Skipping 2 reviews this time. dp 46 is one of the 2 best pokemon are separated episodes in Sinnoh, while dp 47 is a filler.
Dawn's loss in the first round of this contest is startling b/c of the reason why she loses: there is not a reason. The writers almost ruin the episode by having Zoey remark that Dawn is overconfident just before the start of the contest, as if to give a cause for Dawn's failure (cold feet from the writers). Fortunately, though, Ash, Brock and Pikachu set the moral straight when they smilingly tell Dawn she put on a great performance (which, truthfully, she did) after the first round results have been announced. Dawn snaps, asking why did she lose then? Ash and Brock do not have an answer; their smiles are gone, replaced by pained expressions, b/c they told her the truth. She worked really hard, she executed the appeal well, and yet somehow she did not advance. As Dawn's mother says when she sees the results, sometimes life goes that way. And it hurts. It hurts to give your best but to realize it just was not enough to win, especially considering that Dawn won her last contest. She had no reason to think she would not advance to the second round. Furthermore, as she runs outside the building crying, the contest continues. The lady commentator announces the start of the second round, and the crowd is ready for it. None of them care how much hard work Dawn put into preparing the performance, or that she did a good job, or that she is not there now in the second round. This is why it is important in life to have friends who really understand you and what you do. Dawn, luckily, has that in Ash and Brock this episode.
Unluckily in this episode, she has Zoey as her friend as well. Zoey's reaction to Dawn's outburst is ridiculous and heartless; she gives Dawn a glare as if she expected her to get angry the way she does and is wrong for doing so. The good thing for Zoey in this episode is that after bad-mouthing Nando at the beginning, she loses to him, giving him his second ribbon (good for Nando, too!). The pokemon bard finally does what has been unthinkable in dp so far in defeating Zoey, earning him his credentials as a coordinator. However, Zoey ends the episode on a bad note, reprimending Dawn for complaining about her first round loss (while Zoey has the right to think about her loss to Nando). Ash points out that since Zoey and Dawn both lost, they can comfort each other, but the idea is off. Dawn's loss does not compare with Zoey's at all; as Dawn tries to tell Zoey before being criticized, Dawn would have loved to have finished as high as Zoey did.
Well, Zoey has another terrible outing. I do remember her doing something right eventually, so I have to keep going until I find it. Down the road, she does give Dawn some words of advice that stick with Dawn for a very long time, so that is important.