Ecruteak City: Morty, Two Towers and the Legendary Beasts

Ecruteak City is, first and foremost, a city flanked by two towers. One is now nothing but a charred ruin where Entei, Suicune and Raikou slumber; the other hosts Ho-Oh on its roof, and a single story ties them together. The Johto city is also home to Morty's Ghost-type Gym and a Dance Theater where five Kimono Girls wait for Trainers; the anime, for its part, has stopped there several times.

Contents

• Ecruteak City, home of Morty and the Fog Badge
• The legend that binds Ecruteak City's two towers
• The Burned Tower, remnant of the old Brass Tower
• Tin Tower or Bell Tower: Ho-Oh's sanctuary
• Kimono Girls, Bill and Cameron: the other stops in Ecruteak City
• Ecruteak City in the anime and special series
• Ecruteak City at a glance
• Frequently Asked Questions

Ecruteak City, home of Morty and the Fog Badge

Ecruteak City belongs to Johto and can be visited in Gold and Silver, Crystal and later HeartGold and SoulSilver. Three routes lead into it: Route 38 comes in from the west, Route 42 from the east and Route 37 from the south. In a small local quirk, its Pokémon Center is decked out in purple, where its counterparts usually sport orange.

This is where Morty runs the fourth Gym in the region, devoted to the Ghost type; beating him earns you the Fog Badge, along with TM Shadow Ball. The city's name changes from one language to another: Rosalia in French, Teak City in German, Amarantopoli in Italian.

Crystal and the remakes, however, require a detour before that battle. You first have to lend a hand to Morty and Eusine, who are searching for the legendary beasts in the Burned Tower; the Gym Leader only agrees to battle once you've helped them.

The legend that binds Ecruteak City's two towers

The two buildings face each other from opposite ends of the city: the Burned Tower to the west, the Bell Tower to the east. Built several centuries ago, they were meant to bring people and Pokémon together through friendship and hope. The regional legends offer several versions of the story; according to the first, the Legendary Pokémon came to sleep in the western tower and to wake up in its neighbor.

Other accounts give each tower its own bird: Lugia is said to have roosted on the Burned Tower and Ho-Oh on the Bell Tower, unless the former actually made its home in the Whirl Islands. About 150 years ago, a bolt of lightning set the top of the western tower ablaze. Three days of flames, which also spread to the Bell Tower, came before the torrential downpour that put them out, and both birds left Ecruteak City.

The fire claimed the lives of three Pokémon. Ho-Oh, so the story goes, then came to revive them, and they returned in the form of Raikou, Entei and Suicune. The Pokémon Generations series spells out the symbolism: Raikou stands for the lightning, Entei for the flames and Suicune for the rain that put them out. You can even hear the link: the Burned Tower's music reworks the Bell Tower's theme, slower and more melancholy.

🔥 Ho-Oh, Lugia and Ecruteak City's three beasts all have a place in our Legendary Pokémon collection.

The Burned Tower, remnant of the old Brass Tower

Before the fire, the ruin standing in the northwest of the city was called the Brass Tower, and it was built seven centuries ago. Since then, only its basement and ground floor are still standing, and one of its corners can only be reached with Rock Smash. In HeartGold and SoulSilver, several residents mention plans to rebuild it once Ho-Oh has been caught or defeated.

On your first visit, Silver challenges the player to a battle right at the entrance; in Crystal only, the rival waits a little farther inside. Two other Trainers guard the place, and this is where Eusine, obsessed with Suicune, makes his appearance. A fun touch in Gold and Silver: once beaten, one of the Firebreathers complains of a burn, and his sprite loses its colors and turns gray.

In the basement slumber the three Pokémon that the legend says Ho-Oh revived, in other words the legendary trio of Johto. Simply walking toward them sends them fleeing: from then on, they roam the tall grass all over the region. Suicune is the exception. In Crystal, you meet it again at the Tin Tower; in the remakes, it lingers for a moment in front of the player before dashing off, then turns up at set spots in the field rather than at random in the grass, and only reappears in the tower if you have beaten it on Route 25.

Tin Tower or Bell Tower: Ho-Oh's sanctuary

On the northeast side, the second tower is dedicated to Ho-Oh, and its name changes depending on the game: Tin Tower in Gold, Silver and Crystal, Bell Tower in HeartGold and SoulSilver. A sacred place, it is reserved for the Sages and for whoever holds the Rainbow Wing. You climb ten floors in the original versions, eleven in the remakes.

Reaching Ho-Oh therefore takes the Rainbow Wing: the Fog Badge does get you through the door, but the Sages on the ground floor turn away anyone who shows up without it. HeartGold also requires the Clear Bell, which the Kimono Girls give to whoever has beaten them. The bird waits on the roof, at the end of a short path up through the floors.

Crystal changes things. With the Clear Bell in hand, the player finds all three beasts gathered in the tower: Entei and Raikou run off, but Suicune stays to fight. First you have to defeat three Sages, Gaku, Masa and Koji; the French version calls them "Ken," "Raoh" and "Shu," names taken from the manga Fist of the North Star. As for Ho-Oh, it only becomes accessible after the League, and only if all three beasts have been caught.

Kimono Girls, Bill and Cameron: the other stops in Ecruteak City

The Dance Theater, next door to the Pokémon Center on the north side, is home to five Kimono Girls. Each one battles with her own Eevee evolution, so the troupe fields every one that existed in the second generation: Flareon, Umbreon, Jolteon, Espeon and Vaporeon. This is also where the owner hands out HM03 Surf, to whoever has beaten the five Kimono Girls in Gold, Silver and Crystal, or a Grunt from Team Rocket in the remakes.

In HeartGold and SoulSilver, the Kimono Girls also hold the key to a legendary encounter: they can summon Ho-Oh to the Bell Tower in HeartGold, or Lugia to the Whirl Islands in SoulSilver. You still have to earn that privilege, though. Once all eight Johto Badges are in hand, the player must battle them back to back, in a set order and without healing their team between battles, whereas the original games let the player choose the order and heal their team as they pleased.

At the Pokémon Center, it's Bill who greets the player on their first visit, before heading back to his house in Goldenrod City. What he says depends on the version. In the remakes, he talks about developing the Storage System; in Gold, Silver and Crystal, he announces that the Time Capsule, installed upstairs in Pokémon Centers, is finally up and running: a trading bridge to the first generation, Red and Blue as well as Yellow. Another fixture exclusive to HeartGold and SoulSilver: every Friday, Cameron takes a portrait of the player and their Pokémon, with the Bell Tower in the background.

Ecruteak City in the anime and special series

Spoiler warning: this section reveals how several episodes turn out. Ash Ketchum discovers Ecruteak City in EP181, "A Ghost of a Chance," during season 4. With Misty and Brock, he runs into Morty and his Pokémon in the Burned Tower, then beats him to earn his fourth Badge. Along the way, the Gym Leader shares another version of the legend: long ago, Ho-Oh's presence atop the original tower brought peace, and approaching it was the privilege of those who watched over the building, Morty's ancestors among them. Intruders who coveted its power ended up causing the fire; the bird never reappeared, and the city built a new tower near the old one in the hope of its return. Before leaving, the group befriends Sakura and her four sisters, whom they meet again in EP226, "Espeon, Not Included."

In EP227, in season 5, a bell rings out in the Bell Tower: Morty sees it as a sign of Ho-Oh's return, Eusine as a sign of Suicune's, and Nurse Joy explains that the bells, four per floor and made of crystal at the very top, ring to herald the Legendary's return. In DP143 of season 12, Lyra names Ecruteak City, its Burned Tower and its Kimono Sisters among the Johto towns she reviews during a festival in Sinnoh. Finally, JN009 of season 23 takes Ash and Goh to the city, following rumors of Ho-Oh sightings. Goh catches a Misdreavus, a Stantler and a Sentret, while the group helps Jaye, a grandfather who has spent years searching for the bird in vain: their call from the top of the Bell Tower goes unanswered, but just as they are leaving, Jaye finally sees Ho-Oh cutting through the clouds.

The special series come back to it too. In "The Adventure," an episode of Pokémon Generations, a Pikachu perched in a tree goes after three Wooper, whose Ground type protects them from its Thunder Shock; their counterattack sends it tumbling straight onto a Lugia, which carries it up into the sky. "The Reawakening," from the same series, follows Eusine into the Burned Tower until a brief appearance by Suicune, which gives him hope that the legendary beasts will reconnect with humans. Finally, Pokémon Evolutions sets its seventh episode, "The Show," in Ecruteak City, where the Kimono Girls stage the story of the two towers and their Legendaries.

Ecruteak City at a glance

Frequently Asked Questions

• What type of Pokémon does the Ecruteak City Gym use?
  The Ghost type. Gym Leader Morty awards the Fog Badge there, along with TM Shadow Ball.
• Tin Tower and Bell Tower: are they the same tower?
  Yes. It's called the Tin Tower in Gold, Silver and Crystal, then takes the name Bell Tower in HeartGold and SoulSilver.
• What legend links Ecruteak City's two towers?
  The legend of a fire. About 150 years ago, lightning set the Burned Tower, the western tower, on fire; three Pokémon died there, and Ho-Oh, the bird of the Bell Tower, is said to have brought them back to life as Entei, Raikou and Suicune.
• How do you battle Ho-Oh at the Bell Tower?
  You need the Rainbow Wing for the Sages to let the player through to the roof, and in HeartGold, the Kimono Girls' Clear Bell as well. In Crystal, Ho-Oh is only accessible after the League, once all three legendary beasts have been caught.
• Where do you get HM Surf in Ecruteak City?
  At the Dance Theater, from the owner. In Gold, Silver and Crystal, you have to defeat the five Kimono Girls; in the remakes, a Team Rocket Grunt.

In short

Ecruteak City draws its character from its two towers: one reduced to a ruin, the other devoted to Ho-Oh, both bound together by the memory of a fire and a resurrection. Morty's Ghost-type Gym and the Kimono Girls complete the picture of a city that the anime, Pokémon Generations and Pokémon Evolutions have each taken the time to revisit.