Nine starter choices
The larger starter selection makes the opening team decision more varied and gives repeat playthroughs a different starting point.
Game features
What Pokemon SoulGold Changes & Adds
A structured look at Pokemon SoulGold's Pokemon, Mega Evolution, expanded Johto, battle systems, quality-of-life changes and postgame progression.
Last updated
9starter choicesall can Mega Evolve
Gym 3Battle Factory accessfacility play starts early
121trophiesprogression and optional goals
Completedmain game statuscurrent release v1.1.4
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Pokemon & team building
More choice from the first partner onward
Pokemon SoulGold starts with 9 starter choices instead of a single trio, then supports wider team building through expanded encounter pools and modern Pokemon systems.
Every starter can Mega Evolve
All nine starter lines have access to Mega Evolution, so none of the available starters is left outside one of SoulGold's defining battle systems.
Expanded encounter pools
Wild encounters are broadened while keeping progression in mind, giving players more team options as they move through Johto.
Facility variety
Battle facilities can draw on Pokemon from across generations, creating team matchups beyond the main adventure's regular encounter pool.
DexNav route tracking
DexNav shows caught counts for both land and water Pokemon on the current route, making local collection progress easier to check.
New ability interactions
SoulGold adds custom abilities and Innates across updates, including Acidic, Trueshot Aura, Ogre Force and newer options such as Resonance, Tempo, Controlled Burn, Crossfire, Hot Tag, Bull Rush and Mind Float.
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Mega Evolution
A major system, not a one-off bonus
Mega Evolution is woven into Pokemon SoulGold's progression and roster. The Mega Ring arrives during the Johto story, while the stone system is simplified so the mechanic remains practical as the number of available forms grows.
All nine starters are included
Every starter option can reach a Mega form, including starter lines that needed new SoulGold Mega Evolutions to make that possible.
New starter Megas
SoulGold adds Mega Evolutions for Typhlosion, Meowscarada and Primarina alongside the wider set of Mega forms included in the game.
Type-based Mega Stones
Mega Stones are organized by type rather than requiring a separate species-specific stone for every Pokemon, reducing inventory clutter.
Megas are obtainable
The Mega Evolutions included in SoulGold are designed to be obtainable rather than appearing only on opposing teams.
More ZA Mega follower sprites
Clefable, Dragonite, Hawlucha, Raichu X, Raichu Y, Starmie and Mega Delphox have dedicated follower sprites, while newer ZA Mega forms without dedicated art continue using their base-form follower.
Mega follower control
A gameplay setting can disable Mega-form followers when the following Pokemon has a Mega Stone, letting players keep the base-form follower presentation if they prefer.
New Mega ability options
Aura Guard for Mega Lucario Z, Sharpness for Absol Z and Levitate for Garchomp Z expand the battle identities of these forms.
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Expanded Johto
New routes, biomes and places to revisit
Pokemon SoulGold keeps Johto recognizable while extending it with new environments, locations and optional spaces. The region also receives a refreshed tileset that helps the additions feel like part of the same adventure.
New map content
Additional routes, towns and larger optional areas extend the region during both the main adventure and postgame.
Distinct environments
The expansion moves through contrasting spaces including icy terrain, desert areas, caves, villages, islands and high-level routes.
Daily Hidden Grottos
Hidden Grottos can contain Pokemon or useful items and refresh daily, giving explored routes a reason to be checked again.
Exploration continues after the League
Several sizeable locations are tied to late-game and postgame progression instead of placing every new area before the Elite Four.
Battles & progression
Familiar milestones with more varied battles
SoulGold keeps the traditional Gym-to-League structure but revises important encounters and gives players options for how strictly levels and difficulty should be handled.
Important battles are revised
Gym Leaders, rivals and other major fights receive team or battle changes so progression is less dependent on the original Johto encounter design.
The other-gender rival fights back
Story meetings with the other player-character rival can become battles, while the regular rival remains part of the journey with stronger encounters.
Difficulty options
Players can adjust settings such as difficulty, hard level caps and wild level scaling instead of being locked to a single progression style.
Toggleable EXP All
EXP All becomes available before Violet City and can be toggled, supporting larger or frequently changing teams without forcing one approach.
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Battle Frontier & facilities
Facility battles appear before the postgame
Battle facilities are distributed through the region rather than being reserved for a single endgame complex. That lets facility-style challenges become part of the Johto journey itself.
Battle Factory after Gym 3
The Battle Factory becomes accessible after the third Gym. Players rent a team of three Pokemon and battle facility opponents rather than bringing their normal party.
More facilities later
Additional battle-facility content appears through the main game and postgame, giving trained teams more specialized challenges.
Cross-generation opponents
Facilities can feature Pokemon from across generations, increasing opponent and team variety beyond ordinary Johto battles.
Battle Cafe
The completed game adds a Battle Cafe on Route 50 with daily challenges and unlockable endless modes. Those Endless modes can also run as 6v6 doubles when the setting to enforce double battles is enabled.
Innate controls
Innates can be configured independently in Battle Facility settings, while a bookshelf in Elm's Lab can disable Innates completely at all levels. Chaos mode remains focused on allowing legendaries.
Smarter facility setters
Battle Frontier team and trainer generation can automatically provide the required Trick Room or Tailwind setters for those strategies.
Quality of life
Convenience that still works with progression
Pokemon SoulGold removes common friction without turning every resource into an unlimited shortcut. Several systems help with rebuilding teams, moving through the region and managing moves while still rewarding normal play.
Candy Jar and EXP Candies
After the first Gym, the Candy Jar collects extra experience and turns that stored progress into EXP Candies that can help a newly added team member catch up.
In-party move learning
Move relearning is available from the party interface, reducing unnecessary travel when adjusting a Pokemon's moveset. The Summary Screen Move Relearner also includes a TM/HM tab.
HMs stay out of move slots
Field progression no longer requires teaching HM moves to Pokemon simply to use the corresponding field action.
VS Seeker trainer rematches
The VS Seeker can reset eligible trainers outside routes after enough steps. New saves receive it after the Goldenrod quiz, while existing saves can exchange the old Radio with the first-floor receptionist.
Pokégear Radio
The Pokégear now uses the Radio presentation from Heart & Soul 2.0 in place of the Jukebox, with Buena's Password functionality moved into the Radio.
Clearer Summary information
The Summary screen now shows friendship instead of the unused ribbon field, with clearer prompts for the separate EV/IV page.
More progression guidance
Updated guards, Floria hints and contextual flashbacks make a few easy-to-miss Johto progression steps clearer without changing the route structure.
Late-game PP supplies
PP-restoring items become available from Poke Marts after obtaining the 8th Badge, making late-game move maintenance more convenient.
19 PC boxes and mass release
Pokemon storage now provides 19 PC boxes, with mass release for Pokemon or Eggs available by selecting a box number.
Dark Mode battle UI
Dark Mode covers the battle interface, battle textbox and the player's Bag, with later updates improving Bag readability and adding separate controls for night lighting.
Pokemon-specific Surf sprites
Many Water-type Pokemon receive individual Surf sprites, adding visual character to travel without changing how players navigate the region.
Configurable shiny odds
The settings include selectable shiny-odds options, including the default setting plus 1/256, 1/512 and 1/1024 choices.
In-game Docs shortcut
The start menu includes a Docs option with a QR code for the documentation website and an update check that can notify players when a newer SoulGold release is available.
Night-lighting controls
Players can disable night lighting separately in the overworld and in battle if they prefer the normal daytime presentation.
Faster flow and more options
Battle-message pacing, music transitions and gameplay settings receive additional controls and refinements across a full playthrough.
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Legendary encounters
Some legendary hunts become boss battles
Legendary and Mythical Pokemon are spread across the adventure and postgame, with several encounters built as battles that are more involved than weakening a Pokemon and immediately throwing balls.
Multiple-health-bar bosses
Some legendary encounters use several health bars and must be defeated before the capture stage, turning the encounter itself into a team-building challenge.
Not every encounter works the same way
Traditional legendary capture encounters still exist, so the boss format adds variety rather than replacing every familiar capture battle.
Lugia and Ho-Oh boss encounters
The completion release expanded major legendary content, including boss-style encounters for Johto's signature legends.
Exploration matters
Legendary and Mythical content is tied to locations and optional progression, giving the expanded map meaningful late-game objectives.
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Postgame
Becoming Champion opens another progression layer
Pokemon SoulGold's postgame is built around stronger teams, new places and longer-term goals rather than depending on a second region. It gives high-level Pokemon additional ways to grow and more demanding content to use that growth in.
Additional ability progression
Pokemon can unlock extra innate abilities at later levels. Once their requirements are met, these additional abilities can operate together rather than forcing a single choice.
High-level routes and areas
New postgame locations contain stronger trainers and larger exploration spaces, so the Hall of Fame does not mark the end of new map content.
Title Defense
Repeat League runs can end with different challengers, giving the Champion title a more varied defense system.
121 trophies
The completed game includes 121 trophies covering milestones, collection and optional challenges for players who want longer-term goals.
Start your run
Ready to explore the expanded Johto?
The Download page includes the current Pokemon SoulGold patch and a browser patcher for your own compatible Pokemon Emerald TrashMan ROM.