The Pokemon Adventures manga is a series that any Pokemon fan would love. It's got it all: Pokemon, trainers, battles... well, maybe that's not many things, but that's really all it needs for a stomping good romp through the beloved Pokemon universe. One of the earlier arcs of the series was the Gold, Silver, and Crystal arc, following the adventures of Pokemon trainer Gold as he journeys across the Johto region. While the number of Pokemon he actually caught in the region may be few in number, it's fascinating to examine the crew that Gold attempted to conquer the region with.
For the purposes of accuracy, "caught Pokemon" in this case will only count the Pokemon that Gold caught or hatched during his adventures in the Gold, Silver, and Crystal arc. This means Pokemon who evolved from a previously-caught Pokemon (like his eventual Typhlosion) or Pokemon he had acquired prior to the start of his journey (like his family's Mankey and Polywhirl) will not be included in the tally. After all, the tagline of the series is "Gotta Catch 'em All", not "Already Have 'em All"!
6 Cyndaquil: Exbo, A Red-Hot Start
To start off his Pokemon journey, Gold acquired the starter Pokemon Cyndaquil in a rather dynamic fashion. After witnessing his soon-to-be rival Silver break into Professor Elm's Pokemon lab, Gold accused the latter of being a thief (he did, after all, steal Elm's Totodile) and attempted to stop the boy. To do so, Gold snagged one of Professor Elm's other starter Pokemon, Fire-type Cyndaquil. Although Cyndaquil's blazing attacks managed to corner Silver, a timely intervention from Team Rocket allowed the thief to disappear with his stolen Pokemon.
As Gold recovered from injuries sustained during the attack, he decided to keep the Fire starter, nicknaming it "Exbo" after its explosive hide and temperament. Once Professor Elm allowed him to keep the borrowed Pokemon, Gold set out with Exbo to track down the escaped Silver, marking Exbo as the first Pokemon for Gold to acquire as a Pokemon trainer.
5 Sunkern: Sunbo, Seed of Greatness
The Grass-type Pokemon Sunkern, who was later nicknamed "Sunbo", was the very first Pokemon to be caught by Gold in his journey across the Johto region. Funnily enough, Sunbo was initially caught as a means of capturing a significantly larger Pokemon.
As Gold struggled to help Falkner, Gym Leader of Violet City's Gym, chase down a wild Skarmory (a Flying/Steel Pokemon), he realized that none of their super-effective Fire Pokemon could reach the flying beast. However, upon seeing the wild Sunkern hopping about, Gold is struck by a moment of inspiration and catches the hopping seed Pokemon. Ordering it to jump high into the air with a Fire-type in tow, Falkner and Gold were able to land a super-effective blow on the steel Skarmory, allowing Falkner to catch the elusive target. Both Falkner and Gold walked away from the encounter with a brand-new Pokemon, with Gold claiming "Sunbo" with pride.
4 Sudowoodo: Sudobo, Mimic Extraordinaire
Sudowoodo, a Rock-type Pokemon, was the second to be added to Gold's team. During a race between Gold and Whitney, Gym Leader of Goldenrod City's Gym, both contestants found their path blocked by an odd tree, which resisted all attempts to dislodge it. With the tree resilient to all attempts to bash or burn it down, Gold was surprised to find only a Poliwag's water attack had any effect on the roadblock.
After the race was interrupted once more by a rampaging Pokemon, Gold returned to the tree to find it visibly shaking with fright. Using a water attack on the tree once more, the roadblock sheds its disguise to reveal itself as a camouflaged Sudowoodo. Gold learned that Sudowoodo, having been frightened by the rampaging Pokemon that had interrupted the race earlier, had disguised itself as a tree as an attempt to hide. Gold encouraged Sudowoodo to stand up for itself, and offers the Pokemon a chance to learn how to fight. Sudowoodo happily agreed, and "Sudobo" became the newest member of Gold's Pokemon team.
3 Togepi: Togepo, Born to be Wild
The first Pokemon of the arc to join the team without being directly caught, the Fairy-type Togepi joined Gold's team after hatching from an egg. While showcasing his billiard skills, Gold received a call from Professor Elm, who encouraged Gold to take good care of a mysterious egg he had received from Gym Leader Jasmine. However, once Gold set up camp on the outskirts of Goldenrod City, a wild Gligar snatched the egg while the trainer was sleeping.
Gold's Pokemon attempted to chase down the Ground/Flying-type Gligar before the wild Pokemon could eat the egg, but, just before Gligar could devour its prey, the eggshell began to crack. Togepi burst out of the egg, and managed to fend off the wild Gligar. Shortly thereafter, Gold woke up and called Professor Elm to share the success. Elm was initially delighted, only to become horrified that the newborn Pokemon, now nicknamed "Togepo", had inherited Gold's love of gambling while hidden within the egg. Gold welcomed Togepo to the team (with a hint of embarrassment), hoping to wean him of the bad habit.
2 Mantine: Tibo, The Enemy of my Enemy...
Mantine, the Water/Flying Pokemon, joined Gold's team in a fairly flashy way. As Gold and company attempted to battle the legendary Pokemon Lugia, Gold found that, without a Flying Pokemon, he was unable to aid in the fight against the enormous soaring creature. Trapped below the fight, Gold was accidentally knocked into the sea by the swirling winds and devastating tidal waves. Sinking into the ocean, Gold spotted a distant wild Mantine cowering from the terrifying blasts of the battle above. Gold immediately recognized the Pokemon as an opportunity to escape his predicament, and began to swim over to the creature.
Just as his teammates above began to worry about Gold's survival, the trainer burst from the sea; he had somehow convinced the wild Pokemon into functioning as an impromptu hang-glider, with schools of water-blasting fish serving as makeshift jets. As the battle against Lugia wound to its conclusion, Gold happily introduced his flying companion to the rest of the crew, welcoming the nicknamed "Tibo" to the team.
1 Pichu: Pibu, Taking After his Trainer
The final Pokemon acquired by Gold during the Gold, Silver, and Crystal arc, the Electric-type Pichu was the second Pokemon that Gold managed to hatch from an egg. Born from trainer Red's "Pika" and trainer Yellow's "Chuchu", the egg had initially been left at the Johto Day Care. However, once the day care was attacked, Pika and Chuchu escaped into the Ilex Forest in an attempt to protect the egg. However, the two were quickly captured by the Masked Man, the leader of the sudden attack. The Masked Man later used the egg (along with Pika and Chuchu) as hostages in a successful attempt to force the pursuing Gold to surrender.
After recovering the egg (allowing the Masked Man to escape), Gold was told by Professor Oak that he had a unique talent in hatching Pokémon eggs. Almost to prove this point, the egg immediately hatched into Pichu, a Pokemon that, up until that very moment, had been entirely undiscovered. With Pichu, later nicknamed "Pibu", by his side, Gold set off once more to hunt down the Masked Man. Of course, he learned quickly that, much like Togepo before him, Pibu had inherited many traits from his trainer. Fortunately, unlike Togepo, Pibu seemed to reflect the best in Gold: an unshakeable dedication to helping others, no matter what.