Silver (Japanese: シルバー Silver) is the rival character of the Generation II games and their Generation IV remakes, playing opposite Ethan, Kris, or Lyra in Pokémon Gold and Silver, Pokémon Crystal, and Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver.
He is the son of Team Rocket Boss Giovanni, and was long speculated as such due to the reference made toward Giovanni's red-haired child in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, as well as his Pokémon Adventures counterpart also being Giovanni's son. His connection to Giovanni was finally revealed via an event in HeartGold and SoulSilver activated by taking a fateful encounter Celebi to the Ilex Forest Shrine.
In the games
Artwork from Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal
Silver first appears in the Generation II games, lurking outside of Professor Elm's lab, looking through the window. When talked to, he will deny everything and push the player away. During the player's journey to Mr. Pokémon's house, Silver makes his move, stealing one of Elm's two remaining starter Pokémon (coincidentally always the one that is strong against the player's choice). He will meet with the player on the outskirts of Cherrygrove City, battling to get through. A policeman will later ask for the name of the rival, and the rival will be called the name the player gives for the rest of the game.
Silver shows a strong dislike of Team Rocket. He considers them to be weak, and vows to take them, as well as any other weak Trainer, down. He steals a Sneasel from a Trainer in Cianwood City and while Ethan/Kris/Lyra attempts to take down Team Rocket in Mahogany Town and Goldenrod City, interferes to prove himself. It is in the Mahogany hideout that he meets with Lance, Champion of the Elite Four at the Indigo Plateau. Silver challenges Lance and is easily defeated by the dragon trainer, who then proceeds to berate Silver for his callous ways towards training Pokémon. Though Silver is outraged for losing to someone with such an attitude, the loss and Lance's words ultimately set him on the path to becoming a better person. When Team Rocket takes over the Goldenrod Radio Tower, Silver first blows the player's Team Rocket disguise, unaware of the player's plan. He later follows the player to the Goldenrod undergroundas they battle Team Rocket, hoping that Lance will reappear and he can request a rematch.
By the time the player reaches the Indigo Plateau, Silver battles against the player not out of malice, but to prove that he is a good Trainer. He is defeated and departs to continue training. The player battles Silver on Mt. Moon, and though he loses he claims he can feel his Pokémon getting stronger, and resolves to train at Dragon's Den. When battled the seventh time at Indigo Plateau, Silver seems to have finally learned to care for his Pokémon properly, as his Golbat has evolved to Crobat, which only occurs when Golbat is very happy. This is further expressed in Generation IV when his starter Pokémon starts to follow him around, much like the player's Pokémon; Professor Elm even expressly states that Silver's Pokémon have come to trust him when Silver returns to the lab, presumably to return the starter he stole.
Following Silver's final encounter with the player and after the player has become Champion, Silver can be found training on Tuesday and Thursday in the Dragon's Den, and will appear at the Indigo Plateau on Monday and Wednesday to challenge the player, should he or she appear. He does not appear at all on the weekends, indicating that he may in fact take the day off, resting his Pokémon. In Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, Lance and Clair will appear in the Dragon's Den and challenge the player and Silver to a tag battle following the battle at Mt. Moon.
In terms of personality, Silver is the darkest of the rivals in the series. While most other rivals are generally good-natured, or at least zestful enough to crack a joke at the player, Silver is (at first) cruel, hateful, power-obsessed and even physically abusive, pushing the player character around several times. Even after he starts to become kinder, he remains a rather serious individual. He does, however, express genuine happiness when Elm allows him to keep the Pokémon he stole.
Giovanni and Silver's relationship is revealed in HeartGold and SoulSilver if the player brings a promotional Celebi to the shrine in Ilex Forest. Celebi takes the player back in time three years to witness Giovanni abandoning Silver to go into seclusion because of his defeat at the hands of Red. Silver's hate for Team Rocket apparently stems from them failing his father.
Pokémon
The starter Pokémon that Silver has will depend on which Pokémon the player chose to bring on Professor Elm's errand at the beginning of the game. As with all rivals, it will be the Pokémon whose type weakens that of the player's starter.
For Silver's Pokémon in Gold, Silver, and Crystal Versions, see Silver (game)/Gold, Silver, and Crystal.
Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver
First battle
If the player chose Chikorita:
If the player chose Cyndaquil:
If the player chose Totodile:
Second battle
If the player chose Chikorita:
If the player chose Cyndaquil:
If the player chose Totodile:
Third battle
If the player chose Chikorita:
If the player chose Cyndaquil:
If the player chose Totodile:
Fourth battle
If the player chose Chikorita:
If the player chose Cyndaquil:
If the player chose Totodile:
Fifth battle
If the player chose Chikorita:
If the player chose Cyndaquil:
If the player chose Totodile:
Sixth battle
If the player chose Chikorita:
If the player chose Cyndaquil:
If the player chose Totodile:
Tag battle with player
If the player chose Chikorita:
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Reward: N/A
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If the player chose Cyndaquil:
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Reward: N/A
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If the player chose Totodile:
Template:Party
Seventh battle
If the Template:Player chose Template:P:
Template:Party
If the Template:Player chose Template:P:
Template:Party
If the Template:Player chose Template:P:
Template:Party
Round 1
Template:Party
Round 2
Template:Party
In other media
Like Template:Ga and Template:Ga, he played no role in the anime, despite being a main character in the games. Similarly, his only appearance in the anime is a brief cameo, in the original Japanese opening of The Legend of Thunder! (A New Oath), where he was shown with his Template:P defeating Template:Jo.
While not appearing directly, he has a counterpart in the Pokémon Adventures manga, Template:Adv. They share several similarities, such as stealing a starter from Professor Elm (in the manga's case, Totodile), owning a Sneasel, and being Giovanni's son.
Template:Left clear
Trivia
- As a possible reference to Silver's training schedule, Template:Ga also can be battled again (on Saturdays and Sundays) after the player becomes champion. He can also be found training at Stark Mountain during the week in Template:Game.
- In Generation II, If Silver's stolen starter is Template:P, he uses Template:P at level 16 in his second battle, despite Totodile only being able to evolve from level 18 onwards. This error is corrected in Generation IV, though he still uses Croconaw, due to his stolen starter being level 18 in Generation IV. Additionally, if Silver's stolen starter is Template:P, he uses Template:P at level 32 in his fourth battle in Generation II (level 34 in Generation IV), while the other two are their final forms (which is normal).
- In Generation II, Silver appears in Victory Road despite not earning any Johto Gym Badges. This would be impossible as the guard who makes sure each trainer has all eight badges stands before Victory Road.
- Two of Silver's Pokémon in his final team received evolutions in Generation IV. The same two Pokémon are also the only members of his team that did not evolve twice.
- Furthermore, Template:P is the only member of his final team that is not part of a Template:Cat as of Generation IV.
- Perhaps coincidentally, neither of these Pokémon's new evolutions are available in HeartGold and SoulSilver until after the National Pokédex is obtained, as their evolution methods require certain forces external to the Pokémon (rather than knowing a move, as the five new Johto Pokédex additions do).
- Silver is the only rival to start with a starter Pokémon whose final team does not include the three starter types (Template:T, Template:T, and Template:T) or differ at all aside from the starter itself.
- Silver's backsprite has the same pose as Template:Ga's backsprite.
- A 1997 pamphlet describing Template:2v2 mentions that the rival character lives in the same town as Template:Ga. This aspect of his character was apparently discarded by the time of the final release, however, as his hometown was not elaborated upon in the games.
- In Generation IV, Silver is depicted with two different eye colorations. His eyes are gray in his Generation IV artwork while they are red inside the HeartGold and SoulSilver games, as seen in the opening animation.
- In the original Gold, Silver, and Crystal games, when battled at the Indigo Plateau the Champion theme is played instead of his rival theme. The reason for this is unknown.
- The English script of the Celebi event in HeartGold and SoulSilver never actually states that Silver is Giovanni's son, unlike the Japanese script.
Names
Silver is almost universally used in the fandom as the official name for this character, since it is his default name (the name the game chooses when the player doesn't enter a name of his own) in Gold and Crystal, and is also his name in placeholder data in Template:2v2. However, his default name differs on other games, and he's also named Gold (in Silver), Heart (in SoulSilver), and Soul (in HeartGold). Of course, he can be called almost anything, since, like several rivals in the main series, his name is chosen by the player.
Some fans call him Kamon to discern him from Template:Adv and Template:An. This name is taken from the suggested names for the Template:Ga in Silver, much as some call Template:Ga "Gary", where the name is found as one of the options for the player in Template:Game3, and the rival in Template:Game3.
Additionally, since he is battled once before he can even be named, he is also known temporarily as ??? in Generation II and as Passerby Boy in HeartGold and SoulSilver.
Template:Rival characters
Template:Johto NPCs
Template:Project CharacterDex notice
