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Nimbasa City (Japanese: ライモンシティRaimon City) is a city located in central Unova. There are three routes connecting to it: to the south of the city is Route 4 and the vast Desert Resort, to the west is Route 5, and to the east is Route 16. Nimbasa City is the most populous city in the Pokémon world, it is also the most densely populated city. In contrast to Castelia City, which is the heart of business and economy in the Unova region, Nimbasa serves as the heart of leisure and entertainment. Nimbasa City is well known for its grand-scale landmarks such as the Musical Theater, Gear Station, Big Stadium and Small Court, Battle Institute, and the Rondez-View Ferris Wheel and amusement park.
Elesa is the Gym Leader of Nimbasa City. She specializes in the Electric type and hands out the Bolt Badge upon defeat.
Gear Station is the central hub of the Battle Subway. All eight lines of the Battle Subway are accessed through Gear Station, including the only available route to Anville Town. The stats judge which can appraise a Pokémon's IVs is located in Gear Station as well.
Nimbasa City's sports venues, Big Stadium and Small Court, are where sportspeople and sports fans go to practice and engage in both Pokémon battles and the sport of their choosing. They are also the places where sporting events are hosted in the Unova region. Big Stadium hosts sports requiring fields, specifically baseball, soccer, and football; meanwhile, Small Court hosts sports requiring courts, specifically tennis and basketball.
Trainers may be battled daily at both facilities except during event hours.
The Battle Institute (Japanese: トライアルハウスTrial House) is a building just left of the Pokémon Center. The Trainers met here are the same ones that battle in the Battle Subway. The player can opt to fight five consecutive mock battles—called the Battle Test—of either single battles (requiring three Pokémon) or double battles (requiring four Pokémon). When battling, all Pokémon are auto-leveled to 50, whether they were below in level or above. Bag items are not permitted to be used. At the end of the fifth battle, the player is awarded a score and a rank.
Unlike the Battle Subway, the Battle Institute does not require the player to save the game before participating.
Each battle grows in difficulty, starting with pre-evolved Pokémon and potentially fighting legendary Pokémon by the end. Once the Battle Test begins, there is no quitting; losing one battle means continuing to the next, until all five battles are complete. The 'Run' command acts as a battle forfeit measure for that battle only. If it is not the fifth battle, the player's forfeit will trigger the next battle.
The scoring system is:
Rank
Points
Stars
Beginner
0-999
0-1
Novice
1000-1999
2
Normal
2000-2999
3
Super
3000-3999
4
Hyper
4000-4999
5
Elite
5000-5999
6
Master
6000+
7
Each battle increases the max points that can be earned, meaning the max amounts of points one can earn in the first battle is lower than the max points one can earn in the last. Points are awarded depending on how many battles are won (no points are awarded for lost battles) and how well the player beats the opponent; fainted teammates count against the final score, as does damage taken.
The scoring breakdown is as follows:
1000 points per battle won
80 points per opposing Pokémon fainted
5 points per switch
1 point per super-effective attack
4 points per opposing attack that is rendered ineffective (either from type immunities, Levitate, or a status attack that the Pokémon is immune to due to typing)
2 points per opposing attack that is rendered not very effective
30 points if a battle was won with the opposing side taking at least one turn, 15 points if a battle was won without the opposing side taking a turn
-80 points per Pokémon fainted
-10 points per turn
-10 points per ineffective attack against the opponent (on the same basis as the above)
-2 points per resisted attack against the opponent
1 point per percent of HP remaining after each battle
Rondez-View Ferris Wheel
The Rondez-View Ferris Wheel is a couples-only ferris wheel where N is battled as part of the main storyline, and after defeating Elesa, Trainers may be battled here daily. The Trainer varies with the season and the gender of the player, and with the exception of Preschooler Winter, only their Japanese name is related to the season. After the battle, the Trainer will accompany the player on the wheel. In the Japanese version, the conversations on the Ferris wheel are laced with double entendres.
The Nimbasa Gym is the official Gym of Nimbasa City. The Gym doubles as a roller coaster. The Gym specializes in Electric-type Pokémon. The Gym Leader is Elesa. Trainers who defeat her receive the Bolt Badge.
Demographics
Pokémon Black and White
Nimbasa City is the most populous city in the Pokémon world with a population of 150 (239, including all Trainers in the Big Stadium and Small Court). It surpasses the urbanized Castelia City in terms of population.
Nimbasa Town, named after the city, is located on its outskirts.
Nimbasa City appeared again in BW049, along with Elesa. Ash won his Gym battle against her in BW050.
Trivia
Nimbasa's Japanese motto is 稲妻きらめく 輝きの街.
In the Japanese version, Nimbasa City contains several references to Inazuma Eleven, another Nintendo DS series. The city motto in romaji is "inazuma kirameku kagayaki no machi", its shares the name of Raimon (albeit written differently) with the school attended by many of the central cast of Inazuma Eleven, and one of the trainers in the Big Stadium asks the player to "Join the training of our Pokémon Eleven!"
