POKEMON HEART GOLD AND SOUL SILVER




Below is every Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver news article posted dating back to the 8th of May when the two titles where first announced. For Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver Guides click here.


7th September 2009

Yesterday was the last episode of Pokemon Sunday to air in Japan before Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver are released on Saturday. The name of the female protagonist has been revealed, she is known as Katone which could possibly be translated to Kat, Kate, Katrina or even Catherine in the English version.

As we all assumed, one of the Pikachu hidden in the Yellow Forest knows Fly, the one with balloons attached to it for those who remember the official artwork (also seen in the video below). The Yellow Forest is a hidden course on the PokeWalker device, you obtain it over Wi-Fi from Nintendo.

Two new Pokethlon events where also revealed, one being Capture The Flag much like the game in the Sinnoh Underground. You try to grab as many flags as possible and take them back to your base. The second event is Frisbee where you and your opponent much try and grab the flying discs shot across the field. You get more points if you grab the Frisbee further back as opposed to the front of the field.




5th September 2009

Nothing overly exciting today but Zapdos, Moltres and Articuno have all been confirmed to appear in the Kanto region in Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver. The Legendary Birds never appeared in the original Gold and Silver meaning you had to trade them from Red, Blue and Yellow. Since Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres all appeared in Pokemon Platinum, it was assumed they also wouldn't appear in the remakes. Hopefully the birds will be a different level and have a slightly different moveset in HG/SS making them different to the ones already obtained in Platinum.


3rd September 2009

With Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver out next Saturday, Famitsu magazine in Japan got the chance to play through the game and review it. Famitsu are famous for their game ratings with only a handful ever getting a full 40/40.

Four reviewers score each game out of 10 with HeartGold/SoulSilver receiving a 9,9,9 and 10 from the judging panel (total of 37/40). One reviewer stated "It reminded me of how well-made a game [the original] Gold & Silver was at its core. Being as universally known as it is, there are few surprises here, but the game is so exquisitely balanced that getting addicted is a natural process."

The game is said to stay true to the originals but offer a totally new experience through the updated graphics with another reviewer affirming "The base story is the same as the original, but the way it feels couldn't be more different."

Only nine days left till our coverage begins!




26th August 2009

New Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver trailers have been added to the Japanese Nintendo Channel on the Wii. Along with new footage we have confirmation of animated Gym Leaders like in Platinum along with the return of Headbutt. Using Headbutt on trees occasionally made a wild Pokemon fall out for you to battle, if done at night sometimes the opponent would still be asleep.




23rd August 2009

Today's episode of Pokemon Sunday has shown the protagonists encountering the Hoenn trinity, Kyogre, Groudon and Rayquaza. We then get a look at National Park and of course the Bug Catching Contest. Finally the new customizable Safari Zone is shown with the player selecting the field they wish to explore and encountering a Sandshrew there. The full video can be seen below, only 19 more days till HeartGold and SoulSilver are released in Japan!




21st August 2009

Nintendo Japan have launched a new Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver minisite which shows some new images. If also reveals that the Global Trading Terminal (aka GTS) and the Wi-Fi Plaza will both be returning from Pokemon Platinum and both appear to be exactly the same. As we mentioned earlier, Platinum's Battle Frontier is also returning but it is still not known whether you actually get to visit the Fighting Area or if they just built an exact copy in Johto.




18th August 2009

A new Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver trailer has been added to the official Japanese site showing fir the first time inside Pokemon Centers. We see that the second floor of the Pokemon Center wont load a new screen when you go up the stairs but just flows as you climb the stairs, unlike previous Pokemon titles. At the end of the trailer we then see a small clip of Pallet Town with the newly updated graphics, the full video can be seen below. A Clafairy is also shown in a battle, this probably is referring to the Clafairy that gather in front of Mt. Moon Monday nights and leave a Moon Stone behind.




15th August 2009

Pokemon.com have today announced Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver to the western world! During the Pokemon World Championships a trailer was shown now available at the site which revealed the games and their new logos. Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver are the first ever Pokemon games to have a unique logo design which has broken the tradition layout all the other games have stuck to.

Revealed to have a March-May release in both Europe and the US, we wont have to wait so long before we can revisit Johto in its updated glory. We can expect Pokemon.com to tease us with new pieces of info every month or so much like CoroCoro has been doing in Japan.

Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver is set for a September 12th release in Japan, less then a month to go! Click the image below to visit the minisite and view the trailer...




10th August 2009

A clip from yesterday's episode of Pokemon Sunday has once again been uploaded onto the internet via German site Filb.de. This week we see that Dialga, Palkia and Giratina are all holding their respective Orb as mentioned in our previous news post. With the Griseous Orb Giratina is once again able to change into its Origin Forme.

The hosts also reveal that for the first time, Mewtwo, Lugia, Ho-Oh, Kyogre, Groudon, Rayquaza, Dialga, Palkia and Giratina are all allowed in the 2010 Pokemon Video Game World Championship. These Pokemon where all previously banned due to their powerful stats being the Legendary Pokemon they are. Next years Championships will defenitely be interesting with these new power packed Pokemon allowed to enter, anyway the video can be viewed below...




10th August 2009

New pages from this months CoroCoro magazine have been released with several new details concerning Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver.

- Kyogre, Groudon and Rayquaza are all found in caves at Level 50.

- Acorns can be grown in portable pods you carry around with you, once your Acorn is grown you can either turn it into a PokeBall or extract the juice from it to increase your Pokethlon stats.

- The new Safari Zone can be customized allowing you to position certain areas and chose which Pokemon inhabit them.

- The Battle Frontier returns once again to Johto.

- The National park Bug Catching Contest makes a return as expected and will be held on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

- A Pokemon Egg is given to you on your journey, it could contain a Togepi as it did in the original Gold and Silver or possibly a Tyrogue like in Crystal.

- Break Block, Change Relay, and Push Circle revealed as Pokethlon events, the events respectively will have you break through bricks, race using a single Pokemon and wrestle using several Pokemon at once.

- Palkia, Giratina and Dialga created by the special "Movie Arceus" will each be holding their respective orb, Lustrous, Griseous and Adamant.





2nd August 2009

Today's episode of Pokemon Sunday has confirmed the return of the Kanto region in HeartGold and SoulSilver which we all expected. Footage of the Magnet Train which takes you to Saffron City was shown (below) along with mention of the S.S. Aqua which takes you to Kanto's Vermilion City from Johto's Olivine City. You must first defeat the Johto Elite Four before you can travel to the Kanto region.



A Wi-Fi event has also been announced for the PokeWalker which runs from September 18th to October 11th in Japan. The event unlocks the Yellow Forest where you encounter nothing but Pikachu, some of which have rare moves such as Fly.




27th July 2009

Pokemon Sunday aired yesterday as it does each week and with it comes more footage from Pokemon HeartGold & SoulSilver Versions.

We see how the new PokeDex and updated PokeGear works, both utilizing the DS touchscreen to function. Bugsy, Whitney and Morty's gyms are then show with the protagonists walking in them and that is then followed by footage of the Pokethlon, the hostess even has a go at several of the events.

As seen in the image, Gold and the female lead both wear new sporting attire when entering in the Pokethlon, much like Dawn and Lucas changing into formal clothes when entering contests.


20th July 2009

Yesterdays episode of Pokemon Sunday contained more tidbits from Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver versions, we see Gold encountering Ho-Oh and Lugia in a battle, back sprites of Pokemon once again move as they did in Platinum.

Raikou, Entei and Suicune and then introduced and the three Pokemon are then seen fleeing Gold in Brass/Burnt Tower.

The Arceus event is then shown and this time with new footage, images of actual photos from across the earth flash on the screen as Arceus creates Palkia/Dialga/Giratina from an egg.

Finally to finish off we see more about the PokeWalker and the several new features revealed in CoroCoro such as capturing Pokemon, the Mystery Gift function and the item finder.




14th July 2009

With tomorrow's issue of CoroCoro leaked early we have some scans posted on 2ch and on this Japanese blog.

New details obtained from the scans are:

- Entei, Suicune and Raikou will be at Level 40.

- Two newly revealed Pokethlon sports are Snowball Fighting and Wrestling, they join Dash Hurdles and Bound Field.

- The PokeGear has a Phone, Map, Radio and Item Finder and also keeps stats on your PokeWalker.

- Two Key Items can be registered to buttons now instead of just one (X and Y buttons).

- Notch Eared Pichu is unlocked when you trade over your Pikachu Coloured Pichu, the Notch Eared Pichu cannot evolve or be traded to another game, it knows Pain Split, Volt Tackle, Helping Hand, and Swagger.

- The Kimono Sisters who each own an Eevee evolution play a bigger role in this game, you can see Gold interacting with one of them in Ilex Forest.

- Team Rocket seem to have infiltrated the Kimono Sisters house.

- It rains at the Lake of Rage when you encounter Red Gyarados.

- Your Mother once again will save your money and sometimes buy you rare items.

- The PokeWalker has an Item Finder so you can scan your real life location for items wherever you happen to be walking. Two PokeWalkers can connect via infrared and in doing so items may be awarded.

- The PokeWalker keeps track of your daily activities and updates your PokeGear when you connect to HeartGold/SoulSilver.




11th July 2009

The first scan from this months CoroCoro have been leaked, it shows the three Legendary Beasts and the Pokemon Crystal Version character Eusine. Eusine also appeared in the anime episode "For Ho-Oh The Bells Toll" where he tried to capture the legendary Suicune, as he did in Crystal.

The Level 1 Dialga, Palkia and Giratina that Arceus creates from an egg know Metal Burst, Hydro Pump and Shadow Sneak respectively.

Latios and Latias appear in the games at Level 30 along with Mewtwo.

There are nine minigames which involve the touch screen, it is unknown whether these can be played via Wi-Fi.

Lugia and Ho-Oh will appear at Level 45 in their respective games and the Red Gyarados will once again be Level 30. It also states that Lugia and Ho-Oh have a special ability in these games but it is yet known as to what this means.

You can see a scan below containing the Legendary Beasts overworld sprites along with the official Sugimori art of Eusine, Suicune, Entei and Raikou. Finally you can see two cut off images of the left, one of the protagonist locating Lugia in the Whirlpool Islands and another where Lugia is encountered in a battle.




10th July 2009

Surely Acorns would appear in HeartGold and SoulSilver in order for the games to be true remakes but the inclusion of berries to the GBA and DS generation has left people wondering what will happen. Some fans thought berries would simply replace Acorns whilst others agreed that the two can coincide in the same games together well as seen in the exclusive image to the right, Arcorns will appear in HeartGold and SoulSilver.

No word on whether berries will be included into the games has been mentioned but they most likely will since they now play such a large role in the games especially with certain abilities and attacks depending on them, not to mention Contests of Poffin making.

Will contests be included in HeartGold & SoulSilver? Well you'd expect them to be especially since May is traveling around Johto entering them.


5th July 2009

Anyway the official HeartGold and SoulSilver site yesterday added a new video which shows off several new details. These features including your follower Pokemon using HM's, inside Gyms, several new locations and the awesome 3D starting menu.



28th June 2009

Pokemon Sunday aired yesterday in Japan as it does every Sunday, this week we were shown more of the Arceus event in HearGold and SoulSilver. You are able to choose from Dialga, Palkia or Giratina then Arceus will create an egg of that Pokemon which will eventually hatch at Level 1.

These three Pokemon join Platinum's Level 1 Regigigas making them the lowest level Legendaries ever.



26th June 2009

The official HeartGold and SoulSilver Japanese site has today updated with the official release dates for the two games in Japan. As expected HeartGold and SoulSilver will be released on September 12th, one day before Platinum was released back in 2008. The original Pokemon Gold and Silver where released in Japan on November 21 1999.


22nd June 2009

Yesterday's episode of Pokemon Sunday in Japan featured some new glimpses at HeartGold and SoulSilver, the video can be seen below. The clip goes through the new PokeDex, Arceus, Lugia and Ho-Oh pre-order figurines, Pichu event in Ilex Forest and Checking the feelings of your following Pokemon.



18th June 2009

Filb.de have a new video up on their site which shows some footage of the Arceus and Pichu events in HeartGold and SoulSilver. Click here to view the video, you can see for the first time how the battle scene will look in the remakes along with the Arceus event having a connection to Unown.


16th June 2009

The official Japanese site for Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver has been updated with all the news revealed in CoroCoro along with several new images.

A map of Johto has been revealed and on it we see at least three new locations, the first is situated to the west of Cianwood City (the six different coloured squares on the island to the left, PalPark or a Battle Frontier?), next is the tower to the left of Goldenrod City (Johto GTS?) and finally a small new area near the National Park.

The PokeWalker has a built in PokeRadar and Item Finder so you can search for Pokemon and items while you walk around, just like your in-game character. The PokeWalker also has four locations for you to explore such as a Grassy Field, Rocky Mountain, Forest and Edge of the Night Sky with the last being a secret location the Event Jirachi unlocks.

Finally as seen below, it appears when you play as Gold, the female protagonist will have a Marill as her starter/following Pokemon.


Click the two thumbnails below to view larger images, the first is a map of Johto whilst the second is an image of Ecruteak City.




14th June 2009

The Pokemon Sunday Variety show in Japan had a very small HeartGold and SoulSilver mention today, they basically talked about Team Rocket's involvement in the games and showed a small clip which can be viewed here.

Expect the official HeartGold and SoulSilver site to be updated tomorrow with all the information from CoroCoro since the magazine is officially out tomorrow despite people obtaining issues days early. If you missed it, view our previous posts for a huge amount of HeartGold and SoulSilver information released throughout the week.


12th June 2009

The full CoroCoro issue has been leaked onto the internet now three days early, below are scans from the Pokemon pages of the magazine.

New Information:
- All 493 Pokemon can follow you around, you can see Steelix and Wobbuffet following the trainers in the scans.

- You can interact with your Pokemon to see how they feel towards you like with Pikachu in Pokemon Yellow.

- The PokeDex, Computer Boxes and your bag have been given a totally new layout utilizing the touchscreen.

- You will be able to travel back to Kanto in HeartGold and SoulSilver and new exclusive locations have been added.

- You must have your "Pikachu Coloured Pichu" following you in Ilex forest to activate the Notched Eared Pichu event.

- Pre-order HeartGold and get a Ho-Oh figure, pre-order SoulSilver and get a Lugia figure, pre-order both and get both figures and an Arceus one.

- The Mc Donalds Jirachi is to be sent to Diamond, Pearl or Platinum first then transferred to HeartGold/SoulSilver once released. It will be available in Japan from June 19th until July 17th.

-The Jirachi is Level 5 and knows Draco Meteor, Rest, Wish and Confusion and is holding a Liechi Berry.

- Kyogre appears in HeartGold whilst Groudon appears in SoulSilver, if you bring the two together in the same game then Rayquaza will also be unlocked.

- Cynthia appears in the remakes when the Arceus event is activated. Apparently transferring your Movie Arceus to HeartGold/SoulSilver will activate this event and in-turn allow you to capture your chose of either a Level 1 Dialga, Palkia or Giratina.

- A male and female Team Rocket member can be seen, they are presumably Rocket Grunts.


12th June 2009

The official Japanese boxarts for HeartGold and SoulSilver have been revealed, HeartGold shows an image of the Tin Towers behind Ho-Oh whilst you can see the Whirlpool Islands behind Lugia on SoulSilver.

The boxes are larger then normal since the bundle includes the game and the PokeWalker device.


The Jirachi event mentioned yesterday will take place over Wi-Fi in Japan. Those who visit Mc Donalds can download a little Melee Pokemon Scramble mini-game to play on their DS to celebrate the games release on WiiWare.


11th June 2009

Scans from the July issue of CoroCoro magazine have been leaked four days early, the scans reveal that Kyogre appears in HeartGold whilst Groudon appears in SoulSilver, if you bring the two together in the same game then Rayquaza will also be unlocked.
Cynthia will make an appearance in the remakes in what appears to be an Arceus event. Apparently transferring your Movie Arceus to HeartGold/SoulSilver will activate this event and in-turn allow you to capture your chose of either a Level 1 Dialga, Palkia or Giratina.


An event Jirachi being distributed in Japan from June 19th will unlock a new area in the PokeWalker once traded over.


Finally the official Sugimori art for Prof. Elm and Silver (who is holding a Great Ball) can be seen below, a Team Rocket member is also shown, it is unknown if this women is just a grunt or an admin who plays a role in the storyline.

8th June 2009

Pokemon Sunday have revealed a new device called a PokeWalker which will come free with Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver (well in Japan anyway). The previous remakes (FireRed LeafGreen) also came with a free gift, being the wireless adapters which where also available outside of Japan. The PokeWalker does what the name suggests, it lets you transfer a Pokemon from your HG/SS game onto it so the Pokemon can be walked. Being a pedometer type device, your Pokemon will then gain experience and happiness depending on your level of activity, great way to train up your Pokemon without an additional effort simply go about your daily business.

As you and your Pokemon walk around, you'll encounter items which you can send back to HG/SS along with wild Pokemon you'll need to fight, below is a clip from Pokemon Sunday featuring the device.


The original Pokemon Gold and Silver could connect with the Pokemon Pikachu Colour pedometers via infrared, the Pokemon Pikachu allowed you to receive a new present in your game each day.




21st May 2009


Welcome to our first look back at the original Pokemon Gold and Silver versions for the Gameboy Colour. Today we will be focusing on the starting point of the two games, New Bark Town otherwise known as "The Town Where the Winds of a New Beginning Blow". To help emphasis the town's motto, wind vanes have been added to the residential houses and laboratory in the upcoming Pokemon Gold and Silver remakes Heart Gold and Soul Silver. New Bark Town's name (along with Littleroot Town of Hoenn and Twinleaf Town of Sinnoh) makes reference to plants.


Trainers leave New Bark Town from the west unlike every other starting town which has you heading north. Once Surf is obtained, the lake to the east of town will take you on the path to Victory Road and evidently the Elite Four. Only ten people live in New Bark Town giving it the smallest population in the Johto region. Despite the lack of residence, this is the town where Prof. Elm lives and thus all trainers much travel here in order to get their first Pokemon, the trainer you take control of just happens to conveniently live here. New Trainers have the choice of either a Chikorita, Cyndaquil or Totodile (pictured below) however one you've picked your starter, a trainer by the name of Silver will break into Prof. Elm's lab and steal a Pokemon which trumps your own, he can be seen in the image below planing he's break in on the left of the Pokemon lab.


As seen in the image below, Heart Gold and Soul Silver for the Nintendo DS has greatly improved on the graphics and style of New Bark Town adding much more detail, colour and appeal to the location.


Stay tuned to Pokemon Aus24 for our next installment of A Look Back at Pokemon Gold and Silver!


18th May 2009

More HeartGold and SoulSilver footage was shown yesterday during the Pokemon Sunday program in Japan and can be seen in the video below. The clip shows the Slowpoke Well and picking your starter from prof. Elm's lab.



16th May 2009


Picking your starter at Elm's Lab and pressing the X button opens the menu on the touch screen.


Possibly Kurt's house or the Burnt Tower, Slowpoke Well in Azalea Town guarded by a Rocket Grunt and the Sprout Tower introduction image shown when you first enter.


14th May 2009

Two new scans regarding HeartGold and SoulSilver have been obtained from the latest Famitsu magazine in Japan.

You can see the trainer picking their starter Pokemon using the touchscreen in Prof. Elm's lab.

Slowpoke Well being guarded by a Team Rocket Grunt.

The start menu (PokeDex, Pokemon, Bag, Save, etc...) now resides on the touchscreen, at the start of the game anyway.

The Pikachu Coloured Pichu activates an event involving the Notch-Eared Pichu in Ilex Forest which we previously saw in CoroCoro.

And finally it reveals that if you take your Movie Arceus into Oreburgh Mine, a Hiker will tell you about how Arceus created everything. A book about the myth then will appear in the Canalave Library.


13th May 2009

Pages from this month's issue of CoroCoro magazine have been leaked early which in turn has revealed some new pieces of information about Heart Gold and Soul Silver.

- Crystal has been replaced with a new female character, probably because these games are remakes of Gold and Silver and Crystal only featured in Crystal Version.

- When you enter a certain area, a introductory cut scene showing an image of the building, cave, forest, etc... will be shown like in FireRed/LeafGreen. You can see one of Sprout Tower to the left of Gold in the scans below.

- The PokeGear returns with a new look, probably so it can be incorperated into the DS touch screen like with the Poketch.


- You can see the Celebi Shrine in a scan of Ilex Forest under Ho-Oh, it also appears the Shiny Pichu (Pikachu Coloured Pichu) from the Arceus Movie unlocks an event there too.

- Gold has been given a new modern look since he's clothes from the original seem slightly daggy after ten years due to the changes in fashion.

- Ken Sugimori has created new artwork for the Johto Pokemon.

- You can see the new Sugimori images of Lugia and Ho-Oh, these images could appear on the cover of the two games or they can create a new artwork exclusively for the cover as they did with Origin Forme Giratina in Platinum.





10th May 2009

As expected Pokemon Sunday have today revealed the first bit of gameplay from Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver. Below are screens of the new-look Newbark Town where you can see the starter Pokemon now follow you around like in Pokemon Yellow and Amity Square. You can also see your rival planning his break in as he prepares to steal one of Prof. Elm's Pokemon to the left of his lab.




Click the images below to view two YouTube videos, the first shows gameplay footage of the games whilst the second shows the whole revelation on the Pokemon Sunday program. You'll notice in the video that there are strong gusts of wind in Newbark Town and a little wind dial can be seen turning in the bottom left corner as the wind changes direction.




Stay tuned to Pokemon Aus24 because this time tomorrow, we'll have a special little Heart Gold and Soul Silver suprise for you all, nothing overly exciting but you'll have to come back to see what could be.


8th May 2009


Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver (derived from the saying "A Heart of Gold and a Soul of Silver") have been announced by Japan's official Pokemon site along with (as always) Yahoo Kids Japan. Towards the bottom of this article are the two Japanese logos for the games (which look amazing, hopefully the English versions retain the symbols) along with a translation (done by myself so don't copy and paste) from the two sites.


Pokemon Japan:
The Pokemon Company (President: Ishihara Tsunekazu) and Nintendo announce the remake of Pokemon Gold and Silver, Pokemon Heart Gold and Pokemon Soul Silver which will be released in fall 2009.

Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver, Will feature a DS version of Johto with the powerful features of the series so far filled along with the latest development and new element possible on the DS. Since its launch in 1999, The original games had worldwide sales of more than 23 million. The Pokemon Gold and Silver from 10 years ago is about to be reborn again.

Yahoo Kids:
The popular RPG series release in November 1999, Pocket Monsters Gold and Silver is going to be remade for the Nintendo DS with Heart Gold and Soul Silver and will be released in Autumn. New elements will be added giving the popular titles a new life after 10 years.

The first series Pokemon Red, Green, Blue and Yellow have all had record sales in the past and the same went for the original Gold and Silver.

First Red and Green where remade in 2004 with the release of Fire Red and Leaf Green for the Game Boy Advance (GBA). But unlike the jump from the GB to the GBA, Heart Gold and Soul Silver will skip the GBA and go straight to the DS which will give them improved graphics and sounds compared to FR/LG. This will be a significant upgrade and the game will be totally revived like never before.