The Cinnabar Gym is a high-tech affair featuring a series of sealed doors. Trivia questions about various Pokémon must be answered to unlock the doors. However, when the player fails to answer a trivia question correctly, a battle with either a Burglar or Super Nerd starts, which serves as an alternative to answering the questions. The questions are:
"Pokémon Quiz! Get it right and the door opens to the next room! Get it wrong and face a trainerRBY/TrainerFRLG! If you want to conserve your Pokémon for the Gym Leader... Then get it right! Here we go!
Even if the player answers the question right, he or she still has the option to challenge the Trainer.
In Generations II and IV, Blaine's original Gym on Cinnabar Island was destroyed by a volcanic eruption. This forced him to relocate to the Seafoam Islands. In Generation IV, the room increased in size, the area now has Trainers, and the floor designs is that of a small flame. The only way to get to Blaine is to talk and battle other Trainers so that they could move to a new position, opening a new path.
Trainers with a telephone symbol by their names will give their Pokégear number to the player, and may call or be called for a rematch with higher-level Pokémon.
The Cinnabar Gym has two sections in the anime. 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.
In Riddle Me This, Ash was trying to locate the Gym so he could challenge Blaine. He was told by a man who liked telling riddles that the Gym was abandoned when Cinnabar Island became a tourist trap. However, the man eventually told Ash that Blaine built another Gym, although he only hinted at its location via a riddle. When Ash and his friends went in after accidentally discovering the entrance, they learned that the riddler was actually Blaine in disguise.
Ash and Blaine battled, but Ash had a series of misfortunes. The first was his Squirtle being defeated by Blaine's Ninetales. Then, his Charizard refused to listen to him. Finally, Pikachu received severe burns caused by Blaine's Magmar and its powerful Fire Blast. Ash called off the battle, not wanting Pikachu to get injured.
In Volcanic Panic, after Team Rocket 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 Seismic Toss.
Pokémon used in Gym
Ninetales
Ninetales was Blaine's first Pokémon used in his battle with Ash. Despite its beautiful looks, Ninetales proved to be an incredibly powerful Pokémon, knocking out Ash's Squirtle with a single attack. Ninetales was recalled when Ash sent out his Charizard.
After Ash chose Charizard in his battle, Blaine countered it by choosing Rhydon. Charizard refused to fight the Ground-type Pokémon, so Rhydon went up against Pikachu in its place. Blaine doubted the Electric-type could defeat Rhydon, but Ash encouraged Pikachu to use Rhydon's horn as a conductor of electricity that eventually caused its defeat. This battle sparked a now well-known Internet meme in the Pokémon fandom, as Rhydon is usually immune to Electric-type attacks.
Magmar is Blaine's final Pokémon and his powerhouse. In the first battle, Magmar easily defeated Ash's Pikachu. After the battlefield was wrecked due to Team Rocket's influence, Magmar and Ash's Charizard ended up gaining a respect for each other and wanted to test their strengths against one another. This was done in Ash's rematch with Blaine on top of Cinnabar's volcano. However, despite Magmar's powerful attacks including Fire Blast, Charizard managed to come out on top.
The Gym reappeared in the Yellow arc, where Blaine was seen conducting his search for the missing Red. When Yellow arrived on Cinnabar Island in Putting It on the Line...Against Arcanine, he was led to the Gym by a disguised Blaine. They soon received emergency messages from various cities in Kanto, telling them that the Elite Four had launched their attack on the region. Both Blaine and Yellow soon departed for the Elite Four's base of actions on Cerise Island to start a counterattack.
The Gym appeared again in Double Down Deoxys, where Blaine was visited by Camper Evan and Super Nerd Miles while he was going through an old photo album, with one of the pictures featuring him together with Mr. Fuji in a jungle. Blaine told the two Trainers that he had started feeling pain in his right arm the day before, the same arm which once contained Mewtwo's cells. Blaine said that the sensation ment that Mewtwo was upset, and deduced that it must be because Mew was on its way from Faraway Island back to the Kanto mainland.
Cinnabar Gym in Pokémon Zensho
In the Pokémon Zensho manga
The Cinnabar Gym appeared in Cinnabar Island, where Satoshi entered the Gym. After a brief talk about the Pokémon Lab and Mewtwo, Satoshi and Blaine had a battle, which Satoshi won, earning him the Volcano Badge. As a result of the battle, Satoshi's Charmeleon evolved into Charizard.
In the TCG
The Cinnabar Gym was featured in the TCG as both a Japan exclusive Theme Deck and as a card. The following is a list of cards named Cinnabar City Gym.
Related cards Cards listed with a blue background are only legal to use in the current Expanded format. Cards listed with a green background are legal to use in both the current Standard and Expanded formats.
