It’s officially been 25 years since Pokemon Gold and Silver first launched on Nintendo Game Boy. To celebrate the second mainline entry in the franchise, The Pokemon Company has revealed some brand-new merchandise based on the Legendary Pokemon Ho-Oh and Lugia. The Pokemon Center website now has plushies based on the Gold and Silver cover stars, which are priced at $49.99 each. In a twist on their normal colorations, Ho-Oh and Lugia have been given color schemes that are almost entirely gold and silver, in reference to the games in which they debuted.
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The plushies of Ho-Oh and Lugia are both on the bigger side, with Ho-Oh clocking in at 15 and 3/4 Inches tall, and Lugia at 17 and 1/4 Inches. That should make both of these Pokemon a nice display piece, either by themselves, or together. Readers interested in finding them at The Pokemon Center website can find them here and here.
Ho-Oh and Lugia played integral roles in the narrative for Pokemon Gold and Silver, but both Pokemon first made their debuts in the Pokemon anime. Ho-Oh memorably appeared at the end of the first episode of the series, with Ash spotting the Legendary Pokemon on the first day of his journey with Pikachu. Meanwhile Lugia made its debut in the animated film The Power of One, where it played a central role in the storyline. As a result of these appearances, fans had become somewhat familiar with both by the time the games were released.
At this time, it remains to be seen whether we’ll see any other celebrations for the anniversary of Pokemon Gold and Silver. The games are very well-regarded among Pokemon fans, for several different reasons. The second Pokemon generation introduced players to the new Johto region, where there were 100 new Pokemon, including fan favorites like Scizor, Tyranitar, and Feraligatr. Gold and Silver also featured a significant post-game quest, in which players were given the chance to revisit the Kanto region and battle it out with fan favorite Gym Leaders like Brock and Misty. The games also introduced the concept of Shiny Pokemon, which have become a huge part of the collecting experience ever since.
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Unfortunately, Pokemon Gold and Silver isn’t really playable in any form on modern systems. For the 10th anniversary of the games, remakes called Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver were released on Nintendo DS. The original versions of Gold and Silver were also released on 3DS several years ago, but there isn’t any way to play the originals or remakes on Nintendo Switch. That really is a shame, but hopefully we’ll see that rectified at some point down the line.
Are you planning to check out either of these new Pokemon plushies? Did you play either Pokemon Gold or Silver when they were released? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!