Johanna is Dawn/Hikari's mother and a former Grand Festival champion in her day.
Johanna made her debut appearance in the anime in Following A Maiden's Voyage!.
She used to be a great Pokemon Coordinator and is also a former winner of the Grand Festival. Dawn wanted to follow in her footsteps and become a great coordinator as well. When Dawn left on her journey, Johanna gave her one of her old ribbons.
In The Bells are Singing!, it was revealed that she sewed Buneary's vest. As a young girl, she was shown participating in a Contest in a flashback in Battling the Generation Gap! against her childhood rival, Lila.
In Battling a Cute Drama! Ash, Brock, and Dawn received their new outfits from her.
Johanna appeared in Strategy Begins at Home! and met Ash and Brock in person for the first time. She used Glameow and an Umbreon in a double battle with her daughter, which she quickly won. While one might think that her skills might have gotten rusty since she became a mom, it turns out that she teaches a Coordinator class out of her home, and even has a battlefield behind her house for instructing her students. As a result, her skills are still as sharp as ever.
In Challenging a Towering Figure!, Johanna was the hostess for the tournament which was a part of the Twinleaf Festival. She wore a gown during the occasion.
She appeared in a brief cameo in DP174, DP175 and DP176 watching Dawn compete in the Sinnoh Grand Festival, then again in person in DP177 in the audience.