Sinnoh Region

Sinnoh (Japanese: シンオウ地方 Shin'ō-chihō) is the fourth region in the Pokemon franchise and is known for its mountainous terrain, mythological themes, and cold climate. Introduced in Generation IV with Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, Sinnoh is based on the real-world Hokkaido region of Japan. The region is characterized by its central mountain range, legendary Pokemon tied to creation mythology, and significant mechanical innovations to the Pokemon series.^[1]

Overview

Attribute	Details
Based On	Hokkaido, Japan
Generation	IV
Native Pokemon	107 (Generation IV)
Gym Leaders	8
Professor	Professor Rowan
Champion	Cynthia
Games	Diamond/Pearl/Platinum, Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl, Legends: Arceus (as Hisui)

Geography

Map Layout

Sinnoh is divided by the towering Mt. Coronet, which runs through the center of the region:

Direction	Key Locations
South	Twinleaf Town, Sandgem Town, Lake Verity
West	Jubilife City, Oreburgh City, Eterna City
North	Snowpoint City, Lake Acuity
East	Veilstone City, Pastoria City, Sunyshore City
Center	Mt. Coronet, Celestic Town

Climate and Terrain

Feature	Description
Mountains	Mt. Coronet dominates the landscape
Climate	Northern areas covered in snow year-round
Lakes	Three sacred lakes (Verity, Valor, Acuity)
Coastline	Eastern shore along the ocean

Major Cities and Towns

Location	Gym Leader	Type	Badge
Twinleaf Town	—	—	Starting town
Sandgem Town	—	—	Professor Rowan's lab
Jubilife City	—	—	Largest city
Oreburgh City	Roark	Rock	Coal Badge
Floaroma Town	—	—	Flower town
Eterna City	Gardenia	Grass	Forest Badge
Hearthome City	Fantina	Ghost	Relic Badge
Solaceon Town	—	—	Pokemon Day Care
Veilstone City	Maylene	Fighting	Cobble Badge
Pastoria City	Crasher Wake	Water	Fen Badge
Celestic Town	—	—	Ancient ruins
Canalave City	Byron	Steel	Mine Badge
Snowpoint City	Candice	Ice	Icicle Badge
Sunyshore City	Volkner	Electric	Beacon Badge

City Details

Twinleaf Town

Attribute	Details
Role	Player's hometown
Notable	Barry's house nearby
Location	Southern peninsula
Lake	Lake Verity nearby

Jubilife City

Attribute	Details
Role	Largest city in Sinnoh
Features	TV station, Trainer School, GTS
Location	Southwest region
Economy	Media and communications hub

Hearthome City

Attribute	Details
Features	Contest Hall, Poffin House
Notable	Church-like architecture
Position	Central location
Gym	Ghost-type (out of badge order)

Snowpoint City

Attribute	Details
Climate	Perpetually snowy
Location	Northernmost city
Notable	Snowpoint Temple
Access	Requires Surf and Defog

Sunyshore City

Attribute	Details
Features	Solar panel walkways
Location	Eastern coast
Notable	Vista Lighthouse
Final Gym	Electric-type

Notable Locations

Mt. Coronet

Attribute	Details
Type	Massive mountain range
Role	Divides eastern and western Sinnoh
Features	Multiple floors, various entrances
Pokemon	Clefairy, Machoke, Medicham, Bronzong
Significance	Site of Spear Pillar

Spear Pillar

Attribute	Details
Location	Summit of Mt. Coronet
Role	Ancient ruins
Legendary	Dialga/Palkia summoning site
Team Galactic	Final confrontation location
Features	Time/space distortion portal

Distortion World

Attribute	Details
Appearance	Platinum only
Type	Parallel dimension
Features	Gravity-defying platforms
Legendary	Giratina's domain
Physics	Reversed gravity, floating debris

Sacred Lakes

Lake Verity

Attribute	Details
Location	Near Twinleaf Town
Guardian	Mesprit (Being of Emotion)
First Visit	Tutorial with Professor Rowan
Theme	Emotion and feelings

Lake Valor

Attribute	Details
Location	Near Pastoria City
Guardian	Azelf (Being of Willpower)
Notable	Drained by Team Galactic
Theme	Willpower and determination

Lake Acuity

Attribute	Details
Location	Near Snowpoint City
Guardian	Uxie (Being of Knowledge)
Climate	Frozen, surrounded by snow
Theme	Knowledge and wisdom

Iron Island

Attribute	Details
Location	Off Canalave City coast
Type	Mining island
Notable	Riley partnership
Pokemon	Steel and Fighting types
Item	Riolu Egg

Turnback Cave

Attribute	Details
Location	Behind Sendoff Spring
Type	Maze dungeon
Legendary	Giratina (Platinum)
Features	Randomized rooms, pillars
Challenge	Navigate before 30 rooms

Stark Mountain

Attribute	Details
Location	Battle Zone (northeast)
Type	Volcano
Legendary	Heatran
Partners	Buck (Flint's brother)
Access	Post-National Dex

Fullmoon Island

Attribute	Details
Location	Accessible from Canalave
Legendary	Cresselia
Purpose	Cure Sailor Eldritch's son
Feature	Lunar Wing item

Newmoon Island

Attribute	Details
Access	Event-only (Member Card)
Legendary	Darkrai
Type	Small, desolate island
Feature	Counterpart to Fullmoon Island

Old Chateau

Attribute	Details
Location	Eterna Forest
Type	Haunted mansion
Pokemon	Rotom (TV/appliances)
Features	Ghost girl, butler appearances
Notable	Creepiest location in Sinnoh

Wayward Cave

Attribute	Details
Location	Under Cycling Road (Route 206)
Type	Dark cave system
Pokemon	Gible (rare)
Features	Hidden entrance, requires Flash
Partners	Mira escort mission

Battle Zone

Attribute	Details
Location	Post-game island area
Features	Battle Frontier (Platinum)
Access	Requires National Dex
Cities	Fight Area, Survival Area, Resort Area
Facilities	Battle Tower, Battle Factory, etc.

Pokemon League

Gym Leaders

Order	Leader	City	Type	Badge	Signature
1	Roark	Oreburgh	Rock	Coal	Cranidos/Rampardos
2	Gardenia	Eterna	Grass	Forest	Roserade
3	Fantina	Hearthome	Ghost	Relic	Mismagius
4	Maylene	Veilstone	Fighting	Cobble	Lucario
5	Crasher Wake	Pastoria	Water	Fen	Floatzel
6	Byron	Canalave	Steel	Mine	Bastiodon
7	Candice	Snowpoint	Ice	Icicle	Abomasnow
8	Volkner	Sunyshore	Electric	Beacon	Luxray/Electivire

Elite Four

Member	Type	Signature Pokemon	Background
Aaron	Bug	Drapion (Platinum)	Bug Pokemon expert
Bertha	Ground	Hippowdon	Veteran trainer
Flint	Fire	Infernape	Friend of Volkner
Lucian	Psychic	Gallade (Platinum)	Book lover, intellectual

Champion

Champion	Signature	Team Highlights	Notable
Cynthia	Garchomp	Spiritomb, Lucario, Milotic, Roserade, Gastrodon	Strongest Champion to date^[2]

Cynthia's Background

Attribute	Details
Hometown	Celestic Town
Research	Sinnoh mythology and legends
Grandmother	Village elder
Appearances	Multiple games, anime, manga
Difficulty	Considered most challenging Champion

Native Pokemon

Starter Pokemon

Pokemon	Type	Mid Form	Final Form	Pokedex #
Turtwig	Grass	Grotle	Torterra (Grass/Ground)	#387-389
Chimchar	Fire	Monferno (Fire/Fighting)	Infernape (Fire/Fighting)	#390-392
Piplup	Water	Prinplup	Empoleon (Water/Steel)	#393-395

Legendary Pokemon

Creation Trio

Pokemon	Type	Role	Location	Pokedex #
Dialga	Steel/Dragon	Time deity	Spear Pillar (Diamond/BD)	#483
Palkia	Water/Dragon	Space deity	Spear Pillar (Pearl/SP)	#484
Giratina	Ghost/Dragon	Antimatter deity	Distortion World/Turnback Cave	#487

Lake Guardians (Lake Trio)

Pokemon	Type	Attribute	Lake	Pokedex #
Uxie	Psychic	Knowledge	Lake Acuity	#480
Mesprit	Psychic	Emotion	Lake Verity (roaming)	#481
Azelf	Psychic	Willpower	Lake Valor	#482

Other Legendaries

Pokemon	Type	Location	Method	Pokedex #
Heatran	Fire/Steel	Stark Mountain	Post-game quest	#485
Regigigas	Normal	Snowpoint Temple	Requires Regi trio	#486
Cresselia	Psychic	Fullmoon Island (roaming)	Post-game event	#488
Darkrai	Dark	Newmoon Island	Event-only (Member Card)	#491
Shaymin	Grass	Flower Paradise	Event-only (Oak's Letter)	#492
Arceus	Normal	Hall of Origin	Event-only (Azure Flute)	#493

Mythical Pokemon

Pokemon	Type	Event Item	Significance	Pokedex #
Phione	Water	Breed Manaphy	Non-legendary offspring	#489
Manaphy	Water	Pokemon Ranger mission	Sea guardian	#490

Iconic Sinnoh Pokemon

Pokemon	Pokedex #	Notable For
Infernape	#392	Popular Fire starter
Empoleon	#395	Unique Water/Steel typing
Staraptor	#398	Regional bird, powerful
Luxray	#405	Fan favorite Electric type
Roserade	#407	Elegant Grass/Poison
Garchomp	#445	Cynthia's signature, pseudo-legendary
Lucario	#448	Featured in movie, Aura Pokemon
Weavile	#461	Dark/Ice evolution
Magnezone	#462	Steel/Electric powerhouse
Electivire	#466	Electric evolution
Magmortar	#467	Fire evolution
Togekiss	#468	Fairy/Flying (later)
Leafeon	#470	Grass Eeveelution
Glaceon	#471	Ice Eeveelution
Gliscor	#472	Ground/Flying vampire bat
Mamoswine	#473	Ice/Ground mammoth
Gallade	#475	Psychic/Fighting knight
Froslass	#478	Ice/Ghost unique evolution
Rotom	#479	Form-changing appliance ghost

Important Characters

Professor Rowan

Attribute	Details
Role	Regional Pokemon Professor
Research	Pokemon evolution
Location	Sandgem Town
Gift	Starter Pokemon, Pokedex
Personality	Stern but caring
Assistant	Lucas/Dawn (player's opposite)

Barry

Attribute	Details
Role	Main rival, player's friend
Hometown	Twinleaf Town (neighbor)
Father	Palmer (Frontier Brain)
Personality	Impatient, energetic, competitive
Team	Starter counter to player
Signature	Staraptor, starter final form

Cynthia

Attribute	Details
Role	Champion, mythology researcher
Hometown	Celestic Town
Appearance	Blonde hair, all black outfit
Helps	Provides guidance throughout journey
Research	Sinnoh creation myths
Strength	Most difficult Champion battle^[2]

Team Galactic

Attribute	Details
Leader	Cyrus
Goal	Create new universe without spirit
Admins	Mars, Jupiter, Saturn
Technology	Red Chain to control legendaries
Ideology	Eliminate human emotion/spirit

Cyrus

Attribute	Details
Role	Team Galactic Boss
Philosophy	Spirit/emotion are flawed
Goal	Summon Dialga/Palkia to remake reality
Background	Childhood in Sunyshore City
Fate	Trapped in Distortion World (Platinum)
Personality	Cold, calculating, nihilistic

Riley

Attribute	Details
Location	Iron Island
Specialty	Aura (like Lucario)
Gift	Riolu Egg
Battle	Multi-battle partner
Appearance	Similar to Sir Aaron from movie

Looker

Attribute	Details
Role	International Police detective
First Appearance	Platinum
Mission	Investigate Team Galactic
Recurring	Appears in later generations
Personality	Eccentric, dedicated

Other Notable Characters

Character	Role
Lucas/Dawn	Professor's assistant (opposite gender)
Palmer	Barry's father, Tower Tycoon
Johanna	Player's mother, Contest star
Buck	Treasure hunter, Flint's brother
Cheryl	Trainer in Eterna Forest
Mira	Lost girl in Wayward Cave
Marley	Trainer on Route 224

History in Games

Generation IV (2006-2009)

Pokemon Diamond and Pearl

Attribute	Details
Platform	Nintendo DS
Release	2006 (Japan), 2007 (International)
New Pokemon	107 species
Features	Online play via Wi-Fi, Poketch
Changes	Physical/Special split^[3]

Pokemon Platinum

Attribute	Details
Platform	Nintendo DS
Release	2008 (Japan), 2009 (International)
Enhanced	Improved story, Distortion World
New Forms	Giratina Origin Forme
Battle Frontier	Replaced Battle Tower
Improvements	Faster gameplay, more content

Generation VIII (2021)

Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl

Attribute	Details
Platform	Nintendo Switch
Release	November 2021
Developer	ILCA (not Game Freak)
Style	Chibi overworld, 3D battles
Features	Faithful remake of Diamond/Pearl
Changes	Underground improvements, Ramanas Park
Controversy	No Platinum content included^[4]

Pokemon Legends: Arceus

Attribute	Details
Platform	Nintendo Switch
Release	January 2022
Setting	Ancient Sinnoh (called Hisui)
Style	Open-world, action RPG
Gameplay	Real-time catching, no traditional battles
Story	Create first Pokedex, origin of Galaxy Team
Innovation	Major departure from traditional formula^[5]

Hisui Region Connection

Aspect	Hisui (Ancient)	Sinnoh (Modern)
Time Period	Feudal era	Contemporary
Development	Small villages	Major cities
Mt. Coronet	Sacred, dangerous	Traversable
Pokemon	Regional forms	Standard forms
Technology	Basic Pokeballs	Advanced technology

Real-World Connections

Hokkaido, Japan

Sinnoh is based on Japan's northernmost main island:

In-Game Location	Real-World Equivalent	Notes
Sinnoh region	Hokkaido	Similar shape and climate
Mt. Coronet	Ezo Mountain Range	Central mountain spine
Snowpoint City	Wakkanai	Northernmost city
Lake Verity	Lake Tōya	Volcanic caldera lake
Lake Valor	Lake Shikotsu	Large caldera lake
Lake Acuity	Lake Akan	Eastern Hokkaido lake
Canalave City	Otaru	Port city with canals
Battle Zone	Kunashir Island	Disputed territory

Cultural References

Feature	Inspiration
Creation mythology	Shinto creation myths
Spear Pillar	Ancient Shinto shrines
Old Chateau	Western mansions in Hokkaido
Celestic Town	Ainu indigenous culture
Snowpoint Temple	Ice/snow festivals

Cultural Significance

Game Mechanics Revolution

Physical/Special Split

Before Gen IV	Gen IV Onward	Impact
Type determined category	Move determined category	Vastly improved balance
Fire = Special always	Fire Punch is Physical	More viable movesets
Fighting = Physical always	Aura Sphere is Special	Strategic depth^[3]

Other Innovations

Feature	Description	Significance
Wi-Fi connectivity	Global trading/battling	First fully online Pokemon
Poketch	Touch screen device	Utilized DS capabilities
Underground	Multiplayer mining	Social features
Contests	Enhanced from RSE	Performance gameplay
Day/Night	Improved from GSC	Time-based events
Pokemon following	HeartGold/SoulSilver	Started in Yellow, refined here

Mythological Depth

Aspect	Contribution
Creation story	Deepest lore in series
Legendary hierarchy	Gods, guardians, mythicals
Arceus	Pokemon equivalent of deity
Cosmic themes	Time, space, antimatter
Philosophy	Spirit vs. technology conflict

Competitive Impact

Pokemon	Competitive Role	Tier
Garchomp	Dominant pseudo-legendary	Often banned
Heatran	Fire/Steel wall	Staple
Rotom-W	Bulky Water counter	Ubiquitous
Scizor	Priority attacker	Top tier
Togekiss	Paraflinch strategy	Common
Infernape	Fast mixed attacker	Strong

Cultural Reception

Aspect	Impact
Cynthia	Most beloved Champion character
Platinum	Considered best third version
Music	Iconic themes (Route 209, Cynthia battle)
Difficulty	Higher than previous generations
Story	More mature themes

Legacy and Impact

Influence on Later Games

Feature	First in Sinnoh	Later Adoption
Physical/Special split	Gen IV	All subsequent games
Regional forms	Legends: Arceus (Hisui)	Alola, Galar, etc.
Mythological depth	Sinnoh legends	Kalos, Alola expanded
Open zones	Legends: Arceus	Paldea open world

Remakes and Reimaginings

Game	Year	Approach
Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl	2021	Faithful remake
Legends: Arceus	2022	Radical reimagining
Future	TBD	Platinum remake speculation

References

^Pokemon Diamond and Pearl — Game Freak / Nintendo (2006)
^Cynthia — Bulbapedia (2024)
^Generation IV Mechanics — Serebii.net (2024)
^Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl — ILCA / Nintendo (2021)
^Pokemon Legends: Arceus — Game Freak / Nintendo (2022)
^Sinnoh — Bulbapedia (2024)
^Official Pokemon Website — The Pokemon Company (2024)