Cianwood City is the eighth city in the Johto journey. This town only has 6 buildings, and is nestled in the corner of Johto, between a mountain and an ocean. It has a population in the mid 20’s, and is one of the few towns in the Pokemon universe where wild Pokemon can be found in the town itself (without going in a building). The town’s motto is “The Port Surrounded by Rough Seas!”
The Pokecenter is back in Cianwood, with nothing new as usual. However, Cianwood does not have a Pokemart, in lieu of a Pharmacy instead.
The Cianwood City Pharmacy is located at the southern-most point of town. This shop is where the trainer needs to go to get the Secret Potion to heal the Ampharos back in Olivine City. After returning to Olivine City and healing the Ampharos, the Pharmacy will open for business. The shop stocks 3 types of potions, Potions, Super Potions, and Hyper Potions. The shop also sells Full Heals, which remove all status effects, and Revives, which will heal fainted Pokemon.
The house directly to the left of the Pokemon Center houses a single NPC. This character had his prized Pokemon stolen from him by a red-haired trainer (which of course is the rival). After he tells the trainer about the theft, he mentions that he has another Pokemon, but he is worried that the thief might return. He asks the trainer to take care of the Pokemon and keep it safe. The Pokemon he gives the trainer is a Shuckle, which is the Pokemon with the highest Defense and Special Defense stats in the game. However his other stats are abysmal, but he can do well in battle if given the correct moves, such as Toxic. Later on, if the trainer returns to town, he will ask for the Shuckle back. He will, however, allow the trainer to keep the Shuckle if the trainer has a high friendship with it.
The house above the Shuckle’s trainer’s house is another house with a few NPCs inside it. These characters talk about various things. The woman at the table will talk about the Whirl Islands to the east, and how a “mythical sea creature” resides there. The younger girl here will say that the creature will only appear to someone who is holding the Silver Wing. The youngest girl by the bookshelf will say that the whirlpools at the island are caused by the mythical sea creature, and that the trainer might need a special move (coincidentally called Whirlpool) in order to get past them.
The house in the far northwest part of town is the Cianwood City Photo Studio. In this house, the trainer can take a picture of one of their Pokemon, which can be printed out using a Game Boy Printer, which is a peripheral that Nintendo released for the Game Boy Color. It allowed players to print out photos from certain games. If the trainer does not have a Game Boy Printer, this house serves no purpose.
The final building in Cianwood City is the gym. It is located in the southwest corner of town. This gym is led by Chuck, and he specializes in Fighting-type Pokemon. The gym has a relatively plain layout. The only real trick to reaching Chuck is using Strength on the boulders in the middle of the gym. The trainer must move the left and right boulders up and the one in the middle to the left or right. Chuck himself has a Primeape and a Poliwrath. His Pokemon hit pretty hard, but they are not particularly defensive, so a few strong hits should take them out. A good Ghost, Flying, or Psychic-type Pokemon will make short work of both of them. After beating Chuck, his wife will appear outside and give the trainer HM02, which contains Fly. This will allow the trainer to get back to Olivine City easily and of course return to other old cities as well.
The wild Pokemon mentioned earlier can be found in the northern part of town. There are a number of rocks here that the trainer can use Rock Smash on. After using it, there is a chance that a wild Pokemon will appear. Most of the time, the wild Pokemon will be a Krabby, but the wild Pokemon on rare occasions will be a Shuckle. Using Rock Smash on rocks like this, here and in other locations, is the only way to find Shuckle in the wild. A couple of these rocks also have items hidden underneath them.
Cianwood City only has one exit, and it is to the east. This exit leads back to the ocean, Whirl Islands, and Olivine City. It is the way the trainer reached Cianwood, and the trainer can leave that way as well. However, the easiest way to return to the mainland is to simply use Fly.
Cianwood City is an isolated town, but an important one. The Pharmacy here is the best medical outlet in the whole region, with a potion that can cure ailments for any Pokemon. This town also has the only photo studio in the Pokemon world, where trainers may take photos with their Pokemon. Its isolation probably hurts it more than it helps it however, as the town gets very few visitors.
This article focuses primarily on the aspects of Cianwood City in Pokemon Gold and Silver. To learn more about Cianwood City, visit the following website:
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