Pokemon is a series with more than a quarter of a century of history. People across the globe come to it for various reasons, whether that be anime, trading card games, or the popular video game series. Though the original 151 Pokemon of the Kanto region are held in high regard, many people label Pokemon Gold & Silver as the most influential and best generation in the series' history.
The games are set in the Johto region, an area that is home to dazzling and adorable Pokemon of various strengths, types, shapes, and sizes. Trainers looking to complete their Pokemon Gold & Silver regional Pokedex will need a bit of strategy, luck, and patience if they hope to ever accomplish the feat.
8 Blissey
Any trainer familiar with the Kanto region understands how annoying it is to try and catch a Chansey. Having to use the mechanics of the Safari Zone on a Pokemon with a low catch rate feels like a cruel joke that Game Freak played on players of the first generation of Pokemon games.
Take all of that and then throw on the idea of building up the tough-to-define friendship meter of a Chansey and that's how one obtains a Blissey. It's like taking an already frustrating task and doubling it. If the evolutionary line wasn't both adorable and incredibly efficient at healing, it's hard to say if anyone would go through the effort of obtaining them outside of trying to complete the Pokedex.
7 Mantine
Now, Mantine is an interesting case of a Pokemon originally being rather easy to get a hold of, but the introduction of a pre-evolutionary form makes it a bit more difficult. On its own, Mantine is a run-of-the-mill Water-type Pokemon, for better or worse.
When its base form Mantyke was introduced in the fourth generation of games it made acquiring the large manta ray a bit trickier. See, for a trainer to evolve a Mantyke into Mantine, there needs to be a Remoraid in the active party. On the surface, this feels like a random requirement, but a glance at Mantine's official art will show a Remoraid gliding right below one of its wings.
6 Heracross
Heracross is a fan-favorite Bug and Fighting-type Pokemon native to the Johto region and is one that trainers just can't get enough of. Despite receiving a Mega Evolution, fans have still petitioned for years that it deserves some love via new additions to its non-existent evolutionary line.
Trainers looking to snag a Heracross of their own will need to spend a solid amount of time headbutting trees around the Johto region in the hopes of one tumbling down out of the branches and triggering a wild encounter. The tough thing is that the time taken to find one isn't rewarded with an easy catch opportunity, as the armored beetle Pokemon also has an even lower catch rate.
5 The Other Starters
As with most Pokemon generations, though every trainer is gifted a starter Pokemon, obtaining the other two isn't all that easy. Most players will either trade their friends for the ones they don't have. If they have a sibling or a second copy of the game they'll simply start up two new games on the second copy and trade both of the starters they're missing.
Johto's starters are the Grass-type dinosaur Chikorita, the Fire-type anteater Cyndaquil, and the adorably ferocious Water-type Totodile. It's one of the few generations in the series where most people enjoy and admire all three starters, even if they hold a biased nostalgic allegiance toward whichever one they initially chose as their own.
4 Tyranitar
Johto's pseudo-legendary evolutionary line belongs to a trio of creatures named Larvitar, Pupitar, and Tyrantiar. The first two forms are Rock/Ground-type, with Pupitar eventually trading out the Ground-type for Dark-type when it reaches level 55 and becomes Tyranitar.
Mt. Silver is the home base for these tough-as-nails reptilian monsters, which happens to be a location only available in the latter parts of Pokemon Gold & Silver. Regardless of if it's Johto or another region in the world of Pokemon, pseudo-legendaries often require the most dedication and understanding as leveling up any Pokemon to level 55 is a hefty investment.
3 Lugia/Ho-Oh
Legendary Pokemon that appear on the cover art of each mainline Pokemon generation are often referred to as box Legendaries. In Pokemon Gold & Silver that title belongs to the Pokemon Gold mascot Ho-Oh and the Pokemon Silver mascot Lugia. Both happen to be giant birds, with the former making its first appearance in the pilot episode of the Pokemon anime.
As the Legendary Pokemon belonging to the Johto region, it's clear they are a part of the regional Pokedex. Trainers looking to catch the one exclusive to their title will need to be smart and patient. Those looking to secure the other will need a copy of the opposite game or a friend that is for some reason looking to part ways with a Legendary Pokemon.
2 Raikou, Entei, Suicune
The three Legendary Dogs players come across in the Johto region have built quite a reputation for themselves. Raikou, Entei, and Suicune happen to be some of the most beloved Legendary Pokemon in the series, and it's likely due to how hard they are to catch.
Not only do the three roam around the map and make it hard for trainers to catch up, but they also happen to have a catch rate of just three percent. Those two things on their own are enough to drive trainers mad but then add in the fact that they also like to flee once a wild encounter has begun and it makes them one of the most rewarding yet equally frustrating accomplishments to pull off in the Johto region.
1 Celebi
Celebi happens to fall into the very same category as Mew does for the Kanto region when looking at its own place in Johto. Despite it being listed as the Mythical Pokemon for the series' second region, the only way players can get it in Pokemon Gold & Silver is through glitching a Sneasel encounter.
Known as the Time Travel Pokemon, the Psychic/Grass-type is nothing more than a pipe dream in the earlier generations. Since then, there have been several events allowing trainers to get their hands on it in an attempt to complete their national Pokedex, likely via the Pokemon Home subscription service on the Nintendo Switch.