Name
Vermilion City
General
As a port city, Vermilion welcomes everyone who comes to Kanto and provides many resources to help foreigners adjust to a new region. Ship captains always praise the city's safe harbors, and many of them have become regular visitors.
Vermilion is regularly ranked among the top multicultural cities in the world. The street across from the harbor is known as 'Palate Avenue', where many restaurants feature cultural dishes from all over the world. While the atmosphere and cuisine of each restaurant varies, the owners and workers all express the same desire to share their delicious food with as many people as they can.
Littering may result in steep fines, because the Horsea and Staryu living in the harbor require clean water to thrive and reproduce.
Notable People
Lt. Surge
The current gym leader of Vermilion City.
Though he's known as the Lightning American, nobody knows where the region of America is. Some say it's so tiny that the cartographers missed it, or that it became the desolate, crime-ridden wasteland of Orre.
Lt. Surge served as a commanding officer and pilot in the Shadow War, where many vicious Orrean gangs united into a single militant organization in an effort to introduce Shadow Pokemon to the Kanto-Johto continent. These Pokemon could not feel emotions due to the artificial closing of their hearts, and could not discriminate between friend and foe. The Kantonian military's job was to go behind enemy lines and rescue as many captive Pokemon as possible.
He used Electric Pokemon to power his planes, a practice now regularly used by the military due to its efficiency. In one famous incident, his Raichu saved his life by firing a powerful Thunder attack at an enemy plane that had escaped his radar.
Places of Interest
A. Vermilion Gym
This gym specializes in Electric types. As a precaution, Lt. Surge has rigged the gym with traps so nobody can take him by surprise. Many of the gym trainers have served faithfully under him during the war.
The gym has a reputation for being absolutely brutal as a result of many of the trainers' militaristic background. However, Pokemon enlisted to serve in the war do not battle challengers in accordance with League regulations. This way, trainers have a fair chance at earning the Thunder Badge.
B. Vermilion Harbor
Many kinds of ships, including cruise, cargo, and research vessels, come to dock in the safe waters of Vermilion Harbor. The S.S Aqua sails to Olivine City in Johto every Sunday and Wednesday, while the Seagallop Ferries take tourists to the Sevii Islands.
C. Pokemon Fan Club
The Pokemon Fan Club was originally founded in Vermilion City, and its influence has since spread to every region. The Chairman of the Kanto branch is well-known for gushing over his Rapidash and Fearow, much to the annoyance of trainers trying to get somewhere in a hurry.
Members in Kanto tend to own small, cute Pokemon such as Clefairy and Eevee. They gather bimonthly to discuss rumors surrounding the strongest trainers in Kanto.
Surrounding Areas
Diglett's Cave
This tunnel connects Vermilion City to Pewter City, making it a useful route for people who need to deliver parcels to Western Kanto or Johto. Because the path is straight with very few turns, it's less time-consuming than trekking through the maze-like Mt. Moon. Diglett and Dugtrio are territorial to Pokemon not in their evolutionary line, so they're the only ones who can naturally live in the long tunnel.