Saffron City lay in the heart of the Kanto Region. It was the most prosperous and sprawling city in all of Kanto, a metropolis renowned for its "golden splendor."
Why golden splendor?
Because land in Saffron City averaged thirty thousand per square meter, putting it just behind Lumiose City in the Kalos Region.
What did thirty thousand per square meter mean? It meant that many ordinary people could work for an entire year and still not afford a single square meter. Hence the golden splendor—every inch of land was worth its weight in gold.
The headquarters of Silph Co., a household-name conglomerate spanning multiple regions, stood in the center of the city, drawing together wealth and talent.
Meanwhile, the northeastern corner of Saffron City was divided between two Gyms.
The metropolis also had a maglev train connecting it to Goldenrod City, the largest city in the Johto Region. That train symbolized the familial bond between Kanto and Johto.
The venue for the Saffron Pokémon Contest, the Rainbow Department Store, and other attractions drew countless visitors.
But among all these, what Trainers cared about most was naturally the Gyms—Pokémon Gyms!
Saffron City originally had two Gyms, one Fighting-type and one Psychic-type. They had long competed for the status of the city's official Gym.
The result was that Nobuhiko, the Fighting-type Gym's self-proclaimed Karate King, suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Sabrina, the Psychic-type Gym's psychic girl. He abandoned his Gym outright and ran off to Mt. Mortar to train in seclusion, swearing never to return.
Thus, the title of Saffron City's official Gym rightfully fell to Sabrina's Psychic-type Gym, a vast, umbrella-shaped building shrouded in ominous mist and unfathomable mystery.
Just looking at that silvery building sent chills through people and made their scalps prickle.
It looked more like