TheSilph Co. (Japanese:シルフカンパニーSylph Company), also known as simplySilph (Japanese:シルフSylph), is a company headquartered at theSilph Co. Office Building orSilph Co. Head Office (Japanese: シルフ カンパニー ほんしゃ ビルSylph Company Main Office Building; シルフほんしゃビルSylph Main Office Building; シルフ カンパニー ほんしゃSylph Company Main Office) inSaffron City. The company manufactures a variety of goods, including theSilph Scope, theMaster Ball, and theUpgrade.
In Generation III, the floor number appears when the player enters the floor. Each floor is named as "シルフカンパニー 1F", "シルフカンパニー 2F", etc. The elevator is simply named "シルフカンパニー".
シルフ (Sylph)
Sometimes this name is used in character dialogue, such as "おおきく なったら シルフで はたらくと いいよ" ("Come work forSilph when you get older!")
This name is used in "シルフスコープ", the Japanese name ofSilph Scope.
This name is used in the Trainer class "シルフのチーフ" (Sylph's Chief), that is found in theGeneration I game data but is not seen in-game. This Trainer class was translated as simply "Chief" in English.
シルフ カンパニー ほんしゃ ビル (Sylph Company Main Office Building)
This name is displayed on the sign at the side of the Silph Co. building, fromGeneration I toIV.
シルフカンパニー本社ビル (Sylph Company Main Office Building)
InGeneration VII, the name is written with kanji on the sign.
シルフほんしゃビル (Sylph Main Office Building)
This name is displayed in theGeneration ITown Map. This may be a shortened version of "シルフ カンパニー ほんしゃ ビル", which would not fit in the Town Map due to the limit of 9 characters for each place name.
シルフ カンパニー ほんしゃ (Sylph Company Main Office)
InGeneration III, this name appears with the floor number, on the sign near the stars on each floor. For instance, "シルフ カンパニー ほんしゃ 4かい" (Silph Company Main Office 4th Floor).
In Generation III, the floor number appears when the player enters the floor. Each floor is named as "Silph Co. 1F", "Silph Co. 2F", etc. The elevator is simply named "Silph Co."
Silph
Sometimes this name is used in character dialogue, such as "Come work forSilph when you get older!", "You mistook me for aSilph worker?", and "Thank you for savingSilph!" in GenerationsI andIII.
This name is displayed on the sign at the side of the Silph Co., in all generations where this building appears.
Silph Co. Head Office
InGeneration III, this name appears with the floor number, on the sign near the stairs on each floor. For instance, "Silph Co. Head Office 4F".
For comparison, the name "Silph Company" is not used in any Englishcore series games.
In the core series games
A Silph Co. Master Ball
Headquarters
The Silph Co. Office Building, based inSaffron City, is an eleven-floorskyscraper that is effectively a giant maze.
Generations I, III, and VII
In GenerationsI,III, andVII, due toTeam Rocket having invaded the Silph Co. headquarters in Saffron City, aTeam Rocket Grunt is initially guarding the front door, preventing entrance into the building. After theplayer has savedMr. Fuji from Team Rocket at thePokémon Tower inLavender Town, the guard will have fallen asleepRBFRLG, disappearedY, or have been knocked out byJessie andJamesPE, allowing the player to enter the building.
Theplayer can navigate the building's interior by usingwarp panels in order to reach the board room on the top floor. To do this, the player must obtain theCard Key, which unlocks Silph's doors like a hotel key, on the fifth floor of the building. During this time, multipleTrainers occupy the building. These Trainers include numerousTeam Rocket Grunts, including the fourRocket BrothersRBYFRLG/Rocket SistersPE and aJuggler, who also appears to be a member ofTeam Rocket, as well as severalScientists who have defected to Team Rocket. The bed at the bottom-left corner of the ninth floor can be used to heal the player's Pokémon without having to leave the building.
In Generations I and III,Blue will challenge the player to a battle on the seventh floor, while in Generation VII, he challenges both the player andTrace to a battle on the first floor. In Generation VII, Trace stays behind on the seventh floor to stallArcher and give the player time to reachGiovanni.
On the seventh floor, the player can receive aLapras as agift from a Silph employee. In the Generation I games, this was the only way to obtain a Lapras. Upon reaching the president's room on the top floor, the player must defeat Giovanni to stop him from stealing theMaster Ball. After he is defeated, Team Rocket abandons their plans for Silph and withdraws from the building.
Generations II and IV
A Silph Co. Pokégear, bearing the company's logo
In GenerationsII andIV, Silph Co. has increased security, and theplayer is not allowed to enter the upper floors. One of the guards will kindly give the player anUp-Grade for talking to him.
The alternate forms ofRotom may also be accessed here inGeneration IV via the broken elevator. When Rotom is in the party, the Silph Co. building will be deserted of all people, includingSteven. The notebook present in the room indicates thatCharon may have had a past connection to the company.
Russian branch
In theGeneration I games andPokémon FireRed and LeafGreen,Scientist Taylor mentions an alleged overseas branch of Silph Co. In the English versions, he states that theTiksi branch of the company is "in Russian no-man's-land". In the Japanese versions, he states that the "Ponaya Tunguska branch" (ポナヤツングスカしてん) is located "deep in Russia" (「ロシアの おくの ほうだよ」). Ponaya Tunguska appears to be a shortened form of the transliterated name ofPodkamennaya Tunguska in Japanese (ポドカメンナヤツングースカ).
InPokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, the references to Russia were removed, and the English, Spanish, and Korean localizations further removed the name of the branch itself. In the English version, Taylor instead mentions having been sent "off to the boondocks". In the Japanese version, he still mentions the "Ponaya Tunguska branch" (rendered asポナヤツングスカ支店 when the Characters setting inOptions is set to kanji), which was localized into Italian as "Ponayanguska", into German as "Ponayatunguska", and into both Simplified and Traditional Chinese as the "Ponaya Tungus River branch" (波拿耶通古斯河分公司). Ponaya Tungus River appears to be a shortened form of the name of thePodkamennaya Tunguska River.
Discoveries and inventions
Within the company, there are three reports of discoveries that serve as in-game trivia for the player, labeledPokémon Report (Japanese: ポケモン レポート).
Another report states the number ofmoves that Pokémon can learn, referred to as "techniques" in Generations I and III. This number is over 160 in the Generation I games, over 350 in theGeneration III games, and over 200 in theGeneration VII games.
A third report informs the player thatPorygon was created by thePokémon Lab onCinnabar Island. In Generation VII, this report instead states that Porygon was created by the research section.
Items
One of the items below is in a different location in the original Red and Green version, and is listed separately. Other items are in the same location.
A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here.
A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here.
A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here.
A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here.
Trainers
AfterGiovanni has been defeated, all the Trainers associated withTeam Rocket will disappear from the building.
Silph Co. appears inSaffron City as a playable stage inSuper Smash Bros. (calledSilf in the Japanese version). Thebattle takes place on the roof of Silph Co. and a few smaller surrounding buildings, along with two small moving platforms. This is the home stage ofPikachu andJigglypuff in the game.
Certain Pokémon will emerge from the elevator on the Silph Co. building and attack briefly, similar to Pokémon summoned fromPoké Balls. Occasionally,Pidgey,Fearow,Butterfree, and otherFlying-type Pokémon will appear in the background.
The stage returns inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate (in which the Japanese language setting uses the official romanizationSylph), with its visuals mostly cleaned up with higher-resolution textures; however, the Pokémon that appear maintain their pixellated, two-dimensional appearance from the original game.
Pokémon Quest
InPokémon Quest, theMoBee IV drone was manufactured by Silph Co. When the price of the MoBee IV was reduced, Silph Co also reduced the capacity of its battery. Silph Co. does not appear in the game other than being named in reference to MoBee IV.
Silph Co. appeared inFile 3: Giovanni. Like in thegames, it was taken over byTeam Rocket. Hearing from Silph Co.'s vice-president of how Team Rocket was experimenting on Pokémon in order to accelerate the completion ofMaster Ball,Red decided to storm the building. Doing so, he freed all the Pokémon andScientists that were trapped inside, even obtaining aLapras from one of the Scientists as a thank-you gift. Finally he arrived at the president's office, where he encounteredGiovanni. Before Giovanni could escape, Red proclaimed that he would always be out there to stop their plans, irritating the Team Rocket Boss. Wanting to teach Red a lesson, Giovanni challenged Red to a Pokémon battle, which ended with Giovanni'sNidoqueen defeatingRed's Charizard and wrecking a big portion of the building in the process. Afterwards, Giovanni escaped with a helicopter, leaving before the police could arrive. It was also mentioned that the development of Master Ball was put on hold for a while due to this incident.
Pokémon Generations
A photograph of Silph Co. appeared inThe Chase, where anInternational Police agent informedLooker about Team Rocket's failed attempt to take over the building while giving him a report about their attempt to locate Giovanni.
Instead of an office building, the Silph Co. in Pokémon Adventures appears to be more like a typical villain base, having multiple traps and specifically designed rooms set up in case of intruders.
Silph Co. first appeared inHoly Moltres, whereTeam Rocket was shown keeping their base inside the building and having managed to capture the threelegendary birds. Later it was revealed that Team Rocket was keeping the kidnapped people ofPallet Town at the building, promptingRed andBlue to break into the Team Rocket-infested Saffron City and storm the Silph Co. building.Green also entered the building, although with much more selfish motives.
Inside the Silph Co. building, Red, Blue, and Green were confronted by Team Rocket's commanders: the evilGym LeadersLt. Surge,Koga, andSabrina. During the conflict, the legendary birds were accidentallyfused together by Green's use of the "Badge Energy Amplifier", a device that increases the energy produced byGym Badges. With their combined efforts, the three Pallet Town Trainers managed to defeat the fusion Pokémon and de-fuse it, allowing the legendary birds to escape. The building collapsed in the ensuing chaos, bringing Team Rocket's plans to an end.
Silph Co. appeared inPZ07, whereSatoshi infiltrated the building to defeat Team Rocket. He soon encounteredSabrina, who also wanted to defeat Team Rocket, and atalkingLapras owned by the company. Satoshi and Sabrina decided to team up against Team Rocket, and used Sabrina's teleportation powers to reach the top floor, where Giovanni was keeping Silph Co.'s president hostage. After defeating Giovanni with Lapras's help, Satoshi obtained theMaster Ball from Silph Co.'s president and theMarsh Badge from Sabrina, while Lapras ended up joining histeam.
In the magazines
Article about the Master Ball (Pokémon Power magazine)
Pokémon Power
InPokémon Power (issue 2, page 3), it is said thatProfessor Oak invented theMaster Ball and licensed its design to Silph Co., and this company's early field tests were said to be promising.
Trivia
Although a logo for the company was not introduced in-game untilGeneration IV, several possible logos have been seen in previous games. One appeared in early artwork of theSilph Scope on the front of the device, another appeared on the side of the Silph Co. building inSuper Smash Bros., and a third appeared on the originalPokégear artwork as a stylized "S".
InGeneration I games, if the player uses theTown Map inside Silph Co., the current place shown by default depends on where the player is:
"Saffron City" if the player is on the first floor (except the elevator).
"Silph Co." if the player is on any floor other than the first, or in the elevator.
InPokémon Red, Green, andBlue, the elevator on 11F has a bug that causes the player to be layered on its doors upon leaving it. Another quirk occurs as result, which disables the elevator mat's left panel if the player enters the elevator without being on the doors and does not move from that panel afterwards, thus preventing them from exiting without specifically using the mat's right panel. Both these issues were fixed inPokémon Yellow.
In the internal data ofGeneration II games, Silph Co. is found in the list of place names, but this is not referenced in normal gameplay. When the player is inside Silph Co., thePokégear map displays the current location asSaffron City. InPokémon Crystal, if anEgg hatches inside Silph Co., thePokémon caught data is also recorded as Saffron City (inPokémon Gold and Silver, caught data is not recorded for any Pokémon).
During the Team Rocket takeover, one of the Scientists the player battles reveals that he works for Silph and Team Rocket, making him a double-crosser.
The company logo introduced in Generation IV can be seen on theNormal Uniform inPokémon Sword and Shield as that type's sponsor. However, the logo does not appear inPoké Jobs or in the list of companies in the credits.
Name origin
Silph Co.'s name is a corruption ofsylph, a mythological creature.
In Japanese, the company is named シルフshirufu, which is Japanese for "sylph". However, it has been officially romanized as "Silph", "Silf", and "Sylph".
