A Traveler's Guide to the World of Pokémon/Johto/Ilex Forest

The Ilex Forest is a forest located in the Johto Region of the Pokémon world, only accessible in Pokémon Gold, Silver and Crystal.

Getting through Ilex Forest
One has to pass through Ilex Forest in order to reach Goldenrod City. The player will find that the cutter's apprentice has lost his master's Farfetch'd, as it will not obey him because he does not have a badge. The player then finds the missing Pokémon, and has to take it on a chase through the forest, pressing 'A' on the correct side of it (the side closest to the player, mostly) until it returns to the apprentice, who has been joined by his master. His master gives the player HM 01, Cut as his thanks. The player will need to have beaten Bugsy, The Gym leader of Azalea Town before he/she can use it outside battle, though.

The player will need to use it immediately, as the route through the forest is blocked by a small tree. There are also two other things of importance; A man next to one of the small trees seen lining roads who will give the player TM 02, Headbutt, and the Ilex Forest Shrine. The Shrine is dedicated to Celebi, the forest's protector, but Gold and Silver players will not need to bother with it as it is only in Crystal that it plays a role. In the Japanese version of Crystal, there was a Nintendo event that required the use of the Mobile Adapter to get the GS Ball, and gave it to Kurt to investigate. If the player spoke to him the next day, he would tell you something strange was happening in Ilex forest, and give the player the GS Ball back, so they could place it in the Shrine and a level 30 Celebi would appear.

The Mobile Adapter
The Mobile Adapter feature was taken out in the US and UK versions of the game, even though this part was translated. However, there are two Gameshark codes to achieve it: one will make the GS Ball appear in the player's bag to give to Kurt, and the other will make Kurt give the player the GS Ball, regardless of whether they gave it to him or not.