Pokémon Gold and Silver Versions

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Pokémon Gold and Silver

Pokémon Gold Version (Japanese: ポケットモンスター 金 Pocket Monsters Gold) and Pokémon Silver Version (Japanese: ポケットモンスター 銀 Pocket Monsters Silver) were the fifth and sixth Pokémon games to be released in Japan, on November 21, 1999. Like Red and Green before them, they are paired versions, with little difference aside from available Pokémon.

As Pokémon had become an international phenomenon already with the release of Red, Blue, and Yellow in North America and other regions, the translated versions of these games were greatly expected, and arrived Stateside on October 15, 2000. Again, much like Red and Green/Blue, Gold and Silver were followed by a third version with minor changes, Pokémon Crystal, a year later, and were also later remade.

Gold and Silver brought with them many changes to the Pokémon world, as the first "new" games. Unlike Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow; Gold and Silver take place in the Johto region, west of the region that the original games take place in, Kanto. Despite this, Kanto is visitable later in the game. The player begins his journey in New Bark Town, which is fittingly known as "the Town Where Winds of a New Beginning Blow."

Plot

The player begins his journey from New Bark Town, running an errand for Professor Elm to Mr. Pokémon's house to discover what he was so excited about with one of Elm's three Pokémon, Chikorita, Cyndaquil, or Totodile. After it turns out to be an egg, the player returns to New Bark, only to find that the suspicious red-haired boy lurking outside of Elm's lab earlier has stolen one of Elm's Pokémon— the one that the player's choice is weak to, coincidentally. Upon defeating him and returning to New Bark, giving the police officer who has come to investigate the boy's name, Elm is amazed and insists on studying the egg, allowing the player to keep the Pokémon he or she traveled with as a starter Pokémon. From here, he encourages the player to journey across Johto and challenge the eight Gym Leaders, Falkner, Bugsy, Whitney, Morty, Chuck, Jasmine, Pryce, and Clair, and eventually the Pokémon League, though this is a long way off. With the first Gym in nearby Violet City, the player heads off on their adventure...

Eventually, after defeating Falkner for the Zephyr Badge, Elm's assistant appears to give the player the egg, which will hatch into a Togepi. Heading south towards Azalea Town by way of Route 32 and Union Cave, the player meets up with the villainous Team Rocket, formed again after it was disbanded three years prior in the neighboring Kanto region by a young Trainer. They are cutting off the tails of the Slowpoke that are legendary in Azalea, intending to sell them for a large profit.

Kurt, a local maker of specialty Poké Balls, is greatly angered by this, and requests the player's help in chasing away Team Rocket and saving the Slowpoke. Though he falls into Slowpoke Well, hurting himself in the process, he begs the player to continue on to fight the organization with their Pokémon.

After this has been done, and Team Rocket is chased away from Azalea, Kurt gives the player a Lure Ball and will make his specialty Poké Balls when brought any kind of Apricorn, one per day. After defeating Bugsy in the Azalea Gym for the Hive Badge and defeating the rival once again, the player can journey into Ilex Forest to find the Charcoal maker's Farfetch'd and get HM01 (Cut). With this, Ilex Forest can be navigated through towards Route 34.

On Route 34, a Pokémon Daycare is set up, however, unlike the one found in Kanto on Route 5, it is capable of raising two Pokémon at once. If these Pokémon are similar enough, and if a male and female have been put in together, a Pokémon egg will be produced.

Venturing into Goldenrod City, the player's third badge, the Plain Badge, awaits. After defeating Whitney and getting the badge, getting a Squirtbottle will allow the player to move the strange tree blocking Route 36 to the north. If it is Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday, the Bug-Catching Contest will be on at the National Park on Route 35, as well.

In Ecruteak City, Bill, the developer of the PC Pokémon storage system is performing repairs on the Time Capsule, and as the player arrives, he will finish, asking for them to come visit him in his parents' house in Goldenrod, where he will give away an Eevee. Another Gym is in Ecruteak, where the Template:Type2 Leader Morty battles for the Fog Badge.

Blurb

"Enter a whole new world, with new Pokémon to capture, train and battle! Meet Professor Elm and get the all-new Poké Gear, including map, radio, cell phone and clock. Set the clock then watch as day turns to night and events take place in real time— and be sure to keep an eye out for Pokémon that come out only at night!"

Connectivity

Pokémon Gold and Silver continued the tradition allowing players to trade Pokémon between two cartridges via a Game Boy Link Cable, but also revamped it as well. Gold and Silver (as well as Crystal) introduced backwards-connectivity to the trading processes, allowing players to trade with other Generation II games, as well as Red, Blue and Yellow (and Green, in Japan). This has to be done in order to complete the Pokédex without cheating or using glitches, since each of games has version exclusive Pokémon which cannot be obtained in another version.

The games are not compatible with games released as part of later generations.

Features

Gyms

There are eight Pokémon Gyms in Johto, each with their own type affiliation. The Gym Leaders are Falkner (Flying), Bugsy (Bug), Whitney (Normal), Morty (Ghost), Chuck (Fighting), Jasmine (Steel), Pryce (Ice) and Clair (Dragon). These Gyms notably feature the types not accounted for by Kanto Gyms, with the exception of Dark.

Elite Four

Gold and Silver introduce a new Elite Four syndicate, though it is found at the same location as it previously was in the Red and Blue versions, the Indigo Plateau. The Elite trainers are Will (Psychic), Bruno (Fighting), Koga (Poison) and Karen (Dark); the Champion is Lance, who uses Dragon-type Pokémon.

Pokémon

Each game features 100 new Pokémon species, and pre-recorded data each of them, plus the 151 Pokémon of Generation I. Despite this, not all Pokémon are available to the player, regardless of version; trades must occur between players in order to complete their Pokédex without the use of cheats or glitches. Celebi is the only Pokémon in Gold and Silver that must be acquired through the use of attending either a Nintendo sponsored event, or cheating.

Version exclusives

Gold 0056 Mankey Fighting 0057 Primeape Fighting 0058 Growlithe Fire 0059 Arcanine Fire 0167 Spinarak Bug Poison 0168 Ariados Bug Poison 0207 Gligar Ground Flying 0216 Teddiursa Normal 1 0217 Ursaring Normal 1 0226 Mantine Water Flying

Silver 0037 Vulpix Fire 0038 Ninetales Fire 0052 Meowth Normal 0053 Persian Normal 0165 Ledyba Bug Flying 0166 Ledian Bug Flying 0225 Delibird Ice Flying 0227 Skarmory Steel Flying 0231 Phanpy Ground 2 0232 Donphan Ground 2

• 1: Exclusive to Silver in the Japanese versions.
• 2: Exclusive to Gold in the Japanese versions.

PokéGear

The PokéGear is received at the beginning of the game from the protagonist's mother. It has several functions, some of which will need to be unlocked during the game by receiving special expansion cards. The PokéGear displays the day of the week and the time of day, entered at the beginning of the game, a map of Johto (and later Kanto) once the Map Card is obtained, a cellphone, allowing the user to make calls to people that they've traded phone numbers with, and a radio which allows the player to get tips from Professor Oak and DJ Mary on Oak's Pokémon Talk, affect how active wild Pokémon are by playing Pokémon March or Pokémon Lullaby on the Pokémon Music station, or listen to the Lucky Channel to keep track of the Radio Tower's lottery promotion.

Apricorns

More specialized Poké Balls were introduced in these games. A Lure Ball is more effective if used against a Pokémon caught with a fishing rod, and a Friend Ball will make a Pokémon more comfortable and friendly to its Trainer much more quickly. To obtain these balls, Apricorns must be picked from special plants found throughout Johto, and Kurt in Azalea Town will fashion these into the different balls based on their color. However, Kurt can only make one ball at a time, and players must wait until the next day for Kurt to finish the ball. Although these specialized Poké Balls and Apricorns were not in future generations, other specialized balls were introduced with similar effects.

Cloning glitch

Gold and Silver also introduced the first readily-accessible cloning glitch in the Pokémon franchise. Unlike the hard-to-use glitch in Generation I, this glitch would not harm the game's save file. It allowed the player to make a perfect copy of one Pokémon and any held item it was carrying. Numerous tricks could be utilized with this glitch, such as having multiple one-time-only items, like Master Balls. This glitch would be repeated in later generations.

Kanto

After defeating Lance, and becoming the Champion, players can travel to Kanto, the region introduced in Generation I, and see how things have changed over the past three years:

• Due to a power outage, a key is no longer required to open the door to Lt. Surge, and the garbage cans in his Gym are all empty (save for trash).
• A volcano has destroyed everything but the Pokémon Center on Cinnabar Island, leaving a rain-filled crater behind.
• Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres are no longer found in Kanto, logically because they have already been caught in Generation I. The Cerulean Cave and Mewtwo are also gone, though a man near the cave ruins does mention the dungeon, and a hidden item called the Berserk Gene can be found in the water near its former entrance.
• Bill's house is still present at the Cerulean Cape, but Bill is currently visiting his family in Johto's Goldenrod City. The house is being watched over by his grandfather.
• Blaine has moved his Gym to one of the Seafoam Islands due to Cinnabar's volcanic eruption. As a result, no wild Pokémon can be found in the Seafoam Islands.
• Blue (Green in the Japanese versions), the rival of Generation I, is now the leader of the Viridian City Gym. Giovanni is nowhere to be seen, though he is clearly mentioned many times, as Team Rocket aims to find him.
• Red, the Generation I protagonist, appears in Johto's Mt. Silver, serving as the game's true final challenge. His highest level Pokémon is a level 81 Pikachu. Red also has a Snorlax at level 75, a Blastoise, Venusaur, and Charizard, each at level 77, and a level 73 Espeon. The six Pokémon are specially obtainable in Pokémon Yellow.
• The Copycat still lives in Saffron City, but has moved to another area of town. Her old house was demolished to make way for the Magnet Train station. As compensation, she received a free rail pass from a man at the station, which she gives away to the player after the return of her lost doll. According to her mother, this is the same doll that Red exchanged for TM31 (Mimic) in Generation I.
• Kanto Gym Leaders use Generation II Pokémon in addition to Generation I Pokémon.
• Remixes of most of the overworld and battle music from the Generation I games are used. Some notable exceptions include Cinnabar Island's music and the music from various Team Rocket hideouts.
• Most routes were shortened, but cities and towns generally remained the same size except Celadon City, which shrank slightly.
• Pokémon seen in the wild are different: many Generation II Pokémon can be found. Some Pokémon that were previously restricted to the Safari Zone can be caught in wild areas, such as Rhyhorn in Victory Road and Kangaskhan in Rock Tunnel.
• The entrance to Team Rocket's headquarters in the basement of the Celadon City Game Corner has been removed, although a man in Celadon's Pokémon Center alludes to it.
• The formerly-abandoned Power Plant is now used to power the new Magnet Train (which may have led to the departure of the Pokémon that once infested the plant in Generation I).
• The bike shop in Cerulean City is closed, and the owners have moved to Goldenrod City in Johto.
• The "coffee man" in Viridian City has now had his coffee, and says, "Hey, kid! I just had a double shot of espresso and I am wired!" He references the fact that in Generation I he taught the player how to catch Pokémon, and asks if the player believes him, but does not attempt to teach this time around.
• The Fighting Dojo's master is away training, so the Fighting Dojo only provides a Focus Band left behind. The master is training in Mt. Mortar in Johto. When found and defeated, he will give away a Tyrogue
• The museum in Pewter City is closed for renovations.
• The other caverns and Viridian Forest all have the same layout as they did before (with the exceptions of Mt. Moon and the Seafoam Islands), but reduced in size.
• Koga, the former Gym Leader of Fuchsia City and now a member of the Elite Four, has been replaced by his daughter Janine.
• The Pokémon Tower in Lavender Town has been replaced by a Radio Tower, similar to the one in Goldenrod City. In turn, the Pokémon grave sites were moved into the newly added Soul House. Access to the upper floors of this Radio Tower is restricted, a safety precaution taken as a result of Team Rocket's takeover of Johto's Radio Tower.
• The Safari Zone is closed while the warden is on a vacation. Instead, the Johto Bug-Catching Contest at the National Park takes its place. Through external game manipulation, an unused portal to the Safari Zone in Fuchsia City can be found. Players can use a GameShark or similar device to enter the unfinished Safari Zone.^[1]
• The Underground Path from Celadon City to Lavender Town has been sealed indefinitely, ostensibly due to vandalism. A sign cites local complaints about battles there and a local Biker Gang complains about it closing down because it was their base.
• Victory Road's length has been drastically shortened, and no longer includes the barriers, boulders, trainers, and pressure sensors. Trainers can be found outside, but no longer in Victory Road itself.
• Viridian Forest has been reduced to shrubs, and wild Pokémon can only be caught in the grass of what used to be Route 2.
• Route 23 has been reduced to a short path leading between Victory Road's exit and the Indigo Plateau.
• The Pokémon Center on Route 4, outside Mt. Moon, is no longer there, leaving the player to trek all the way to Pewter City to heal their Pokémon.

New features

Gold and Silver introduced a number of features to the Pokémon video game franchise, many of which set a new standard for every game in the series that followed. Gold and Silver introduced the concept of storing items such as healing items, Poké Balls, and key items in separate compartments in the bag. The updated battle screen showed both how much experience points a Pokémon had until its next level and whether or not an encountered wild Pokémon's species has already been captured. Also, held items raised the bar for strategy, allowing players to outspeed opponents, heal ailments, restore HP in battle, boost the power of moves of a specific type, or increase the Pokémon's happiness, among other uses.

A time system was also introduced. Throughout the game, Pokémon appearances are influenced by time of day: morning, day, and night. Hoothoot, for example, only appears at night (since it's an owl-like Pokémon). Certain events are also determined by the day of the week, like the Bug-Catching Contest which is held in Johto's National Park on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Depending on the day of the week, either "Pokémon March" or "Pokémon Lullaby" can be heard on the PokéGear radio. Pokémon March raises the chance of a Pokémon appearing when the player walks into the grass, while Pokémon Lullaby decreases that chance. Gold and Silver also introduced the concept of evolution by methods other than leveling, using an evolutionary stone, or trading.

Breeding

With the introduction of breeding, all Pokémon belong to one or two egg groups. It is important to note that legendary Pokémon cannot be bred; they are genderless, and will not breed, even with a Ditto (which can breed with any Pokémon capable of breeding).

A baby Pokémon will be born when a male Pokémon and a female Pokémon that share at least one egg group are left at the Pokémon Daycare. In the case of Pokémon that are always male (Hitmontop, Nidoking, Tauros, etc.), or Pokémon who can breed but whose gender is unknown (Magnemite, Voltorb), the only way to produce a baby from these species is by breeding them with a Ditto.

A baby Pokémon will inherit the species of its mother (or non-Ditto parent in the case of a Ditto breeding) and inheritable moves from its father (when it's not a Ditto). Fathers always pass down TM moves that the baby's species could learn, which are valuable (since some are only obtainable one time). If both parents know a move that the baby's species learns by leveling up, the baby is born knowing that move as well. Fathers may also pass down special moves called "egg moves" to the baby that it would not normally be able to learn by leveling up or evolving.

Shiny Pokémon

The game introduces Template:Shiny2 Pokémon, Pokémon which have a different coloring than their species has normally, and which appear very rarely (a 1 in 8,192 chance). In these games, shiny Pokémon often have better stats than regular Pokémon, but can never achieve maximum stats for that species (as shininess is based on the Pokémon's IVs in this generation). There is one exception to the shiny Pokémon system: a Red Gyarados can be found at the Lake of Rage. Since it is part of the storyline, it is impossible not to encounter this Pokémon as shiny.

Pokérus

Pokérus (a portmanteau of "Pokémon" and "virus") was introduced. Encountering a Pokémon with the virus is even rarer than encountering a shiny Pokémon, with the odds estimated to be somewhere around a 1 in 21,845 chance. Pokérus doubles the special experience (a concept adapted to later installments as effort values) that the player's Pokémon gain each time the infected Pokémon participates in battle (provided the battle is won and the infected Pokémon does not faint).

Type and stat changes

Two new types were introduced, Template:Type2 and Template:Type2. These two types serve to balance the Template:Type2, which previously was only weak to Template:Type2 moves; however, Bug-types lacked any powerful offensive moves in past games. In addition, the Steel and Dark types also balanced the Template:Type2, which was only super effective against Normal-, Ice-, and Template:Type2s (all of which are rarely used in competitive battling); Steel and Dark are both weak against Fighting. Steel-type Pokémon are known for their very high defense; they are highly resistant to many types and their moves are strong against Ice and Rock-type Pokémon. Dark-types are immune to Psychic-type moves and have moves with malicious-sounding names, like Bite (previously of the Template:Type2) and Thief, which are super-effective against Psychic-types. Dark-types are also strong against Template:Type2s, thus being the only type that has an attack advantage over Ghost-type Pokémon besides Ghost-type moves themselves. Dark-type Pokémon are also weak against Bug-type attacks.

Some type match-ups were changed as well. In Generation I Ghost-type moves had no effect on Psychic-types; this was changed to super-effective as it was in the Pokémon television series. Template:Type2 originally were effective against Bug-types and Bug-types ineffective against Poison; this was changed to Poison doing normal damage to Bug and Bug becoming not very effective against Poison, seriously limiting the effectiveness and usage of both Bug-types and Poison-types. Ice-type moves were also made not very effective against Template:Type2 (previously they did normal damage). In this version several moves had their type changed. For example, the move Gust was a Normal-type in the first generation games but is now a Template:Type2 move; the move Bite was a Normal-type move in the first generation, but now is Dark-type. Two Pokémon, Magnemite and Magneton are now Electric/Steel (in Generation I, they were pure Electric).

Another major change from the original games was the splitting of the Special stat into Special Attack and Special Defense. Again, this increased aspects of strategy, for Pokémon were now more specialized. Some were good special attackers, while others were better physical attackers; the same now held true for Defense and Special Defense. For example, Cloyster has a decent Special stat in Generation I, but in all later games, has a decent Special Attack, but low Special Defense.

Trivia

• Copies of Pokémon Gold and Silver typically lose the ability to save after a period of about seven years, due to the internal battery running dry (this is due to the constantly-running clock). However, the battery is replaceable with another one of the same kind, although replacing it will reset the game's data. The problem appears less often with Pokémon Crystal.
  • One sign that it will soon lose the ability to save is that the game will not keep track of the time correctly while the game is not being played.
• Like Pokémon Red and Green before them, Gold and Silver will be remade with Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver.
• Pokémon Gold and Silver are the only paired versions where both the version mascot of the game played and the counterpart game's version mascot are both catchable without trades.
• Pokémon Gold and Silver are the only paired versions where Pokémon sprite designs differ between the two games.
• Pokémon Gold and Silver started the trend of having legendary Pokémon as mascots, and the trend of using types of jewelry or precious metals as names.
• The Johto region's starters are the only set of main series starter Pokémon to remain solely their primary types of Grass, Fire, and Water throughout their evolution.
• Pokémon Gold and Silver are the only Pokémon games which contain two regions with different names.
• None of the in-game trades in Gold and Silver feature the player trading away or receiving a Generation II Pokémon, making them the only games in which a player must link up with another player to trade Pokémon of that generation.

See also

• Pokémon Gold and Silver beta
• Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver Versions

References

Template:Main series

This game-related article is part of Project Games, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon games.