As the Game Boy Color breathed new life into the Game Boy hardware, it was successful enough to have a lifespan just past the millennium and even brought a follow up to Pok'emon into play with two new games, Gold and Silver, introducing another 100 creatures to catch, a whole new adventure in the region of Johto, and some unique changes making it just as memorable as its predecessor, even though you're returning to the task of strengthening up your captured monsters and become the best in the region.

Day and night, and all week long

The first new feature introduced right off the bat is the realtime clock, following the actual time of day and the day of the week. This allowed for certain Pok'emon to come out depending on how early or late in the day it was, and different events would occur depending on the day you were playing the game on, such as finding non-playable characters that appear to gift you special items.

New baby form Pok'emon

Some Pok'emon new and old were introduced baby forms if you happened to breed the Pok'emon that produce them, adding a new twist to collecting, they don't particularly come with unseen movesets to add to the factor of being useful, but if you want to have a Pok'emon to strengthen early, this was a great option.

The Pok'egear

The Pok'egear managed a lot to save space in your inventory, having a map of the region, a built-in radio and even a phone for returning to trainers you've already beaten for either battling them again for extra experience, or receiving a useful item, a huge step up from the previous games as you were limited to only gaining experience from wild Pok'emon only. As for the radio, you could use it to lure or repel Pok'emon in the wild, or for a lottery drawing.

A new experience bar

In Red, Blue and Yellow you never knew exactly how far your Pok'emon was closer to leveling up unless you looked up their stats in the options menu, but thanks to a new bar that increases during battle, you'll have the convenience of knowing when they'll level up once it reaches the end. I could imagine other fans were wanting something like this to save them more time.

Long lasting friendships

Another difference in evolution is that some Pok'emon now had to have a strong bond toward you if you want them to reach a newly introduced evolution. Constantly offering them stat boosting items, having their hair groomed, and making sure they're not fainting in battle at a frequent rate would mean more play hours of the game given the process of leveling and friendship.

New Pok'eballs

Upon meeting someone in one of the towns, he would make custom Pok'eballs out of acorns, such as the Heavy Ball, a ball for catching large sized Pok'emon, a Level Ball, making it easier to catch wild Pok'emon at a lower level that the ones you have in your party, and the Friend Ball, a ball that makes caught Pok'emon get friendly easier and faster. Many of these seemed to have a better use than the usual Pok'eballs you found in stores.

A new quest?

So you've finally gotten all the gym badges in the region, you've clobbered the Elite Four, and you've made your name as the Pok'emon league champion..... but after the ending credits, you've got a new path to set forth on, getting a ticket to board the ship of the S.S. Aqua and sail to the region of Red, Blue and Yellow, the island of Kanto. You'll tackle all of the original gyms (and meeting some new substitute gym leaders) until you reach the legendary Mount Silver, where the hardest challenge lies before you....

That guy looks familiar....

The very last challenge is facing off against the original trainer and prior Pok'emon league champion, Red from the Red, Blue and Yellow games, and his Pok'emon pack a whallop if you don't defeat them all fast enough. Though since he was a silent protagonist in the original games, his only dialogue when you face him is "..."

Although the Game Boy Color's lifespan would end just after 2001, Pok'emon Gold and Silver became a definitive experience in catching some of your favorite critters with all of the new content and features it had to offer, and it was a phenomenal addition to my Game Boy Color that I received preowned those many years ago. What are your memories of playing Gold and Silver? Leave a comment and as always, see you next article!