‘Pokemon Gold’ And ‘Pokemon Silver’ Will Shine Again On 3DS This September

Outside of the Pokken Tournament DX and Pokemon Ultra Sun / Ultra Moon reveals during the latest Nintendo Direct, there was one last surprise that sneaked into the tail end of the presentation. Following the success of the original Red Blue and Yellow on the 3DS Virtual Console in 2016, Pokemon Gold and Silver, their Game Boy Color sequels, will get their own retro revival on September 22, day and date with Pokken‘s Switch release.

Hailed by many as one of the greatest Pokemon generations of all time, Gold and Silver introduced many of the mechanics that have become mainstays in the years since, including breeding, berries, the ability for Pokemon to hold items, shiny Pokemon, special Poke Balls, the Special Attack and Special Defense split, and the debut of the steel and dark types. Some features like the Pokegear, which let you arrange rematches with trainers you’ve defeated, play a radio to manipulate encounter rates, and the day and night cycles where different Pokemon might appear depending on when you play have either been lost in time, or have sporadically popped in and out of the games, but with how much these sequels toyed with the mechanics, it’s no wonder why it’s so fondly remembered. Oh, and did I mention that you can revisit most of the map from the first game too? Why hasn’t that happened since!?

Like the previous Virtual Console release, these titles will also be Pokemon Bank compatible, meaning you’ll be able to transfer what you catch into Pokemon Sun and Moon, and presumably Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. But remember, you can’t transfer them back, so don’t let go of anything that Johto is too attached to!

Who else will be sitting in front of the eShop refreshing their screen this September? As my second favorite generation, I’m very excited to have a reason to play these again. Let us know what your favorite Gold and Silver moments are below!