Love Pokémon Gold & Silver? Thank The Pokémon 2000 Movie

Pokémon Gold and Silver have become somewhat of an institution in the franchise, being the games that had to follow Generation 1. Many of the Pokémon that the game added have become mainstays in the franchise, and even though they haven’t become as famous as the mascot, Pikachu, some are icons in the series, like the amazingly comedic Wobbuffet. Still, some of those Pokémon that became Gold and Silver‘s icons may not have originally been in the game were it not for the movies and anime that were happening around the same time.

Because Pokémon is one of the few franchises that is massive on multiple fronts, the anime and movies can sometimes inform the decisions in the games and vice versa. This happened with the Pokémon 2000 movie making some changes to Gold and Silver, specifically being the reason Lugia was added to the games. This is odd, since Lugia is one of the mascot Legendaries of Gold and Silver (specifically Silver version).

Thank The Pokémon 2000 Movie For Lugia’s Inclusion In Gold & Silver

Gen 2 Wouldn’t Be The Same Without Lugia

According to an article on Dr. Lava’s LavaCutContent (thanks to Reddit user Dudicus445), Pokémon are usually made by GameFreak, sometimes with the anime in mind. Strangely, Lugia seems to buck that trend, being one of the few Pokémon that were made by the writing staff, specifically by Takeshi Shudo. Shudo stated that Lugia’s name was selected in a meeting by a vote, but Lugia doesn’t have a meaning in Japanese, so there doesn’t appear to be an obvious reason as to why this name was chosen other than that it rolls off the tongue well.

There was a lot of thought behind Pokémon 2000, which might be why Shudo was allowed to make his own Pokémon for the movie. Even though the movie was partly intended for children, as one would expect, Pokémon 2000 deals with reasonably heavy themes, specifically with “the existence of self” and “coexistence.” This extra bit of thought, as well as Shudo’s clear love for Lugia, could have been the reason as to why it was added to Pokémon Gold and Silver, since he has expressed somewhat of an obsession about it being female and motherly (although this has been inconsistent).

Earlier builds of Pokémon Gold and Silver did not include Lugia, although these earlier builds were vastly different to the end product. In 1997, Nintendo had a playable version of the game to try at Space World, an E3-like exhibition in Japan exclusively for Nintendo products that ran from 1989 to 2001. Lugia was not present, although Ho-Oh was. Lugia was created later in 1999, and although the movie (and its once lost Pokémon game adaptation) is called Pokémon 2000 in the west, it is known as Lugia’s Explosive Birth in Japan.

Pokémon Gold & Silver Would Be Different Without Pokémon 2000

Lugia Is Incredibly Important To Pokémon

Although Shudo always thought that Lugia would remain exclusively in the movie it debuted in, it surprised him by being included in Pokémon Gold and Silver as one of the mascot Legendaries. Originally, Gold and Silver was going to be released in 1997, but was delayed by two years and were it not for that delay, Lugia would not have made it into the game. Without Lugia, it raises questions as to which Pokémon would have been Silver‘s mascot instead.

Pokémon Gold and Silver began the trend of having a Legendary mascot per version of the game. Gen 1’s two titles have Blastoise and the ever-popular Pokémon Charizard as mascots,…