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Pokémon Gold, Silver and Crystal
| Video game fandom | |
|---|---|
| Name | Pocket Monsters Gold and Silver Pokémon Heart Gold and Soul Silver |
| Japanese name | ポケットモンスター 金 ポケットモンスター 銀 ポケットモンスター クリスタルバ 2009 Remakes: |
| Abbreviation(s) | GSC, HGSS |
| Developer(s) | Game Freak; Nintendo |
| Release date | November 21, 1999 - November 21, 2002 (Japan) |
| Platform(s) | Gameboy, later multi-platform |
| Genre(s) | Role-Playing Game |
| Related articles on Fanlore. | |
Pokémon Gold, Silver and Crystal (commonly abbreviated as GSC) are the sequels to the first games in the Pokémon franchise Pokémon Red, Blue and Yellow, taking place three years after the events of RBY. Released initially as Pocket Monsters Gold and Silver for the Nintendo Gameboy on November 21, 1999 in Japan, it later received an updated version, Pocket Monsters Crystal, on December 14, 2000. Gold and Silver would release in America on October 15, 2000, with Crystal following on July 29, 2001.
The games were later remade for the Nintendo DS in 2009 with Pokémon Heart Gold and Pokémon Soul Silver.
Plot Overview
The player controls a protagonist that you name, (a young boy that is later canonically known as Ethan in Pokémon Heart Gold and Soul Silver, though is often referred to by fans as Gold, which is the name of his cross-canon counterpart in the Pokémon Special manga,) and explores a fictional interpretation of the Kansai region in Japan called Johto.
You start out with either Chikorita, Cyndaquil or Totodile, given to you by the region's Pokémon Professor. Your rival, (who's later canonically known as Silver only by 2020, though he'd been called Silver for many years by fans before this due to the manga,) breaks into the building and steals a starter shortly after you do.
The games feature eight gym leaders, which must be defeated in Pokémon battles before you reach the Elite Four, considered the four strongest trainers in the region aside from the Pokémon Champion, Lance. Along the way, you encounter and defeat the remains of the villainous, yakuza-like Team Rocket, who are trying to reach their founder, Giovanni, but are ultimately unsuccessful. Though it initially seems like the games end after defeating Lance, this only opens up Kanto, the region from RBY, for you to explore. After defeating eight more gym leaders, you can challenge Red, the playable character from RBY, who serves as the games' "true" final boss.
Pokémon Crystal introduces Kris as a playable female protagonist, the first in the series, as well as Eusine, who restlessly pursues Suicune and regularly runs into the player.
The 2009 remakes update the games' mechanics, appearance and post-game content. It also changes the female protagonist to be a new character, Lyra, as well as giving names to the Team Rocket admins for the first time: Archer, Ariana, Petrel and Proton. As well, in an event triggered by the legendary Pokémon Celebi, obtainable after the release of a Pokémon film in some theaters, it's revealed that Silver is Giovanni's son, something alluded to in the games before, which was canon in the manga, but hadn't been canon in the games until this point.
Characters
Silver is the most popular character in GSC who's never had a prominent role in the anime series. Characterized as an abrasive, moody boy who treats his Pokémon as tools, though hates Team Rocket and anything they're associated with and implied to not have a family of his own, many fans grew attached to him and his growth throughout the story as he learns to appreciate his Pokémon. Hurt/comfort is common for positive fanworks towards his character. His brief but impactful encounters with Lance in the games is also often turned to Lance acting as a father figure for him in fanworks, inspired by the manga.
The most popular GSC overall, however, is Lyra, who appeared as one of Ash Ketchum's temporary companions in the anime series for several episodes. Although she was initially not liked by the fandom upon her introduction, as she replaced Kris and had a name that wasn't after one of the entries in the series, (often called Soul by many fans,) she eventually became a fan favorite. In the games, she's a bubbly next-door type if Ethan's the played character, which was her character's basis in for the anime.
Another popular character is Morty, one of the gym leaders, who's somewhat of a breakout character and is often shipped with many of the other gym leaders, as well as Lyra. Jasmine, another gym leader, is also popular with fans and a fan favorite.
Other notable characters include the remaining gym leaders and Elite Four: Falkner, Bugsy, Whitney, Chuck, Pryce, Clair, Karen, Will, Bruno, and Koga. Many of the gym leaders from RBY also appear, along with Koga's daughter Janine, who replaced his role as gym leader of Fuchsia City.
Popular Relationships
Gen ships, such as Ethan & Silver, Lyra & Silver, Kris & Silver, Lance & Silver, Giovanni & Silver, Ethan & Red, Ethan & Lyra and the Johto Games Trio are all very common in the fandom, along with gen ships introduced in RBY. The same applies to romantic ships.
Romantic ships, such as Ethan/Silver (HunterShipping), Lyra/Silver (SoulSilverShipping) and Ethan/Lyra (HeartSoulShipping) are also popular. Rarer are ships between the NPCs, which include Eusine/Morty (SacredShipping), Falkner/Morty (HonorShipping), Karen/Will (MasakudoShipping) and Erika/Jasmine (IkebanaShipping), among many others shipped by fans. For more pairings, see each characters' individual pages.
Lance and Silver are also particularly popular for self-shipping.
GSC Fandom
This article or section needs expansion. |
Popular Tropes & Fanon
- Silver is Giovanni's son: common fanon until it became canon in ~2010
- Lost Silver: popular creepypasta. For more information, see Pokémon Lost Silver on TVTropes.
- Lance as a Father Figure to Silver: because Giovanni isn't cutting it and canonically abandoned him before the events of the game.
Subjects of Fannish Interest & Meta
GSC is more intertwined with the Pokémon Special manga series canon, which has been semi-continuously running since the franchise's start, than any other generation in the game series. The manga reached its peak popularity during its run through the games, (1999 to 2002,) and because of its ensemble cast consisting mostly of the protagonist-adjacent characters, (i.e. the game protagonists up to that point, their rivals, as well as the manga-exclusive characters Blue and Yellow,) shipping between them is popular and has always been very common. The manga also explored their characterization in-depth long before any canonical content did, (as seen in Pokémon Masters.)
Some manga pairings, such as Gold/Silver (PreciousMetalShipping) and Gold/Crystal (MangaQuestShipping), are more popular with fans than their game series counterparts. Other relationships, such as the bond Silver has with Blue, don't exist in the game series but still expanded upon the characters' fanon personalities. While most fans of GSC aren't fans of the Special manga, most Special fans also like GSC.
This kind of cross-canon influence can also be seen with how much the anime series has influenced the fandom for RBY.
Example/Notable Fanac
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
Fan Communities/Fan Events
- newbarkheroes, Archived version, a general shipping community for any combination of Ethan/Silver/Kris/Lyra fanfiction on LiveJournal
- Champion Lance Appreciation Week, Archived version, a yearly fanweek running from Nov. 15th to the 21st since 2019. Fanart made by its host pechagummy can be seen here, Archived version.
- Twitch Plays Pokémon, an online game and social experiment in which an emulation of the Pokémon console games is streamed on Twitch and collectively controlled by the viewers of the stream via commands entered into the chat in 2014 and following years.
Fan Blogs
Fan Fic
- Alpha Beta by mochawhip, Archived version (2013), the destruction and reconstruction of Silver's upbringing in Team Rocket. Rated Gen.
- Hello, Gorgeous by JFSindel, Archived version (2020-22), explores an AU where Lance is more involved with Team Rocket. Eventual Lance/Proton (LanceShipping). It is rated Explicit with Archive Warnings for Graphic Depictions Of Violence and Rape/Non-Con.
- The Jasmine Series by LazKoal, Archived version (2023-24), focuses on Jasmine and her adventures in the Johto region. Features many other characters and pairings, including Clair/Jasmine (SteelLairShipping). Rated Mature.
Fan Art
General Fanworks
Wikis
- ポケモンGSC on PixivEncyclopedia
- HGSS on PixivEncyclopedia
- Pokémon Gold and Silver Versions on Bulbapedia
- Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver Versions on Bulbapedia