[un]Official HeartGold/SoulSilver Update Thread

[Neerb]

Just felt like doing some organizing; if anyone gets any news on HG/SS, you can post it here for others to easily find.  http://www.serebii.net/heartgoldsoulsilver/


Notable Old Features

• Kanto is still accessible.
• Apricorns have returned.
• Bug Catching contest is back.
• PokeGear is back.
• Red Gyarados has returned.
• All G/S/C legendaries have returned.

Notable New Features

• Obviously, the game's visuals and mechanics are current-gen (3D aspects, physical and special moves categorized per move instead of per type, etc.).
• The Playable Boy and the Rival are returning, but there is also a new Playable Girl.
• You may have ANY of your pokemon follow you around in the over-world by putting them in the first position of your team.  Talking to them allows you to see how they are feeling (similarly to Yellow's Pikachu), with different reactions based on their current happiness, HP, and status condition.  They may also occasionally find Berries or accessories (similarly to D/P/Pt's Amity Square).
• Game comes with a pedometer called a Pokewalker, which appears to be in vain of the old Digivice toys, but on a much greater scale.  You can trade up to 3 pokemon over to it, walking with the device (or just shaking it) will give the pokemon experience and happiness, the pokemon may find items which you can then trade with other Pokewalkers or give back to your DS game, you can find wild pokemon to battle using the commands "Attack" and "Dodge", the pokemon you battle can be captured in the same manner as usual (lower health then throw pokeball) and then sent back to your DS game (the Pokewalker may only hold up to 3 captured pokemon at a time), and there are several different unlockable areas featuring different items and wild pokemon.
• In addition to keeping the Phone, Map, and Radio, the returning Pokegear will also feature an Item Finder and a journal of what you have done in the Pokewalker; all five of these features have been redone to look better and be touch-screen compatible.
• The Bag is now assigned to the touch-screen (as opposed to the Poketch of D/P/Pt).  As such, it has been reorganized to be easier to navigate, and the Bike, Fishing Rod, and Shoes even have their own special buttons on its main menu for quick access.
• The PC Boxes are now 100% touch-screen compatible, though you may still use buttons if you wish.
• The Pokedex has received a major overhaul which makes navigating it much simpler:  the touch-screen has a calender-like grid you can scroll through with each square numbered.  If you have caught a pokemon, its picture will appear in the square of its number; if you have seen the pokemon, its picture will appear in the square of its number, but the picture's colors will be somewhat faded; if you have not seen the pokemon, only the number appears.  Touching a pokemon will bring up its profile on the top screen.
• Certain pokemon appear to have different JohtoDex numbers than what they had in the original G/S/C, indicating there may be 3rd and 4th gen pokemon available for capture.
• There are several new areas, including a Johto Battle Frontier, a Johto Safari Park, and an unknown area accessible only by obtaining a special Jirachi from certain DS Download Stations throughout Japan.
• The new Safari Zone is customizable, allowing you to move different areas around in order to make finding certain pokemon more convenient.
• One new area is the Pokethlon Dome, which allows your pokemon to compete in minigames.  There are 10 minigames, each being part of 2 categories, and whichever one of the 5 total categories you pick will determine what 3 random games you play.  The categories are:  Speed, Power, Technique, Stamina, and Jump.
• The currently known Pokethlon minigames are:
  ? Dash Hurdles, which has the pokemon racing in a straight line while you tap your three pokemon in order to make them jump hurdles.
  ? Bounce Field, in which you basically use three pokemon as ammo in a touch-controlled slingshot in order to hit as many flying spheres as possible.
  ? Ring Out Fight, which is a sumo wrestling match between your one pokemon and three enemies.  Knock out others by using the touch-screen to flick your pokemon at your opponents.
  ? Shooting Snow, a snowball fight in which your three pokemon face three teams of three other pokemon, with snowballs being thrown by flicking them forward with the touch-screen.
  ? Break Block which has your Pok?mon breaking blocks using their hand. This is controlled with the Touch Screen.
  ? Change Relay, another race controlled on the Touch Screen. However, unlike Dash Hurdle, you only control one Pok?mon at a time.
  ? Push Circle is another match similar to RingOut Fight. However, you control all your Pok?mon at once.
• Apricorns can now be grown in your own portable machine.  As well as making the new Pok?Balls, you can also convert Apricorns into juice in order to boost your pok?mon's Pok?thlon stats.
• Trading over the Pikachu-colored Pichu (obtained by seeing the 12th movie in Japan) and taking it to a certain area will allow you to obtain the Notched-ear Pichu.  This Pichu is female, lv30, knows Volt Tackle, Helping Hand, Swagger, and Pain Split, it can never evolve, and it can never be traded.
• Trading over the Arceus obtained by seeing the 12th movie in Japan will allow you to access a new area in which you meet Cynthia (yes, the same one from D/P/Pt) and are given the opportunity to get your choice of a Dialga that knows Metal Burst, a Palkia that knows Hydro Pump, or a Giratina with Shadow Sneak, all of which are lv1.  Be careful in your decision, as you can only ever get one of them.
• Defeating the Elite Four grants you access to a cave where you can capture Kyogre (if you have Heart Gold) or Groudon (if you have Soul Silver).  Both are at lv50.
• Defeating the Elite Four and obtaining both Kyogre and Groundon grants you access to a cave where you can capture lv50 Rayquaza.

[jnfs2014]

Why is Groudon SS and Kyogre HG? Shouldn't it be the other way around?

[JrDude]

1. When putting other-gamed Legendary Pok?mon, it is always the reversed on which one you can get. If you can get the popular legendary on the game thingy, then the non-popular legendary will be available for the other-gamed legendary. If that makes sense, it's hard for me to explain.
2. Why have a thread like this if we can just use Serebii?

[Friendly Hostile]

2. Why have a thread like this if we can just use Serebii?

Some of us are too lazy to go to Serebii.

[Neerb]

Why have a thread like this if we can just use Serebii?

Convenience.  This is all on one page instead of searching throughout Serebii.  It's also an update thread, not just an info thread, so if one person finds something on a site (any site, not just Serebii), we'll all find out here.

[bluaki]

*As far as we know, Celebi is still unavailable

Nothing related to this whatsoever has been confirmed or even rumored. It's not at all a fact about HG/SS, so you probably should remove it from the list until there is a fact of some sort regarding Celebi.

[Cornwad]

I really fell bad for someone who recently caught a shiny Magikarp, or catches one when playing HGSS. They can't ever evolve it or else people will just assume they found the Red Gyarados.

[Neerb]

*As far as we know, Celebi is still unavailable

Nothing related to this whatsoever has been confirmed or even rumored. It's not at all a fact about HG/SS, so you probably should remove it from the list until there is a fact of some sort regarding Celebi.

I just put that because I knew some people are wondering about Celebi, and the fact that Serebii's current list of legendaries in the game includes all of the original games' plus six from the 3rd and 4th gens yet still no Celebi makes it seem extremely unlikely that Celebi is making it in.  However, you do bring up a good point in that it is not technically confirmed. *removes*

[JrDude]

We also don't know if they have the same means of finding the G/S/C legendaries.
It is also not confirmed if you can grow the apricots in soil, you didn't say that, but you did say "they are now grown in your own portable machine," which sounds to me like it's the only way to grow them. I would have said "Apricorns can now be grown in your own portable machine." But that's just me.

[Cornwad]

I think this is supposed to be a quick reference list of sorts. If you want to figure out if they can be grown in the ground or not you can check Serebii.

[JrDude]

I think this is supposed to be a quick reference list of sorts. If you want to figure out if they can be grown in the ground or not you can check Serebii.

I did... It doesn't say. But I could care less either way.

[bluaki]

I just put that because I knew some people are wondering about Celebi, and the fact that Serebii's current list of legendaries in the game includes all of the original games' plus six from the 3rd and 4th gens yet still no Celebi makes it seem extremely unlikely that Celebi is making it in.  However, you do bring up a good point in that it is not technically confirmed. *removes*

six from the 3rd and 4th gens?
Although either Dialga, Palkia, or Giratina are obtainable, they're unlocked only via a Nintendo event.
Celebi is likely, though unconfirmed, an event-exclusive pokemon of some sort. Just like Shaymin, Darkrai, Arceus, Phione, Mew, Jirachi, and Deoxys.

To be noted, it has just barely been confirmed that all three legendary dogs are in this game, because of one single screenshot showing them. There's just too little info currently to make any baseless assumptions like that. Even limiting Celebi to event-exclusive is purely fan speculation based on only the trend of past pokemon games.

[JrDude]

New Info (Serebii)
* Kyogre & Groudon both dwell in a cave like Rayquaza, and like Rayquaza, they are to be found at Level 50
* Apricorns have another use. As well as making the new Pok?Balls, you can convert them into juice in order to boost your Pok?mon's Pok?thlon stats
* Three new Pok?thlon events have been revealed;
? Break Block which has your Pok?mon breaking blocks using their hand. This is controlled with the Touch Screen
? Change Relay, another race controlled on the Touch Screen. However, unlike Dash Hurdle, you only control one   Pok?mon at a time
? Push Circle is another match similar to RingOut Fight. However, you control all your Pok?mon at once
* You can customise the areas within the Safari Zone. Moving areas for quicker access should you need it to allow for easy access to areas if you're looking for certain Pok?mon.

[Neerb]

Updates and requested edits have been added.

[RX-78-2]

You can trade with Pok?mon Diamond, Pok?mon Pearl, and Pok?mon Platinum right? Also, can you migrate from the GBA games?