TheViridian Gym (Japanese:トキワジムTokiwa Gym) is the officialGym ofViridian City. During the events ofGenerationsI,III, andVII, it is based onGround-typePokémon and theGym Leader isGiovanni, the boss ofTeam Rocket. After Team Rocket is disbanded at the end of Generations I, III, and VII,Blue takes over as the Leader during GenerationsII,IV, and VII; under his direction, the Gym no longer concentrates on any particulartype. In Generation VII, Blue takes over the Gym immediately after Giovanni leaves it,rematching the player in his place during the post-game.Trainers who earn a win at the Viridian Gym receive theEarth Badge.
In theanimated series,Agatha of theElite Four serves as a temporary Gym Leader here followingGiovanni's abdication of the position to focus on leading Team Rocket.
Viridian City Pokémon Gym Leader: ... The rest of the text is illegible...
Viridian City Pokémon Gym
Viridian City Pokémon Gym Leader: ... The rest of the text is illegible...
Viridian Gym appears in all games set in theKanto region. In GenerationsI,III, andVII, when the player first reaches the Gym, it is locked due to the absence of the Gym Leader. With this acknowledged, the player journeys off to other Gyms to challenge them. Once the player has collected the other sevenGym Badges, the Viridian Gym reopens. InPokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, theGym guide declares that earning seven Badges is the prerequisite for entering the Gym, effectively meaning that the Viridian Gym, unlike most other Kanto Gyms in Generation VII, has no additional prerequisites required for entering.
In GenerationsII,IV, and VII,Blue takes over the Gym. In Generation II, the Gym can be challenged as soon as Blue is spoken to onCinnabar Island. In Generation IV, however, Blue will stay on Cinnabar Island and will not return to his Gym until the player speaks to him after obtaining the other seven Kanto Gym Badges. In Generation VII, Blue can be challenged to a Gym Leaderrematch at the Gym during the post-game in place of Giovanni.
Inside the Gym, the floor uses the sametransporting tiles as are used in theTeam Rocket Hideout. The player must use these tiles to navigate through the Gym to reach the Gym Leader. In Generation II, the Gym is completely remodeled and the tiles are gone; in Generation IV, the tiles are put back up, now covering almost the entire floor of the Gym.
Trainers with a telephone symbol by their names will give theirPokégear number to the player, and may call or be called for a rematch with higher-level Pokémon.
The Viridian Gym was originally led byGiovanni, as it was inGeneration I. The Gym featuredancient Roman architecture, stately pillars, and an old mural. A predominant brownish color scheme was used to represent the Gym's affiliation with theGround type. Owing to this, there were also guards resembling ancient Roman soldiers posted outside.
The Viridian Gym debuted inThe Battle of the Badge. BeforeAsh could challenge the Gym, however,Gary appeared, taunting him with his ten Badges and insisting on challenging the Viridian Gym for fun. Gary faced Giovanni, though his confidence quickly eroded after Giovanni brought outMewtwo, who defeated each of Gary's Pokémon with ease, even when Giovanni allowed him to use more than one Pokémon at a time.
Ash challenged the Gym soon after. However, unbeknownst to him, Giovanni had unmentioned business to attend to, and thus he left the Gym in the care ofJessie,James, andMeowth, giving them several Pokémon to use against any possible challengers. At first, Ash had a hard time beating them, as the trio had rigged the Trainer platforms to shock anyone whose Pokémon tookdamage. Eventually, Ash overcame the borrowed Pokémon's power and defeated all of them, causingTeam Rocket to completely ignore the Gym rules and send out theirArbok andWeezing. Despite this, even the two additional Pokémon were quickly taken down. WhenTogepi started playing with Meowth's remote control, it inadvertently caused the Trainer platforms to explode and send Team Rocket blasting off again. They dropped anEarth Badge in their wake, allowing Ash to get his eighth Badge. Ash,Misty,Brock, Gary, andGary's cheerleaders then ran out of the Gym, which proceeded to collapse into ruins due to the explosion.
The Gym briefly reappeared inMewtwo Strikes Back and its remakeMewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution, depicting several instances of Giovanni using Mewtwo to defeat his challengers, including Gary in the aforementioned battle.
The rebuilt Viridian Gym appeared when Ash returned toKanto fromHoenn inThe Scheme Team, where it was revealed thatAgatha of theElite Four was serving as the temporary Gym Leader until the official new Leader would arrive. Ash challenged her to anexhibition match, but lost. This was also the place where Ash first metScott, who told him about theBattle Frontier. During its second appearance, the Gym sported a new, lighter color scheme.
Giovanni abdicating his position as Gym Leader is similar to the case in the Generation I games; however, in the animated series, he is still in charge ofTeam Rocket, while he also disbands the team in the games.
Giovanni held control of thisMewtwo created byhis scientists for some time, until it learned that Giovanni had meant its purpose to be fighting for him, and escaped.
While controlling Mewtwo, Giovanni used its overwhelmingPsychic powers to capture new Pokémon for Team Rocket and in his Gym battles, where it defeated all of his challengers effortlessly. When Mewtwo discovered Giovanni's real intentions for it, it broke out of its bonds and escaped.
Golem was the first Pokémon that Giovanni used in his Gym battle withGary, sending it against Gary'sNidoking. The Megaton Pokémon was easily defeated. It was later seen in its cage while Giovanni went to see Mewtwo.
Giovanni used hisKingler in his Gym battle with Gary, sending it to battle against Gary's Nidoking. Gary, however, quickly withdraws his Pokémon and calls outArcanine. Despite having a type advantage, Kingler proved to be no match for the Legendary Pokémon, and was finally taken out byArcanine'sFire Blast.
Kingler was also later loaned toJessie for Ash's Gym battle. She used it to battle againstBulbasaur, but lost, although not before dealing heavy damage to Bulbasaur with its Bubble attack, and by consequence, Ash experienced its pain.
Kingler was seen again in a flashback to Ash's Viridian Gym battle inBad To The Bone.
Giovanni loaned hisMachamp to Jessie for her Gym battle against Ash. It battled againstAsh's Squirtle, but lost, although not before dealing heavy damage to Squirtle with its Karate Chop attack, and by consequence, Ash experienced its pain.
Gengar is Agatha's main Pokémon which she used in battle againstAsh's Pikachu.
Pokémon Origins
The Viridian Gym inPokémon OriginsThe Viridian Gym battlefield in Pokémon Origins
The Viridian Gym was featured inFile 3: Giovanni. OnceRed arrived in Viridian City in order to challenge the Gym, he encounteredBlue, who was revealed to have defeated the newly returned Gym Leader just the day before.
Once Red entered the Gym, he right away noticed the different atmosphere it had compared to the other Gyms he had previously visited. The reason for this was revealed soon enough, as Red then found out that the Gym Leader was none other than the Team Rocket Boss, Giovanni. Red refused to believe that a man who treated Pokémon as tools for business, like Giovanni, could be the strongest Gym Leader of all. Giovanni, however, ignored this, simply stating that he didn't need his acceptance to make it true. As he asked whether Red wanted to battle him or not, Red replied that hewas challenging him, but not as a Gym Leader, but as the enemy of all Pokémon. Seeing Red's arrogant attitude, Giovanni put away his usual Gym Leaderteam and took out twoUltra Balls, containing his strongest Pokémon. The first one was Rhyhorn, which, surprisingly, was able to defeat four of Red's Pokémon, despite two of them (Victreebel andKabutops) having a tremendoustype advantage over it.
Eventually, Red'sHitmonlee was able to tie with the Spikes Pokémon, leaving both Trainers with one Pokémon remaining. Knowing that Red was going to use hisCharizard, Giovanni revealed his other Pokémon being Rhydon, and said that Red made a mistake by saving Charizard as his last Pokémon. Red, however, told that he had intended it to be so right from the start, wanting to give the whole match a meaning by winning it with his Charizard. At first, Giovanni intended to crush Red's pride along with his Charizard, but when he sent out hisfirst partner Pokémon, Giovanni realized that the pose that he had taken and the way he threw hisPoké Ball reminded him of his childhood, when he had also battled just for fun and excitement. After a climactic clash between Charizard and Rhydon, which ended with Charizard defeating the Drill Pokémon withSeismic Toss, Giovanni was ready to give the Earth Badge as a sign of his defeat, but Red refused to take a Badge from the Boss of Team Rocket. With his childhood passion for battling revitalized, Giovanni told hisminions that Team Rocket was now disbanded, before turning back to Red and presenting the Earth Badge to him as the Viridian Gym Leader instead of as the Boss of Team Rocket.
Once Red left the Gym and headed for thePokémon League, Giovanni decided that it was time for him to find a new path for himself andhis Pokémon, indicating that, much like in the games, he was going to leave the Gym and train on his own.
Rhyhorn was the first Pokémon Giovanni used in his Gym battle againstRed. It was able to defeat Red'sVictreebel,Kabutops,Snorlax, andJolteon, despite the former two having the type advantage. It finally drew with Red'sHitmonlee.
Rhydon was the second Pokémon Giovanni used in his Gym battle againstRed. It went up againstRed's Charizard and lost after a tough fight, taken down by Charizard'sSeismic Toss.
The Viridian Gym inPokémon GenerationsThe Viridian Gym battlefield in Pokémon Generations
The Viridian Gym made an appearance inThe Chase. While searching for Giovanni, theInternational Police managed to track his location down to the Viridian Gym. A squadron of International PoliceSWAT officers led byLooker subsequently raided the Gym in order to catch Giovanni, but came to find out that the Gym was empty, although signs of a recent battle were visible on the battlefield.
During a follow-up investigation, the International Police was surprised to discover that Giovanni was the Viridian Gym Leader, and that he had vanished after losing totwoTrainers.
The Viridian Gym made a brief appearance inMake Way For Magmar!, where citizens of Viridian City were asking questions about the missing Gym Leader.
Red revisited the Gym fromDrat That Dratini! toLong Live the Nidoqueen?! after hearing rumors about the missing "invincible" Gym Leader. At the Gym, he metGiovanni, learning that not only was he the Viridian City Gym Leader, but also the leader ofTeam 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'sNidoking'sEarthquake caused the Gym to collapse into ruins. Eventually Red emerged victorious with hisPika defeating Giovanni'sNidoqueen and knocking the Gym Leader himself unconscious as well.
InForretress of Solitude, Red participated inPokémon 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 had received after being frozen byLorelei in theYellow arc. As such,Blue was appointed as the new Gym Leader instead, after he impressed the Pokémon Association by stopping andcapturing a group of rampagingwild Pokémon.
InSecrets from Sneasel,Yellow went to the Viridian Gym, looking for Blue, 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'sChuchu in a battle. SoonSilver arrived at the site as well, looking for his roots.
Giovanni'sCloyster was called out to take care of twoMagmar that were causing trouble afterRed did not finish them off. He froze them solid before brutally shattering them to take out. Later, he was seen again during the Gym battle against Red and used the same freezing strategy onPoli to defeat him when Red lost his cool and attacked the Rocket Boss vigorously.
None of Cloyster's moves are known and his Ability isShell Armor.
Nidoqueen first appeared in the Viridian Gym battle against Red. She was able to heavily damage Red'sSnor bycountering his attack and hurling him straight for the wall with little effort. However, at the climax of the battle, she was KO'd by Pika'sThunderbolt* and lost the battle.
Giovanni switched out Nidoqueen for hisGolem. Golem was a very fast Pokémon as he was able to easily outmatch Red. He was crumbled by Snor'sHeadbutt before knocking himself out with Explosion.
Beedrill is one of Giovanni's main Pokémon. He caught him when he was aWeedle at Viridian Forest while he was a young Pokémon Trainer. Since then, Giovanni has used Beedrill as a reliable partner in many situations as a boss of Team Rocket. He notes that while he prefers to use Pokémon of his specialty type, his origins have given him a profound significance in his heart.
Beedrill debuted during Giovanni's battle withRed, where he ended up being knocked out byAero'sHyper Beam. He later appeared when Giovanni came to helpYellow in the battle againstLance at theCerise Island, where Giovanni used him to burst the giant bubble which Lance had been using to protect himself and his Pokémon.
Nidoking was one of the Pokémon used in the Viridian Gym battle but did not officially participate. Later, he was used to destroy the Gym with an Earthquake. Many years afterwards, Giovanni observed a site where Deoxys rampaged and left a gang of bikers in ruins. When one of them begged Giovanni to save his life, he promptly swatted him away, and then used Nidoking's Rock Tomb to incapacitate him and hisMagmar.
Rhyhorn was one of the Pokémon used in the Gym battle against Red. He was very powerful as he was able to knock out Red's Aero in a single hit. During the Yellow arc, Giovanni used him to battle Lance in Cerise Island but got knocked out byDragonair'sHyper Beam.
Rhydon was seen in the Gym battle with Giovanni's other Pokémon. However, as he was only seen trying to trapRed into a fissure, little is known about him.
Pidgeot is one of Blue's original main team members. He was used to send letters to Professor Oak when they cut off communication after Blue's battle with Agatha. He was later replaced by Rhydon. He has a Hardy nature. As ofThe Last Battle XIV, Pidgeot is at level 76.
Blue and Red caught thisNinetales together, but Blue succeeded in claiming him. He has also used Ninetales later against Red in the Pokémon League and againstAgatha's Gengar atCerise Island. He has a Modest nature. As ofThe Last Battle XIV, Ninetales is at level 68.
Alakazam's only known move isRole Play and his Ability isInner Focus. None of Exeggutor's moves are known, and his Ability isChlorophyll. None of Arcanine's moves are known and his Ability isIntimidate.
The Viridian Gym appeared inPZ09, where Satoshi entered the Gym and was surprised to find out that Giovanni was the Gym Leader. First Satoshi used hisLapras against Giovanni'sRhydon, but itsHydro Pump wasn't enough, so Satoshi switched out for hisCharizard, who was able to beat Rhydon, ending the battle. Giovanni then revealed that he had once been trapped in a landslide and hisNidoking had seemingly abandoned him, making him a bitter person.Mr. Fuji, however, appeared and brought Giovanni his Nidoking's horn as a proof that his Pokémon had left to seek help, but died of his own injuries. Giovanni proceeded to reward Satoshi with anEarth Badge and promised to stay out of his way from now on.
The following is a list of cards mentioning or featuring Viridian City Gym in thePokémon Trading Card Game.
Pokémon in Viridian Gym Cards listed with ablue background are only legal to use in the currentExpanded format. Cards listed with agreen background are legal to use in both the currentStandard andExpanded formats.
Although theGym guide inGenerations I andIII seems to be unaware of the Gym Leader's identity until the player defeats Giovanni, in Generation I, the statues near the Gym's entrance still list Giovanni as the Leader of the Gym. This oversight was removed inPokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, where the Gym Leader's name is only visible on the statues once Giovanni has been defeated.
The Viridian Gym is the only officialGym with non-hiddenitems that can be picked up from the floor.
Under Blue's leadership, it is also the only official Gym to not focus on any particular type.
In theanimated series,Agatha's temporary position as Leader of the Viridian Gym, replacingGiovanni, may be areference to the games, in which Giovanni quitTeam Rocket and his status as Gym Leader after being defeated byRed.
In Generation II, it is possible to challenge Blue before beating any other Kanto Gym Leader by talking to him onCinnabar Island. InPokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, Blue can only be challenged when the player has seven Badges from Kanto.
The two leaders of the Viridian Gym are coincidentally also the two Trainers that the player must defeat multiple times inRed and Blue.
InHeartGold and SoulSilver, the exterior coloring of each Gym is based on the colors most associated with thetype that the Gym specializes in. Viridian Gym, however, is both green and blue, possibly referring to its Gym Leader's name.
Blue'slevel 60Pidgeot in HeartGold and SoulSilver is the highest-level Pokémon fought at any Gym outside ofrematches.
InPokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, the player can find a bottle message atUla'ula Beach, which they can deliver toRising Star Kainoa atMalie City's Outer Cape. He will tell the player that the message is from a friend of his named Arabella, who works as a Gym Trainer in Kanto. This is areference toAce Trainer Arabella, who can be battled at the Viridian Gym in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver.
The Viridian Gym was the first Gym to change its Leader mid-game.
The Viridian Gym, as it appears in the animated series, made a cameo in aPokémon GO loading screen from October 2 to December 16, 2019, which featured Giovanni observing the player battling theTeam GO Rocket Leaders and theirShadow Pokémon.
Conceptual art forPokémon Red and Green suggests that the Viridian Gym was going to be the first Gym to be fought, and that a different character would have acted as its Gym Leader.[1]
