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Blackthorn City
Revision as of 17:08, 30 August 2023 by FinnishPokéFan92(talk | contribs)(Cleanup. Also, I don't think Ice Path counts as a location for this city. It's just a location connecting to it.)
Blackthorn City is a large city with a fairly small population and two exits. To the north is the Ice Path, and to the south is Route 45, Johto's longest vertical area that connects to the southmost points of the region. In Generation IV, a river from Route 45 crosses over into Blackthorn itself. According to a resident in Blackthorn, most residents hailing from the city end up being Dragon-type specialists (such as Clair and Lance) perhaps due in-part to the Dragon's Den. Due to its overall location within Johto, Blackthorn is depicted as a mountainous region, with many ledges that the player can only traverse on their way down.
In Generation II, all of the houses in Blackthorn had distinct black rooves, including buildings such as the Gym and Pokémon Center. Grass only grows in the top half of the city, and it connected directly to Route 45 by a small path.
In Generation IV, the city appears completely different. The area now has uniquely designed houses with what appears to be straw rooves, although buildings such as the Gym and Pokémon Center now appear the same as the rest within the region. Its overall layout is far more jagged than in Gold and Silver, complete with new obstacles such as broken tree trunks and large pointed stones, a stark contrast to the smoother stones that are now littered throughout the area. Grass and flowers now grow all throughout the edges of the city, especially when closest to the water. Frost appears to creep in from the entrance to the Ice Path, which tints the grass a lighter green before transitioning into the darker color seen throughout Blackthorn. Both due to the further height elevation and accompanying river added in Generation IV, a wooden bridge now connects the city to Route 45.
The Blackthorn Gym is the official Gym of Blackthorn City. It specializes in Dragon-type Pokémon. The Gym Leader is Clair. Trainers who defeat her receive the Rising Badge. It will be closed prior to Team Rocket's defeat because Clair is training in the Dragon's Den. After being defeated, Clair is so outraged by her defeat that she refuses to hand over the Rising Badge, forcing the player to go to the Dragon's Den before the Badge can be acquired.
A clan of masters of Dragon-type Pokémon have lived in the city for generations. The masters built the Dragon's Den, a cavern with an underground lake that contains a shrine to Dragon Pokémon, as well as the elders of the Dragon clan. An Ace Trainer in the Pokémon Center claims that it's a special cave for Gym Leaders to train themselves. The entrance is located behind the Gym, across a small pond, while the main cavern seems to be located underneath the city itself. It is inaccessible before defeating Clair in the Blackthorn Gym, as it is blocked off by a man in front of the cave, and then it must be traversed to finally obtain the Rising Badge.
Santos can be found in the city on Saturdays. When the player encounters him for the first time, he'll give out a Spell TagGSC or Soft SandHGSS, and then a Snooze Ribbon all other times after the first encounter.HGSS
The Move Deleter can be found in a house to the left of the Poké Mart. For no charge, he will make a Pokémon forget a move it knows. The Move Deleter's service can be used to delete moves exclusive to Generation II, so that Pokémon can be traded to a Generation I game via the Time Capsule.
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.
Slogan
Generation II
A Quiet Mountain Retreat (Japanese, やまあいに たたずむ しずかな まちA quiet city standing among the mountains.)
Generation VI
A Quiet Mountain Retreat (Japanese, しずかな やまあいの まちThe town of quiet mountains.)
Trainer Tips
Generation II
TRAINER TIPS
A POKéMON holding
a MIRACLEBERRY
will cure itself
of any status
problem.
Generation IV
Trainer Tips
Wild Pokémon will appear regularly
if you don't run, but walk quietly in the
tall grass.
If your party Pokémon are
tired, it is better to avoid running,
and go straight to a Pokémon Center.
Following quotes
Blackthorn City has unique quotes when interacting with a walking Pokémon.
As early of 1997 during Gold and Silver's development, Blackthorn City did not exist, as the entire map did not resemble the final design for Johto at all.[2] Its earliest incarnation is dated October 6th, 1998 as part of the Pokémon Gold and Silver Source, where it appears significantly different. The map from this point development was left in the final release of Gold & Silver, as well as Crystal, as Map 2A:4C34.
From this (and the larger map of Johto from this time period) we know that the Ice Path was not in the games until far later in development, with an entrance to the city in the West from Route 44 and Mahogany City. Additionally, the Dragon's Den does not appear to be present, though the overall idea for a vertically-oriented map seems to have been planned for some time. It's possible that the tower on the rightmost side of the map was related to Clair's eventual challenge before plans were changed, as the Blackthorn Gym is still present, just at the south east of the map instead. Grass occupies the majority of the map layout unlike in the final, where it is relatively sparse compared to the dirt and rocks around the area, which are also missing in this build. Blackthorn's buildings also lack their unique roof designs at this time.
Map 2A:4C34 as found in the files of the final game
Iris visited Blackthorn City in BWS02. During her visit, she found out that a Gible had been causing damage on the town by chewing off bits of benches, fountains, and such. Later, after saving Gible from falling off of a clock tower, Iris found out that Gible had wound up into the city by accident, and offered to take it away. She then met Clair, and together they took Gible to Dragon Holy Land. After Iris's battle against Clair at the Blackthorn Gym, Gible appeared again, showing that it wanted to come with Iris. Accepting the offer, Iris then caught the Land Shark Pokémon with a Poké Ball.
In One Way or Another, Iris revealed that Blackthorn City, also known as the Village of Dragons, was her hometown. It was also where she had first met Drayden, who had brought her to the Unova region to train.
In the English versions of Pokémon Gold and Silver, if the Dratini in one of the houses is interacted with and the Coin Case is used immediately afterward, a glitch will be triggered. This causes the Coin Case's display to change to "Which move?he pp of" permanently, unless the game is rebooted without saving.
Blackthorn City is similar to that of Unova's Opelucid City in Pokémon Black and White, with the fact that both of these cities house the final Gym of their respective regions (which is Dragon-type in both cases) and are the tenth cities that the player encounters.
There is likely a missing word in the first line, and could have been meant to read as: "Wild Pokémon will appear less regularly if you don't run, but walk quietly in the tall grass."