerous Wild Gible

Mt Shady Gible cave Ash Dawn Lyra

Mt. Shady is located near another anime-exclusive location in Lilypad Town, which is situated near to Lake Acuity. In the anime, Mt. Shady was used as a hiding place by a strong Gible, which made the most of both its system of caverns and its grassy areas. Ash, Dawn, Lyra and Khoury went in search of the wild Dragon-type, with Khoury eventually capturing it.

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Mt. Shady was not the first anime-exclusive mysterious system of caves to be explored by Ash and friends, but it was certainly a location presented in such a way that it left fans wanting to see more of it.

4 Squallville Was Home To The PokéRinger Competition

Paul's Honchcrow Ash's Staravia Squallville PokeRinger competition

In "Pursuing a Lofty Goal," a PokéRinger competition is held, with trainers entering with their Flying-type Pokémon to compete in 1-on-1 rounds, where contestants compete to grab a ring and place it on a pole.

Squallville itself is surrounded by mountains and cliffs, constantly getting strong wind currents, making it perfect for PokéRinger competitions. Ash ended up beating Paul in the final to win the whole competition, with his Staravia evolving into Staraptor in the nick of time to defeat Paul's Honchcrow.

3 Dandelion Island Was Home To Another Treasure Hunting Adventure For Ash And Friends

Dandelion Island Pokemon Sinnoh

Dandelion Island is another anime-exclusive location that Ash and friends discovered on the way to the Lily of the Valley Conference. In "Bucking the Treasure Trend," they encountered a treasure hunter named Buck and agreed to help him search for the treasure on Dandelion Island.

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They discovered that the island was full of Pokémon traps that were set up alongside the island's protector, Claydol, to watch over the treasure and warn off any intruders. Buck eventually caught the Claydol, and they uncovered the treasure, which ended up being some museum-quality pottery and artifacts.

2 Pikachu And Piplup Were Washed Up On An Interesting Island In The Middle Of Diablo's Ocean

Wingull deserted island on Diablo's Ocean

In "Cheers on Castaways Isle," Pikachu and Piplup were stranded on a deserted island in the middle of nowhere out in Diablo's Ocean, following a series of unfortunate events starting with a botched heist from Team Rocket.

Pikachu and Piplup explored the island, noticing that the native species of Pokémon were working towards something, which ended up being the restoration of a Deoxys. Pikachu and Piplup assisted the Mantyke and Corphish with their work, eventually succeeding. Deoxys then protected the Pokémon and the trainers who had eventually caught up from a Team Rocket attack, which left a lot of debris falling from the sky.

1 Amber Castle Was An Incredible Cave System And Structure Protecting Enchanted Honey

Anime Pokemon Combee Honey Herd

The Amber Castle was an incredible expansive cave system deep in the Eterna Forest, said to be the home of an ancient treasure, which was eventually revealed to be Enchanted Honey. Ash, Dawn and Brock joined Cheryl the treasure hunter on her quest to find the Amber Castle, with them eventually succeeding in finding it.

Hordes of Combee appeared to form walls in the hopes that it would keep not only Ash and friends out, but Team Rocket as well. They eventually made their way through to the heart of the castle where they met an angry hive queen Vespiquen, although after Team Rocket were cleared out, Vespiquen bestowed a jar of Enchanted Honey to Cheryl, fulfilling her dream and quest as a treasure hunter.

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