Blackthorn Gym

The Blackthorn Gym (Japanese: フスベジム Fusube Gym) is the official Gym of Blackthorn City. It is based on. The Gym Leader is Clair. s who defeat her receive the.

In the games
An will prevent access to the Gym itself until the player has at least seven of the eight Johto Badges and has defeated Team Rocket at the Goldenrod Radio Tower, though there is no legitimate way to access Blackthorn with less than seven Badges.

Generation II
In, the Gym Leader Clair is on a platform in the middle of red-hot lava, and the player must go to the second floor, where a puzzle must be completed. Once the puzzle is completed, the boulders pushed down the correct holes form bridges across the lava, allowing the player to reach Clair. Even after being defeated, Clair does not consider the player ready to challenge the Pokémon League and refuses to hand over the, forcing the player to go to the Dragon's Den and complete a trial before the Badge can be acquired.

A field based on the Gym also appears in Pokémon Stadium 2's Johto Gym Leader Castle.

Generation IV
In, immediately after entering the Gym, the Gym guide tells the player to return their walking Pokémon back to its Poké Ball. After this, the player has to navigate on platforms floating on lava, using arrows on them to move them and the blue buttons on them to spin them. After three platforms and several Trainers, the player will reach Clair and battle her. Like in Generation II, after being defeated, Clair still deems the player unready for the Pokémon League and refuses to hand over the Badge before the player has completed the challenge at the Dragon's Den.









Round 1




Round 2




In the anime
The Blackthorn Gym first appeared in Fangs for Nothin', where challenged Clair to a  for his final Johto League Badge. Although he battled hard, Ash wasn't doing very well and was constantly outmaneuvered by Clair. However, before the battle could end, an alarm went off, alerting Clair that somebody had stolen the Dragon Fang kept at the Dragon Holy Land. She told Ash that the battle would have to continue some other time, causing the match to be interrupted.

After dealing with and returning the Dragon Fang, Ash and Clair had a second battle in Better Eight Than Never. This time, Ash came prepared with his and. Thanks to them, he was much more successful than during his previous attempt, and was able to earn himself a.

In SS028, visited the Gym and had an exhibition match with Clair, using her  against Clair's. After a hard-fought battle, Clair and Druddigon emerged victorious.

In the, the Blackthorn Gym has a retractable roof, which is used when both Clair and the opponent's Pokémon can use flight in one way or another.

In the Pokémon Adventures manga
The Blackthorn Gym appeared in Debonaire Dragonair, where Clair was seen battling her apprentice Ryu at the Gym, easily defeating his with her Dragonair before heading to the Dragon's Den.

In the Pokémon Pocket Monsters manga
The Blackthorn Gym appeared in The Ultimate Battle…?!. entered the Gym to impress Clair, but he and his were badly beaten by her. As and his Pokémon went inside, they had to get past a river full of lava in order to get to Clair. Even though the group was burned in the process, Clair cooled them off with a water bucket and challenged Red to a battle using Dragonair. Despite Dragonair being a tough opponent, Red was able to defeat it with and, although their  clones caused some trouble in the end.

Trivia

 * In the games, the Cianwood Gym, the Blackthorn Gym, and the Celadon Gym are the only Gyms that require the use of an HM, as part of a Gym puzzle, in order to progress. Cianwood and Blackthorn's Gyms require in Generation II, while Celadon's requires  in all generations except Generation II.
 * This is the only Gym in any Pokémon game where the player doesn't obtain the Gym's Badge after defeating the Gym Leader.
 * This is one of the few places in where the player is required to keep his or her Pokémon inside of its Poké Ball.
 * However, if the lead Pokémon in the party is fainted, the next unfainted Pokémon will be outside of its ball in the Gym.
 * In, the dark colored-lava on the floor of the Gym resembles a dragon, with its tail at the Gym entrance and mouth at the back of the Gym.
 * Blackthorn Gym is the only Gym in the to have more than one Gym Trainer of the same Trainer class.
 * In, if the player whites out due to damage while still inside the Dragon Shrine in Dragon's Den after receiving the Rising Badge, they can return to the Blackthorn Gym to receive the reward TM from Clair. However, if the player then returns to Dragon's Den and stands on the tile directly in front of the Dragon Shrine's door, Clair will appear again and give the player another TM24.

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