Th3l3fty's Top Ten Pokémon Cities

These are th3l3fty's Top Ten Pokémon Cities ranked for Ed Bellis's What Would You Do.

Top 10 Pokémon Cities
As the Pokémon series has progressed, it has become a host to a wide variety of interesting cities. From a floating town of logs to a city built around a volcano, the many cities have been a host to countless memories. This variety, however, does not always lead to one city being superior to another.

Before I begin, a few honorable mentions:

Canalave City - for some reason, Canalave stands out to me, even though there's not much in it. Perhaps it's the music...?

Pacifidlog Town - A town floating on logs in the middle of the ocean? How awesome is that? Quite awesome, I say!

Unfortunately, not awesome enough to make the list.

10. Azalea Town - 

Where People and Pokémon Live in Happy Harmony!

Azalea Town stands out for a few reasons. First, there's Kurt. When you first find the Apricorns, you have no idea what they are or why you would want them - until you meet Kurt. Kurt, being the awesome guy he is, will make your Apricorns in specialized Pokéballs for you for absolutely no charge whatsoever. He also happens to be the trigger to catching Celebi in the Japanese version of Crystal. And then there's the town's massive obsession with Slowpoke. The townspeople love Slowpoke so much that they practically worship them and have a well named after them (with a giant cavern inside it to boot!). Why, exactly, does the town love Slowpoke? According to town lore, a 400 year drought ended thanks to the Yawn of a Slowpoke. So, Slowpokes + Kurt = Win.

Also, Azalea Town's music is nice and laid-back, a theme prevalent in the cities of Johto.

9. Celadon City - 

The City of Rainbow Dreams

And now for the first Gym City on the list! Celadon City is home to Erika, Kanto's Grass-type leader and the bestower of the Rainbow Badge. Celadon is also home to the original Department Store and the first Game Corner, both staples in the series. Add to that the Pokémon Mansion, the location of the first Eevee, and you've got a solid entry to the list!

8. Sootopolis City - 

The mystical city where history slumbers.

Wait... a city from RSE makes the list? What blasphemy is this?!? Although many of Hoenn's cities were poorly crafted, Sootopolis stands out as an excellent design. Located in the crater of a volcano, Sootopolis is home to the eighth and final gym of the Hoenn region, which is led by Wallace - no, Juan! The Sootopolis Gym is actually one of three gyms to have different leaders, and the only one to do so in the same set of games. Sootopolis is also the location of the mysterious Cave of Origin, where the main legendary of Ruby and Sapphire is found. Sootopolis may not seem like much, but it has an inspired design.

7. Cerulean City - 

A Mysterious, Blue Aura Surrounds It

Back-to-back cities with Water-type Gyms, and this time it's Misty's domain! Although the city is dominated by the gym, its most outstanding feature is the Cerulean Cave, more commonly known as the Unknown Dungeon, home of the "ultimate" legendary Mewtwo. Cerulean City's other major attraction is the bike shop, where you could buy a bike for one million Poké-Dollars... or just use a Voucher (if you claim to have bought yours somehow, you're either a liar or a cheater!).

6. Goldenrod City - 

The Festive City of Opulent Charm

Goldenrod City is the central attraction of Johto, and, in a way, the entire Pokémon world, as it boasts the highest population of any city in the games. Goldenrod, like Celadon before it, is home to the pair of the Game Corner and the Department Store (even larger than the original) as well as the Bike Shop. Goldenrod also hosts the region's Name Rater, the Radio Tower, the Underground Path and, most importantly, the Magnet Train, the most convenient method of traveling between Johto and Kanto. No other city quite gives off the urban feel that Goldenrod possesses.

5. Saffron City - 

The Shining, Golden Land of Commerce

And here's Goldenrod's partner in crime, Kanto's own most dominant city. Goldenrod and Saffron are so closely related that they are connected by the Magnet Traina show of the commercial clout the two cities carry. Upon first arrival in Saffron City, one may notice that the city seems a bit hostile. Considering the city has been taken over by Team Rocket, that's not much of a surprise. Team Rocket's primary goal is actually located within the giant building in Saffron's center - the Silph Co. HQ, home of - you'll never believe it - Silph Co., Kanto's largest business. Some crazy guy got the bright idea that they should make their building impenetrable by confusing invaders with teleporters (or something like that >__>), but it seems it didn't really work all that well. Saffron is also home to Sabrina, the Psychic-type Gym leader and a sufferer of scizophrenia (no, really!). Also in Saffron is the Fighting Dojo, where a player can receive either a Hitmonchan or a Hitmonlee. Saffron City is also, to date, the only Pokémon city to appear as a Super Smash Bros. stage.

4. Pewter City - 

A Stone Gray City

Home to the first accessible Gym in the series, Pewter City is, in a way, a high-caliber nostalgia machine. Sure, it has Brock, but why is it so great? Having great music is definitely a bonus, but the real reason is the Museum of Science. No, I don't mean the main entrance. I mean the little room on the side, the room in which fossils are brought back to life by crazy scientists. Brock's got nothin' on geniuses like that! Well, at least not video game Brock.

3. Viridian City - 

The Eternally Green Paradise

What? A city with even less than Pewter getting the nod over all those other cities? Viridian City has three major things going for it. One, it's the first city to have a Gym in it. Sure you can't get to that until the very end, but who cares? The Gym Leader is Giovanni himself, commander of the great Team Rocket. That is, until GSC, by which point he's completely disappeared - opening the position up for Blue (aka your rival from RBY) to step in), the second double Gym Leader citry on the list (Fuschia City being the only one not making it). Second, there's the close proximity to the Pokémon League. Viridian City is, in a way, the "gateway" to the Elite Four, which makes sense when you consider the Gym it has. The third thing going for Viridian? The Old Man. The Old Man just so happens to be the source of the MissingNo glitch. Why? Because the game changes your name to OLD MAN whenever he fights. Yes, I'm serious.

2. Cinnabar Island - 

The Fiery Town of Burning Desire

Up until the last minute, I couldn't decide which one deserved #2 more - Cinnabar or Viridian. In the end, the island won out. Cinnabar Island was the original Pokémon island, the one that started the tradition of having at least one gym offshore. That Gym Leader is Blaine, the commander of the Fire-type. Cinnabar was also the first city located near a volcano; in fact, by the time of GSC, everything on the island is gone because the volcano erupted. Another feature of Cinnabar is the Pokémon Mansion. What really makes Cinnabar Island upper-tier is the MissingNo glitch. Thanks to the Old Man in Viridian City, the wild Pokémon data is not quite what it's supposed to be - and as long as you don't enter an area with defined data, it will stay that way. It just so happens that the coast of Cinnabar Island is exactly the same, leaving this vulnerable to exploitation. The MissingNo glitch was the most intruiging thing about the game - somehow, seeing a wild nothingness caused your sixth item to multiply until you had 128 of said item. This allowed people to get as much money as they wanted, as many Master Balls, as many Rare Candies, and all for no price except a possible corruption of Hall of Fame data.

1. Pallet Town - 

Shades of your Journey Await!

Of all the cities in the Pokémon series, no city has ever been able to capture as much as Pallet Town has. To me, Pallet Town, and its theme, represent numerous things to me - my lost years of childhood, my innocence, the feelings of pure joy I felt while playing this game. There is nothing else in video games that can compare to what lies in wait for me in Pallet Town, nothing else that can make me both overbearingly sad and overwhelmingly happy in one fell swoop. Not even Super Mario 64, my all-time favorite game, can evoke such feelings. Pallet Town is, to me, a representation of all that once was. Oh, and Professor Oak lives there, too. >__>

Although catching Pokémon is the primary goal, the cities are equally as important to the series. One cannot exist without the other, else the system collapse. Although I know none of you will agree with everything I've said, I'm sure some of you will be able to understand my feelings for the series as a whole.