In 2004, Nintendo released Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen for the Game Boy Advance. For many people, this was exciting news; even if they weren't necessarily interested in these titles, there was now hope that remakes for Gold and Silver might be on the way. The follow-up to the original Red and Blue run, Gold and Silver saw a number of improvements, including the introduction of color, an internal clock with accurate night and day cycles, Pokemon breeding and the ability to re-challenge trainers. Put simply, Gold and Silver are considered by many to be the best games in the series. However, such polished re-releases never did surface...though, that might soon change.

In Japan, the weekly television show Pokemon Sunday revealed that next week would see a world exclusive first announcement” of some mysterious new title. Normally, while this might still be newsworthy all on its own, speculation would be something of a moot point, given all the vast possibilities. However, as reported by Bulbanews, Kotaku and various other sites too numerous to mention, it was teased in the Pokemon Game Arena segment while two orbs – of gaudy gold and silver foil – presided overhead. For many, these seemed a not-so-subtle indicator of what we could expect. Given that the GBA is so dated now, it was also rather reasonable to assume that, if this is the case, these new titles will arrive on the Nintendo DS.

Of course, as was mentioned, this is all speculation at the moment. The gold and silver balls may have been mere coincidence, or even a red herring. On the other hand, even if they aren't, other possibilities still exist – for one, Pokemon Gold and Silver may simply be the first wave in a portables-expanded Virtual Console (though there's even less evidence of that). However, no matter how this story turns out, we will continue to follow it and keep you abreast of any developments, so be sure to check back at VGGEN often!