A Traveler's Guide to the World of Pokémon/Kanto/Pallet Town

Pallet Town
マサラタウン Masara Town
File:Pallet-town.png
Shades of your journey await!
Location Info
Region	Kanto
Connecting Routes	Route 1 (North, by land) Route 21 (South, by sea)

Pallet Town (マサラタウン, Masara Taun, Masara Town in the original Japanese) is a fictional town in Kanto. This sleepy town lies on the shore, and is primarily known for hosting Professor Oaks lab, as well as for being the hometown of a number of notable Pokémon trainers.

Demographics

The population of Pallet Town is 10, making it the smallest town in Kanto.

Pallet Town in the games

Pallet Town is the hometown of the main character in Pokémon Red, Blue, Yellow, FireRed and LeafGreen, Pokémon Let's go Pikachu and Pokémon Let's go Eevee and can be visited in Pokémon Gold, Silver, Crystal, Pokémon Heart Gold and Pokémon Soul Silver.

Pallet Town is situated south of Viridian City and north of Cinnabar Island. The route to the north, Route 1, is separated from Pallet by dense grass, and features a slight incline, along with small ledges. The route to the south, Route 21, is a large expanse of water with the exception of a small peninsula directly south of Pallet Town.

Within the game, there are only three buildings in Pallet: two residences in the north and a laboratory belonging to Professor Oak to the southeast.

Red/Blue/Yellow/FireRed/LeafGreen

The house in the northwest of Pallet is the residence of the player's character. The first floor of the house is the kitchen/living room, and the second floor is the player's bedroom. The house to the northeast is the residence of both Professor Oak and his grandchildren. His grandson, the player's rival, never appears in this house, but his granddaughter Daisy does appear, and gives the player a map of the Kanto region. After obtaining the NationalDex in FireRed and LeafGreen, Daisy will groom one of the player's Pokémon and tell the player how his or her Pokémon feels.

The laboratory in Pallet is where Professor Oak does most of his research. The first time the player attempts to leave Pallet Town, Oak leads the player into the lab to choose his first Pokémon. In Pokémon Yellow, instead when you try to leave Oak appears and catches a Pikachu, which is then given to you. There is also a computer in the corner that displays an e-mail to Oak, inviting him to watch a battle at the Indigo Plateau.

Gold/Silver/Crystal

The same three houses exist in the Gold and Silver version of the game. The player's house is now the residence of a non-playable character named Red. Red's rival's name is Blue. Blue's sister, rather than giving a map to the player, will groom one of the player's Pokémon once a day, if the game's internal clock reads between 3:00PM and 4:00PM.

In Gold and Silver, a player can fish for Pokémon like Lanturn off its shore. Below the town is a grassy spot, where a player can catch Tangela and Mr. Mime.

Pallet Town in the anime

Cosplay of Ash Ketchum

In the Pokémon Anime Pallet Town is the starting point and hometown for Ash Ketchum, the main character of the Pokémon anime.

The version of Pallet depicted in the anime is much more visually stunning than in the game. Although only the same three buildings — Ash Ketchum's house, Gary Oak's house, and Professor Oak's laboratory — are seen, given the general lack of buildings in the game it can be assumed that there are more residences in Pallet. In fact, a sizable group of people arrive at the laboratory in the first episode of the anime to celebrate the beginning of Gary's journey, and it can be presumed that these people live in Pallet. The Professor's laboratory sits on a sizable hill overlooking the rest of the town.

Pallet Town is among the most frequently seen places in the anime, especially in early seasons. Besides Ash's calls to Delia and Professor Oak, he typically returns there at the end of each saga, before going on to the next region. There are also a number of episodes of Pokémon Chronicles set there.

Real Life Inspiration

Geographic

It's geographical location, considering Kanto is based on the real Japanese region of the same name, is Shimoda on the Izu peninsula. This real life small city is historically notable as the port where many foreigners stopped during the opening of Japan in the 1850's.

Naming

A pallet is an artist's mixing tray, and many of the Kanto locations are named after colors: Viridian (Green), Pewter (Grey), Cerulean (Sky Blue), Vermilion (Orange-red), Lavender (Purple), Celadon, Fuschia (Pink), Saffron (Yellow), Cinnabar (Red) and Indigo* (purple-blue)* of Indigo Plateau.

Gallery

A Palette used for oil painting.
The real life port of Shimoda.