There are two major reasons to play Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver in 2026: continuing the series after beating Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen on Switch and playing through all the regions/generations (even if they are Gen 4—they are still best version of Johto) ahead of the release of Pokemon Winds and Waves. But beyond how difficult playing just one of them today is, the version exclusives between the two versions do not help make that choice any easier.
Many fans are hoping that Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen usher in an era of classic Pokemon games on Nintendo Switch/Switch 2 hardware, and it very well could. Datamines suggest that Pokemon FR/LG have had their connectivity adjusted, presumably for ports of Pokemon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, but for now, classic Johto and Hoenn games remain missing.
Playing Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver in 2026
If someone wants to play Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver in 2026, they’ll need Nintendo DS/2DS/3DS hardware (or an emulator) and a cartridge of the game (pricy!). And while my special edition Pokemon X and Y Nintendo 3DS XL has taken a beating over the past 13 years, it’s going to serve me well in my return to Johto.
Who’s That Character?
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Easy (7.5s)Medium (5.0s)Hard (2.5s)Permadeath (2.5s)
The next step, after ensuring that you have the proper hardware, is choosing between the games. Version exclusives are nothing new to Pokemon fans, and they can be a deciding factor in choosing which version to play. They always put up a fight. Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen‘s exclusives make a strong case for each game, and Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver complicate the matter due to one major reason: swaps. Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver intentionally swapped some of the exclusives from the original Gold and Silver games. In doing so, though, there is still a clear winner for the best version to play: HeartGold.
Game Freak likely swapped some of these exclusive Pokemon to surprise longtime players of the original at release, better balance Pokedex availability across both versions, and to encourage trading (as always).
Pokemon HeartGold Exclusive Pokemon
- Mankey
- Primeape
- Growlithe
- Arcanine
- Omanyte
- Omastar
- Spinarak
- Ariados
- Mantyke
- Mantine
- Phanpy
- Donphan
- Baltoy
- Claydol
- Anorith
- Armaldo
- Gligar
- Gliscor
- Sableye
- Kyogre
- Latias*
Pokemon SoulSilver Version Exclusives
- Meowth
- Persian
- Vulpix
- Ninetales
- Kabuto
- Kabutops
- Ledyba
- Ledian
- Teddiursa
- Ursaring
- Gulpin
- Swalot
- Lileep
- Cradily
- Mawile
- Skarmory
- Delibird
- Groudon
- Latios*
*Latias is native to HeartGold and Latios is native to SoulSilver, making these Pokemon version exclusives. However, there was a distribution event for the Enigma Stone that would make the other obtainable. This is noteworthy because, if Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver ever come to Switch, Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen’s treatment of event-only Legendary Pokemon suggests both would be catchable in this scenario.
Why Pokemon HeartGold is the Best Johto Remake to Play
There are a few factors that make Pokemon HeartGold the better choice overall, but the first worth discussing is preference. “Best” plays second fiddle to someone’s preference, so preferring Ho-Oh or Lugia/Groudon or Kyogre and making a decision based on that alone is valid. The same can be said of the version-exclusive fossil Pokemon, but at large, Pokemon HeartGold has more popular Pokemon than SoulSilver.
Primeape is a popular Fighting-type Pokemon, perhaps even more so after the introduction of Annihilape in Gen 9. Meanwhile, Growlithe and Arcanine are probably some of the most popular Pokemon out of the original 151; in both cases, their counterparts (Persian and Ninetales) just really offer no competition. Pokemon like Ariados, Mantine, Donphan, Claydol, Gliscor, and Sableye are also solid additions to the HeartGold roster, even if perhaps they are more of a preferential choice than the headlining exclusives. SoulSilver‘s version exclusives like Ledian, Ursaring, Swalot, Mawile, Skarmory, and Delibird could perhaps be argued in a similar vein, but it’s worth noting that there are more single-line evolutions in that mix than HeartGold. Primeape and Arcanine are just stronger selections than Persian and Ninetales, their counterparts.
Finally, it’s worth noting that there’s no major difference in the region itself between the two games. Later Pokemon games would add areas and unique elements to that specific version, which are not a major factor but are a factor in deciding the games, but that doesn’t come into play here. Overall, Pokemon HeartGold edges out SoulSilver.
Lugia’s Wrench
“Better” and “most popular” are not always the same. Something trashy can be popular, and something good can be unpopular. By definition, popular opinion is wide-reaching, doesn’t consider certain big factors sometimes, and perhaps considers a wider range of factors. This is noteworthy because Pokemon Silver and SoulSilver have always sold a little better than Pokemon HeartGold and Gold.
In the Pokemon franchise, for whatever color-associated reason, the “red” version tends to perform worse sales-wise, where version-specific sales reports from Japan can be extrapolated to the whole world. This does not always mean a hardline red color/version, but any box art with something close to a pink hue counts as well. Sometimes these differences are severe. Pokemon Sword sold 2.3 million copies as opposed to Pokemon Shield‘s 1.7 million copies, while Pokemon Diamond sold 3.1 million copies to Pokemon Pearl‘s 2.6 million. Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver are a case where it was much closer.
The original Pokemon Gold sold 3.4 million copies in Japan, while Silver barely outperformed it at 3.5 million. Similarly, Pokemon HeartGold sold 1.8 million copies, while SoulSilver outperformed it a little bit at 2 million copies. If anything, it shows how close the “competition” is, with Lugia’s box art perhaps playing a major role in this. Lugia is arguably more popular than Ho-Oh, but Ho-Oh’s role in the anime cannot be ignored either.
At the end of the day, there’s no wrong choice between playing Pokemon HeartGold or SoulSilver. One version is better content-wise, the other wins in terms of popularity. But Johto is many fans’ favorite region for a reason, and I am excited to return after playing Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen on Switch…if only these games were on Switch too.
- Released
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March 14, 2010
- ESRB
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e
- Publisher(s)
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Nintendo
