Viridian City

Viridian City (Japanese: トキワシティ Tokiwa City) is a small city located in western Kanto. In the Generation I and Generation III, Team Rocket leader Giovanni serves as Leader of the Ground-specialist Viridian Gym, but the Gym is locked until the undefined has gained the other seven League Badges. is the Gym Leader in the Generation II and Generation IV games and trains of various types.

Three major paths lead from the city center. To the north is, as well as Viridian Forest, which lies in the middle of the route, leading to Pewter City. To the south is, which leads to Pallet Town. To the west is, leading to Indigo Plateau and the Pokémon League.

In the Generation II games and, the city is known as "the Gateway to Indigo Plateau".

Generations I-III
The Eternally Green Paradise (Japanese: トキワは　みどり　えいえんのいろ Tokiwa is the color of green eternity.)

Generation IV
The City of Evergreen (Japanese: えいえんなる　みどりの　まち The eternally green town.)

Pokémon academy
In Generations and, this academy is located in the center of Viridian. It is a place dedicated to teaching the basics of Pokémon to inexperienced Trainers.

In Generations and, this school has been replaced by the Trainer House.

Old man
There is a grumpy old man in central Viridian who will not let Trainers pass through to until he has had his daily coffee. (In the original Japanese games, the old man is not grumpy from lack of coffee, but rather is drunk and has passed out in the middle of the road, much to the dismay of his grandchild.) The man is simply a barrier in the game, preventing players from wandering past Viridian City until the player has gone to the Viridian Poké Mart and delivered Oak's Parcel to Professor Oak.

Once the task is complete, the old man lightens up and teaches the player how to catch a Pokémon using a Poké Ball. This is a guide for novice players in, and. He will also give the player a Teachy TV in, which teaches the player a variety of things about battling and catching Pokémon.

He appears again in and, declaring that he has had his espresso and that he was once an expert at catching Pokémon. This is a reference to the events of three years before.

Trainer House
In Generations and, the Trainer House replaces the Pokémon academy in the center of Viridian. The first floor is occupied by a handful of people, while the basement is primarily dedicated to a battlefield. In the basement, the undefined may battle other Trainers once a day.

In Generation II, the opposing in the basement will be the last person the player has used Mystery Gift with, with whatever party they had when Mystery Gift was used. If the player has never used Mystery Gift with anyone, the opposing Trainer will be.

In Generation IV, the player will initially only find  in the basement. When the player meets another Trainer via the Pokéwalker and re-syncs the Pokéwalker back to their game, the other Trainer will also appear in the basement with their party. Up to 10 additional Trainers may be encountered in this way. Any Pokémon in a Trainer's party above level 50 will have their level reduced to 50. Battles here give no experience or money, but the player will receive 1 BP for each victory.

Viridian Gym
The Viridian Gym is the official Gym of Viridian City. s who defeat this Gym's Leader receive the. The Gym is usually strewn with the same one-way spin tiles seen in the Rocket Hideout, except in Generation II where the floor is bare of any obstacles.

During the events of Generations and, it is based on   and the Gym Leader is Giovanni, the head of Team Rocket. The Gym is initially locked due to its Leader's absence and will not re-open until the player has collected the other seven Badges.

In Generations II and IV, Team Rocket has disbanded and takes over as the Gym's Leader. Under Blue's direction, the Gym no longer concentrates on any particular type.

Move Tutor
The man in the area that requires or  to access gives out the TM for : in Generations I and, it is TM42, while in Generation IV, it is TM85. In Generation III, he is instead a Move Tutor of Dream Eater.

Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow
In, the population of Viridian City is 28 (27 excluding Giovanni).

Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal
In, the population of Viridian City is 25. The population has decreased, due to the fact that Viridian Gym no longer has regular Trainers.

Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen
In, the population of Viridian City is 30.

Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver
In, the population of Viridian City is 34. This shows that Viridian City has grown in size from FireRed and LeafGreen to HeartGold and SoulSilver.

Poké Mart
The Poké Mart is located south of the Viridian Gym. In Generation II and IV, it is to the right of the Trainer House.

Generation I and III
Viridian City's layout is consistent between Generations I and III. There are no notable differences between the Viridian of Generation I and Generation III, aside from the larger houses in and some slight repositioning. Trees have become bigger, flowers are more visible, and most other sprites have been upgraded to Generation III standards. Most of the town's residents remain the same, and will give the player the same information. Items that are given out, however, are different from generation to generation. In Generation III the Potion behind the Cut tree is no longer hidden.

Generation II and IV
The differences between the Generation II and IV and Generation I and III games are more noticeable. The Pokémon academy seen in Generation III has been replaced with the giant Trainer House, and other buildings were added as well. Within the Trainer House in Generation II, Trainers will battle either, if the player has never used Mystery Gift with anyone, or the last player with whom he or she has used Mystery Gift. In Generation IV, the player may either battle Cal or up to 10 different Trainers met on the Pokéwalker.

In Pokémon Pinball
In, Viridian City appears on the Blue table; catchable Pokémon include , , , , and.

In the main series
Viridian City was first seen briefly at the end of Pokémon - I Choose You!. It is then visited in Pokémon Emergency!, when Ash Ketchum took his injured to the Pokémon Center here. When entering the town, Ash was stopped by Viridian City's Officer Jenny, who found him suspicious, due to the fact he was carrying Pikachu in his arms and not a Poké Ball. While staying overnight at the Pokémon Center, Ash had his first encounter with the Team Rocket trio: Jessie, James, and. Ash and Pikachu foiled their plot to steal all the in the Pokémon Center, thus beginning Team Rocket's obsession with capturing Ash's Pikachu.

Ash and arrived in Viridian City in The Misty Mermaid, but quickly left for the Cerulean Gym after they noticed that Misty's Horsea looked unwell while it was swimming in a local fountain.

They returned to Viridian in The Battle of the Badge, and noticed that the Pokémon Center that had exploded at the end of Pokémon Emergency! has been rebuilt. They found the Viridian Gym, but before Ash could to fight the Gym Leader, arrived and d  first. After was carried off by a, Ash and his friends went looking for it, only to find it inside the Gym. They then noticed that Gary and his entourage were badly injured due to 's attacks. Giovanni is forced to leave the Gym following an emergency call, and he puts Jessie, James and Meowth in charge. After Ash fought and won a difficult and dangerous battle with Team Rocket, the Gym collapsed due to Togepi blowing up the stands. Ash picked up the Team Rocket lost. Afterwards, Ash and his friends left.

After the Silver Conference, Viridian was once again revisited, in Gotta Catch Ya Later!, only some things had changed. Most notably, the Nurse Joy who worked at the Viridian Center in Pokémon Emergency! had retired and 's bike had been fixed. After a battle with Team Rocket, as well as a trio of hired thugs, they left Viridian City.

Ash later passed through Viridian on his way home in The Scheme Team, after the Ever Grande Conference. Visiting the site of the rebuilt Viridian Gym, circumstances ended up bringing him to the battlefield for a friendly one-on-one challenge with the temporary Gym Leader, Kanto Elite Four member Agatha. It is also here that Ash met up with Scott, the owner of the and decided to take the Battle Frontier challenge.

In Pokémon Origins
Viridian City first appeared in File 1: Red, where stopped by the local Pokémon Center to heal his, after having lost a battle against his rival,. He also made a call to Professor Oak from there before departing to Pewter City.

Viridian City appeared again in File 3: Giovanni, where Red returned there in order to challenge the local Gym Leader, only to find out that not only had Blue already done so, but that the Gym Leader was none other than Giovanni, the Boss of Team Rocket. Enraged of seeing Giovanni as a Gym Leader, Red challenged him to a battle, not as a Gym Leader, but as the enemy of all Pokémon. Using his specially trained, Giovanni defeated most of Red's Pokémon with ease, but soon noticed himself getting excited of the battle. When Red sent out his to face Giovanni's last Pokémon,, Giovanni finally remembered how he had once been like Red, a child enjoying Pokémon battles simply for the fun and excitement of it. Even though Red eventually won the battle, he initially refused to take the Earth Badge, saying he didn't want it from the Boss of Team Rocket. Impressed of Red's attitude, Giovanni then informed that Team Rocket would now be disbanded. After this, Red accepted Giovanni's Badge, and departed Viridian City for Indigo Plateau. Reminded of his past, Giovanni decided to find a new path for himself and his Pokémon, leaving behind his positions as Viridian City's Gym Leader and the Boss of Team Rocket.

In Pokémon Generations
Viridian City appeared in The Chase. The International Police raided the Viridian Gym in search of Giovanni, but failed to find him. Giovanni was then seen overlooking Viridian City as he walked away, vowing that Team Rocket would never fall.

In The Electric Tale of Pikachu manga
Viridian City appeared in Pikachu, I See You!, where  his runaway  there after it had fled from him on. Despite Pikachu still being disobedient towards Ash and frequently ing him, he boasted that since Pikachu were hard to tame, he already had beat without even trying. Gary, however, soon showed up himself, taunting Ash and showing him that he already had a full team of six Pokémon, while Ash only had his disobedient Pikachu.

In the Pokémon Adventures manga
Viridian City first appeared in Bulbasaur, Come Home!, where and  were forced to chase some of the Pokémon that Red had accidentally set free from Professor Oak's Laboratory all the way to Pallet Town's neighbor city, including a Bulbasaur, which the two chased to the abandoned Viridian Gym. After Red had helped Bulbasaur to defeat a wild attacking them, Professor Oak chose to give Bulbasaur to Red, along with a Pokédex.

Viridian City made a brief appearance in Make Way For Magmar!, where local citizens were asking questions about the missing Gym Leader.

Red revisited Viridian City in Drat That Dratini! after helping a in Viridian Forest. Upon hearing rumors about the missing "invincible" Gym Leader, Red decided to check out the Viridian Gym again. At the Gym, he met, learning that not only was he the Viridian City Gym Leader, but also the leader of Team Rocket. Giovanni then challenged Red to a battle, making a bet with him that should Red lose, he'd come to serve him as his right-hand man. During the battle, Giovanni's 's caused the Viridian Gym to collapse into ruins. Eventually Red emerged victorious with his Pika defeating Giovanni's and knocking the Gym Leader himself unconscious as well.

In Forretress of Solitude, Red participated in Pokémon Association's Gym Leader test for the new Viridian Gym Leader at the reconstructed Viridian Gym. Although he passed the test with flying colors, Red had to turn down the offer, as he had not yet completely recovered from the frostbites he received after being frozen by Lorelei in the. As such, was appointed as the new Gym Leader instead, after he impressed the Pokémon Association by stopping and  a group of rampaging wild Pokémon.

In Secrets from Sneasel, arrived in Viridian City to meet Blue at the Gym, but only found his hologram, set there in case for a challenger coming while he was not present. An automated system then brought out Blue's Pokémon, which, even without their Trainer giving them commands, easily defeated Yellow's Chuchu in a battle. soon arrived at the site as well, looking for his roots. Unexpectedly, the two were attacked by Sird and Orm of Team Rocket, who revealed that Silver was actually Giovanni's long-lost son. This revelation shocked Silver so much that the two Team Rocket members had no trouble in knocking him out and taking him to the Team Rocket airship, with Yellow giving chase.

Trivia

 * An song  is centered on its status as the location of the final Gym in Kanto.
 * It is the only town that is the first visited in the games that has a Gym after the starting location, though the Gym is closed until the other seven Badges have been obtained.

Name origin
Vertania City Ciudad Verde Jadielle Smeraldopoli トキワシティ 常青市