- If you were looking for the chapter in Pokémon Zensho, see PZ08.
Cinnabar Island (Japanese: グレン島 Guren Island; グレンタウン Guren Town) is a large island located off the southern coast of the Kanto region, south of Pallet Town. It is home to a large volcano. Blaine was once the resident Gym Leader specializing in Fire-type Pokémon, but in the Johto-based games, Cinnabar Island had been ravaged by a volcanic eruption and Blaine has moved the Cinnabar Gym to the Seafoam Islands.
Terminology
English
In English media, this place is usually called Cinnabar Island, regardless of the Japanese dialogue calling it an "Island" or "Town". It is sometimes shortened to just Cinnabar. For instance:
- "I wasn't in the mood at Cinnabar, but now I'm ready to battle you." (Blue's quote)GSCHGSS
- "We'll be watching over Cinnabar, just waiting to see what will happen!" (Radio quote)HGSS
In the English manual of Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, this is named Cinnabar Town on the page about the Gym Leaders.
The related adjective is Cinnabarian, as seen when the "Cinnabarian Hamburger Steak" is mentioned in Pokémon X and Y.
In an early Pokémon the Series: The Beginning episode summary from Pokémon.com, Cinnabar Island was referred to as Glen Island in English, based on its Japanese name.[1]
Japanese
In Japanese media, Cinnabar Island has two distinct Japanese names—being referred to as both "Island" and "Town". In particular, the area name (as stored on the list of locations in the game data) is the one that appears when the player enters the location and which appears on the Pokémon's summary or is mentioned by the Poké SeerC if it was met in this location.
In the Generation I games, it is referred to as simply グレン (Guren) on the Town Map, just like other cities and towns.
GeographyPoints of interest
Volcano
There is a volcano on Cinnabar Island which gives it its name. In Generation I and III, no volcano is visible on the island, but in Generation VII, the volcano is on the western side, near the Cinnabar Lab and Pokémon Mansion.
In Generation II and IV, the volcano has erupted on the island, destroying everything with only the Pokémon Center being rebuilt. In these games, the player can actually see the volcano itself.
Cinnabar Gym
- Main article: Cinnabar Gym
The Cinnabar Gym is the official Gym of Cinnabar Island in Generations I, III, and VII. it is based on Fire-type Pokémon and the Gym Leader is Blaine. Trainers who defeat him receive the Volcano Badge. The player is unable to enter the Gym at once; only when they obtain the Secret Key from the Pokémon Mansion can they unlock the door to the Gym.
It was relocated to the Seafoam Islands following the volcanic eruption in Generation II and IV.
Pokémon Mansion
- Main article: Pokémon Mansion (Kanto)
The Pokémon Mansion is a decrepit, burned-down mansion on Cinnabar Island. It got its name because a famous Pokémon researcher once lived there. To access the Cinnabar Island Gym in Generations I, III, and VII, the player has to enter the mansion and find the Secret Key to unlock the door of the Gym. Many Burglars come to the mansion, trying to steal valuable items that may have been lost in the wreckage. Several journal entries can be found around the mansion, describing the discovery of Mew and the creation of Mewtwo.
It has been destroyed as a result of a volcanic eruption by the time of Generation II and Generation IV.
Cinnabar Lab
- Main article: Cinnabar Lab
The Cinnabar Lab, known as the Pokémon Lab prior to Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, is a laboratory located on Cinnabar Island. It was founded by Dr. Fuji and appears in the Generation I games and their remakes. In Generations I and III, the west room of the Cinnabar Lab has two people who will offer to trade Pokémon. In the east room, there is a scientist who will revive the Fossils the player has obtained. In Silph Co., there is a Pokémon Report stating that Cinnabar Lab created Porygon.
It has been destroyed as a result of a volcanic eruption by the time of Generation II and Generation IV.
Blue
- Main article: Blue (game)
In Generation II and IV, Blue can be found near the Volcano on Cinnabar Island. After taking the position of the Viridian City Gym from Giovanni following the events of Generation I and III, he will return to the Gym after being spoken to here. In Generation IV, he will only return to the Viridian Gym after the player has the other seven Gym Badges from Kanto.
Poké MartItemsPokémon
Generation I
Pokémon
|
Games
|
Location
|
Levels
|
Rate
|
Fishing
|
|
R
|
B
|
Y
|
|
5
|
100%
|
|
R
|
B
|
Y
|
|
10
|
50%
|
|
R
|
B
|
Y
|
|
10
|
50%
|
|
R
|
B
|
Y
|
|
15, 30
|
40%
|
|
R
|
B
|
Y
|
|
15
|
25%
|
|
R
|
B
|
Y
|
|
15
|
25%
|
|
R
|
B
|
Y
|
|
15
|
25%
|
|
R
|
B
|
Y
|
|
15
|
25%
|
|
R
|
B
|
Y
|
|
10, 15
|
60%
|
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.
|
Generation II
Pokémon
|
Games
|
Location
|
Levels
|
Rate
|
|
|
|
Surfing
|
|
G
|
S
|
C
|
|
30-39
|
90%
|
|
G
|
S
|
C
|
|
35-39
|
10%
|
Fishing
|
|
G
|
S
|
C
|
|
10
|
85%
|
|
G
|
S
|
C
|
|
10
|
15%
|
|
G
|
S
|
C
|
|
20
|
35%
|
|
G
|
S
|
C
|
|
20
|
35%
|
|
G
|
S
|
C
|
|
20
|
20%
|
|
G
|
S
|
C
|
|
20
|
10%
|
|
G
|
S
|
C
|
|
40
|
40%
|
|
G
|
S
|
C
|
|
40
|
30%
|
|
G
|
S
|
C
|
|
40
|
20%
|
|
G
|
S
|
C
|
|
40
|
10%
|
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.
|
Generation III
Pokémon
|
Games
|
Location
|
Levels
|
Rate
|
Surfing
|
|
FR
|
LG
|
|
5-40
|
100%
|
Fishing
|
|
FR
|
LG
|
|
5
|
100%
|
|
FR
|
LG
|
|
5-15
|
60%
|
|
FR
|
LG
|
|
5-15
|
20%
|
|
FR
|
LG
|
|
5-15
|
20%
|
|
FR
|
LG
|
|
5-15
|
60%
|
|
FR
|
LG
|
|
5-15
|
20%
|
|
FR
|
LG
|
|
15-25
|
40%
|
|
FR
|
LG
|
|
15-25
|
40%
|
|
FR
|
LG
|
|
15-25
|
40%
|
|
FR
|
LG
|
|
15-25
|
40%
|
|
FR
|
LG
|
|
15-25
|
15%
|
|
FR
|
LG
|
|
25-35
|
4%
|
|
FR
|
LG
|
|
25-35
|
4%
|
|
FR
|
LG
|
|
25-35
|
1%
|
|
FR
|
LG
|
|
25-35
|
1%
|
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.
|
Generation IV
Pokémon
|
Games
|
Location
|
Levels
|
Rate
|
Surfing
|
|
HG
|
SS
|
|
30-35
|
90%
|
|
HG
|
SS
|
|
35
|
10%
|
Fishing
|
|
HG
|
SS
|
|
10
|
95%
|
|
HG
|
SS
|
|
10
|
5%
|
|
HG
|
SS
|
|
20
|
40%
|
|
HG
|
SS
|
|
20
|
40%
|
|
HG
|
SS
|
|
20
|
16%
|
|
HG
|
SS
|
|
20
|
4%
|
|
HG
|
SS
|
|
40
|
40%
|
|
HG
|
SS
|
|
40
|
40%
|
|
HG
|
SS
|
|
40
|
16%
|
|
HG
|
SS
|
|
40
|
4%
|
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.
|
Generation VII
Pokémon
|
Games
|
Location
|
Levels
|
Rate
|
Special Pokémon
|
|
P
|
E
|
|
44
|
Unlimited
|
|
P
|
E
|
|
44
|
Unlimited
|
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
Generation VII
Trainer
|
Pokémon
|
After becoming Champion
|
|
|
|
Differences between generations
Cinnabar Island has changed dramatically between Generations I and II as the city has been totally replaced by a large erupted volcano, removing everything except for the Pokémon Center. After the eruption, the Gym was relocated to the Seafoam Islands. Blue can be first found at Cinnabar Island, because he was in a bad mood and decided to take a stroll there. In Generation III, there are a few changes with the visual design, as the Pokémon Mansion and Pokémon Lab are slightly larger along with more sandy beach areas. The first and last questions in the Cinnabar Gym have also been changed slightly for clarification. In Generation IV, the island stays much the same as Generation II, although the volcano is now climbable by Rock Climb. In Generation VII, the eastern slope of the volcano is visible close to the Lab and Pokémon Mansion, but is not accessible.
Slogan
Generations I-III and VII
The Fiery Town of Burning Desire (Japanese: グレンの あかは じょうねつの いろ Guren's red is the color of passion.)
Generation IV
The Ravaged Town of the Past (Japanese: おしながされた かこの まち The ravaged town of the past)
Demographics
Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow
Cinnabar Island has a population of 33.
Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal
Cinnabar Island has a population of 6, all residing in the Pokémon Center.
Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen
In Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, Cinnabar Island has a population of 36.
Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver
Cinnabar Island has a population of 9.
Walking Pokémon quotesMusicDevelopment
Generation II
Although Kanto was planned to return in Gold and Silver since 1997, the Pokémon Gold and Silver Spaceworld '97 demo reveals that at the time, Kanto was a tiny reconstruction of its original map, as opposed to being far more complete in the final. Whilst this included heavily condensed versions of most areas from Kanto, no Cinnabar Island can be seen, with two large rocks taking its place.
In the spin-off games
Pokémon Pinball
In Pokémon Pinball, Cinnabar Island appears on the Red and Blue tables; catchable Pokémon include Growlithe, Ponyta, Grimer, Koffing, Tangela, Magmar, Omanyte, Kabuto and Aerodactyl.
Pokkén Tournament
While Cinnabar Island does not appear in Pokkén Tournament, when fighting Shadow Mewtwo, sometimes Nia will mention having read the "Cinnabar Island docs" on Mewtwo. However, the words "Cinnabar Island" aren't in text, and thus are only noticeable if her voice is turned on.
PokéROM
In PokéROM, the Trainer Race quiz minigame includes a question about this place: "What makes Cinnabar Island an island?" The accepted answer is: "It is surrounded by water."
In animation
Pokémon the Series
In Pokémon the Series, Cinnabar Island is depicted as a tourist resort after the Cinnabar Gym Leader, Blaine, closed the Cinnabar Gym down due to the large influx of challengers who cared more about souvenirs than battling. However, Blaine secretly constructed a new Gym inside the Cinnabar Volcano.
In Riddle Me This, Ash and his friends arrived on Cinnabar Island for Ash's seventh Badge. However, they were dismayed to learn that the Gym had been closed down. After saving the Pokémon at the Pokémon Lab from being stolen by Team Rocket, a riddle-loving man told the group about Blaine's new secret Gym and gave them a hint about its location. The group eventually discovered the Gym's secret entrance by accident next to the hot spring at the riddle man's "Big Riddle Inn". Inside the Gym, Ash and his friends found the riddle man, who turned out to be Blaine in disguise. Ash started a Gym battle with Blaine, but had difficulties during the entire match.
In Volcanic Panic, Ash forfeited the Gym battle and retreated to heal his Pokémon. Meanwhile, Team Rocket sneaked into the Gym to steal Blaine's Magmar, but their actions at the heart of the volcano threatened to make it erupt and destroy Cinnabar Island. Ash and his friends assisted Blaine in stopping the eruption, and, as a sign of gratitude, Blaine agreed to have a rematch with Ash. Since the Gym had been destroyed during the incident, the battle took place at the summit of the volcano. To Ash's surprise, his usually disobedient Charizard offered to battle Blaine's Magmar. After a heated battle, Charizard emerged victorious, earning Ash the Volcano Badge. Ash and his friends left the island in the next episode, headed for Viridian City.
Gallery
Pokémon Origins
Cinnabar Island was visited by Red in File 3: Giovanni. During his visit, he first explored the Pokémon Mansion, where he discovered a journal that would later help him identify Cerulean Cave's mysterious Pokémon as Mewtwo. After exploring the Mansion, Red challenged Blaine to a Gym battle and won, earning the Volcano Badge.
In the manga
Pokémon Adventures
Cinnabar Island debuted in Holy Moltres, where Team Rocket was trying to hunt down Blaine on the island because of him leaving them. When Team Rocket threatened Red, Blaine showed himself and rescued him. When they tried to escape, Team Rocket sent Moltres after them. As Blaine knew that they needed a Flying Pokémon to fight Moltres effectively, he sent Red to his secret laboratory to revive his Old Amber. Thanks to the Aerodactyl revived by Red, Team Rocket and Moltres were forced to retreat.
In Putting It on the Line...Against Arcanine, Yellow arrived at Cinnabar Island from the Seafoam Islands. At the top of the volcano, she saw Blaine training with Camper Evan, after which he invited her to his laboratory. They soon received emergency messages from all over Kanto, revealing that the Elite Four had started their attack on the region. Both Blaine and Yellow then departed to launch a direct assault against the Elite Four's base at Cerise Island.
Cinnabar Island made a brief appearance in Double Down Deoxys, when Camper Evan and Super Nerd Miles visited Blaine at his laboratory. Due to the mark left on his arm by Mewtwo's cells, Blaine was able to sense Mewtwo's agitation, speculating that it was due to Mew heading back to the Kanto mainland from Faraway Island.
In Arrival at the Scientific Megalopolis, Sun was revealed to have been born and raised at Cinnabar Island before he moved to Alola.
Pokémon Zensho
Cinnabar Island appeared in Cinnabar Island, where Satoshi arrived there after briefly visiting Seafoam Islands. He immediately headed to the Cinnabar Gym, where he met, talked with, and defeated Blaine, with his Charmeleon evolving into Charizard in the process. Afterwards, Satoshi and Blaine headed back to Seafoam Islands together in order to catch Articuno.
Trivia
- Cinnabar Island has many glitches associated with it in the Generation I games, such as the old man glitch, due to programming oversights on the island's coast. There is also a trick to see a man on the roof of the Gym. However, both of these glitches were fixed in some regional versions.
- Cinnabar Island and Vermilion City are named after the same color in the English versions of the Pokémon games but not in the Japanese versions, since crimson (グレン guren, "crimson lotus") refers to a shade of red while vermilion (クチバ kuchiba, "decayed leaves") refers to a shade of orange. Cinnabar is an orange-red mineral that produces the orange-red pigment vermilion. This explains why Cinnabar Island is colored red while Vermilion City is colored orange in the Generation I games when played with the Super Game Boy enhancements enabled on a compatible system or with the Game Boy Color enhancements available in the international releases of Pokémon Yellow (including the Virtual Console release).
- It is the southernmost location in both Kanto and Johto that the player can Fly to.
- A Cinnabar-related food item is mentioned in the Generation II games and their Generation IV remakes, as well as by a woman in Kiloude City in Pokémon X and Y:
- Cinnabar Volcano Burger (Japanese: グレンふう かざんハンバーグ Guren-Style Volcano Hamburger Steak)GSCHGSS
- Cinnabarian hamburger steak (Japanese: グレン風ハンバーグ Guren-Style Hamburger Steak)XY
- In Generation IV, if the player blacks out or uses Teleport when the Cinnabar Island Pokémon Center was the last Pokémon Center they visited, they will be taken to the last Pokémon Center they had visited prior to Cinnabar Island instead. This is likely to prevent the player from being permanently stranded on Cinnabar Island if their only Pokémon can't learn Surf or Fly and they have no means of obtaining another Pokémon.
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This video is not available on Bulbapedia; instead, you can watch the video on YouTube here.
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- Cinnabar Island is based on Izu Ōshima, an inhabited volcanic island off the coast of Japan. Izu Ōshima is the largest and closest of Tokyo's outlying islands. Similarly to Cinnabar's fate in the Generation II and IV games, the island's population were forced to evacuate in both 1965 and 1986 due to major eruptions. Cinnabar being rendered permanently uninhabitable also parallels Montserrat, an island in the Caribbean whose human settlements were destroyed by the 1995 eruption of the Soufrière Hills volcano.
Name origin
Language
|
Name
|
Origin
|
Japanese
|
グレンじま Guren Jima グレンタウン Guren Town
|
From 紅蓮色 guren-iro, the crimson color of red lotus
|
English
|
Cinnabar Island
|
From cinnabar, an orange-red mineral used to produce vermilion pigment
|
French
|
Cramois'île
|
From cramoisi, crimson
|
German
|
Zinnoberinsel
|
From zinnoberrot, carmine
|
Italian
|
Isola Cannella
|
From cannella, cinnamon
|
Spanish
|
Isla Canela
|
From canela, cinnamon
|
Isla Cinnabar*
|
From its English name
|
Korean
|
홍련섬 Hongnyeon Seom
|
From 홍련 (紅蓮) hongnyeon, red lotus
|
Chinese (Mandarin)
|
紅蓮島 / 红莲岛 Hónglián Dǎo 紅蓮鎮 / 红莲镇 Hónglián Zhèn
|
From 紅蓮 hónglián, red lotus
|
幽谷鎮 Yōugǔ Zhèn*
|
From 幽谷 yōugǔ, glen
|
Chinese (Cantonese)
|
紅蓮鎮 Hùhnglìhn Jan
|
From 紅蓮 hùhnglìhn, red lotus
|
幽谷鎮 Yāugūk Jan*
|
From 幽谷 jāugūk, glen
|
Danish
|
Cinnabarøen
|
From English name
|
Indonesian
|
Pulau Glen*
|
Alternate romanization of its Japanese name
|
Norwegian
|
Øya Cinnabar
|
From English name
|
Polish
|
Wyspa Cinnabar
|
From its English name
|
Brazilian Portuguese
|
Ilha Cinnabar* Ilha de Cinnabar* Cidade de Cinnabar*
|
From its English name From its English name Means Cinnabar City
|
Russian
|
Остров Киноварь Ostrov Kinovar'
|
From киноварь kinovar', cinnabar
|
Swedish
|
Cinnabar-ön
|
From English name
|
Thai
|
เกาะเกรน Keāa Kern
|
Transliteration of Japanese name
|
Vietnamese
|
Đảo Glen
|
Transliteration of Japanese name
|
References