Ilex Forest is a winding path through dense trees connecting Azalea Town and Route 34. Travelers can enter at either end with no trouble at all, but to pass through to the other side they must be able to use the move Cut outside of battle.
Cut
When the player enters the forest, the only way to proceed through the next section of the forest is to return runaway Farfetch'd for the charcoal maker's son, thus receiving HM01 (Cut) as a reward, allowing the player to clear the path from a cuttable tree. The Farfetch'd will run away and allow the player to return them after the player defeats the rival in Azalea Town.
In Generation II, the player needs to use the forest's layout to chase it back, using a looped path on the far eastern side, as well as a ledged area. In order to tactically return the runaway Farfetch'd to its owner, the player must corner it and lead it into the direction of the owner.
In Generation IV, there are two Farfetch'd and each needs to be approached while they are facing the other way. The player can do this by walking over sticks and, by doing so, causing them to rustle. This grabs the Farfetch'd's attention and, if no other sticks are rustled, may allow them to be approached from behind. Once the Farfetch'd are returned, the player will receive the HM01.
Headbutt
In the center of the forest is a man who, in Generation II, will hand out TM02 (Headbutt). Using Headbutt on one of the trees in the forest can sometimes yield a wild Pokémon, which Trainers may wish to capture.
In Generation IV, as Headbutt is no longer a TM, the man is instead a Move Tutor who will teach Headbutt for free an unlimited number of times. Now all trees in all locations can be Headbutted, but not all will yield a Pokémon.
Ilex Forest Shrine
- Main article: Ilex Forest shrine
The shrine is a small structure located in the Ilex Forest. It is used in obtaining two event-exclusive Pokémon. It can be found in the deepest part of Ilex Forest, situated right in the center of the forest itself.
In Japanese and Virtual Console versions of Pokémon Crystal, the player can place the GS Ball on the shrine to make a Celebi appear, with an opportunity to capture it.
In Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, the player can obtain a special Pichu here, Spiky-eared Pichu, if the Pikachu-colored Pichu (or one of its evolutions) is the first Pokémon in the party. This Pichu is unique from others as it has a different pattern on one of its ears. If the shrine is approached with a promotional event Celebi as the partner Pokémon, Celebi will take the player back in time—in which they witness the secret to Silver's past, and in which they battle his father, Giovanni the boss of Team Rocket, in Tohjo Falls, before he responds to the hijacked Goldenrod Radio Tower's broadcast pleading for his return.
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Pokémon the Series
In Pokémon the Series: Gold and Silver, people live in Ilex Forest, and a Nurse Joy operates a Pokémon Center to cater for the many Trainers that use it as a thoroughfare. In Pokémon Journeys: The Series, the forest's portrayal is closer to its game portrayal, with no signs of permanent human residence shown there.
Ilex Forest first appeared in A Farfetch'd Tale, where Ash and his friends used it to travel from Azalea Town to Goldenrod City. It remains unclear if the episodes from Tricks of the Trade to The Fortune Hunters take place within Ilex Forest as well, however.
In A Farfetch'd Tale, the group met a young charcoal-making apprentice named Sylvester and his disobedient Farfetch'd, who continued to run away from him. Ash and his friends helped Sylvester track Farfetch'd down, only to realize it had been kidnapped by Team Rocket. Sylvester and Farfetch'd went on to join forces to defeat the trio, and Sylvester then taught Farfetch'd how to use Cut. Brock was familiar with Ilex Forest's world-famous charcoal, and uses it for his cooking. After helping Sylvester, Brock received some charcoal from Sylvester's master (father in the English dub), the local charcoal maker Yosaku.
In Time After Time!, Goh was revealed to have visited Ilex Forest three years earlier, meeting a boy named Horace and looking for the Ilex Forest shrine together with him. However, when Horace didn't show up the next day to resume the search, Goh felt betrayed and thought Horace had lied about them being friends. In the present day, Goh revisited the forest while on holiday with his parents Camille and Walker in Azalea Town. There, he caught a Pineco and an Ariados and found his way to the shrine, where he discovered a letter left for him by Horace, in which he explained that he had been unable to meet him as promised due to him having caught a cold. Horace subsequently also appeared at the shrine, allowing the two boys to restore their childhood friendship in person while being unknowingly observed by two Celebi, including a Shiny one.
Gallery
Pokémon Adventures
Ilex Forest first appeared in You Ain't Nothin' But A Houndour, where a tree-cutter was doing his shift for the day. When Gold arrived in the forest, he saw the tree-cutter and his Farfetch'd unconscious. A mysterious voice then told Gold to stay away, before revealing itself as the Masked Man. Gold engaged in a battle with the Masked Man, and was about to be defeated when the Masked Man saw that the forest's shrine started to glow. However, the glow faded before the Masked Man could reach it, after which he left the forest.
Starting from The Last Battle VII, Ilex Forest became the setting of the climax of the arc. Green entered the forest in order to find the shrine, only to be confronted by Will and Karen, whom the Masked Man had ordered to guard the shrine alongside Lugia and Ho-Oh. To Will and Karen's surprise, Green had managed to overcome her ornithophobia by catching the legendary birds, which she sent out to battle Lugia and Ho-Oh. Meanwhile, Gold contronted the Masked Man as he was en route to the forest after stealing the recipe of the GS Ball from Kurt at the Indigo Plateau. During the battle, Gold managed to shatter his mask, revealing his true identity as Pryce of the Mahogany Gym. When Pika and Chuchu intervened in the battle, Gold was forced to give up fighting so he could protect the two Pikachu and their Egg. After Pryce had escaped, the Egg hatched in Gold's hands, revealing a Pichu, whom Gold nicknamed Pibu and left with to pursue Pryce.
Meanwhile, Red and Blue arrived at the forest from underground and joined the battle on Green's side. They witnessed countless Pokémon, sent to the Azalea Town Pokémon Center via the Pokémon Storage System, gathering to connect with Lugia and Ho-Oh, freeing them from the Masked Man's control. Yellow then also arrived, having been chased there from Route 34 by Neo Team Rocket members, followed by Crystal, who teleported to the forest with the help of the Legendary beasts. With Silver being present as well, the Pokédex holders of Kanto and Johto joined to battle against Pryce, who used puppets made of ice to hold them off while he used the GS Ball to catch Celebi as it emerged from the crack of time within the shrine and ordered it to transport him to the past.
Riding the Legendary beasts, Gold, Silver, and Crystal pursued Pryce into the crack of time, where they found out that Pryce's plans as the Masked Man, including the establishment of Neo Team Rocket and the atrocities he and his underlings had committed, had all been in an effort to allow him to acquire Celebi and travel into the past to save his two Lapras, which had died in an accident before his eyes when he was younger. Using Pibu's "Super Rising Thunder" attack, Gold was able to destroy the GS Ball and set Celebi free. When Pryce started hearing the song "Boy and his Lapras", which his friends had made for him in his youth to cure him of his depression, and saw the offspring of his two Lapras rejoining its parents in the past, he was finally able to let go of his anger, willingly leaving himself to float within the crack of time.
Following Pryce's defeat, the Pokédex holders reunited in Ilex Forest. Blue intended to bring Silver to the police due to his theft of Professor Elm's Totodile, but Gold, who had given the police false testimony regarding Silver's appearance, told Blue to let him go, since he didn't look anything like the person on the wanted poster. Gold subsequently departed with Red in order to train with him on Mt. Silver, while the other Pokédex holders returned to their everyday lives. Will and Karen, meanwhile, encountered Koga and Bruno, whom they joined as fellow people with experiences of having been on the wrong side of the law.
In a flashback in All About Arceus VII, Celebi was seen rescuing Pryce from the crack of time, only for him to be confronted by Giovanni the moment he exited the shrine. Since Pryce had been responsible for kidnapping Giovanni's son, Silver, years earlier, Giovanni attacked him on sight, but the situation was prevented escalating by the arrival of Lance, who had helped to organize Pryce's return. The reason for this was that, while floating in the crack of time, Pryce had foreseen a disaster that could destroy the Johto and Sinnoh regions. Giovanni, who had come to the forest to seek Celebi's help in curing his long-time illness, ordered the Team Rocket Elite Trio to guard the forest and Celebi while he, Lance, and Pryce headed to the Sinjoh Ruins to stop the disaster from occuring.
In All About Arceus IX, the Team Rocket Elite Trio encountered Gold's Pibu and a spiky-eared Pichu, who were helping Celebi in gathering ingredients for Giovanni's medicine. Deeming the two Pokémon harmless, they resumed their patrol, only to be confronted by a group of Team Rocket Grunts, who had grown suspicious of their unexplained activity. When they spotted Celebi, they tried to capture it, but the trio helped Celebi to escape and told it to deliver the completed medicine to Giovanni at the Ruins of Alph.
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Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys
Ilex Forest appeared in For Pikachu's Sake!! The Search For The Missing Farfetch'd. Soon after departing from Azalea Town, Gold encountered a man who asked for his help in finding his runaway Farfetch'd. Whitney then also appeared, agreeing to help if she received a cute Pokémon as a reward once she was done. However, since the man didn't have any Pokémon other than Farfetch'd, Whitney declared that she'd instead take Gold's Pikachu if she won, whereas Gold would get a Plain Badge from her if he won, surprising Gold with her Gym Leader status.
The search for Farfetch'd commenced, with Gold's Pidgey and Whitney's Ditto soon locating it. Since they reached Farfetch'd simultaneously, Gold and Whitney decided to settle things with a battle. The battle between Gold's Bayleef and Whitney's Miltank was called off when it almost resulted in Whitney's Cleffa being buried under falling rubble. Whitney blamed herself of having put her own Pokémon's safety at risk and said that she had lost. Gold, however, declared that he was the true loser, as he considered his strategy and training skills inferior to hers. As such, Whitney then proceeded to claim Gold's Pikachu as her own, much to Gold's disagreement. Meanwhile, the Farfetch'd man was left alone, with Gold and Whitney having completely forgotten about their mission to return his Pokémon to him.
