Goldenrod City is a large city in the Johto region. Similar to Celadon City in Kanto, it features a Game Corner and Department Store. The Gym Leader here before the wars was Whitney, a trainer who specialized in Normal-type Pokémon. Her favorite Pokemon to use was Miltank. Team Rocket, in the time before the wars, took over Goldenrod, in an attempt to reform their group, but ultimately, it failed.

The revived Team Rocket took over the tower in an attempt to contact Giovanni in order to convince him to become their leader once again. After the tower was liberated, the path to Blackthorn City was opened, which was necessary for then trainers to gain access to the end of the league. This is not the case now, though Blackthorn City is kept under heavy guard.

There is also a train station that connects Goldenrod City with Saffron City in Kanto.

North of Goldenrod, off of Route 35, a National Park exists that is similar to the Safari Zone. Just as in the old days, a bug-catching competition is held on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.