Pokémon Gold and Silver Versions

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Pokémon Gold and Silver Versions

Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver (Japanese: ポケットモンスター 金・銀 Pocket Monsters Gold and Silver) were the fifth Pokémon games to be released in Japan, on November 21, 1999. The English versions were later released in North America on October 15, 2000. Gold and Silver were followed a year later by a sister game with minor gameplay changes, titled Pokémon Crystal. They take place in the region of Johto (and later in the game, Kanto) and the player's starting area is New Bark Town.

Plot

Team Rocket has returned with a new attitude, since the disappearance of their leader Giovanni, and once again tries to take over the world, starting with the Johto region. They begin with petty things (such as cutting off the tails of Slowpoke to sell as food for a high price) before becoming more devious, such as a plan to use radio frequencies to artificially induce evolution in some Pokémon, as well as trying to contact their missing leader using radio broadcasts.

The player is called to Professor Elm's lab to run an errand. He gives the choice of taking along one of three different Pokémon. Chikorita, Cyndaquil, or Totodile. The player, known by default as Gold, meets Kanto's own Professor Oak during an errand for Elm. Oak, convinced that Gold has started his own Pokémon journey, gives him a Pokédex. On the way back Gold is attacked by a spiteful and mysterious Pokémon trainer. Upon his return to New Bark Town, Gold is informed that someone has broke into Professor Elm's lab and has stolen a Pokémon, the same Pokémon that the trainer from earlier battled with; even more so, the trainer fits the description of the Pokémon thief. This character's default name is Silver. He will battle the player at certain points in the game to test the player's Pokémon; being defeated is an indication for the player to level up his or her team. He will always steal for his starter a Pokémon that has a type advantage over the player's chosen one. For example, if the player chooses Cyndaquil, a Fire-type Pokémon, he will choose Totodile, a Water-type Pokémon, giving it an advantage over the Fire-type Cyndaquil.

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.

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).

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

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

Nintendo Event exclusives

The following Pokémon are available only after having the GS Ball transferred to a player's cartridge at a Nintendo sponsored event.

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 this game. 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, there were other specialized balls.

Kanto

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

• A key is no longer required to open the door to Lt. Surge and the garbage cans are all empty (except for trash) in the Vermilion City Gym.
• A volcano has destroyed everything but the Pokémon Center on Cinnabar Island.
• Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres are no longer found in Kanto, partially because they can already be caught in Generation I. The Cerulean Cave and Mewtwo are also gone, though a man near the cave ruins does mention the dungeon, and an item called the Berserk Gene is found in the water near where the Cerulean Cave once was.
• Bill's house is still present, but Bill is currently visiting his family in Goldenrod City in Johto. The house is being watched over by his grandfather.
• Blaine has moved his Gym to the Seafoam Islands due to the volcano eruption on Cinnabar Island. No Pokémon are found in the Seafoam Islands due to this.
• 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 mentioned many times by Team Rocket.
• Red, the Generation I protagonist, appears in Johto's Mt. Silver, serving as the game's true final challenge, his highest level Pokémon being a level 81 Pikachu. Red also has a Snorlax at level 75, a Blastoise, Venusaur, and Charizard, all level 77, and a level 73 Espeon. The Pikachu, along with the Snorlax and Espeon, are references to Red from Pokémon Special. Contrary to popular belief, the Pikachu is not a reference to Ash Ketchum from the Pokémon anime.
• The Copycat still lives in Saffron City, but has moved to another home. Her old house was demolished and replaced by the Magnet Train station. After Copycat's house was torn down for the station, she received a free rail pass from a man at the station, which she gives away to the player after they have returned her lost doll. According to her mother this is the same doll that Red gave her in Generation I for TM31 (Mimic).
• Kanto Gym Leaders use Generation II Pokémon in addition to Generation I Pokémon.
• Most of the music from the Generation I games are used, and have had some major remixing done to most battle themes, and minor remixing done to overworld tunes.
• Most routes were shortened, but cities and towns remained the same size except Celadon City, which shrunk 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 nearby wild areas, such as Rhyhorn in Victory Road and Kangaskhan in Rock Tunnel.
• Team Rocket's headquarters in the basement of the Celadon City Game Corner has been sealed, although it's alluded to by the same man in Celadon's Pokémon Center.
• The abandoned Power Plant is now in use to power the newly-opened Saffron City Magnet Train (which may have led to the departure of all the Pokémon that were infesting the plant in Generation I, among them Zapdos).
• The bike shop in Cerulean City has been closed down, due to the owners moving 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 leader is away training, so the Fighting Dojo only provides a Focus Band item left behind, which can be held by a Pokémon. The Fighting Dojo leader 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.
• The player can meet and battle many of the characters from the previous games, including the rival of the original games, Blue. After completing the quests in Kanto, the player can access a new area in Johto, Mt. Silver, and battle Red, the protagonist of Generation I. Another quite notable difference is that Koga, Gym Leader of Fuchsia City (now an 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 gravesites 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. A portal to the Safari Zone in Fuchsia City can be found, but not used. However, 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." The game cites local complaints about battles there.
• Victory Road's length has been drastically shortened, and no longer includes the barriers, boulders, trainers, and pressure sensors, explaining why the trainers appear outside (which explains why Moltres is no longer there).
• Viridian Forest has been reduced to that of a small group of trees visible outside the forest entrance, and wild Pokémon can only be caught there on the grass of what used to be Route 2.

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 Ball, and key items in the bag. The new battle screen which showed both how much experience points a Pokémon has 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 element-specific attacks, 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 breeding 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 breeding group are left at the Pokémon Daycare. In the case of Pokémon that are always male (Hitmontop, Nidoking, Tauros, etc.), or Gender Unknown group Pokémon (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 could learn by increasing its level, 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.

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).

Shiny Pokémon

The game introduces shiny Pokémon, Pokémon which have a different coloring than their species has normally, and which appear very rarely (estimated to be a 1 in 8,192 chance). In this second generation of games (though not the third generation), these Pokémon often have better stats than regular Pokémon, but can never achieve maximum stats for that species. 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.

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 Normal type)- and "Thief", which are super-effective against Psychic-type. Dark-types are also strong against Ghost-types, thus being the only type that has an attack advantage over Ghost-type Pokémon besides Ghost-type moves themselves. The 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 series 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. However, the battery is replaceable with another one of the same kind.
• Hopes ride high on the assumption that Gold and Silver will get remakes sometime during Generation IV, much like Red and Green were remade during Generation III. This is compounded by Diamond and Pearl's many references to the events and locations of Gold and Silver, as well as in-game data that indicates the possibility of trading with a Johto-based game.
• 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 starter Pokémon to remain only their primary types of Grass, Fire, and Water throughout their evolution.

See also

• Pokémon Gold and Silver beta
• Pokémon Gold and Silver remakes

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