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. 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. The Gym guide declares that this is the prerequisite for challenging the Gym. Thus, in Generation VII, there is effectively no additional prerequisite for challenging the Gym, unlike most other Kanto Gyms.
Vermilion Gym appears in all games that include the Kanto region, appearing much the same in each: the main room contains 15 trash cans in three rows and five columns, and Trainers are scattered about this room. Another room lies behind the main room, guarded by electric doors in Generation I, and an electric fence from Generation III onward. The only way to get in the final room, where Lt. Surge is located, is to find two hidden switches inside the trash cans. Discounting glitches, the second switch is always next to (orthogonally adjacent to) the first switch. If the first switch is found, but the player incorrectly guesses the second one, the traps reset.
A field based on the Gym also appears in Pokémon Stadium's Gym Leader Castle and Stadium 2's Kanto Gym Leader Castle.
Puzzle mechanics
- The first switch will be in one of eight cans, forming a checkerboard pattern starting from the corners.
- Due to a glitch, the top-left can can always contain the second switch regardless of whether the first can is adjacent to it.
- If the first switch was in one of the middle column cans, the second will be in the can to the left, right, middle, or in the top-left can.
- If the first switch was in the rightmost column, the second will be in the can to the middle or in the top-left can.
- If the first switch was anywhere else, the second will be in the can to the right or in the top-left can.
In all cases, the positions for the switches have even chances of being selected.
- The first switch can be in one of eight cans as in Red and Blue.
- If the first can was one of the four corners:
- There is a 25% chance that one neighbor contains the second switch, a 25% chance that the other neighbor contains the second switch, and a 50% chance that both neighbors contain the second switch (in which case either choice will unlock the door).
- If the first can was the one in the second column:
- There is a 50% chance that the west and north neighbors both contain the second switch, a 25% chance that only the south neighbor contains the second switch, and a 25% chance that only the east neighbor contains the second switch.
- If the first can was the one in the fourth column:
- There is a 50% chance that the west and north neighbors both contain the second switch, and a 50% chance that the south and east neighbors both contain the second switch.
- If the first can was the top can of the middle column:
- Due to yet another glitch, the game attempts to randomly pick from 256 possible pairs of cans for the second switch, most of which correspond to blank neighbor data or partially-invalid data about the neighbors of other cans[1]. As a result, there is a 216/256 (~84%) chance that only the top-left can has the second switch, a 2/256 (~0.8%) chance that no can has the second switch at all, and a 38/256 (~15%) chance that either one or two cans anywhere among the four rightmost columns have the second switch (with uneven probability).
- If the first can was the bottom can of the middle column:
- The above glitch applies but with slightly different data, resulting in a 225/256 (~88%) chance that only the top-left can has the second switch, a 1/256 (~0.4%) chance that no can has the second switch at all, and a 30/256 (~12%) chance that either one or two cans among the four rightmost columns have the second switch.
The traps are not turned on.
The first switch is randomly in one of the 15 cans, and the second switch is randomly in one of the cans next to the first switch.
The fourth can in the bottom row is an empty red trash can, while the second can in the middle row is an empty blue trash can. When defeated, the Trainers in the Gym hint that a can next to the blue can contains a switch, while none of the cans next to the red can contain a switch. Together this narrows the switch locations down to two pairs of possibilities, with the correct locations being the center trash can and the can directly north of it. These locations will remain fixed even if the traps are reset. The two switches can be activated in either order.
Appearance
Trainers
Core series
Lt. Surge has an X Speed for each of his Pokémon, using it randomly 25% of the time.
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Reward:  2376
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Lt. Surge has an X Speed, using it randomly 25% of the time.
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Reward: 2772
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Pokémon
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Juggler Horton
ジョナサン Jonathan
Reward: 1320
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| 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.
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Reward: 4600
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Pokémon
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Sailor Dwayne
タツヒコ Tatsuhiko
Reward: 672
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| Trainers with a Vs. Seeker by their names, when alerted for a rematch using the item, may use higher-level Pokémon.
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Reward: 2400
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Pokémon
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| 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.
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Reward: 6360
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Pokémon
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Sailor Dwayne
タツヒコ Tatsuhiko
Reward: 1,320
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Rocker Baily
フミオ Fumio
Reward: 616
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Reward: 4,160
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Reward: 13,680
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Side series
Round 1
Round 2
Round 1
Round 2
Items
In the spin-off games
Artwork depicting the Vermilion Gym is seen in Lt. Surge's mindscape.
In the anime
The Vermilion Gym's battlefield in its debut
The Vermilion Gym in its debut
Main series
The Vermilion Gym first appeared in Electric Shock Showdown. Ash and his friends arrived at the Gym for Ash's third Gym battle, with Surge calling Ash a baby and calling him out on not having evolved his Pikachu yet. Ash was determined to prove Surge wrong, but his Pikachu was easily defeated by Surge's Raichu. Later, Ash challenged Surge to a rematch, having figured out that Raichu's weakness was that it had evolved too fast, never learning the speed moves it could only learn as a Pikachu. With his superior speed and new Agility and Quick Attack, Ash's Pikachu was able to overwhelm Surge's Raichu and defeat it, earning Ash the Thunder Badge and Surge's respect.
In Destination: Coronation!, over a thousand episodes later, Ash revisited the Gym in order to have his first World Coronation Series match against Visquez, a substitute Gym Leader looking after the Gym while Lt. Surge was away training. Upon arrival, Ash learned that Visquez had heard of his Vermilion Gym battle from Lt. Surge. After a tough battle, Ash emerged victorious, increasing his World Coronation Series ranking.
In its first appearance, the Gym resembled a warehouse with lightning bolts painted on it. In Pokémon Journeys: The Series, it had gone through major renovations, with the interiors now resembling the Gym's appearance in Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!. There are also metallic plates along the sides of the battlefield. Several Trainers and personnel dressed in military uniforms also work at the Gym, including Steve and Tony.
Pokémon used in the Gym
Used by Lt. Surge
Used by Visquez
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Electrode
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| Electrode is Visquez‘s second known Pokémon. It was first used to battle Ash's Gengar and was able to defeat it before going up against Pikachu. Despite Electrode's great speed, Pikachu managed to defeat it. Electrode attempted to take Pikachu down with it, only for Pikachu to protect himself, thus leading to only Electrode going down and causing Visquez to lose the match.
Electrode's known moves are Magnet Rise, Discharge, and Rollout, and its Ability is Aftermath.
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Destination: Coronation!
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| Voice actors
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| Japanese
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Rikako Aikawa
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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 the Gym
In the manga
Pokémon Zensho
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 mentioning or featuring Vermilion City Gym in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.
Trivia
References
