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Maybe not so many people know it in this part of the world, but let me tell you, the Pokémon manga is such a very important piece for the Pokémon franchise. Thanks to the Manga adaptation, we can learn a lot more about all the characters we know and love.
For example, thanks to the manga, we know that the game’s protagonists (Red, Green, Blue, Gold, Silver, etc.) get their names from the manga, and all have certain personalities, hobbies, passions, and objectives. So, we had previous chapters that started it all by setting the main characters and the narrative of the story, but those are nothing compared with the Gold, Silver, and & Crystal chapter.
This chapter, which contains exactly 90 episodes compiled in 8 volumes, tells us the story of Gold, Silver, and Crystal while it ties all the knots that got loose when we traveled through Kanto. We have plenty of things to discuss, but first, we must check on some key info.
Key Info Up Front
- Chapter Name: Pokémon Adventures: Gold, Silver & Crystal Chapter.
- Release Date: August 8th, 2001, in Japan, August 3rd, 2010, in the USA.
- Released By: Shogakukan in Japan, VIZ Media in the USA.
- Volumes: Seven. These volumes weren’t named and are known for their names. This chapter is covered by Volumes 8 to 15.
- Writer: Hidenori Kusaka.
- Drawings By: Mato (Volumes 8 and 9), and Satoshi Yamamoto (Volume 10 onwards).
Chronologically, this chapter goes between the Yellow Chapter and the Ruby & Sapphire Chapter, like the games.
Where to Read the Gold, Silver & Crystal Chapter?
I know about three main ways to read Pokémon Adventures. Let me share them with you:
Online Copies
There are a lot of web pages where you’ll find copies of the complete manga series. The chapter isn’t hard to find, as it’s as easy as opening Google or your favorite internet browser and then typing “Where to read Pokémon Adventures Gold, Silver & Crystal Chapter.” But consider that you’ll have to be aware of the web pages you are entering and the large number of ads you’ll have to tolerate.
If you hate seeing ads about the usual Sudoku game that can measure your intelligence or you don’t like those ads that claim that you won an iPhone 12, this option isn’t for you. And please, don’t trust those iPhone ads. They tried to steal my credit card.
Official Copies
If you want an official copy of this manga, you can buy it through the VIZ Media official webpage or Amazon. The only thing that can be rough for some readers is that every volume costs $10; if you want to have the complete chapter, you’ll have to spend at least $70, which is a lot of money for a manga, in my opinion.
At the end of the day, this is up to you. However, if you like to have a new and fresh copy of this manga, this is your best bet!
Second-Hand Copies
If you don’t care about buying a brand-new copy of the manga and you just want to read it, this has to be your option.
There are several second-hand manga sellers on eBay where you’ll find all the volumes from prices that vary from $6 to $9, and there are also several web pages like ThriftBooks or Alibris where you can buy copies of the manga while being sure you won’t receive a damaged copy.
Gold, Silver & Crystal Chapter Plot; A Comprehensive Resume
Volume 8
Introducing Gold
The story starts with Gold, a little kid who lives in New Bark Town in Johto. As usual in Pokémon Adventures, the protagonist already knows a lot about training Pokémon, and Gold isn’t an exception, as he has an Aipom and a Poliwag.
I picture Gold way differently than Red, our main protagonist from Kanto, as Gold isn’t bragging about being the best with his friends; instead, he prefers to take care of his Pokémon and play with them. So, Gold has a normal day until he meets Joey, a typical Route 1-kid with a Rattata. Both kids get to be friends, and Joey invites Gold to his adventure, as he will deliver some important documents to Professor Elm.
Both head to the laboratory, but in a moment of total irresponsibility from Gold, he gets his backpack stolen, so he loses his Pokémon. Did I say that Gold cares about his Pokémon? By the way, Team Rocket was the one who stole Gold’s backpack.
Introducing Silver
As Joey and Gold arrive at Elm’s lab, an intruder gets into the place and steals a Totodile. Professor Elm, seemingly confused about what happened, asks Gold for help, and Gold, taking the chance, literally steals Cyndaquil. His excuse was that he needed it to rescue Totodile, and he would give it back, but that’s a lie; he didn’t give it back.
Gold runs after the thief, but Team Rocket appears again, so Gold loses the thief’s trail. At least, the thief dropped a glove, and here’s when we get his name; Silver. As it seems, Silver missed Stealing 101; you never put your name in your gloves. Dumb move.
Oak appears, and he conveniently finds Gold’s backpack, so Gold gets his Pokémon back. Also, Oak gives Gold a Pokédex.
Gold vs. Silver
Gold follows Silver, and both end on the Sprout Tower, in Violet City. They start battling, and Gold makes his Cyndaquil use Smokescreen, provoking the building to activate their traps.
Now, our protagonists are trying to escape from giant metal balls, Indiana Jones style. They survive, but the one who takes the treasure at the end is Silver, who saw his Totodile evolve into Croconaw. It’s obvious that the Water-type Pokémon doesn’t want to get back to the lab, so Gold lets them stick together.
Silver runs away from Gold, claiming that he has a mission to accomplish, so Gold forgets about Silver for a while, as Elm contacts him, asking for help with a problem. It seems like Elm has a Pokémon Egg that doesn’t want to hatch and wants Gold to have it, as with him, there’s a chance for the Egg to hatch.
And, if it doesn’t happen, Gold can do a delicious scrambled egg, whatever happens first. Gold receives the Egg, and then he heads to Azalea Town, hoping that he’ll find Silver there.
But Silver had already passed through the little Town, as some Team Rocket members were cutting Slowpoke’s tails to sell them, like a brochette. Yes, Slowpoke’s tails. Very messed up, but that’s the thing with Pokémon Adventures, as the manga’s target was young adults.
Silver stopped those Team Rocket members and left, leaving a trail that made Gold get inside the Ilex Forest.
Volume 9
The Masked Man
Gold gets into the Ilex Forest, but it’s taken by many Ghost-type Pokémon. Gold starts battling against them, but Gold gets quickly defeated. Then, the shape of a man emerges from the dark and starts attacking Gold. The shape reveals itself as a man with a mask, making Gold name him The Masked Man. Very original.
Gold gives The Masked Man an intense battle, and the kid loses, so he has to run away from the forest. During the battle, Gold took a scrap of the clothes of The Masked Man, so he sent the scrap to Professor Elm. The professor studied the cloth scrap and found some leftovers of a special material used to create the Gym Badges, so he determined that The Masked Man was a Gym Leader.
This wacky assumption reminded me of Criminal Case, though.
The Earthquake
While Gold is traveling through Johto and training his Pokémon, Ecruteak City gets shaken by an earthquake that destroys most of the place, including the Tin Tower. For those who don’t know, the Tin Tower is where the three Legendary Dogs rest. Suicune, Raikou, and Entei found their home there.
The earthquake takes everyone by surprise, including Gold and Silver, who goes there to rescue people. They get into the Tin Tower, rescue Jasmine, Olivine City’s Gym Leader, and then leave. In the process, Gold evolved his Poliwag into Poliwhirl, and thanks to Silver’s help and through an exchange, Poliwhirl evolved into Politoed.
One of the things I love about Pokémon Adventures is that it is very faithful to the games and doesn’t change the way Pokémon work as the anime series do.
So, Silver and Gold worked great together, making Silver start trusting the kid who was chasing him not so long ago. They have a friendly battle, which Silver wins, and then he reveals that his only objective is to stop Team Rocket.
It’s fair to say that this Team Rocket isn’t the same as the one we saw in the Red, Blue & Green chapter. This one works more as a decoy for someone else, as the original one was dissolved at the same time Giovanni went MIA.
Silver Vs. The Masked Man
Silver gets reports that the Magikarps from Lake of Rage are evolving into Gyarados, and those Gyarados are wreaking havoc, so both kids head there. Also, the Pokégears (devices with the same function as phones) aren’t working in the zone. I could argue that Pokémon’s AT&T hasn’t covered this zone yet, but in fact, the interference is caused by a special Gyarados.
A red one, to be exact. Both kids battle against the red Gyarados, and Silver catches it. Then, The Masked Man appears.
Silver instantly recognized The Masked Man; although he doesn’t know his real identity, Silver knows his voice well. The Masked Man kidnapped him when he was a little kid, alongside many other kids, who are getting used by The Masked Man as goons for his malevolous plans.
With a lot of fury inside his body, Silver starts battling against The Masked Man. Gold then joins the battle, but it is useless, as both kids get defeated. We won’t know about Gold and Silver for a while.
Volume 10
Introducing Crystal
Professor Oak was looking for a reliable trainer who could help him finish the Pokédex, and thanks to some contacts, he got to meet Crystal. Crystal is a young girl who has been an expert in catching and training Pokémon since birth. Oak quickly trusts in her, so she receives a Pokédex and Chikorita! Finally, someone will give Chikorita the love that it deserves!
So, Crystal starts its adventure through Johto. Her first destination is Olivine City. At the moment she arrived, the Battle Tower was under construction. Suddenly, the building starts to fall (Yes, there’s not a clear explanation of why the building starts to fall), hurting a lot of Qwilfishes in the nearby sea, so she runs for their help.
As she’s helping the poor Qwilfishes, Suicune appears. It was like a brief appearance only to heal a badly injured Qwilfish, but that was enough for the young girl to change her main objective; now, she wants to catch Suicune.
Introducing Suicune
It’s time to talk about Suicune, as it got awakened because of the Tin Tower’s destruction, and now, it is looking for a trustworthy trainer to help it find the reason why its home got destroyed. So, Suicune embarks on its adventure, meeting and challenging all the Johto’s Gym Leaders.
Suicune faced Clair, Chuck, Morty, Bugsy, Falkner, and Janine, but no one could put the Legendary Dog into a Poké Ball. Suicune was looking for a trainer who also had a passion for helping Pokémon as much as Suicune does, but none of these trainers were worthy.
Volume 11
Crystal and Suicune’s adventure happened simultaneously as Gold and Silver were dropped in the Lake of Rage, so let’s continue from that.
Lt. Surge and Morty
Lt. Surge, Vermillion City’s Gym Leader, is also aware of the Lake of Rage’s Gyarados rampage, so he goes there to explore the place, but The Masked Man is there, so The Masked Man starts attacking the Electric-type Gym Leader, who wasn’t a rival for The Masked Man’s Ice and Ghost-type powers.
After getting defeated, Lt. Surge goes into the Lake of Rage. There, the lieutenant finds a red and frozen Gyarados.
Lt. Surge also found some belongings, like Gold’s Pokédex. The lieutenant takes all the stuff and then leaves the place, heading to Ecruteak City. Lt. Surge is going there because he knows Morty, who, aside from being Ecruteak City’s Gym Leader, is also a skilled clairvoyant.
Morty uses his powers to determine that the kids are alive and are being guarded by Entei. Morty also struggles to see the exact place where the kids are, but at least he manages to determine that whirlpools protect the kids. This is enough for Lt. Surge, who now heads to the Whirl Islands.
Volume 12
Pryce
While Gold and Silver wake up from their battle against The Masked Man, we get introduced to Pryce, Mahogany City’s Gym Leader. Pryce will get visited by Whitney as she’s running a radio show about all the Gym Leaders receiving a not-so-friendly visit from Suicune.
The Ice-type Gym Leader tricks the girl into thinking Suicune has already visited him with a Suicune ice sculpture that Pryce uses to attack Whitney. After revealing that it was just an Ice sculpture, Whitney leaves. Pretty sure Pryce was a puppeteer at a young age. That was surely a show.
Whirl Islands
Gold and Silver wake up in the middle of the Whirl Islands. They survived there thanks to Entei, who took them out of the Lake of Rage and kept them warm in the Whirl Islands. Both get outside the island when they see Lt. Surge arriving. Gold and Silver get their belongings, and everything seems OK, but then…
Lugia appears. These two kids won’t get a rest. Lugia puts every ship around the area in the air with its psychic powers and starts attacking the kids. But that’s not all. Guess who is also arriving at Whirl Islands? You guessed right (or I hope so), Crystal, who is in her Suicune hunt.
Our Protagonists Meet!
Crystal was in a ship alongside Yellow and a sailor, and their ship also got sent in the air by Lugia. Their ship falls to the water and floats directly towards Gold and Silver’s place. Unfortunately, the kids don’t have much time to introduce themselves as Lugia is attacking them, so the three kids do the same.
They make Lugia run away, and their starters evolve during the battle. Now, Crystal has a wonderful Meganium, Silver has Feraligatr, and Gold has a stolen Typhlosion. I won’t forget you stole that Pokémon, Gold.
Crystal contacts Professor Oak and tells him everything; then, Oak asks the three kids to head to the Indigo Plateau as the Pokémon League is about to start. All the Gym Leaders will be there, meaning that The Masked Man will also be there, so it’s the perfect opportunity to find and catch him.
Suicune Finds a Master
All the Gym Leaders will be in the Indigo Plateau, including the Kanto ones. So, Misty, Brock, and Erika, which are Cerulean City, Pewter City, and Celadon City Gym Leaders, respectively, head to the Indigo Plateau. They have to cross the Tohjo Falls to get to the Indigo Plateau, but the bridge is broken. Brock uses his Onix to create a bridge, and everything goes alright until Misty falls into the water.
There, she sees a poor Krabby struggling not to get dragged down by the waterfall, so Misty saves it. Then, Suicune appears.
Misty and Suicune start battling, and Suicune, as it sees that Misty saved the struggling Krabby, trusts Misty enough to choose her as her company. It’s very fitting, as Misty is a Water-type master. I love this Suicune-Misty team-up!
Volume 13
While the Pokémon League was about to start, and all the Gym Leaders were present, The Masked Man arrived at the Tin Tower. His Mission: Catch Ho-Oh.
The Pokémon League starts by making all the Gym Leaders from Kanto and Johto battle in a small tournament. We will see fierce battles, like Sabrina vs. Bugsy, Blue against Chuck, and Pryce against Erika. This last battle was important because Gold realized Pryce’s techniques were similar to The Masked Man’s.
So, Gold and Crystal start looking further into Indigo Plateau, but Team Rocket appears. They trapped the kids inside the control room in the stadium. Then, a horde of Team Rocket Grunts with masks like The Masked Man’s starts flooding the stadium through the Magnet Train, trapping everyone there.
All the Gym Leaders gather at the Magnet Train’s entrance, and all start a big battle. But everything was planned; Team Rocket’s idea is to trap all the Gym Leaders inside the Magnet Train only to send it to a crash. I don’t know how you could try to kill people that can literally teleport or fly away with their Pokémon like that, but at least it works as a distraction. 15 out of the 16 Gym Leaders got into the train.
With the stadium being a complete mess, The Masked Man appears. But he doesn’t come alone; Lugia and Ho-Oh are with him and aren’t happy. Lugia and Ho-Oh start destroying the stadium. I hope the Pokémon Stewards are on point, even though I’m not sure they can put The Masked Man into prison.
Volume 14
GS Ball
The Masked Man has a plan. The first step is to get Kurt, the Poké Ball crafter. Kurt is in the stadium, trying to run away, but The Masked Man takes him and his granddaughter. The older man doesn’t want to collaborate, but a death threat to his granddaughter is enough for him to give some help to The Masked Man.
But what does The Masked Man wants from Kurt? Well, he wants to know how to create the legendary Poké Ball that can make the user travel through time. Exactly, the GS Ball. And if you know Pokémon perfectly, you would know that Celebim, which lives in the Ilex Forest, is in charge of time. The Masked Man wants to travel to the past.
With the new info to create the GS Ball, The Masked Man heads to Ilex Forest. Gold and Crystal, who saw everything from the Control Room, get free and head to the forest too. Silver does the same!
Ilex Forest and Celebi
While The Masked Man was arriving, he created the GS Ball, so now, the only thing he needs to do is to catch Celebi.
It’s time to see Red, the protagonist from the first chapter. If you want to know more about him, I recommend reading this article about the Red, Green, and Blue chapter! Red appears and saves the remaining Gym Leaders from the train, including Blue. Both then head to Ilex Forest.
During the travel, they come across Green, the remaining trainer from the first chapter. So now, all the Pokédex holders are heading to the Ilex Forest. Gold is the first to arrive at the Ilex Forest, so he has a battle against The Masked Man. They have a great battle (my favorite in this chapter), and Gold manages to take the mask out of The Masked Man.
I don’t know if I’m pointing at the obvious right now, but come on, Ice-type powers, freezing people, Gym badge material in the clothes, distracting Whitney with an ice Suicune sculpture; it was obvious that Pryce was behind the mask.
Pryce manages to defeat Gold, and he opens the Ilex Shrine, freeing Celebi. Then, he quickly throws the GS Ball to Celebi, catching it. Red, Green, Blue, and Silver appear in the place, so Pryce doesn’t have many options besides leaving the place with the GS Ball.
Gold goes after him. As Pryce left, and with some help from people who gathered in the Ilex Forest as they saw the havoc, the rest of the Pokédex holders managed to defeat Lugia and Ho-Oh, which ran away to their respective hideouts.
Volume 15
The Last Battle
Pryce comes from the past (or the future; there’s no trace of where he goes), but Gold is missing. Pryce gets to the present, Back to the Future-style, and starts battling against the Pokédex holders. Nonetheless, the battle was easy for Pryce, as he only had to create a troop of ice warriors that easily froze the protagonists. Now, they are trapped, and Pryce returns to the past; this time, he goes to a certain moment.
Talking about being trapped, Pryce trapped Gold while he entered the past for the first time, But Gold managed to get free. The rest of the Pokédex holders also got free; fire melts ice at the end of the day. So now, Gold, Silver, and Crystal head to the past through the portal the Pryce opened.
Finally, we can see why Pryce was trying desperately to get to the past. It results that the Ice-type trainer owned three Lapras, two big ones and a baby one. But one day, while Pryce was exploring, an avalanche killed both Lapras. With a hole in his heart, Pryce promised baby Lapras that it’d see its parents again, no matter what.
So, Pryce travels to the exact moment when his Lapras die, but then, the Johto protagonists appear, and together, they attack Pryce. The attack makes the GS Ball crack, so Celebi takes the chance and gets free. However, the commotion makes Silver and Crystal get out of the time portal.
But Gold and Pryce get stuck in the past for a while. Pryce starts crying as much as I did when I read this part of the manga. It’s hard to cope with losing a pet, I know.
Pryce tosses his Lapras (the baby one) to the past and then lets himself fall into it too. We won’t see him again, but at least Pryce accomplished his promise and saw his beloved Lapras for the last time. Celebi takes Gold out of the past, and the world is saved.
The rest of Volume 15 is the start of the Ruby & Sapphire Chapter, but that’s a story I’ll tell you later.
FAQs
Question: Is Gold a Strong Trainer?
Answer: This chapter doesn’t focus on Gold’s development as a trainer. Instead, the writers focused on expanding the Pokémon lore by giving the protagonists other objectives and passions. In this case, Gold is passionate about hatching and breeding Pokémon.
This point of view is wonderful, as not everyone focuses on being the best trainers. Some people love breeding Pokémon and others that love catching them.
Question: What Happened with Team Rocket in the Gold, Silver, and Crystal Chapter?
Answer: The Team Rocket from the manga differs from the one we know and (not) love in the games. In this case, Team Rocket doesn’t exist anymore, and the guys that fake being part of Team Rocket are doing a facade, as they needed a culprit that distracts everyone from the real deal, The Masked Man. These guys aren’t more than The Masked Man’s grunts.
Question: Is Pryce an Evil Character?
Answer: I think he’s not. Of course, he’s not an innocent man, but he’s hurt and broken. All that pain made him do all he did as The Masked Man. I think that he’s emotionally driven instead of evil. That’s the message the writers wanted to send to the readers.
Pokemon Gold & Silver Manga Guide: Conclusion
Is this the best Pokémon Adventures Chapter? For sure. Nonetheless, does it has a lot of things that should be polished? Yes, that’s true. But that’s not an issue for me. On the contrary, this Chapter got a special place in my heart because of the topics it talks about, which I feel they get superbly executed.
The best thing for me is their character development; Pryce gets the spotlight as the villain, but I get to empathize with him. Losing a beloved one is a struggle, and I can confirm. Crystal, Suicune, and Eusine were wonderful too. And the whole plot with Silver and Lance was great.
Definitely, if you love mangas, this one is a must.
