Your Favourite Place (Route, City, etc.) in Pokemon

There have been seven generations of Pokemon regions, and most of these regions have had multiple games covering them. Each region has multiple different routes, cities, and secrets. Each of these routes, cities, and secrets have a unique look and a unique feel. That's a lot of uniqueness.

So what is your favourite place in Pokemon? Whether it is because you enjoy the aesthetics, love the Pokemon that appear there, or just downright enjoy the area, what is your favourite place in Pokemon? (It can be a route, a city, or literally anywhere in any of the regions)

I'll start with my own: The Moor of Icirrus. (BW and BW2, though I will be talking about the BW Moor)
I love the marshy look of Icirrus City and the surrounding routes, and the Moor seems to be the pinnacle of swamps. I never liked Keldeo that much, but that doesn't stop me from liking the Moor; there are plenty of cool secrets and items inside of it, and in the winter the whole thing freezes over, which is just so cool. To top it off, all of the Pokemon found in the Moor are some of my favourites: Stunfisk is one of my all-time favourite Pokemon (sue me), and Shelmet and Palpitoad I have a surprising affection for. You can also get Whiscash in the Moor, which is amazing. Also, I have found 2 shiny Stunfisks inside the Moor over my lifetime, and I wasn't hunting for either one.
 
Cool thread idea. I would probably say my favorite area is Route 228 in the postgame of Platinum (although really that entire postgame area from Stark Mountain to Resort Area is awesome imo). Just the lushness and beauty of that area, from the rocky environment to the few patches of grass leading to the more jungle-like route 229 and the bike paths (idk what to call them), it's just a beautiful area. Close second is Abyssal Ruins
 
Honestly, the main series Pokemon has some great locations and all, but I think the side games is where it's really at. Specifically the "future" of PMD2 (at least, I would class it as a place). For me the future is probably one of, if not the darkest location in Pokemon. Time has stopped, the world set against a depressing monotone backdrop, where all its inhabitants are driven back to primal instincts. And who are the only people you know? A criminal, someone who you though you could respect who is now trying to kill you, and there's also that god who wants you dead. Not exactly a cheery setting, but that's why I love it so. This isn't main series but it deserves a mention


As for the main series, HGSS Ecruteak as others have said is a great location, but my favourite from the main series is currently held by Po Town. One of the more depressing locations in Pokemon, it marks a tone change. The location was probably inhabited once, but Team Skull has taken over now. The constant rain and thunder combined with the depressing music make it a truly memorable location.
 
The best place for me is hands down Route 119 in both RSE and ORAS. Not so much for the Pokemon there, but for the atmosphere and scenery. I love the lushness of it, the nostalgia of it being my favorite generation, and the rain that constantly occurs there. It's got lots of bases too, which is more relevant in ORAS, but it's my favorite. Lush Jungle in SUMO os also awesome for similar reasons.
 
I love Lilycove & Slateport. RSE were my 1st pokemon games and I've got such fond memories of getting stuck in those cities not knowing what to do next! Ahhh, the time when I actually needed a guide to beat a pokemon game. Sweet, sweet memories.

Oh, and honorable mentions to that one Underwater level from Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia ( Beautiful scenery and music ) and the Marine Tube from Pokemon B2W2.
 

Xen

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Ecruteak City is a good one, as many others have pointed out. The eastern influence and all the legends surrounding it make for a very memorable location in an otherwise basic region.

One of my favorite locations has to be Mt. Coronet. Even though traversing it is absolute hell for your party due to the HM usage, the whole majestic atmosphere the mountain gives off, especially in the upper snowy areas makes it one of the most memorable dungeons in the series. It also has the Spear Pillar and the yeti Abomasnow at its peak.


I also like the underwater dive routes in Hoenn. Sure the sea travel can get old in RSE/ORAS, but you can't deny being able to explore the seafloor for aquatic Pokemon and ancient ruins was a neat concept, especially back in Gen III when the prior regions weren't geographically pushing boundaries beyond the basic necessities.
 
I also like the underwater dive routes in Hoenn. Sure the sea travel can get old in RSE/ORAS, but you can't deny being able to explore the seafloor for aquatic Pokemon and ancient ruins was a neat concept, especially back in Gen III when the prior regions weren't geographically pushing boundaries beyond the basic necessities.
This may be unpopular, but I can't stand the underwater parts of Hoenn. It was so expansive, that I have bad memories of getting lost my first time playing looking for either Sootopolis or the Seafloor Cavern (can't remember exactly). And it was so slow moving underwater, I just wish it was sped up a little in RSE. Also, it may just be me, but I always encountered less pokemon underwater than I wanted to. I had to really try to find pokes to catch or train against
 
From side games:

-as said before, the future sequence in PMD2
-the fugitive sequence in PMD1
-individual dungeons: Mt. Blaze, Sky Tower, Frosty Forest, Apple Woods, Temporal Tower, Hidden Land, Brine Cave, Foggy Forest, all of the dungeons in the Grovyle special episode in Sky, Sky Peak
-I haven't played Ranger 2 and 3 in several years so I can't remember them so well but I remember really liking the underwater sequences, the cave behind the waterfall in Oblivia, whatever that electric mountain in I think Oblivia was called, the volcanoes in both games, Almia Castle
-in ranger 1: SEKRA RANGE PLZTHXBAI it might be my favorite location in any Pokémon game ever tbh
 
In the main series I cannot really settle for a single place, but in terms of games, HGSS and BW2 have the best-looking locations IMO.

In side games, well...
- Sky Tower in Rescue Team.
- The future (both main story and special episodes), Temporal Tower and Sky Peak in Explorers.
- Serene Village (particularly when looking from near the giant tree), the Voidlands (the first overworld part), and the Tree of Life in Super Mystery Dungeon. The first two areas make a pretty good use of the camera, something ORAS and SM unfortunately lacked.
 
- Serene Village (particularly when looking from near the giant tree)
Oh damn, yes! That is such a great view.

The first two areas make a pretty good use of the camera, something ORAS and SM unfortunately lacked.
I'll have to disagree with this one, though. ORAS is quite lacking, but SM has some of the best camera angles I've seen in modern Pokemon games. Hau'oli City, one of our starting areas, for example, is so pretty and the camera shows it. ( took these pics 10 secs ago, hence why its sunset in both of them)



Konikoni City is another area with incredible camera work. It's even prettier at night when the lights up.



It's just that it's something you have to stop and take a minute to appreciate, like this one area in MeleMele that gives you a view of the coast-side of the island ( the one you don't have access to early-on ) and it legit took me 3 playthroughs to find it.

And that's not to mention the Poke-Finder, which despite a choppy framerate makes pretty darn good use of the camera.
 

Max. Optimizer

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Retrospectively I'd say that the Abandoned Ship, also known as the S.S. Cactus, on Route 108 (Hoenn) is my favorite place in Pokémon.
Feel free to listen to the remixes that I provided down below in order to embrace the atmosphere.


I like how this place stands in great contrast to the usual busy cities, towns and routes of the Pokémon games.
Despite the fact that time has seemingly stopped in this place, there's more to this "rusty and tattered old ship" than meets the eye.

Contrary to popular belief the ship is actually very well alive!
Once you're quite literally diving deeper into it, you'll notice that the flooded parts of the ship have become the habitat for Tentacool, Tentacruel and Magikarp.
Also, if Dhelmise was a native Hoenn Pokémon, then this'd definitely be the most fitting habitat for it.

In addition to the Pokémon that turned the depths of the ship into their habitat, there's also a variety of trainers that still gets attracted by the ship.
These trainers range from Tubers that come out here to play with their Marill, Sailors that train their Machoke and young couples that want to be alone here to Ruin Maniacs who hope to find treasures.

Who knows? Maybe there are more treasures and contemporary witnesses that didn't get lost to time at the bottom of the sea than just the famous Scanner?

Despite the unfortunate fact that we never got to read the ship's logbook, we're still provided with enough food for thought that lets us picture it in our imagination.

There are for example a couple of details that lead me to believe that this ship must've been indeed a cruiser for wealthy passengers:
  • You can find a Luxury Ball in one of the rooms
  • An NPC at the Oceanic Museum says that the ship's structure strongly resembles the one of the famous S.S. Anne
  • You can hear a remix of the S.S. Anne theme playing in the background while visiting the Oceanic Museum
Who knows? Maybe the Harbor Mail that you can find in one of the rooms belonged to a passenger (maybe from a different region) that wanted to write to his family at home?

At the end of the day it's always nice to return to this place and dive into this sea of information that leaves enough room for personal interpretation!
 
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Codraroll

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My special place in the Pokémon world is the southern end of Hoenn's Route 120.

After you finally battle your way out of the rainforest and clear the jungle maze (the one with the Kecleon), you emerge in a low valley where the weather is clear and the wind is blowing. In the ponds you can see the reflection of clouds drifting by, or the starry sky at night, you can hear wild Pokémon call, there are mysterious ruins to explore nearby, and a nice bush by a pond where you can make a Secret Base. It even has a little berry patch you can use for a garden.

Geographically, the shore of Mt. Pyre Bay is the one place on the Hoennese mainland farthest away from any settlements. It's a place where nature reigns, neigbouring the large Safari Zone, but it doesn't feel like wilderness. It's a nice place with nice weather, where you always can roll out your sleeping bag and sleep beneath the stars without fear of getting wet. I find Route 120 relaxing and yet adventurous. I really like staying there, and always make sure to put my Secret Base in that bush by the pond.

The secret beach on the opposite side of Hoenn is nice too. I remember finding it only after clocking several dozen hours in Emerald, while surfing north from Rustboro. It's a place you wouldn't be likely to find if you just rush through the game. The only clue of its existence is found when looking for certain Pokémon in the Pokédex, where Swellow and Jigglypuff show up exclusively on Route 115 despite it apparently lacking any grass. That is a really nice touch, I think. Johto has a similar secret beach on route 34, albeit without any wild Pokémon, only a trio of trainers that challenge you in a gauntlet.
 
The secret beach on the opposite side of Hoenn is nice too. I remember finding it only after clocking several dozen hours in Emerald, while surfing north from Rustboro. It's a place you wouldn't be likely to find if you just rush through the game. The only clue of its existence is found when looking for certain Pokémon in the Pokédex, where Swellow and Jigglypuff show up exclusively on Route 115 despite it apparently lacking any grass. That is a really nice touch, I think. Johto has a similar secret beach on route 34, albeit without any wild Pokémon, only a trio of trainers that challenge you in a gauntlet.
tbh there needs to be more of this, the amount of "unnecessary" places in Johto is one of the biggest redeeming factors in that game imo lol
 

Karxrida

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This series has so many great locales that I can't even begin to pick one singular location as my favorite. So I won't, and instead mention some great ones nobody else has.

Hoenn Route 113 has a unique aesthetic (raining ash) and one of the single best tracks of music in the franchise. It's a beautiful and memorable place, which is high praise for a route.

Sootopolis City is another unique place, being a city found on an island enclosed on all sides by natural walls formed by a meteor strike (or something). The all-white rock is also very striking.

Hoenn's rendition of Victory Road isn't fantastic in and of itself, but the music really hammers home how you're on the last leg of your journey. The new rooms with waterfalls and grass added in ORAS are cool, too.

Mt. Silver is empty (in a good way), somewhat harrowing, and large (in the Johto remakes). Once you finally get to the top, you face the most epic fight in the series.
 
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The champion room in Ruby has to be my favorite. It was my first experience with a champion and it holds a lot of meaning to me.

R.I.P my ruby cartridge T_T
 
My favorite ingame location is probably Hoenn Route 121. I suppose I have a thing for the gates all over this route. I also think it's cool that Duskull and Shuppet spawn here (although at low encounter rates); it gives the route a creepy vibe and provides foreshadowing for a nearby location. My Secret Base location of choice was on the tree next to the Safari Zone (the right side iirc with the 'tall' layout according to Bulbapedia). As for points of interest, you have the Safari Zone here and Mt. Pyre to the south. Honestly, anywhere east of Mauville to Lilycove is an excellent location, and is probably my favorite 'area' in any Pokemon game.
I also like almost any port cities, so Vermillion, Olivine and Lilycove are up there for me too. Not too much of a Slateport fan, though; honestly, it's probably the music, because everything else about it is cool (a bazaar, an ocean museum, a big beach, and a shipyard are nice touches).
One more thing I wanted to mention: at Olivine City, the dock in GSC was better executed than in HGSS. In HGSS, you walk through a gate and end up at the dock. In GSC, you enter a building and descend a staircase to a tunnel that goes under the water, until you ascend the stairs down that corridor and emerge to the (pink) dock on the other side. I always thought the long-windedness of that path was really neat, especially since you can't run or bike that way.
 
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I think that the desert area in the original B/W was very interesting, especially the relic castle. I like how a generation that is so modern-day like gen 5, can be so interesting with its ancient ruins and history. The relic castle is also the place where you can find a wicked pokemon, Volcorona, among other great pokemon. But the absolute best thing about the relic castle though, is the theme. It's extremely underrated and one of the best themes in the entire franchise to me.

also, ALL OF JOHTO
 

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one place that I think is really underappreciated is the Sendoff Spring


just look at that. it just nails the "secret lake in the middle of nowhere" look with all the trees and the rough mountain you need Rock Climb to traverse. you can tell that barely anyone has even seen this place before. additionally it contains a secret gateway to GIRATINA one of the coolest mons ever.
 
There are many great places in the Pokemon games. I want this to be fair so I'll list some favorites from each region.

Kanto: I like the Pokemon Mansion. It is an abandoned, partly destroyed building with scientists roaming around freely and doing weird experiments. There are also hints to legendary Pokemon in the diaries, adding some extra lore to the games. Plus a puzzle featuring hidden switches in statues, and a reward at the very end of the building. Cinnabar Island itself is pretty cool too, I like how it is an Island rather than just a regular town. Speaking of Islands, I am also very fond of the Sevii Islands, they feel very unique and varied with a lot of interesting and cool environments.

Johto: As others have mentioned, Ecruteak City, I think it captures the traditional Japanese feeling better than anything else in Johto. I also like the Bellchime Trail with its colorful autumn leaves, plus Bell Tower itself which is a really cool tower, standing at the top and meeting Ho-Oh is one of my favorite moments in the Johto games.

Hoenn: The Abandoned Ship in R/S/E, and Sea Mauville in OR/AS, Max. Optimizer explaned it better than I ever could. A really cool place with lots of mysteries, very fun to explore. I also really like the Mirage Spots in OR/AS. While they were quite small and didn't have a lot of content, I think their individual designs are just fantastic. They all look unique, several of them has some sort of unique feature such as a volcano, ruins or a meteor crater. I am also a huge fan of the Battle Frontier in Emerald and the Battle Resort in OR/AS. Not just for their features, I also like how both areas are designed.

Sinnoh: This region has many great places, but the first ones that come to mind for me are Snowpoint and the surrounding routes. I love snow and seeing it in a Pokemon game for the first time was amazing. I am also a big fan of Mt. Coronet, climbing it on the outside and not just on the inside made it feel like an actual mountain as opposed to just another generic cave. It was long and complicated, I know many dislike it just because of that but I liked it a lot.

Unova: This is my favorite region, so there are a lot of places I love. Can I say all of it? No? Then I'll try to be a bit more specific, going to mention some of my top favorites.

First is Aspertia City. To me, this is the best starting city in the series. It has a Gym, a Pokemon Center, concrete paths and several houses apart from the player's. I also love the lookout, standing there and watching Unova is fantastic. It gives a feeling of building something on the past while looking towards the future.

Then there's the Strange House. A creepy place done just right, the fact that the furniture moves on its own is just one small detail, but the atmosphere it creates is incredible.

Black City, and Black Tower. For me, they manage to create the feeling of a "big city" better than many other places in the series. It is hard to explain, it just gives me the feeling of being in a big city more than anything else. It might have to do with the darkness, or the black coloration of most buildings, I'm not sure. Though Castelia comes very close, as well as Lumiose but in a completely different way.

Celestial Tower. A typical burial ground, but without being creepy. Instead, it is a place which shows respect for the departed. Some other places in the series has similar areas, notably Lavender Town in the Johto games, but I feel that the Celestial Tower does it the very best. That's not to say I dislike the creepy places in the series (as seen above with the Strange House, I also like Mt. Pyre and the Old Chateau), but not every area with ghosts needs to be creepy to be well done. The Celestial Tower shows that.

Kalos: Route 8/Muraille Coast. I really liked how this was split in two, one upper section on the cliff and then a lower section on the beach. The view from when you first enter from the Connecting Cave is really great, I loved seeing Cyllage City below, wondering what place it was and when I would get there.

Alola: I'm going to have to say Aether Paradise. The upper floors give a sense of what they are actually supposed to do, protecting wild Pokemon and keeping them safe, people doing honest work to help Pokemon and the environment. Then there's the basement which is completely different, it gives off a creepy wibe similar to when you first discover the secret laboratory in a Metroid game, the first instinct you get is that there's something that's not quite right there.

As for the side-games... I have only played XD and Colosseum (as well as PBR, but it doesn't really have any "areas"). I think they deserve a mention since they have some wicked awesome places too. I really like The Under, an underground city is really cool and this was well done. The Relic Stone at Agate Village has an atmosphere of safeness and relaxation, I always liked coming there to purify Shadow Pokemon. Gateon Port in XD was cool, it felt like a real harbor more than any other place in the series (at that point). Citadark Isle was amazing as well, an area with lots of variation but also very dark, a perfect place for the final showdown against the evil team.

I might write about more areas later on, but this is it for now.
 
Ecruteak and basically all of Johto. Pretty much all of Unova, but especially the early towns in BW1 and Castelia, which I think benefits from the fact that you only pass through a smaller section of the city. The way it's implemented is kind of silly, and I can see it ruining the location for some people, but I think it ultimately creates the intended atmosphere more convincingly than Lumiose City.

As for the main series, HGSS Ecruteak as others have said is a great location, but my favourite from the main series is currently held by Po Town. One of the more depressing locations in Pokemon, it marks a tone change. The location was probably inhabited once, but Team Skull has taken over now. The constant rain and thunder combined with the depressing music make it a truly memorable location.
I want to agree, but the gigantic wall around it just kills it for me. It looks ridiculous and doesn't make any sense.
 

Max. Optimizer

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While I talked about the Abandoned Ship in my previous post, I still wanted to place great emphasis on yet another interesting place I like a lot and that hasn't been mentioned yet in this thread: the Malie Garden in Malie City on Ula'ula Island (Alola).
Feel free to listen to both the Day and Night version of the Malie City theme that I provided down below in order to embrace the atmosphere.


What makes this place in my opinion so interesting is the fact that its Asian style stands in considerable contrast with the Hawaiian style of the rest of the Alola region.
Even the Rotom Pokédex says something along the lines of: "Thizz Malie City place kinda reminds me of the Johto region, you know? Zzt?" before disappearing again in our backpack.

Here are a couple of elements that underline the Asian theme of this place:
  • You can encounter both Magikarp and Gyarados while fishing.
  • Magikarp is based on a koi carp which can usually be found in Asian water gardens.
  • According to an Asian legend said koi carps can evolve into dragons.
  • I know that Gyarados isn't really a "dragon", but I think it's still nice that you can encounter both of them in this place.
  • You can encounter both Celesteela and Kartana.
  • While Celesteela has the theme of "bamboo" going, Kartana is based both on the famous Katana swords that were used by the Samurai back in Feudal Japan times and the Origami art style.
  • While battling against trainers in this area, you can also spot the famous Asian pagodas in the background of the scenery!
In addition to this, the game developers and designers also managed to implement a nostalgic reference to the famous Nugget Bridge and a hidden reference to Zygarde!

Retrospectively, as a closing statement, I'd say that it's a place worth checking out for various reason.
Once you arrive on Ula'ula for the first time you might as well want to take a break from your adventure and go explore the Malie Garden.
There's a plethora of things to discover in every corner after all!
 
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Cerberax

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Okay, here's my pick from each region:

Kanto - Pokemon Mansion. Cinnabar is one of the more interesting towns in Kanto because of it, but I love it because of its relevance to Mew. There are diaries everywhere detailing the discovery of Mew and the birth of Mewtwo, all given in a somewhat mysterious setting which of course leads up to the player finding Mewtwo in Cerulean Cave. It also adds evidence to the myth of Ditto being a failed clone of Mew, since Mew is so relevant to the Pokemon Mansion and it's the only location in Kanto where Ditto can be found.

Johto - Ruins of Alph. I agree with what others have said above about Ecruteak City, and I would say that Ecruteak is definitely the center of Johto's culture and history, but I love the mystery in the Ruins of Alph. I confess I never played gen 2 all the way through, so I'm not sure if they were the exact same as they were in HGSS, but the different puzzles and the cryptic messages from the Unown always intrigued me. It's also where I found my very first Shiny Pokemon :)

Hoenn - literally the whole region Meteor Falls. I almost went for the Sealed Chamber here but Meteor Falls is my favorite part of Hoenn honestly because of how pretty it is. It was always one of my favorite places to explore in Ruby, and Omega Ruby did not disappoint with the updated graphics (and it's one of the few places where you can use the 3D effect in the overworld). Also, it's a main part of the storyline because of how relevant the meteorite is, especially in the whole Delta Episode business of ORAS.

Sinnoh - Sendoff Spring, Turnback Cave, and the Distortion World. Grouping all three of these together because it's essentially for the same reason. Turnback Cave I love just because of the puzzle of getting through it and making it back to the Distortion World, but also the idea of this spring in the middle of Sinnoh that literally leads to another dimension. The Distortion World itself is sufficiently creepy and fun to explore - Sendoff Spring reminds me of how the three lakes are described in the anime as not true lakes, but portals to another world through which the Lake Guardians emerge.

Unova - Skyarrow Bridge. This one was purely for the aesthetics, the sprint/bike ride to and from Castelia is just fun to watch. I have to say I didn't really pay as much attention to Unova as some other regions and I didn't do any of the postgame stuff, so this was the only location I could think of that I really remember enjoying.

Kalos - Lumiose City. This was a hard choice for me because Kalos really doesn't have a lot of standout locations to me, but I've got to give credit where credit is due for completely outdoing Castelia City a generation later. "Look, here's a huge city!" "Look, here's an even bigger one!" There are so many random buildings that you'll probably never walk into but that have people in them with programmed dialogue, movements, and everything. You have to hand it to them for the attention to detail.

Alola - Exeggutor Island. Alolan Exeggutor is one of my favorite things to come out of gen 7 and I find the fact that they gave it its own island quite amusing. This is another one where I admit I haven't paid as much attention as I should to the interesting locations in the region - I'll probably do that once I actually pick Moon back up and do the postgame stuff.
 
Malie City in Pokémon Sun and Moon (this includes Malie Garden).
I just love the feel to it, the design is beautiful and unique, and sometimes I just find myself there looking at the buildings and running around. Plus, it has a Hariyama cutout. Those are fun.
 

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