Goldenrod City Pokémon Gym Leader: Whitney
The Incredibly Pretty Girl!
In Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal, the Goldenrod Gym is a maze of flowers and ornaments in the shape of a Clefairy, a thenNormal-type Pokémon. The player must navigate their way around the pink-floored Gym by going around the wall of pretty flowers first then entering the middle section. The Trainers in the Gym are hard to avoid and most of them must be battled in order to reach Whitney. Whitney will be located in the middle of the Gym where she can be challenged to earn the Plain Badge.
When Whitney is defeated, she throws a temper tantrum and cries while failing to award the player the Plain Badge. When the player attempts to leave, Lass Bridget will tell the player that this always happens; after drying her eyes and blowing her nose, Whitney will get over her loss and give the player the Badge.
Many aesthetic changes have been made to the Goldenrod Gym in Generation IV. The layout of the Gym remains the same, however the outer part of the Gym has been raised to form a platform above the rest of the Gym. The platforms that can be walked on are blue, and those that cannot be walked on are orange. The middle section of the Gym remains at ground level. Players must navigate their way around the raised platform, battle Trainers and walk through an arch below one of the platforms to reach Whitney.
Like in Generation II, after being defeated, Whitney throws a tantrum and cries and Lass Cathy will tell the player that it isn't a big deal. Upon speaking to Whitney again, she will calm down and give the player the Plain Badge.
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.
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 Goldenrod Gym appeared in A Goldenrod Opportunity, where Ash challenged Whitney to a battle for the Plain Badge, and she accepted his challenge. Initially, Ash had the upper hand, defeating Whitney's Clefairy and Nidorina without losing any of his own Pokémon, leaving Whitney with only one Pokémon. However, Whitney's last Pokémon, Miltank, proved to be a surprisingly tough opponent, defeating all three of Ash's Pokémon by herself and thus causing Ash to lose the Gym battle.
Ash had an informal rematch with Whitney in A Dairy Tale Ending, where his Pokémon's combined efforts allowed him to defeat Whitney's Miltank in a 3-on-1 battle. Although the battle took place on Whitney's Uncle Milton's farm and not at the Gym, Whitney still rewarded Ash with the Plain Badge for defeating her.
Nidorina was the first Pokémon used by Whitney in the Gym battle, battling against Cyndaquil. However, none of her attacks were a match for Cyndaquil's Flamethrower. Nidorina was soon defeated by Cyndaquil's second Flamethrower.
Whitney's Clefairy first appeared when Pikachu accidentally knocked into Clefairy. After shopping, Whitney found that Clefairy was missing. It had been caught by Team Rocket. Then, at the Magnet Train platform, it used Metronome which turned into Gust, which freed Pikachu.
It was used again as the second Pokémon in the Gym battle against Ash, were it went up against Cyndaquil. It began with using Metronome. However, it turned into Splash. Then, Cyndaquil used another Flamethrower, forcing Whitney to withdraw it from the match.
Clefairy seems to be Whitney's favorite Pokémon, as it is usually seen traveling out of its Poké Ball.
Clefairy's only known move is Metronome.
Clefairy has also used Gust and Splash via Metronome.
Whitney's Miltank was the last Pokémon used in the Gym battle. She managed to defeat Cyndaquil by using Rollout continuously. Ash then used Totodile, telling him to use Water Gun; however, he did not slow Miltank down. With another Rollout, Totodile was knocked out. Pikachu was then used to use Thunderbolt on Miltank, but it was ineffective. Pikachu was defeated by the second turn of Rollout.
She appeared again in the next episode, sending Team Rocket flying. Then, in a friendly battle before Ash could challenge Whitney once again, she managed to defeat Ash's Cyndaquil and Totodile, but was defeated by Ash's Pikachu, earning Ash the Plain Badge.
Ash challenged Whitney for the Plain Badge at Goldenrod Gym in The Beginning Of Good Luck?! Pokémon Fortune Telling. When Ash begun his battle with Whitney, the referee told him that the area below the arena was a smelter hot enough to cause death to anyone who fell there. Later, when Ash and Psyduck actually did fall down, Whitney revealed that there wasn't really a smelter. Instead, it was an illusion created by a 3D hologram and the only thing below was water.
Pokémon Pocket Monsters
The Goldenrod Gym appeared in Fierce Battle Between Clefairy and Clefable, where it was revealed to double as a restaurant, with Whitney working as a waitress. Red's Clefairy soon got into a fight with Whitney's Clefable, who was his former childhood friend. The battle between the two eventually ended in Clefairy's victory.
In the TCG
The following is a list of cards mentioning or featuring Goldenrod City Gym in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.
Goldenrod Gym 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.
It's possible to leave the Gym without acquiring the Plain Badge even after speaking to Lass BridgetGSC/CathyHGSS upon defeating Whitney. However, the player will not be able to acquire the SquirtBottle and therefore pass the Sudowoodo on Route 36 until they have the Plain Badge.
