PokéMania!!!

The Story of Pokémon HeartGold Version

As I mentioned earlier in this book my first core Pokémon game was Pokémon Blue for gameboy. In this story I will tell you about the second and probably the best game in the whole world to me, Pokémon HeartGold Version.

I was in 5th grade at the time (2011) and my birthday had just passed. My mom had taken me and my brother for haircuts. (you do remember me telling you about the GameStop that was next to the Supercuts, right?? 😊) Well, that's where I was after my haircut. I, at the time have always wanted SoulSilver but I couldn't find it for a cheaper price (since they were all new), that's when I settled on a preowned HeartGold Version.

At first, I wanted to reset the file so I could make my own file, however the DS was low on power and shut off before I could do so. Thank Heaven it did because when I charged my DS I decided to see what the previous owner "Anthony" left me and boy was I surprised to see all the treats it had in store!! This person had completed the league, caught a lot of legendary Pokémon ranging from Mewtwo, Rayquaza, Groudon, Latias, Ho-oh, Lugia, the legendary bird trio, and the legendary dog/beast trio!! And for mythical Pokémon this person had a Jirachi (that knew Draco Meteor) and an Arceus!!! Yes, Arceus!!!

"Anthony" started with a Cyndaquil, because he had a Typlosion on his team!! He also had the special spikey eared Pichu too!!

My first caught Pokémon in this game was a female Growlithe with the Naive nature. I later evolved her into Arcanine where she played a significant role on Anthony's team. She was the fastest Pokémon in the Speed portion of the Pokéathlon and won me many points!!
Later, I received an Eevee from Bill that Anthony never claimed. I remember evolving him into an Umbreon on the way to my Grandmother's old home!! I used to have mini fanfictions about this Umbreon!! He was also such a big part of this game!!

My friend (who I sadly don't see anymore) used to have SoulSilver and I remember us trading Pokémon to eachother at his Birthday.
Like me trading Latias for his Latios for each of their Pokédex entries then returning then back to eachother!! We also traded version exclusive Pokémon!!
I caught him a male Growlithe then evolved it to Arcanine that he in turn gave me a female Ninetales!
I caught him Mankey to receive a Meowth.
I caught him Spinarak to receive a Ledyba.
I remember also at the party I got a Dialga, a Rhyhorn (that would later become a Rhyperior), and a Golem.

That following summer was a blast!! I played HeartGold every other day (of course it's summer can't spend it all inside!!). I remember reading Pokémon Adventures/Special (as mentioned in earlier chapter) made it twice as fun!!
I remember seeing that friend one day that summer, he had something called an Action Replay, this allowed him to catch Pokémon that were hard to find or other trainer's Pokémon. I made him a list of Pokémon I wish he'd catch me.
~Giratina
~Mew
~Shinx (since I didn't know how to work the Pokégear's radio function to find it)
~Delcatty (because I like it)
~Shaymin
~Regiggas
I remember that he caught these ones for me!!

I also remember catching my first shiny in that game!! It was a shiny Rattata that was caught around New Bark Town just randomly there one day!! I never evolved him because at the time I was worried that he would not stay shiny!! He was Gold
Another shiny I caught was a Tangela around Mt. Silver when I was ready to battle Red a second time!! This Tangela I did evolve to a Tangrowth!! She was a bright florescent green!!

Later on through my 6th grade year, I thought of getting an Action Replay of my own.
Let me tell you, it was fun at first!! I caught mainly Gymleader's and Elite Four's Pokémon. I never knew how to do the Pokémon modifier so I was never able to do what my friend could do!!
My Pokémon were now very strong thanks to the excessive amount of items I was able to get!!

Then, I got myself three Gameboy Pokémon games Emerald, Ruby, and LeafGreen. I did a lot of Poal Park transferring with those. (I still have these games by the way and have play through two of them!)
The Pokédex was getting filled just about everyday!! New discoveries were constantly being found!!

So what happened to HeartGold then?? You may ask. Why and how do you remember so much about this game??
Well, you know the phrase "A double edge sword" right? The Action Replay is definitely this, its fun but you might find yourself paying the price and that's what happened to me.

One day (September/October 2012), I wanted to catch Pokémon at the Battle Frontier, in order to do that I needed a code, so I managed to get a code and booted onto the Action Replay. I really wanted a Leafeon and there was one in the Battle Factory so that is what I was aiming to get. To test the new code, I went to the Battle Tower entered in a battle and found myself able to use the bag, I then tried to catch a trainer's Treecko. The game froze on me!!! Then I never pursued it again!! Few days later I wanted to play my game, my eyes met with a blue screen that said something along the lines of "This game can't be played please reinsert the game card" I, at first didn't pay too much mind to it and blew the cartridge and placed it back in. I got it again, so I did it again thinking nothing of it, however after my third or fourth time doing it I began to panic!! I kept continuously blowing on it and reinserting it only to keep getting a blue screen. I was devastated!! Absolutely devastated!!

That was the day I lost HeartGold.....
All the amazing Pokémon.....
The progress......
Vanished.....

I found myself trying to replicate HeartGold by buying the new at the time White 2 Version, naming the protagonist (Nate) "Anthony" and the rival (Hugh) "Gary" ( yes, the previous owner of HeartGold named their rival Gary I honestly don't know why). I tried the best I could by getting most of the Pokémon I had before. But as much fun I had doing that, it just wasn't the same....

Time pasted (2017) and It was Christmas time at school and my friend from before (we are sadly not as close anymore) hands me an envelope inside was his SoulSilver game, I was shocked to see him just hand me over his prized possession to me, one thing about this friend is that he doesn't hold onto nostalgia. Later in my school year, after things calmed down, I played it from the very beginning just like how wanted to do so years ago. Instead of trying to remake HeartGold, make something entirely new from the ashes. I started with a Cyndaquil just like the previous owner did and plus I just love Cyndaquil (and it's evolutions!!). I did most of the journey on my own!! No Action Replay (well to be honest I done away with it years ago). I also achieved things I never thought I could do before!! For instance, I beat the world record in Snow Throw (the mini game I struggled with most) at the Pokéathlon!! And entered the Trust room!! Plus, changing my trainer card color!! I also got the most coins I ever could in Voltorb Flip (the Game Corner card game) thus exchanging them for an Eevee that I raised to be a Jolteon!! I also caught myself a shiny Tentacool out of the blue on the way to Whirl Islands to catch Lugia!! Next thing I plan to do is get gymleader Blue's phone number (for rematchs) which is difficult because you have to have his sister, Daisy, groom your Pokémon for a week!! But, I'm going to try!! I got a lot of nostalgia from playing SoulSilver and remembered all the fun I had with HeartGold and now I know I didn't lose everything from that game, I still have the experiences!!!

One lesson that can be learned about this is that the Action Replay can be fun but with moderation!! To be honest there is no reason to use an Action Replay anymore since many Pokémon games make items extremely accessible, leveling up is very easy now (thanks to experience share), and with a little patience you find awesome Pokémon!! Even shinies!!
So, if you do have an Action Replay please moderate your use of it and try to use it at the minimum!! Be rational, there is no need to load it up with foolish things, max items is better than walking through walls. Listen to your heart/intuition, if a cheat sounds like it might wreck your game, there's a good chance it might!! Take it from me, I know how sad it is to break a game!! I personally think it's best not to use an Action Replay anymore!!

I still have HeartGold in it's box and I do remember trying anyway to fix it, I have visited many Quara pages, forums, and other such gamer sites and have found no answers. HeartGold was a fantastic Pokémon game and is one of my favorite Pokémon games of all time!! HGSS are probably one of the best Pokémon games around!!

Do you have a favorite Pokémon game?? Please share in the comments!! 💜💜

Sayonara!!!
XOXO