Cinnabar Island

Cinnabar Island (referred to in Japanese as both グレンじま Guren Island and グレンタウン Guren Town) is a large island located off the southern coast of the Kanto region, south of Pallet Town. It is home to a large volcano. Blaine was once the resident Gym Leader specializing in, but as of Generation IV, Cinnabar Island no longer has a Gym. is a kind of red mineral, associated with hot springs and volcanoes. The island is connected to the mainland by two water routes: in the east and  in the north, leading to Fuchsia City and Pallet Town, respectively.

The Generation I games reveal Cinnabar Island to be a technological mecca. The journals scattered about the abandoned reveal that  was created here. The scientists at the Pokémon Lab have the ability to resurrect Pokémon from their Fossils. Two years after the events of Generations and, as seen in Generations  and , a volcano erupted on the island, destroying everything. The only building present is a Pokémon Center, with the Cinnabar Gym having been relocated to the Seafoam Islands.

Names
In the Japanese versions, Cinnabar Island has two distinctive names: Guren Island and  Guren Town.

In an old Pokémon.com summary, Cinnabar Island was called by its Japanese name of Guren Island (transliterated as Glen Island).

Generations I and III
In the Generation I games, it is referred to as simply "Guren" on the Town Map just like other cities and towns. The island's signpost calls it Guren Town, whereas the Cinnabar Gym signpost calls it Guren Island.

In, the situation is the same. Additionally, the Town Map calls it Guren Island due to it being its location ID but its guide about the calls it Guren Town instead.

Generations II and IV
In the Generation II games and, the island's signpost, the Cinnabar Gym signpost and its relocation notice call it Guren Town. The location ID is Guren Island in Generation II and Guren Town in HeartGold and SoulSilver.

Generations I-III
The Fiery Town of Burning Desire (Japanese: グレンの　あかは　じょうねつの　いろ Guren's red is the color of passion.)

Generation IV
The Ravaged Town of the Past (Japanese: おしながされた　かこの　まち The ravaged town of the past)

Pokémon Mansion
The Pokémon Mansion is a decrepit, burned-down mansion on Cinnabar Island. It got its name because a famous Pokémon Researcher once lived there. The Pokémon Mansion has four different floors. Doors can be unlocked in the Mansion by pressing switches hidden in statues. To access the Cinnabar Island Gym in Generations and, the main character has to enter the mansion and find the   to unlock the door of the Gym. Many s come to the mansion, trying to steal valuable items that may have been lost in the wreckage, challenging the player to a battle when spotted. Amongst the rubble and wreckage is information that the scientists who once worked there obtained a and impregnated it with the genetically altered, who destroyed the mansion in its escape.

Pokémon Lab
The Pokémon Lab is a laboratory located on Cinnabar Island. It was founded by Dr. Fuji and appears in the Generation I games and their remakes. The west room of the Pokémon Lab has two people who will offer to trade Pokémon. The old man will offer his for a, and the girl will want to trade her  for a. In the center room, there is a man who will teach once to one of the undefined's Pokémon; in Generation I, he gives away. In the east room, there is a scientist who will revive the Fossils the player obtained at Mt. Moon and from the Pewter City Museum and a person who will trade his for a. In Silph Co., there is a Pokémon Report stating that Pokémon Lab created.

Volcano
There is a volcano on Cinnabar Island which gives it its name. In Generation I and Generation III, the volcano that appears on Cinnabar Island cannot be accessed. In the, the volcano is a prominent feature of the island, and is where the Cinnabar Gym is located, split into two sections. One is inside of the volcano, and has an arena suspended over the lava inside one of the chambers, while the other is atop the volcano's crater. In Generation II and, three years after the events of Generation I and , the volcano erupted on the island, destroying everything, and only the Pokémon Center has been rebuilt. What appeared to be a rain-filled crater could also be seen in. In, the exterior of the volcano can be scaled with. Judging by the maps of all four generations, the volcano originated where the Gym once stood.

Cinnabar Gym


The Cinnabar Gym is the official Gym of Cinnabar Island, it is based on  and the Gym Leader is Blaine. s who defeat him receive the. The player is unable to enter the Gym at once; only when they obtain the  from the  can they unlock the door to the Gym. The Cinnabar Gym is a high-tech affair featuring a series of sealed doors. Trivia questions about various Pokémon must be answered to unseal the doors. However, when the player fails to answer a trivia question correctly, a battle with either a Burglar or Super Nerd results, an alternative to unsealing the doors. In Generations II and IV, Blaine's original Gym on Cinnabar Island was destroyed by a volcanic eruption. This forced him to relocate to a cave in the Seafoam Islands.

Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow
Cinnabar Island has a population of 33.

Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal
Cinnabar Island has a population of 6, all residing in the Pokémon Center. This is because every other building was destroyed by a volcanic eruption.

Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen
In, before the destruction of the island in the Generation II and Generation IV games, Cinnabar Island has a population of 36.

Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver
Cinnabar Island has a population of nine, making it one of the smallest towns in the Pokémon world. The volcano eruption destroyed most of the island, with the Pokémon Center being the only building remaining.

Differences between generations
Cinnabar Island has changed dramatically between Generations and  as the city has been totally replaced by a large erupted volcano, removing everything except for the Pokémon Center. After the eruption, the Gym was relocated to the Seafoam Islands. can be first found at Cinnabar Island, because he was in a bad mood and decided to take a stroll there. In Generation III, there are a few changes with the visual design, as the and Pokémon Lab are slightly larger along with more sandy beach areas. The first and last questions in the Cinnabar Gym have also been changed slightly for clarification. In Generation IV, the island stays much the same as Generation II, although the volcano is now climbable by.

In Pokémon Pinball
In, Cinnabar Island appears on the Red and Blue tables; catchable Pokémon include , , , , , , , and.

In Pokkén Tournament
While Cinnabar Island does not appear in Pokkén Tournament, when fighting Shadow Mewtwo, sometimes Nia will mention having read the "Cinnabar Island docs" on Mewtwo. However, the words "Cinnabar Island" aren't in text, and thus are only noticeable if her voice is turned on.

In the main series
Cinnabar Island is considered a mere beach resort town famous for its hot springs in the. A bird's-eye view shows the majority of the island is dense forest with the volcano at its center, while the township only occupies a small portion. It lies close to the port and the ocean, featuring many hotels, souvenir shops, restaurants, and food stalls. Many s skip the island entirely or go there for a break from. Blaine points out his dilapidated Gym to and, blaming the roaring tourist trade for its closure. Blaine runs the Big Riddle Inn, a hotel with a clock tower, and bath house with separate male- and female-exclusive hot springs for tourists. He wears a hippie disguise to hide his real identity as Gym Leader. His Gym is located inside of the volcano.

In Riddle Me This, Ash and his friends foiled Team Rocket's latest exploits at the Pokémon Lab. Ash was also trying to locate the Gym so he could challenge Blaine. The riddle man eventually informed Ash that Blaine built another Gym inside of a volcano. Thanks to Misty's Togepi jumping on one of the hot spring taps, Ash and his friends discovered the new Cinnabar Gym; it was connected to Blaine's Big Riddle Inn via a secret tunnel. It has two sections; one is inside of the volcano, and has an arena suspended over the lava inside one of the chambers. The other arena is in the top crater of the volcano itself, and features rock pillars above the lava flow.

When Ash and his friends went in, they learned that the riddle man was actually Blaine in disguise. Ash and Blaine battled, but Ash had a series of misfortunes. The first was his being defeated by Blaine's. Then, his refused to listen to him. Finally, received severe burns caused by Blaine's Magmar and its powerful. Ash called off the battle, not wanting Pikachu to fall in the lava. In Volcanic Panic, after had almost destroyed Blaine's Gym (and Cinnabar Island as a result), he agreed to a rematch on his alternate battlefield on top of the volcano. This time, Ash was able to defeat Blaine with the help of his Charizard and its, earning himself the.

In Beach Blank-Out Blastoise, at the request of a wild, Ash and his friends made their way via boat to an unnamed island near Cinnabar Island, inhabited exclusively by a and its pre-evolutions. They helped to awaken the entire colony after was lodged into one of Blastoise's cannons while swimming and rescued them from being captured by Team Rocket.

In Pokémon Origins
Cinnabar Island was visited by in File 3: Giovanni. During his visit, he first explored the, where he discovered a journal that would later help him identify Cerulean Cave's mysterious Pokémon as. After exploring the Mansion, Red challenged Blaine to a Gym battle and won, earning the Volcano Badge.

In the Pokémon Adventures manga
Cinnabar Island debuted in Holy Moltres, where Team Rocket was trying to hunt down Blaine on the island because of him leaving them. When Team Rocket threatened, Blaine showed himself and rescued him. When they tried to escape, Team Rocket sent after them. As Blaine knew that they needed a Flying Pokémon to fight Moltres effectively, he sent Red to his secret laboratory to revive his Old Amber. Thanks to the Aerodactyl revived by Red, Team Rocket and Moltres were forced to retreat.

In Putting It on the Line...Against Arcanine, arrived at Cinnabar Island from the Seafoam Islands. At the top of the volcano, she saw Blaine training with Evan, after which he invited her to his laboratory. They soon received emergency messages from all over Kanto, revealing that the Elite Four had started their attack on the region. Both Blaine and Yellow then departed to launch a direct assault against the Elite Four's base at Cerise Island.

Cinnabar Island made a brief reappearance in Double Down Deoxys, when Camper Evan and Miles visited Blaine at his laboratory. Due to the mark left on his arm by 's cells, Blaine was able to sense Mewtwo's agitation, speculating that it was due to heading back to the Kanto mainland from Faraway Island.

Trivia

 * It was long believed that Cinnabar Island once was the tip of a or a  since no mountain was visible on the island for the first three generations. This was changed in  where a mountain stratovolcano is actually there and can be reached by using, indicating that lack of diverse scenery in the past games was the reason for no mountain being there. However, all map artworks throughout the generations have shown the volcano to be there.
 * Cinnabar Island has many glitches associated with it in the Generation I games, such as the old man glitch, due to programming oversights on the island's coast. There is also of the Gym. However, both of these glitches were fixed in some regional versions.
 * Cinnabar Island and Vermilion City are named after the same color in the English versions of the Pokémon games but not in the Japanese versions, since ( guren, "crimson lotus") refers to a shade of red while  ( kuchiba, "decayed leaves") refers to a shade of orange.  is an orange-red mineral that produces the orange-red pigment vermilion. This explains why Cinnabar Island is colored red while Vermilion City is colored orange in the Generation I games when played with the Super Game Boy enhancements enabled on a compatible system or with the Game Boy Color enhancements available in the international releases of  (including the Virtual Console release).
 * It is the southernmost location in both Kanto and Johto that the player can to.