Location from Pokémon HeartGold & SoulSilver by Game Freak / Nintendo
Johto's sprawling economic capital — the ultra-modern city where the Radio Tower broadcasts to the whole region, the Department Store has six floors, and Team Rocket spent a day in control before the player took it back.
Goldenrod is where Johto's modernity lives. Every other city in the region has one foot in tradition — Ecruteak is openly ancient, even Blackthorn is cut from rock. Goldenrod is glass and concrete and commerce. It's also the telecommunications hub: the Pokégear radio function receives Goldenrod broadcasts. The Radio Tower takeover is the game's major set-piece: Team Rocket replaces the civilian staff, begins broadcasting their signal to Giovanni, and locks the building. You clear your way up to Archer on the fifth floor. The aftermath is quiet — the DJ's come back, the signal goes back to normal music and Pokémon march reports, like it didn't happen. Whitney's gym is here, along with the National Park to the north, the Pokéathlon Dome, the Game Corner, the underground shopping tunnel. Goldenrod is busy and gets busier. It never quite sleeps.
The largest city in Johto by every measure: the most streets, the tallest buildings, the most people. The Radio Tower dominates the skyline — five floors of broadcasting equipment and studios. The Department Store is a tower in the other direction. At night, Goldenrod stays lit.
Also known as: Goldenrod City