Games
HeartGold and SoulSilver: Johto and Kanto, sixteen badges and a walking partner
HeartGold and SoulSilver are the 2009 Nintendo DS remakes of Gold and Silver, covering Johto and then Kanto for a total of 16 gym badges. HeartGold has Ho-Oh on the box and SoulSilver has Lugia, and each version keeps about ten wild species from the other. Both shipped in a box with the Pokéwalker pedometer, run on any DS or 3DS system from a used cartridge, and have no newer remake and no digital release on current systems.
HeartGold and SoulSilver on Nintendo DS: structure, versions, postgame and how to play in 2026. Drafted 8 Nov 2026.
Johto's eight gyms come first and Kanto's eight follow
The player starts in New Bark Town and receives a starter from Professor Elm. A red-haired rival steals one of the other two from the same lab. The first half is Johto: eight gyms, the return of Team Rocket in Goldenrod City's Radio Tower, and a legendary storyline built around the Bell Tower or Whirl Islands. The Johto Pokémon League follows. Its Elite Four are Will (Psychic), Koga (Poison), Bruno (Fighting) and Karen (Dark), and the Champion is Lance with a team of Dragonite and other Dragon and Flying species. The credits roll there, then the S.S. Aqua from Olivine City opens Kanto, three years after the events of Red and Blue. Kanto has eight more gyms that take any order. The final opponent is Red, on the summit of Mount Silver, after all 16 badges. Throughout, the lead Pokémon walks behind the player on the map.
HeartGold and SoulSilver keep the Gold and Silver exclusive split
The version split follows the 1999 originals. HeartGold has Mankey, Growlithe, Spinarak, Gligar, Teddiursa and Mantine, with their evolutions. SoulSilver has Vulpix, Meowth, Ledyba, Delibird, Skarmory and Phanpy, with theirs. Ho-Oh is the story legendary in HeartGold and Lugia in SoulSilver; each version can catch the other bird later at a higher level. Trade evolutions are the usual four, Kadabra, Machoke, Graveler and Haunter, plus held-item trades such as Onix with a Metal Coat into Steelix and Scyther with a Metal Coat into Scizor. Both versions trade with Diamond, Pearl and Platinum. A second Generation IV cartridge and a second DS-family system do the job over local wireless in the Union Room, which needs no server.
Chikorita, Cyndaquil and Totodile meet Falkner, Bugsy and Whitney
Chikorita is Grass and evolves at 16 and 32 into Meganium. Cyndaquil is Fire and evolves at 14 and 36 into Typhlosion. Totodile is Water and evolves at 18 and 30 into Feraligatr. All three stay single-typed. The first milestones are fixed. Mr. Pokémon's house on Route 30, where Professor Oak gives out the Pokédex and Mr. Pokémon hands over an Egg. Sprout Tower and Falkner's Flying gym in Violet City for the first badge. Slowpoke Well and Bugsy's Bug gym in Azalea Town for the second. Then Goldenrod City, where Whitney's Miltank uses Rollout and Milk Drink and stops more first runs than any other early trainer. Chikorita is weak to both of the first two gyms. A Geodude from Dark Cave or the Machop traded in Goldenrod gives every starter a better answer to Miltank.
Kanto, the Battle Frontier and Mount Silver fill the second half
The Elite Four is the halfway point. After it, Kanto opens with eight more gyms and its own routes, and Professor Oak gives out Bulbasaur, Charmander or Squirtle once Red has been beaten. The Battle Frontier sits west of Olivine City and carries over Platinum's five facilities: Tower, Factory, Hall, Castle and Arcade, paying Battle Points for items and tutors. The Safari Zone west of Cianwood City lets the player arrange its zones and leave blocks to draw certain species. The Pokéathlon Dome near the National Park runs ten athletic events with the touch screen. Raikou and Entei roam Johto, while Suicune appears at fixed points in a short story of its own. Red waits on Mount Silver with a team at level 70 and above.
The 2006 category rule rewrote Johto's old matchups
Gold and Silver used the type rule: Fire, Water, Grass, Electric, Ice, Psychic, Dragon and Dark moves were special, and everything else was physical. HeartGold and SoulSilver run on the Generation IV engine, where each damaging move has its own category. In practice Feraligatr's Waterfall now uses its strong Attack, Gyarados is no longer stuck spending Attack on Normal moves, and Crunch hits physically. Whitney's Miltank still threatens with Rollout, a physical Rock move, so a high-Defense Pokémon blunts it. Outrage, a Dragon move Lance's Dragonite can learn, now runs on Attack instead of Special Attack. Check each move's category on its summary page before teaching a TM. The glossary entry is at /reference/glossary/#physical-special-split, and the move finder separates level-up, TM and tutor learners in this version group.
The remake kept Crystal's additions and the Pokéwalker went with it
HeartGold and SoulSilver remake Gold and Silver but borrow from Crystal: the Suicune storyline, the Battle Tower idea grown into a full Battle Frontier, and the choice of a male or female player. They add the walking partner, the Pokéathlon, the configurable Safari Zone and the Pokéwalker, an infrared pedometer that carries one Pokémon on walks and earns Watts for items and catches. Generation IV species and evolutions appear in Johto, such as Togekiss, Yanmega and Mamoswine. No newer remake of Johto exists as of November 2026. Gold, Silver and Crystal were sold again on the 3DS Virtual Console from 2017 until the eShop stopped sales in March 2023, and they connect to Pokémon Bank, which can no longer be downloaded and ends service on 25 February 2027, but that route carries the 1999 games, not this remake.
HeartGold and SoulSilver lost Wi-Fi in 2014 and run offline now
All online features, including the Global Trade Station, online battles and online Mystery Gift, ran on Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, which closed on 20 May 2014. Local wireless trading and battling still work. The games were never sold digitally and have no Nintendo Switch Online release, so in 2026 they come as used cartridges, often without the Pokéwalker or the box. The game plays to the end without the Pokéwalker; the pedometer takes one CR2032 coin cell. Any DS, DS Lite, DSi, 3DS or 2DS runs the cartridge, and Pal Park on an original DS or DS Lite still pulls Generation III Pokémon in. Moving Pokémon forward takes Poké Transfer in a Generation V game, then Poké Transporter and Pokémon Bank on a 3DS, then Pokémon HOME, a route that closes when Bank ends service on 25 February 2027.
| Species | Version |
|---|---|
| Mankey, Primeape | HeartGold |
| Growlithe, Arcanine | HeartGold |
| Spinarak, Ariados | HeartGold |
| Gligar | HeartGold |
| Teddiursa, Ursaring | HeartGold |
| Mantine | HeartGold |
| Ho-Oh (story) | HeartGold |
| Vulpix, Ninetales | SoulSilver |
| Meowth, Persian | SoulSilver |
| Ledyba, Ledian | SoulSilver |
| Delibird | SoulSilver |
| Skarmory | SoulSilver |
| Phanpy, Donphan | SoulSilver |
| Lugia (story) | SoulSilver |
Ho-Oh in HeartGold and Lugia in SoulSilver confirmed on the official Japanese site (pokemon-jp-hgss), 8 Nov 2026. The wild rows are still carried from the 1999 split and from memory.
| Order | Leader | City | Badge | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Falkner | Violet City | Zephyr Badge | Flying |
| 2 | Bugsy | Azalea Town | Hive Badge | Bug |
| 3 | Whitney | Goldenrod City | Plain Badge | Normal |
| 4 | Morty | Ecruteak City | Fog Badge | Ghost |
| 5 | Chuck | Cianwood City | Storm Badge | Fighting |
| 6 | Jasmine | Olivine City | Mineral Badge | Steel |
| 7 | Pryce | Mahogany Town | Glacier Badge | Ice |
| 8 | Clair | Blackthorn City | Rising Badge | Dragon |
| Kanto | Lt. Surge | Vermilion City | Thunder Badge | Electric |
| Kanto | Sabrina | Saffron City | Marsh Badge | Psychic |
| Kanto | Misty | Cerulean City | Cascade Badge | Water |
| Kanto | Erika | Celadon City | Rainbow Badge | Grass |
| Kanto | Janine | Fuchsia City | Soul Badge | Poison |
| Kanto | Brock | Pewter City | Boulder Badge | Rock |
| Kanto | Blaine | Seafoam Islands | Volcano Badge | Fire |
| Kanto | Blue | Viridian City | Earth Badge | Mixed |
Chuck and Jasmine can be taken in either order.
5 checks before you act
- Delete any old save with Up, Select and B on the title screen, then set Text Speed to Fast.
- Choose the starter with Falkner's Flying gym and Bugsy's Bug gym in mind.
- Catch a Geodude in Dark Cave or plan the Goldenrod trade before Whitney's Miltank.
- Check whether a Pokéwalker came with the cart and fit a fresh CR2032 cell if so.
- Set the walking partner by putting the Pokémon you want to see first in the party.
Read next
Sources read for this page
- ReadWriter's game knowledgeundated
- ReadPokéAPI HeartGold / SoulSilver version-group metadataread 7 Nov 2026
- ReadPokéAPI species and evolution records, repository cacheread 7 Nov 2026
- ReadNintendo Support: Service Discontinuation: Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection Serviceread 8 Nov 2026
- ReadNintendo Support: Pokémon Bank End of Serviceread 8 Nov 2026
- ReadOfficial HOME service overviewread 7 Nov 2026
- ReadPokémon HeartGold Version instruction booklet (Nintendo of America)read 8 Nov 2026
- Readポケットモンスターオフィシャルサイト: ハートゴールド・ソウルシルバー, ポケモンread 8 Nov 2026
- Read任天堂: ポケットモンスター ハートゴールド・ソウルシルバーread 8 Nov 2026
- ReadNintendo UK: Pokémon HeartGold Versionread 8 Nov 2026