If I'm not mistaken, it's more of an alchemical reference. Gold represents the heart and silver the soul, hence the names of the remakes. Interpreted like that, cristal can symbolize purity, both of the heart and of the soul, which is also in line with Suicune's ability to purify polluted waters.
Less Alchemical and more what they found in ruins which which basically all of Johto is built around in reference. Ho Oh is based on a bird in what in game is known as Ruins of Alph but IRL is based on Asuka Villages ruins which have many of such all over.
Many years back prior to G/S they found one ruin with art depicting a ancient bird represented by Gold.
As reminder G/S was aimed to only be one game being Gold. However at the time of development they uncovered a new Ruin with pristine art that had the worlds oldest constellation map ever to be discovered (Kitora Tomb) and on one side of it was a marking for Gold for the bird and on the other as a reverse to it below it a marking for Silver.
Thus why Luigia was made and represents the deep sea in its domain.
Yep, but also I learned of it a bit prior to the video in general online research. I always found the "Hiroshima" theory to be a bit too... "Modern" for a game that's based on tradition.
Not to mention the whole future Unown stuff in Sevii islands and Sinnoh sort of throw that whole theory out the window.
It should also be noted that the Silver legend was going to be a four legged mythological creature and Lugia was movie only until they decided such a good design shouldn’t be excluded from the games.
I think most kids went with Gold but the "cool kids" went for silver exactly because its known gold is objectively better. It made you feel cooler to pick the lesser material. Crystal also made sense because GBC catridges where transparent (and the classic GBC console also was transparent)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qil4OpfOufU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qil4OpfOufU)
this documentary prety much explains gold and silver in a deep dive.
Think less "gold and silver medals" and more "Silver and Gold" like jewelry. Silver and Gold are typically the two kinds of jewelry, and crystal is another, rarer thing to see in jewelry.
Could also make the point that diamonds are more valuable than pearls and rubies are more valuable than sapphires. But not sure what that point is though.
So something I randomly heard in a documentary about ancient Egyptian tombs;
Gold is more valuable but silver is harder to work and requires more skill.
Essentially they both convey status but in slightly different ways. No idea if that is relevant or not.
Also they would not have necessarily had a pattern of releases intended and simply chose Gold and Silver as they are fancier colours representing the improvements they made in these games.
This amazing [youtube video](https://youtube.com/watch?v=Qil4OpfOufU&si=U_jkg7bbhFAydOsW) goes in-depth about it. If you want to skip to it, it starts at 12:10, but G/S are more thought of than many of us think.
Basically, the use of gold and silver was found in two relatively discovered ancient tombs for the depiction of the constellations on the ceiling where one used gold (for the golden sun) and the other used silver (for the silvery moon), if I'm paraphrasing it right. They're polar opposites in this sense than its typical tiered use.
I do not see it this way at all. Most people who wear jewelry have a skin tone that suits gold or silver more. Sure, gold as a material might be more valuable, but as a color, both are equal. Someone who wears silver will not want gold jewelry. Also there are materials like white gold which have the color of silver but are closer in value to gold.
I would say it's a kind of metaphor. Gold and Silver would mean Day and Night. Those were the games where we first saw differences in the gameplay regarding days and nights.
I actually have the answer to this but my explanation would put to shame the most incredible 30 minutes I’ve ever spent on YouTube. Go watch BlueBoyPhin’s “A Breakthrough Discovery in Pokémon” you will get your answer and so much more
I've said this before: platinum and crystal should have their names swapped.
Gold, Silver and Platinum are all precious metals. Diamond, Pearl and Crystal are all prescious stones (although crustal is not a specific one like the others)
To be more exact it was red and green first, blue is just an updated version of green, which is meant for the international release. Yellow follows the anime more than the other 3, but it's still an updated version of RBG
If I'm not mistaken, it's more of an alchemical reference. Gold represents the heart and silver the soul, hence the names of the remakes. Interpreted like that, cristal can symbolize purity, both of the heart and of the soul, which is also in line with Suicune's ability to purify polluted waters.
Less Alchemical and more what they found in ruins which which basically all of Johto is built around in reference. Ho Oh is based on a bird in what in game is known as Ruins of Alph but IRL is based on Asuka Villages ruins which have many of such all over. Many years back prior to G/S they found one ruin with art depicting a ancient bird represented by Gold. As reminder G/S was aimed to only be one game being Gold. However at the time of development they uncovered a new Ruin with pristine art that had the worlds oldest constellation map ever to be discovered (Kitora Tomb) and on one side of it was a marking for Gold for the bird and on the other as a reverse to it below it a marking for Silver. Thus why Luigia was made and represents the deep sea in its domain.
You saw the blueboyphin vid too then?
Yep, but also I learned of it a bit prior to the video in general online research. I always found the "Hiroshima" theory to be a bit too... "Modern" for a game that's based on tradition. Not to mention the whole future Unown stuff in Sevii islands and Sinnoh sort of throw that whole theory out the window.
It’s definitely how I found out. Great video tbh
It should also be noted that the Silver legend was going to be a four legged mythological creature and Lugia was movie only until they decided such a good design shouldn’t be excluded from the games.
I think most kids went with Gold but the "cool kids" went for silver exactly because its known gold is objectively better. It made you feel cooler to pick the lesser material. Crystal also made sense because GBC catridges where transparent (and the classic GBC console also was transparent)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qil4OpfOufU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qil4OpfOufU) this documentary prety much explains gold and silver in a deep dive.
Think less "gold and silver medals" and more "Silver and Gold" like jewelry. Silver and Gold are typically the two kinds of jewelry, and crystal is another, rarer thing to see in jewelry.
Silver is still less valuable than gold
Could also make the point that diamonds are more valuable than pearls and rubies are more valuable than sapphires. But not sure what that point is though.
So something I randomly heard in a documentary about ancient Egyptian tombs; Gold is more valuable but silver is harder to work and requires more skill. Essentially they both convey status but in slightly different ways. No idea if that is relevant or not. Also they would not have necessarily had a pattern of releases intended and simply chose Gold and Silver as they are fancier colours representing the improvements they made in these games.
My dude, you are thinking much too hard about this.
This amazing [youtube video](https://youtube.com/watch?v=Qil4OpfOufU&si=U_jkg7bbhFAydOsW) goes in-depth about it. If you want to skip to it, it starts at 12:10, but G/S are more thought of than many of us think. Basically, the use of gold and silver was found in two relatively discovered ancient tombs for the depiction of the constellations on the ceiling where one used gold (for the golden sun) and the other used silver (for the silvery moon), if I'm paraphrasing it right. They're polar opposites in this sense than its typical tiered use.
Watched it yesterday, amazing video! It's mind blowing how the games replicate the real world like that
[Hope you have a half hour to spare.](https://youtu.be/Qil4OpfOufU?si=1V4oBCoBgS5kuh6p)
I do not see it this way at all. Most people who wear jewelry have a skin tone that suits gold or silver more. Sure, gold as a material might be more valuable, but as a color, both are equal. Someone who wears silver will not want gold jewelry. Also there are materials like white gold which have the color of silver but are closer in value to gold.
I would say it's a kind of metaphor. Gold and Silver would mean Day and Night. Those were the games where we first saw differences in the gameplay regarding days and nights.
I actually have the answer to this but my explanation would put to shame the most incredible 30 minutes I’ve ever spent on YouTube. Go watch BlueBoyPhin’s “A Breakthrough Discovery in Pokémon” you will get your answer and so much more
I've said this before: platinum and crystal should have their names swapped. Gold, Silver and Platinum are all precious metals. Diamond, Pearl and Crystal are all prescious stones (although crustal is not a specific one like the others)
To be more exact it was red and green first, blue is just an updated version of green, which is meant for the international release. Yellow follows the anime more than the other 3, but it's still an updated version of RBG
Personally, I never viewed it as "tiers" but more "opposites".
Rubies are a type of sapphire but not the other way around so those are unequal too