Vermilion Gym

Vermilion Gym クチバジム Kuchiba Gym
Location	Vermilion City
Gym Leader	Lt. Surge
Badge	Thunder Badge
Dominant Type	Electric
Region	Kanto
Battlefield

The Vermilion Gym (Japanese: クチバジム Kuchiba Gym) is the official Gym of Vermilion City. It is based on Electric-type Pokémon. The Gym Leader is Lt. Surge. Trainers who defeat him receive the Thunder Badge.

In the games

Vermilion City
Pokémon Gym
Leader: Lt. Surge
The Lightning American!

Vermilion City
Pokémon Gym
Leader: Lt. Surge
The Lightning
American

Vermilion City Pokémon Gym
Leader: Lt. Surge
The Lightning American

Vermilion City Pokémon Gym
Leader: Lt. Surge
The Lightning American

In all games where HMs are present, either Cut or Surf is required to access the Vermilion Gym, while in Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, the Secret Technique Chop Down is required instead; the player cannot use Sea Skim due to the barriers erected around the Gym's exterior. Because the tree blocking Vermilion Gym existed in previous Kanto games, there are no additional prerequisites for challenging the Gym in Generation VII, like there is in Pewter or Cerulean's Gyms.

Vermilion Gym appears in all games set in the Kanto region, appearing much the same in each: the main room is filled with 15 trash cans, and Trainers are scattered about this room. Beyond this room is another, guarded by electric doors in Generation I, and an electric fence in Generation III and Generation IV. The only way to get in the final room, where Lt. Surge is located, is to find two hidden switches underneath the trash cans. If the first switch is found, but the player incorrectly guesses the second one, the traps reset. In Generations III and IV, the second switch is always located next to the first. In Generation VII, the switches are always located in the centermost trash can and the can directly north of it. In Generation II, these traps are not turned on.

A field based on the Gym also appears in Pokémon Stadium's Gym Leader Castle and Stadium 2's Kanto Gym Leader Castle.

Appearance

Generation I Generation II Generation III Generation IV

Trainers

Core series

Pokémon Red and Blue

Trainer	Pokémon
Sailor Reward: $630	Pikachu Lv.21 No item
	Pikachu Lv.21 No item
Rocker Reward: $500	Voltorb Lv.20 No item
	Magnemite Lv.20 No item
	Voltorb Lv.20 No item
Gentleman Reward: $1610	Pikachu Lv.23 No item

Lt. Surge Vermilion Gym Red, Green, and Blue Reward: $2376

Type: Electric Unknown Voltorb Lv.21 Tackle Normal   --       Screech Normal   --       SonicBoom Normal   --       Struggle Normal   --       Type: Electric Unknown Pikachu Lv.18 ThunderShock Electric   --       Growl Normal   --       Thunder Wave Electric   --       Quick Attack Normal   --       Type: Electric Unknown Raichu Lv.24 ThunderShock Electric   --       Growl Normal   --       Thunderbolt Electric   --       Struggle Normal   --

Pokémon Yellow

Trainer	Pokémon
Sailor Reward: $720	Magnemite Lv.24 No item
Rocker Reward: $500	Voltorb Lv.20 No item
	Voltorb Lv.20 No item
	Voltorb Lv.20 No item
Gentleman Reward: $1540	Voltorb Lv.22 No item
	Magnemite Lv.22 No item

Lt. Surge Vermilion Gym Yellow Reward: $2772
Type: Electric Unknown Raichu Lv.28 Thunderbolt Electric   --       Mega Punch Normal   --       Mega Kick Normal   --       Growl Normal   --

Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal

Trainer	Pokémon
Juggler Horton ジョナサン Jonathan Reward: $1320	Electrode Lv.33 No item
	Electrode Lv.33 No item
	Electrode Lv.33 No item
	Electrode Lv.33 No item
Guitarist Vincent ジュンイチ Jun'ichi Reward: $1024	Magnemite Lv.27 No item
	Voltorb Lv.33 No item
	Magnemite Lv.32 No item
	Magnemite Lv.32 No item
Gentleman Gregory アンソニー Anthony Reward: $2376	Pikachu♂ Lv.37 No item
	Flaaffy♂ Lv.33 No item
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.

Leader Lt. Surge Vermilion Gym Gold, Silver, and Crystal Reward: $4600

Type: Electric Unknown Held item: None Raichu♂ Lv.44 Thunderbolt Electric   --       Thunder Electric   --       Thunder Wave Electric   --       Quick Attack Normal   --       Types: Electric Steel Held item: None Magneton Lv.40 Zap Cannon Electric   --       Lock-On Normal   --       Double Team Normal   --       Swift Normal   --       Type: Electric Unknown Held item: None Electrode Lv.40 Screech Normal   --       Double Team Normal   --       Swift Normal   --       Explosion Normal   --       Type: Electric Unknown Held item: None Electrode Lv.40 Screech Normal   --       Double Team Normal   --       Swift Normal   --       Explosion Normal   --       Type: Electric Unknown Held item: None Electabuzz♂ Lv.46 ThunderPunch Electric   --       Thunder Electric   --       Light Screen Psychic   --       Quick Attack Normal   --

Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen

Trainer	Pokémon
Sailor Dwayne タツヒコ Tatsuhiko Reward: $672	Pikachu♂ Lv.21 No item
	Pikachu♂ Lv.21 No item
Engineer Baily フミオ Fumio Reward: $1008	Voltorb Lv.21 No item
	Magnemite Lv.21 No item
Gentleman Tucker オルソン Olson Reward: $1656	Pikachu♂ Lv.23 No item
Trainers with a Vs. Seeker by their names, when alerted for a rematch using the item, may use higher-level Pokémon.

Leader Lt. Surge Vermilion Gym FireRed and LeafGreen Reward: $2400

Type: Electric Unknown Ability: Soundproof Held item: None Voltorb Lv.21 Shock Wave Electric   --       Tackle Normal   --       Screech Normal   --       SonicBoom Normal   --       Type: Electric Unknown Ability: Static Held item: None Pikachu♂ Lv.18 Shock Wave Electric   --       Thunder Wave Electric   --       Quick Attack Normal   --       Double Team Normal   --       Type: Electric Unknown Ability: Static Held item: None Raichu♂ Lv.24 Shock Wave Electric   --       Thunder Wave Electric   --       Quick Attack Normal   --       Double Team Normal   --

Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver

Trainer	Pokémon
Juggler Horton ジョナサン Jonathan Reward: $1376 Potential Double Battle with Vincent	Electrode Lv.43 No item
	Electrode Lv.43 No item
	Electrode Lv.43 No item
Guitarist Vincent ジュンイチ Jun'ichi Reward: $1008 Potential Double Battle with Horton or Gregory	Jolteon♂ Lv.45 No item
	Voltorb Lv.43 No item
	Magnemite Lv.42 No item
Gentleman Gregory アンソニー Anthony Reward: $8400 Potential Double Battle with Vincent	Pikachu♂ Lv.46 No item
	Flaaffy♂ Lv.43 No item
	Electrike♂ Lv.42 No item
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.

Leader Lt. Surge Vermilion Gym HeartGold and SoulSilver Reward: $6360

Type: Electric Unknown Ability: Static Held item: None Raichu♂ Lv.51 Thunder Wave Electric Status   --       Shock Wave Electric Special   --       Quick Attack Normal Physical   --       Double Team Normal Status   --       Type: Electric Unknown Ability: Static Held item: None Electrode Lv.47 Thunder Wave Electric Status   --       Double Team Normal Status   --       Shock Wave Electric Special   --       Light Screen Psychic Status   --       Type: Electric Unknown Ability: Static Held item: None Electrode Lv.47 Screech Normal Status   --       Double Team Normal Status   --       Selfdestruct Normal Physical   --       Charge Beam Electric Special   --       Types: Electric Steel Ability: Sturdy Held item: None Magneton Lv.47 Supersonic Normal Status   --       Double Team Normal Status   --       Shock Wave Electric Special   --       Mirror Shot Steel Special   --       Type: Electric Unknown Ability: Static Held item: Sitrus Berry Electabuzz♂ Lv.53 Quick Attack Normal Physical   --       Shock Wave Electric Special   --       Light Screen Psychic Status   --       Low Kick Fighting Physical   --

Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!

Trainer	Pokémon
Sailor Dwayne タツヒコ Tatsuhiko Reward: $1,320	Magnemite Lv.22 No item
Rocker Baily フミオ Fumio Reward: $616	Voltorb Lv.22 No item
	Voltorb Lv.22 No item
Gentleman Tucker オルソン Olson Reward: $2,640	Pikachu♂ Lv.22 No item

Gym Leader Lt. Surge Vermilion Gym Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! Reward: $4,160

Type: Electric Unknown Ability: No Ability Held item: None Voltorb Lv.25 Thunderbolt Electric Special   --       Swift Normal Special   --       Light Screen Psychic Status   --       Curse Unknown Status   --       Types: Electric Steel Ability: No Ability Held item: None Magnemite Lv.25 Thunderbolt Electric Special   --       Sonic Boom Normal Special   --       Curse Unknown Status   --       Curse Unknown Status   --       Type: Electric Unknown Ability: No Ability Held item: None Raichu♂ Lv.26 Thunderbolt Electric Special   --       Quick Attack Normal Physical   --       Double Kick Fighting Physical   --       Curse Unknown Status   --

Rematch

Gym Leader Lt. Surge Vermilion Gym Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! Reward: $13,680

Type: Electric Unknown Ability: No Ability Held item: None Electrode Lv.56 Mirror Coat Psychic Status   --       Explosion Normal Physical   --       Thunderbolt Electric Special   --       Foul Play Dark Physical   --       Type: Electric Unknown Ability: No Ability Held item: None Jolteon♀ Lv.56 Thunder Electric Special   --       Shadow Ball Ghost Special   --       Reflect Psychic Status   --       Quick Attack Normal Physical   --       Type: Electric Unknown Ability: No Ability Held item: None Electabuzz♂ Lv.56 Thunder Punch Electric Physical   --       Ice Punch Ice Physical   --       Fire Punch Fire Physical   --       Brick Break Fighting Physical   --       Types: Electric Steel Ability: No Ability Held item: None Magneton Lv.56 Thunder Electric Special   --       Flash Cannon Steel Special   --       Tri Attack Normal Special   --       Hyper Beam Normal Special   --       Type: Electric Unknown Ability: No Ability Held item: None Raichu♂ Lv.57 Thunder Punch Electric Physical   --       Iron Tail Steel Physical   --       Brick Break Fighting Physical   --       Quick Attack Normal Physical   --

Side series

Pokémon Stadium

Round 1

Trainer	Pokémon
Sailor Reward: $N/A	Machop Lv.50-100 No item
	Spearow Lv.50-100 No item
	Krabby Lv.50-100 No item
	Slowpoke Lv.50-100 No item
	Shellder Lv.50-100 No item
	Golduck Lv.50-100 No item
Rocker Reward: $N/A	Porygon Lv.50-100 No item
	Voltorb Lv.50-100 No item
	Electrode Lv.50-100 No item
	Pikachu Lv.50-100 No item
	Electabuzz Lv.50-100 No item
	Magnemite Lv.50-100 No item
Old Man Reward: $N/A	Growlithe Lv.50-100 No item
	Nidoran♂ Lv.50-100 No item
	Nidoran♀ Lv.50-100 No item
	Ponyta Lv.50-100 No item
	Charmeleon Lv.50-100 No item
	Charmander Lv.50-100 No item

Surge Gym Leader Castle Stadium Reward: N/A

Type: Electric Unknown Raichu Lv.50-100 Thunder Electric   --       Surf Water   --       Body Slam Normal   --       Thunder Wave Electric   --       Type: Electric Unknown Voltorb Lv.50-100 Thunder Electric   --       Explosion Normal   --       SonicBoom Normal   --       Thunder Wave Electric   --       Type: Electric Unknown Electrode Lv.50-100 SonicBoom Normal   --       Selfdestruct Normal   --       Swift Normal   --       Thunder Electric   --       Type: Electric Unknown Pikachu Lv.50-100 Seismic Toss Fighting   --       Agility Psychic   --       Double Team Normal   --       Surf Water   --       Type: Electric Unknown Magnemite Lv.50-100 Supersonic Normal   --       Bide Normal   --       Thunderbolt Electric   --       Thunder Electric   --       Type: Electric Unknown Magneton Lv.50-100 Thunderbolt Electric   --       Take Down Normal   --       Reflect Psychic   --       Hyper Beam Normal   --

Round 2

Trainer	Pokémon
Sailor Reward: $N/A	Machoke Lv.50-100 No item
	Fearow Lv.50-100 No item
	Kingler Lv.50-100 No item
	Slowbro Lv.50-100 No item
	Primeape Lv.50-100 No item
	Golduck Lv.50-100 No item
Rocker Reward: $N/A	Porygon Lv.50-100 No item
	Golbat Lv.50-100 No item
	Electrode Lv.50-100 No item
	Raichu Lv.50-100 No item
	Kangaskhan Lv.50-100 No item
	Magneton Lv.50-100 No item
Old Man Reward: $N/A	Parasect Lv.50-100 No item
	Arcanine Lv.50-100 No item
	Victreebel Lv.50-100 No item
	Persian Lv.50-100 No item
	Charmeleon Lv.50-100 No item
	Butterfree Lv.50-100 No item

Surge Gym Leader Castle Stadium Reward: N/A

Type: Electric Unknown Raichu Lv.50-100 Thunderbolt Electric   --       Surf Water   --       Body Slam Normal   --       Thunder Wave Electric   --       Type: Grass Unknown Tangela Lv.50-100 Mega Drain Grass   --       Sleep Powder Grass   --       Bind Normal   --       Body Slam Normal   --       Types: Water Fighting Poliwrath Lv.50-100 Amnesia Psychic   --       Ice Beam Ice   --       Psychic Psychic   --       Submission Fighting   --       Type: Normal Unknown Lickitung Lv.50-100 Seismic Toss Fighting   --       Earthquake Ground   --       Thunderbolt Electric   --       Double-Edge Normal   --       Type: Electric Unknown Electabuzz Lv.50-100 Toxic Poison   --       ThunderPunch Electric   --       Seismic Toss Fighting   --       Psychic Psychic   --       Type: Electric Unknown Electrode Lv.50-100 SonicBoom Normal   --       Explosion Normal   --       Swift Normal   --       Thunder Electric   --

Pokémon Stadium 2

Round 1

Gym Leader Lt. Surge Kanto Gym Leader Castle Stadium 2 Reward: N/A

Type: Electric Unknown Held item: MiracleBerry Raichu♂ Lv.50-100 Thunderbolt Electric   --       Thunder Wave Electric   --       Seismic Toss Fighting   --       Surf Water   --       Types: Water Electric Held item: Scope Lens Lanturn♀ Lv.50-100 Surf Water   --       Take Down Normal   --       Spark Electric   --       Thunder Wave Electric   --       Type: Electric Unknown Held item: Quick Claw Electabuzz♂ Lv.50-100 Thunderbolt Electric   --       Psychic Psychic   --       Strength Normal   --       Ice Punch Ice   --       Type: Electric Unknown Held item: King's Rock Electrode Lv.50-100 Thunder Electric   --       Rollout Rock   --       Mirror Coat Psychic   --       Explosion Normal   --       Type: Normal Unknown Held item: PRZCureBerry Porygon Lv.50-100 Psybeam Psychic   --       Conversion Normal   --       Tri Attack Normal   --       Hidden Power Ice   --       Types: Electric Steel Held item: Focus Band Magneton Lv.50-100 Thunder Electric   --       Thunder Wave Electric   --       SonicBoom Normal   --       Sleep Talk Normal   --

Round 2

Gym Leader Lt. Surge Kanto Gym Leader Castle Stadium 2 Reward: N/A

Type: Electric Unknown Held item: Focus Band Raichu♂ Lv.50-100 Surf Water   --       Reversal Fighting   --       Thunderbolt Electric   --       Thunder Wave Electric   --       Types: Grass Poison Held item: MiracleBerry Victreebel♀ Lv.50-100 Body Slam Normal   --       Razor Leaf Grass   --       Stun Spore Grass   --       Sludge Bomb Poison   --       Type: Normal Unknown Held item: Quick Claw Porygon2 Lv.50-100 Psychic Psychic   --       Blizzard Ice   --       Tri Attack Normal   --       Conversion 2 Normal   --       Types: Water Ground Held item: BrightPowder Quagsire♀ Lv.50-100 Surf Water   --       Ice Beam Ice   --       Earthquake Ground   --       AncientPower Rock   --       Types: Normal Flying Held item: Scope Lens Dodrio♀ Lv.50-100 Pursuit Dark   --       Drill Peck Flying   --       Steel Wing Steel   --       Tri Attack Normal   --       Type: Electric Unknown Held item: King's Rock Jolteon♂ Lv.50-100 Roar Normal   --       Hidden Power Ice   --       Thunderbolt Electric   --       Thunder Wave Electric   --

Items

Item		Location	Games
	TM24 (Thunderbolt)	Reward for defeating Lt. Surge	R  B  Y
	TM34 (Shock Wave)	Reward for defeating Lt. Surge	FR  LG  HG  SS
	Autograph	Reward for defeating Lt. Surge	P  E
	TM36 (Thunderbolt)	Reward for defeating Lt. Surge	P  E

In the anime

In the main series

Vermilion Gym's only anime appearance was in Electric Shock Showdown. Its appearance is similar to a warehouse with lightning bolts painted on it, and the arena inside is a dimly-lit boxing ring. The battles are one on one. One significant difference from the games is that Lt. Surge was shown to have junior Trainers that are both male and female, and wearing military-style uniforms. In the games, his junior Trainers are all male, and none of them wear military-style uniforms.

Ash challenged Lt. Surge to a battle, hoping to acquire his third Badge. However, Surge just laughed when he saw Ash's Pikachu, claiming it could never beat his Raichu. Pikachu decided to prove Surge wrong, and went ahead in battling it. However, its evolved form proved to be much more powerful, and it easily defeated Pikachu.

After doing some training, Ash and Pikachu returned to the Gym. Surge once again felt that the battle was hopeless. What he didn't know was that in between the battles, Ash had taught Pikachu how to use Quick Attack and Agility. This gave Pikachu the advantage, allowing Ash to win the match. Afterwards, Surge gave Ash his Badge, conceding that Ash knew what he was doing.

Pokémon used in Gym

		Raichu
		Main article: Lt. Surge's Raichu Raichu made its appearance in Electric Shock Showdown, when Surge used it to battle Ash's Pikachu.
Debut	Electric Shock Showdown
Voice actors
Japanese	Urara Takano
English	Urara Takano

In Pokémon Origins

Vermilion Gym in Pokémon Origins

Red was seen visiting the Vermilion Gym in File 2: Cubone. He had a tough battle against the Gym Leader, Lt. Surge, but was able to pull through and earn the Thunder Badge.

Pokémon used in Gym

		Raichu
		Main article: Lt. Surge's Raichu Raichu was used in Red and Surge's Gym battle, but was defeated off-screen.
Debut	File 2: Cubone

In the manga

The Vermilion Gym in Pokémon Zensho

In the Pokémon Zensho manga

The Vermilion Gym appeared in Vermilion City, where Satoshi challenged Lt. Surge. The Gym battle was conducted between Satoshi's Charmeleon and Lt. Surge's Electabuzz. Even though Charmeleon was driven into a corner, it was able to use a piece of the barbed-wire fence surrounding the arena to tie Electabuzz up and then finish it off with a Fire-type attack. After the battle, Satoshi received a Thunder Badge from Lt. Surge and an HM01 (Cut) from the captain of the S.S. Anne, whom he had met earlier and was friends with Lt. Surge.

In the TCG

The Vermilion 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 Vermilion 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.
Card	Type	English Expansion	Rarity	#	Japanese Expansion	Rarity	#
Vermilion City Gym	T [St]	Gym Heroes		120/132	Leaders' Stadium

Trivia

• In Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, the Gym guide tells the player that the Gym's traps were temporarily out of order, but were recently repaired. This is a cross-generational reference to Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal, where this was true.
• In the English versions of Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, the Gym guide mistakenly refers to the Flying type as the Bird type. This is likely an oversight derived from his dialogue in the English versions of the Generation I games, where he instead refers to Flying-type Pokémon by describing them as "bird Pokémon"; in the Japanese versions of the Generation I games and FireRed and LeafGreen, he clearly mentions types and correctly identifies the Flying type as ひこうタイプ (the Bird type is とりタイプ in Japanese).
• As indicated by a Trainer's dialog, the second switch was apparently intended to always appear next to the first switch in Generation I as well. However, several bugs cause unintended behavior.
  • In Red and Blue:
    • Seven of the fifteen cans cannot contain the first switch.
    • The top-left can has a chance to contain the second switch, regardless of where the first switch was (a 50% chance if the can with the first switch has two or four neighboring cans, and a 25% chance if it has three).
    • If the can with the first switch has two or four neighboring cans, all but one of its neighbors can never contain the second switch.
    • Except for the top-left can, no switch that can contain a first switch can contain a second switch, and vice versa.
    • The can in the middle of the left row cannot contain any switch.
  • In Yellow:
    • Seven of the fifteen cans cannot contain the first switch.
    • Upon finding the first switch, any of the neighboring cans may contain the second switch (but not necessarily).
    • If the first switch was in the middle row, there is a >70% chance that the second switch is in the top-left can, and a ~2% chance that there is no second switch at all.
    • If the first switch was not in the middle row, the second switch is either in one of the neighboring cans, or in two neighboring cans at a time.
• In Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, the unofficial Kantonian Gym in Malie City is based on the Vermilion Gym. The novelty Badge received by defeating its Leader is also based on the Thunder Badge.

Gym Leaders of the Kanto region
Pewter Gym Brock	Cerulean Gym Misty	Vermilion Gym Lt. Surge	Celadon Gym Erika
Fuchsia Gym Koga Janine	Saffron Gym Sabrina	Cinnabar Gym Blaine	Viridian Gym Giovanni Blue

This article is part of Project Locations, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on every location in the Pokémon world.