Summary
Pokémon Gold and Silverhave 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 Pokémonthat becameGold 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.
BecausePokémonis 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 thePokémon 2000movie making some changes toGold and Silver, specifically being the reason Lugia was added to the games. This is odd, since Lugia is one of the mascot Legendaries ofGold and Silver(specificallySilverversion).
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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’sLavaCutContent(thanks to Reddit userDudicus445),Pokémonare usually made by GameFreak, sometimes with the anime in mind. Strangely,Lugia seems to buck that trend, being one of the fewPokémonthat 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.
Shudo also wrote a few otherPokémonprojects, includingPokémon: The First, Pokémon 3: The MovieandPikachu’s Vacation.
There was a lot of thought behindPokémon 2000, which might be why Shudo was allowed to make his own Pokémonfor the movie. Even though the movie was partly intended for children, as one would expect,Pokémon 2000deals 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 toPokémon Gold and Silver,since he has expressed somewhat of an obsession about it being female and motherly (although this has been inconsistent).
Earlier builds ofPokémon Gold and Silverdid 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 oncelostPokémongame adaptation) is calledPokémon 2000in the west, it is known asLugia’s Explosive Birthin Japan.
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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 inPokémon Gold and Silveras one of the mascot Legendaries. Originally,Gold and Silverwas going to be released in 1997, but was delayed by two yearsand were it not for that delay, Lugia would not have made it into the game. Without Lugia, it raises questions as to which Pokémonwould have beenSilver’s mascot instead.
There was a leak from the proto-version of theGold and SilverPokédex in which acutPokémondesignbased on the Shishi (Chinese lion-dog) was shown grouped with Unknown and Ho-Oh, leading to a theory that this was the original legendary mascot ofSilver.
Pokémon Gold and Silverbegan the trend of having a Legendary mascot per version of the game. Gen 1’s two titles have Blastoise and theever-popular Pokémon Charizardas mascots, both starters, but every game after (exceptYellow) has a Legendary on the front. Without Lugia there to representSilverwhile Ho-Oh representedGold, this might never have caught on, and even if it did,not having Lugia as one of the longest standing LegendaryPokémonout there might have changed the franchisein ways that could not be predicted.
There is no denying how important Lugia is toPokémon Gold and Silver.A legendary mascot is always vital to its game, and Lugia (along with Ho-Oh) is one of the most iconic to come from the franchise. Strangely, were it not for a two-year delay, a writer who was determined to do his own thing with his material, and thePokémon 2000movie,Pokémonas a whole might look very different to what it does now, especially its second generation titles.
