Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver Versions

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Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver

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 retell the story of Johto, with the player's starting area being New Bark Town. While the games feature several expansions in key areas, the overall plot follows the same direction as the original Gold and Silver. Some aspects exclusive to Crystal are also included. Like FireRed and LeafGreen could link up with Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald to complete the Pokédex by trading regionally exclusive Pokémon, HeartGold and SoulSilver can link up with Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum to obtain Pokémon unavailable in Johto and Kanto, such as the Sinnoh starters.

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

The games were released on September 12, 2009 in Japan, February 4, 2010 in Korea, March 14, 2010 in North America, March 25, 2010 in Australia and March 26, 2010 in Europe (this excludes the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of Belgium due to an in-game save error, with the patched copies later released on April 2, 2010).

Changes from Pokémon Gold and Silver

Aesthetic changes

• The male player character receives a redesign and is now called Ethan, while Kris is replaced by a new female player character called Lyra.
• All the game's music is rearranged to better utilize the DS's sound capabilities. A key item allows the player to switch back and forth freely between the arranged soundtrack and original chiptune soundtrack.
• Ambient sound effects are used with greater frequency than in previous games; for example, running water and the player walking through grass will produce audible noises.
• The Pokégear has been redesigned. There are a range of skins that can be used and changed at the player's will.
• Much like Kanto's was for its remakes, Johto's Pokédex has been redesigned. Unlike Kanto's remakes, which contained the same regional Pokédex as the originals, the original regional Pokédex for Johto has been slightly altered, including several Generation IV evolutions for Pokémon found in Johto.
• An image of certain locations, like in FireRed and LeafGreen, appears when entering the location. Some of these images change depending on the time of day while others change the image of the Pokémon obtainable at the location on the image at random.
• Team Rocket Grunts are redesigned once again.
  • Rocket Executives are also redesigned from Generation II, with four new ones appearing: Archer, Arianna, Petrel, and Proton. Like Team Galactic's Commanders followed a planetary naming scheme, the Rocket Executives are all named for various real-world rockets.
• Lugia and Ho-Oh each have their own unique battle music, while the legendary beasts each use differently remixed versions 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.
• All former Berry trees have become Apricorn trees.
• Gym Leaders, Elite Four members, Silver, and Red have animated battle sprites and battle intros, as in Platinum. Many Gyms have been redesigned as well, some with new puzzles.
• Rock Smash, previously a TM usable on the field in the originals, is now a full-fledged HM as it has been since Generation III. Defog loses its HM status to the returning Whirlpool.
• The Magnet Train's tracks can be seen overground in locations such as Route 32.
• Pal Park is located where the closed Kanto Safari Zone once stood in Fuchsia City.
• The RageCandyBar is now a key item. This is likely to prevent the player from trading it to Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, which does not have any item data for it.
• The player can now see how many Kanto badges they have. In the original games, the player could only see how many Johto badges they had.
• Ecruteak City and Cianwood City, while sharing a theme in Generation II, now feature separate remixed variations of the same theme.
• Some music in Kanto is changed, with Mt. Moon and the Seafoam Islands changing their music to that which is used by of Johto's Union Cave and Ice Path, respectively. Music in Cerulean City and Fuchsia City, as well as on Routes 24 and 25, rather than taking the theme used in Pewter City, Celadon City, and on Route 3 as they did in the original Generation II games, keep the theme used in Generation I and Generation III. The music used on Route 2, however, is different from any previous generation; the Generation II theme, a remix of the Viridian Forest theme in Generation I, is used solely in Viridian Forest, while the theme used in Generation I and Generation III is, like in Generation II, only used on Route 1. Route 2 instead uses the theme that first appears on Route 3. Cinnabar Island also gets its own music, a remix of its original theme, instead of using the Saffron City theme.
• The Goldenrod City Radio Tower has an observation deck accessable via elevator. This replaces the second recording room.
• There are wind turbines standing in New Bark Town and Route 14.
• When viewing the stats of a Pokémon outside of battle, one of the stat names will be light blue, indicating which stat is decreased by the Pokémon's nature, and one will be light brown, indicating which stat is increased. If the Pokémon has a neutral nature, none of the stats will be colored.

Location changes

Johto and Kanto, the accessible regions in HeartGold and SoulSilver

• Elm's Lab has an upstairs level, where the professor and his family live, his old house being occupied by Lyra/Ethan and her/his family.
• The Battle Tower west of Olivine City, introduced in Pokémon Crystal, returns, bringing with it the exact same Battle Frontier seen in Platinum.
• Two new routes, Route 47 and Route 48, are introduced near Cianwood City. They lead to a new Safari Zone, as well as the Embedded Tower.
• Mt. Silver is much bigger and Viridian Forest is not cut down.
• Cerulean Cave and the Seafoam Islands remain as they were in Generation III (though Blaine still takes part of the Seafoam Islands), allowing the legendary Pokémon that live inside them to be battled. Moltres, formerly found in Victory Road and Mt. Ember, can be found in Mt. Silver.
• The Fighting Dojo in Saffron City takes a role similar to Sinnoh's Battleground, where the rematches between the player and Gym Leaders take place.

Gameplay changes

• All 493 Pokémon are capable of following players similar to Pikachu in Yellow. Shininess is also retained. The player can interact with their Pokémon by pressing 'A', and can see how their Pokémon is feeling at the moment. In battle, like Yellow's Pikachu, they are sent out from the side of the screen, rather than from a Poké Ball, unless in certain situations, such as while riding the bicycle or going into a small space with a big Pokémon.
• A series of events now precede encountering Ho-Oh^{Wrong template. See Template:Sup/doc.} or Lugia^{Wrong template. See Template:Sup/doc.}. In addition to obtaining the Rainbow Wing^{Wrong template. See Template:Sup/doc.}/Silver Wing^{Wrong template. See Template:Sup/doc.}, the player must also possess the Clear Bell^{Wrong template. See Template:Sup/doc.}/Tidal Bell^{Wrong template. See Template:Sup/doc.} which can be obtained from the Kimono Girls after receiving the Master Ball from Professor Elm. Either Bell is required in that version for the version mascot to appear.
• The Kimono Girls from the Ecruteak City Dance Theatre now have a significant role in the game. The player can meet each one at random locations in Johto who will ask the player to do them a small favor. Before meeting the version mascot, they each challenge the player with a battle and once defeated, they proceed to summon Ho-oh (in HeartGold) and Lugia (in SoulSilver) at the Bell Tower and Whirl Islands, respectively. In the originals, they were only found in the Dance Theatre and were treated as any other trainer to earn HM03 (Surf) from a man in the Theatre once all five are defeated. For HG/SS, a Team Rocket member inside the Theatre needs to be fought instead to earn the HM.
• Unlike Generation II, new tasks are put in to complete that are now required to progress the story forward, such as obtaining the Radio Card for the PokéGear to be able to challenge Whitney, and the Kimono Girls and version mascot event must be completed to challenge the Elite Four.
• Similarly to the event Shaymin and Regigigas's effect on Platinum, the Pikachu-colored Pichu will unlock an event near the Ilex Forest Shrine, where the Spiky-Eared Pichu can be obtained.
• 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.
• Legendary Pokémon from other regions can be caught in the games. Kyogre and Groudon appear in HeartGold and SoulSilver, respectively, after the Elite Four, and Rayquaza can be caught in both games once the other members of its trio are traded into the game. Latias (in HeartGold) or Latios (in SoulSilver) can be found roaming in Kanto later in the game after speaking to Steven Stone.
  • The Enigma Stone is an Event key item that features a use similar to that of the Eon Ticket. It can get the other Eon Pokémon depending on the player's game version: Latias (in SoulSilver) and Latios (in HeartGold).
• Headbutting trees to locate certain Pokémon makes its return. However, this time it can also be used to collect Pokémon from Hoenn and Sinnoh after the National Pokédex is acquired.
• Cynthia makes an appearance in an event involving Arceus. This takes place in an area accessed from the Ruins of Alph that is far to the north, named the Sinjoh Ruins. This event allows players to obtain either Dialga, Palkia, or Giratina at level 1. The only way to obtain the Griseous Orb and Origin Forme Giratina in this game is to choose Giratina during this event.
• The Gracidea can be obtained in the flower shop in Goldenrod City by bringing any fateful encounter Shaymin to show them.
• 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 Pokéathlon, features ten mini-games that pit Pokémon in athletic competitions. Its system appears to be analogous to that of Contests from previous games.
• Like the GBA Wireless Adapter that came with FireRed and LeafGreen, a bonus is included with the purchase of HeartGold and SoulSilver: a Poké Ball-shaped pedometer called the Pokéwalker that has the capacity to link to the two games and hold a Pokémon. Storing a Pokémon in this manner increases its experience and happiness as the wearer walks. Other Pokémon can be captured in exclusive Pokéwalker-only areas and then transferred to the main game.
• Apricorns are now the only items collected from plants on the field. Berries are instead collected from Jugglers in Violet City and Fuchsia City in exchange for shards, by the player's mother if the player decided to save up their money, through the Pokéwalker's Dowsing function, or hidden. Because only a few berries cannot be collected in these games, they must by traded over from other versions, similar to that of Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen.
• Berries can be grown portably using the Berry Pots, where the Squirtbottle is controlled via the touch screen to water four Berries at a time.
• Using the Apriblender, Apricorns can now also be mixed into drinks that increase Pokémon's Pokéathlon stats.
• The Running Shoes are obtained in Cherrygrove City and can be permanently selected using the touchscreen menu. The selected item (from pressing Y or SELECT in previous games) is also on the touchscreen. Two items can be selected as opposed to just one.
• Due to the absence of the Vs. Seeker, the Pokégear reintroduces an improved cell phone feature with a limitless call list. However, re-battling trainers is now dependent on the day and time.
• Starter Pokémon from Kanto and Hoenn can be collected from Professor Oak and Steven Stone once certain conditions are met.
• Commemorative photos can now be taken around Johto and Kanto with the player's partner Pokémon, team, Gym Leaders, and certain notable citizens.
• An event-exclusive Celebi unlocks an encounter with former Team Rocket boss and Viridian Gym Leader Giovanni. Giovanni was mentioned repeatedly in the original Gold and Silver, but did not appear.
• Many Pokémon have acquired the ability to learn new moves and expand and improve their movesets; for example, Togepi can now learn Extrasensory through breeding.
• The GB Sounds, a key item obtained after all 16 badges have been obtained, allows players to swap the background music for the soundtrack from the original Gold and Silver, redone. New music tracks, such as the music that plays on Routes 47 and 48, also receive an 8-bit remix. However, not every track got an 8-bit remix and some can only be listened through the Pokémon Past Archive radio station in the Pokégear.
• When using the move Whirlpool outside of battle, instead of the whirlpool disappearing like in Generation II, the player will simply surf over the whirlpools.
• Specific individual values may be passed down through breeding depending on the EV-enhancing item that is held.
• The Trainers that appear in Viridian City's Trainer House are now influenced by communication through two Pokéwalkers as opposed to the previous method of Mystery Gifting with the Game Boy Color's infrared port due to it being available from the start.
• During the player's initial battle with the rival, he is known as Passerby Boy, unlike in Gold and Silver, where he was identified as ???. Players are still required to name him later.
• The guy in Ilex Forest, who previously gave out the TM for Headbutt in Generation II has been remade into a move tutor for that move. This is due to the fact that Headbutt is no longer a TM. Unlike other move tutors, he does it for free with no prerequisites for and can be done an infinite number of times.

Pokémon

As in Pokémon Gold and Silver, the primary Pokémon of the remakes are native to the Johto and Kanto regions. Due to advances in gameplay since the second generation, the regional Pokédex used in Gold and Silver (the New Pokédex) has been updated to include those Pokémon which evolve upon learning a new move. Rather than simply excluding these evolutions (as Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen did with happiness-based evolutions), an improved Johto Pokédex was established with 256 Pokémon: five more than the New Pokédex.

Similarly to other recently released Pokémon games, Pokémon from outside the regional Pokédex can be captured after defeating the Elite Four and earning the National Pokédex. Pokémon native to Sinnoh and Hoenn can be found in various methods. Swarms of Pokémon sometimes break out across the Johto and Kanto regions; oftentimes these are not native to either of the regions. Pokémon from other regions can be located by playing one of two special stations on the PokéGear's radio function. There is a channel for Sinnoh Pokémon which plays only on Thursdays; the Hoenn channel only plays on Wednesdays. By having either of these programs turned on when in tall grass the chance of finding a foreign Pokémon increases. The Bug Catching Contest also hosts, from time to time, Hoenn and Sinnoh Pokémon. They will only appear on Thursdays and Saturdays. The Johto Safari Zone's customization option also allows for the finding of Pokémon from other regions.

In an apparent attempt to remove reliance on Generation III cartridges, starter Pokémon of Kanto and Hoenn can be obtained late in the game from Professor Oak and Steven Stone respectively. Some legendary Pokémon which were not included in the Generation II games, such as the legendary birds trio and Mewtwo, are also available.

Despite being remakes of Pokémon Gold and Silver, most of the wild Pokémon encounter data is identical to Pokémon Crystal, with the exception of version-exclusive Pokémon and a select few routes.

As in all main series Pokémon games, there are a number of Pokémon which can be found in one of the paired games, but not the other. A list of these Pokémon follows below.

HeartGold 0056 Mankey Fighting 0057 Primeape Fighting 0058 Growlithe Fire 0059 Arcanine Fire 0167 Spinarak Bug Poison 0168 Ariados Bug Poison 0207 Gligar Ground Flying 0226 Mantine Water Flying 0231 Phanpy Ground 0232 Donphan Ground 0302 Sableye Ghost Dark 0343 Baltoy Ground Psychic 0344 Claydol Ground Psychic 0382 Kyogre Water 0458 Mantyke Water Flying 0472 Gliscor Ground Flying

SoulSilver 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 0216 Teddiursa Normal 0217 Ursaring Normal 0303 Mawile Steel 0316 Gulpin Poison 0317 Swalot Poison 0383 Groudon Ground

Gallery

• HGSSstarters.gif

  Choosing a starter Pokémon

• Startmenu.gif

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

• HGSSpokedex.png

  The redesigned Pokédex

• Screen3.png

  Outside the Burned Tower

• HGSS Sprout Tower Day.png

  Sprout Tower

• Shiny Pichu HGSS event.png

  Spiky-Eared Pichu event

• Goldandsoul.png

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

• 

  Ethan vs. Silver in the English versions

• Elmslab.png

  Inside Professor Elm's laboratory

• Red Gyarados encounter HGSS.png

  Encountering Red Gyarados

• HeartGold title.png

  HeartGold title screen

• SoulSilver title.png

  SoulSilver title screen

• Heartgold soulsilver preorder figures.jpg

  HeartGold & SoulSilver pre-order figures

• 

  The Pokéwalker

• Ho oh in Heartgold.png

  Ho-Oh in HeartGold

• 

  Lugia in SoulSilver

Trivia

• Like Pokémon Platinum, these games include the preorder figure. If one preorders HeartGold, they will receive Ho-Oh, and if they preorder SoulSilver, they will receive Lugia.
• The Japanese release date is the same day that Pokémon Yellow was released in 1998.
• These games 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.
• As Gold and Silver were considered sequels to Red and Green, HeartGold and SoulSilver are thus sequels to FireRed and LeafGreen.
  • Also like FireRed and LeafGreen, 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, whereas Pokémon Crystal featured several notable differences).
• Unlike Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, many Trainer classes, like Hikers and Psychics keep their Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum sprites in battle.
• These games were released in Japan almost exactly one year after the Japanese release of Pokémon Platinum, being released the day before the anniversary.
• The font used for the English titles of these games are different than the font that has been used since Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, while the Japanese logos are still in the same style used since those games. FireRed and LeafGreen also used a different font than the Hoenn games, however, it was still the same color.
  • Additionally, the Ho-Oh crest shaped like a heart and Lugia soul are used in the English logos, while the fire and leaf that appear on FireRed and LeafGreen's Japanese logos were not used in the English release.
• These games mark the first time that the English versions were announced before the games themselves came out in Japan.
• Because of HM05's conversion from Defog to Whirlpool, these games are the only games in which all available HMs teach damaging moves (both Defog and Flash, contained in HM05, prevented this in previous games).
• These are the first games in which major characters offer their Pokémon for a trade with the player, with Gym Leaders Brock, Lt. Surge, and Jasmine and Hoenn's former champion Steven Stone offering Pokémon of their specialty type in exchange for another.
  • These are the first games in which an in-game trade accepts any Pokémon of any gender, with Jasmine accepting such in exchange for her Steelix.
• Unlike how FireRed and LeafGreen's intro was an updated version of the opening from Red and Green, HeartGold and SoulSilver have an entirely new intro, using none of the footage from the intro of Gold and Silver. The intro however, uses some music that was in the original and the title screen displays 3D renders of Ho-Oh and Lugia in movement similar to the original title screens.
• HeartGold and SoulSilver include the champions from each of the paired versions: Blue from Red and Green, Lance from Gold and Silver, Steven Stone from Ruby and Sapphire, and Cynthia from Diamond and Pearl.
• In HeartGold and SoulSilver, it is possible to obtain all of the version mascots of the main series games.
• The credits of HeartGold and SoulSilver are the first to feature Gym Leaders, Elite Four members and villainous team members.
• Most "eyecatches" for the locations feature a Pokémon that is able to be caught in said location.
• There's a minor quirk involving the Poké Mart signs, in which they are sometimes shown to be placed on the roots of trees, making it appear as if it was built there.
• All original eight Gym Leaders of Kanto appear in HeartGold and SoulSilver. Koga and Giovanni are no longer Leaders, instead having other roles in the games.
• The Pokédex entries for the Pokémon that existed in Gold and Silver are carried on over to HeartGold and SoulSilver, respectively, much as how FireRed used the entries from the Japanese Red and Green while LeafGreen used the entries from Blue.
• HeartGold and SoulSilver had the quickest translation from Japanese to Korean in the entire history of the series. Gold and Silver, their namesakes, took the longest to be translated into the language, taking nearly three years.
  • This also makes these games the first in the entire series to be released in South Korea before it was released in North America.
  • Curiously, Gold and Silver were the only Pokémon games before Generation IV to be released in South Korea.
• Pokémon Crystal had unique battle theme music for the legendary beast encounters. The theme was shared between the three Pokémon; three rearranged versions exist—one for every beast—in HeartGold and SoulSilver.
• HeartGold and SoulSilver are the first main series games to have the English title in other language titles. The reason for this is unknown.
• An episode of The Simpsons that aired for the first time on March 14, 2010, the release date of the games in North America, shows Bart watching the Pokémon anime. He questions how the show has managed to stay so "fresh" over the years.
• In the Japanese versions of Gold and Silver, Phanpy and Donphan were exclusive to Gold, and Teddiursa and Ursaring were exclusive to Silver. In international versions of Gold and Silver, this was switched for unknown reasons: Teddiursa and Ursaring could be found in Gold, and Phanpy and Donphan could be found in Silver instead. However, all versions of HeartGold and SoulSilver have Phanpy/Donphan in HeartGold and Teddiursa/Ursaring in SoulSilver, making this inconsistent with international versions of Gold and Silver.
• In-game dialogue makes reference to popular internet memes, such as Silver saying "why so serious?" in one of the battles against him, and after winning the Bug-Catching Contest, a contestant saying "You won? A winner is you?".
• HeartGold and SoulSilver are the first Pokémon games to be available domestically in Canada in French.

In other languages

Language Title Japanese ポケットモンスター ハートゴールド・ソウルシルバー French Pokémon Version Or HeartGold et Version Argent SoulSilver German Pokémon - Goldene Edition HeartGold und Silberne Edition SoulSilver Italian Pokémon Versione Oro HeartGold e Versione Argento SoulSilver Korean 포켓몬스터 하트골드·소울실버 Spanish Pokémon Edición Oro HeartGold y Edición Plata SoulSilver

External links

Bulbanews has multiple articles related to this subject:

Articles relating to Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver Versions

• Official Japanese Announcement
• Official English Announcement
• Official Japanese Site
  • Official Japanese Sub-site
• Official English Site

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