Ilex Forest shrine
The Ilex Forest shrine is a small structure located in the Ilex Forest, which it is named after, west of Azalea Town in Johto. It can be found in the deepest part of Ilex Forest, situated right in the center of the forest itself. Many people say that the shrine is a symbol of good luck, and to wear away evil spirits in the forest. Some others say that the shrine is linked to the legendary Pokémon, Celebi, and that it lives inside the forest shrine, as the forest guardian.
In the games
Generation II
The shrine is present in Pokémon Gold and Silver, but has no purpose. In Pokémon Crystal however, it is used to obtain the legendary Pokémon, Celebi. When the player puts a GS Ball on the shrine, a level 30 Celebi will appear. The player then has the opportunity to capture the Pokémon. However, due to a forgotten Pokémon event in the English version of the game, it is not possible to obtain and capture Celebi.
Japanese version
In the Japanese version of Pokémon Crystal, the Goldenrod City Pokémon Center is replaced by a larger building called the Pokémon Communication Center which includes the machine to use this feature. Another feature in the Pokémon Communication Center is the Pokémon News Machine, which compiles news from the save files of players across Japan. Reading the news would sent out a player's own save file data, allowing other trainers to read about the player's adventure. The system had a special mobile event which allowed players to obtain the GS Ball. This item, given by a nurse in the Pokémon Communication Center in Goldenrod City, may be taken to Kurt in Azalea Town to investigate. After a day passes, taking the GS Ball to the Ilex Forest shrine summons a level 30 Celebi to battle. The player then has the opportunity to capture the Grass/Psychic Pokémon.
English version
Due to the lack of the Pokémon Mobile System in the English version of the game, there is no way of getting the GS Ball, via this communication. However, it is possible to obtain this event by hacking or glitches within the game. In the Japanese version of Pokémon Crystal, players could use the Pokémon Mobile System to obtain a GS Ball as an event item which they could take to Ilex Forest. Using it at the forest's shrine would prompt an encounter where a wild Celebi could be captured. However, no equivalent event was ever offered to players of the English version of the game. Some game-enhancing devices, however, such as the GameShark, can be used to generate the GS Ball right in the player's bag in both languages. It was never implemented outside of Japan, likely due to the fact that cell phones were not as advanced or popular in other regions at the time.
Generation IV
The shrine is set to appear in the remakes of Gold and Silver, in the same location as Pokémon Crystal, in the Ilex Forest. Screenshots have been released showing Gold interacting with a Pikachu-colored Pichu and the Notched-ear Pichu near the shrine, but its purpose in these games remains unknown, though likely to be similar to its Generation II function.
Gallery
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Gold meeting an old man near the Ilex shrine
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Notched-ear Pichu near the Ilex shrine
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Pichu and Pikachu-colored Pichu chasing each other near the Ilex shrine
In the anime
In the anime, the shrine has appeared in the fourth movie, and briefly in A Farfetch'd Tale.
In the Pokémon Special manga
In Houndour from the Dark, after being attacked by a wild Farfetch'd, Gold quickly tells his Pokémon to run away from an advancing Wing Attack. They arrive at a small wooden shrine, which happened to be the Ilex Forest shrine, and decide to take shelter behind it. Then in VS. Ariados, the little wooden shrine Gold hid behind earlier suddenly starts to glow, and Mask of Ice instantly stops his pursuit of Gold and makes his way towards the shrine instead. But it stopped glowing before he got there concealing its secrets again.
Later, they returned to the shrine for the final confrontation, Celebi was captured in the GS Ball, and the combatants entered the timestream by passing through the shrine’s doors. Afer defeating the foe and apparently becoming lost in time, Gold appeared from the Shrine, to everyone’s surprise.
Trivia
- The shrine found in Ilex Forest in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver is similar to the shrine in the middle of Celestic Town in Sinnoh.
