Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver Versions: Difference between revisions

This article is about an expected future event. The article's contents may change as the event approaches and more information becomes available. Please be cautious when adding information to this article, as rumors and speculation often get confused with fact; avoid any information on this subject which is not confirmed by reliable sources.

Pokémon HeartGold Version (Japanese: ポケットモンスター ハートゴールド Pocket Monsters Heartgold) and Pokémon SoulSilver Version (Japanese: ポケットモンスター ソウルシルバー Pocket Monsters Soulsilver) are paired Generation IV remakes of the Generation II games Pokémon Gold and Silver.

Much like Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen revisited the Generation I story of Kanto, HeartGold and SoulSilver will revisit the story of Johto, with the player's starting area being New Bark Town. As there are no definitive details about the games yet, it is currently unknown whether or not changes to the plot and course of the original games will be made. What is currently known, however, is that the geography of New Bark Town, while updated, has not changed. The player's rival, Silver, lurks outside of Professor Elm's lab as he did in Generation II.

Like FireRed and LeafGreen, it is assumed that several enhancements will be made to the games to bring them up to speed with Generation IV, including adding features and Pokémon introduced in Generations III and IV. It has also been confirmed that brand new features, never before seen in the series, will be introduced. As indicated by data in Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, these games will be compatible with the Sinnoh three for battling and trading, though like FireRed and LeafGreen, certain objectives might need to be accomplished beforehand.

Kris, despite being the female counterpart of Crystal's player character Gold, is believed not to be included as the female counterpart, with a new character instead taking her place. Whether she is chosen to be the player character or not, she will still appear in the game, taking a pseudo-rival role akin to the unselected characters of Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum.

Changes from Pokémon Gold and Silver

Aesthetic changes

• Gold receives a redesign while a new player character apparently replaces Kris.
• The DS's 3D capabilities are utilized in selecting the starter Pokémon.
• The PokéGear has been redesigned. Now, it features two designs, one blue and white for males and another white and pink for females.
• Much like Kanto's was for its remakes, Johto's Pokédex has been redesigned. However, it is now called the Johto Dex, rather than the New Dex as before. Likewise, it does not retain the exact same Pokédex order as the original Generation II games, unlike how FireRed and LeafGreen retained the same Pokedex order as the original Red and Green. This is presumably to include a few Generation IV Pokémon and exclude Pokémon from the New Dex that are found exclusively in Kanto.
• An image of certain locations, similar to that of FireRed and LeafGreen, appears when entering the location.
• Team Rocket Grunts are designed like they were in FireRed and LeafGreen.
• Rocket Executives are also redesigned from Generation II, with four different characters appearing in the games' intro. It is unknown as of yet if they have names.
• Ho-Oh and Lugia have their own battle music (they used the standard wild battle music in all Generation II games), while the legendary beasts use a remixed version of their battle theme from Pokémon Crystal.
• Kurt and Apricorns make a return to the series along with their respective Poké Balls. Apricorns can now be carried by the player in their own bag with a new item, the Apricorn Case.

Location changes

• Elm's Lab has an upstairs level.
• Maps have been remade to match the design style used in Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum.
• The Battle Tower west of Olivine City, introduced in Pokémon Crystal, has been remodeled into a Battle Frontier.
• A new area to the west of Cianwood City is a Safari Zone.

Gameplay changes

• All 493 Pokémon are capable of following the player similar to Pikachu in Yellow. CoroCoro showed examples of several examples including Steelix and Wobbuffet. Shininess is apparently retained. In battle, like Yellow's Pikachu, they are sent out from the side of the screen, rather than from a Poké Ball.
• Similarly to the event Shaymin and Regigigas's effect on Platinum, the Pikachu-colored Pichu to be given to those who have pre-ordered tickets to the twelfth movie will unlock an event near the Ilex Forest Shrine featuring the Notched-ear Pichu.
• The Pokémon storage system, bag, party interface and the screen that pops up when pressing the Start or X buttons in the previous games all use the Nintendo DS's touch screen.
• Groudon and Kyogre will appear in SoulSilver and HeartGold, respectively, after the Elite Four, and Rayquaza can be caught in both games once the other members of its trio are brought into the game.
• Cynthia and Arceus are shown together in a new section of the Ruins of Alph named the Shinto Ruins. This event will allow players to obtain either Dialga, Palkia, or Giratina at level 1.
• Eusine, a major character from Pokémon Crystal who was not in the original Gold and Silver, appears, as do other aspects originally featured in Crystal.
• A new sidequest, the Pokéthlon, will feature ten mini-games that pit Pokémon in athletic competitions. Its system appears to be analogous to that of Contests from previous games.
• Using the Apricorn Shaker, Apricorns can now also be mixed into drinks that increase Pokémon's Pokéthlon stats.
• Berries can be grown portably using the Berry Planter, where the Squirtbottle is controlled via the touch screen to water four Berries at a time. It is currently unknown where Berries can be obtained in the first place, but it appears that they do not grow on the trees where their Generation II counterparts were found, as those are used for growing Apricorns.

Like the GBA Wireless Adapter that came with FireRed and LeafGreen, HeartGold and SoulSilver will be packaged with a bonus: a Poké Ball-shaped pedometer called the PokéWalker that will link to the games and hold a Pokémon, increasing its experience and happiness as the wearer walks.

Gallery

• HGSSstarters.gif

  Choosing a starter Pokémon

• Startmenu.gif

  The touch screen menu, as well as the three starters shown with the player character.

• Screen3.png

  Outside the Burned Tower

• Screen5.png

  Sprout Tower

• Shiny Pichu HGSS event.png

  Pichu event

• PokéWalk.png

  The PokéWalker's LCD screen

• Goldandsoul.png

  Gold and Soul in New Bark Town. "Yeah! How about you show your mom, too?"

• Goldvssilver.png

  Gold vs. Silver. "The passer-by boy challenged you to a battle!"

• Elmslab.png

  Inside Professor Elm's laboratory. "Oh, Soul! I've been waiting for you to come!"

• Slowpokewell.png

  Inside Slowpoke Well

Trivia

• These games will mark the tenth anniversary since the release of the original Gold and Silver Versions for Game Boy Color.
• As remakes, these games have been speculated since the release of Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen.
• The games' engine seems to be based on that of Pokémon Platinum. The reverse happened in Generation III, where Pokémon Emerald was based on FireRed and LeafGreen's engine.
• As Gold and Silver were considered sequels to Red and Green, HeartGold and SoulSilver are thus sequels to FireRed and LeafGreen.
  • Like FireRed and LeafGreen, as well, HeartGold and SoulSilver implement features introduced in their namesakes' third version (though the only major change from Red and Green to Blue was the alteration of the catch rates of several Pokémon, itself retained since Blue).
• These games will be released in Japan almost exactly one year after the Japanese release of Pokémon Platinum, being released the day before the anniversary.

External links

Bulbanews has multiple articles related to this subject:

Articles relating to Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver Versions

• Official Announcement
• Official Site

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.