When I was 11, I was racing through Mt. Silver\u2019s seemingly endless corridors in Pok\u00e9mon Gold & Silver<\/em>, trying to reach the end before a family outing. Already dressed, I played while everyone else grabbed their coats, determined to see what awaited me at the peak. The path narrowed. A lone sprite stood at the summit \u2014 familiar, but uncanny. I\u2019d spent hours controlling this very figure years earlier in Pok\u00e9mon Red & Blue<\/em>, yet at that moment I couldn\u2019t quite process it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n My dad called out that it was time to go. I saved, and then pressed A anyway. The ellipses appeared. That\u2019s when it clicked.<\/p>\n The battle screen flashed. His sprite centered, Red\u2019s name appeared. And then, \u201cLevel 81 Pikachu.\u201d<\/p>\n A shock ran through me. I shut off the game, jaw on the floor, and blurted out to my gamer dad that the hero from the first game was the final boss of this one. He looked at me like a chip off the ole\u2019 block.<\/p>\n Red\u2019s appearance at the end of Pok\u00e9mon Gold & Silver <\/em>is a peak moment in the franchise in which the game\u2019s protagonist, Gold (later renamed Ethan), comes face-to-face with the hero of Red & Blue. <\/em>For young Pok\u00e9mon fans, it\u2019s an unforgettable twist on par with Darth Vader being Luke Skywalker\u2019s father. For me, it\u2019s a core childhood memory.<\/p>\n The fact that it hasn\u2019t been replicated in the anime, 27 years after the game\u2019s initial release, is a travesty.<\/p>\n Red and Gold do eventually cross paths and battle in the manga Pok\u00e9mon Adventures<\/em>, but it plays less like a climactic battle and more like a symbolic handoff. In the manga, their meeting is framed as the legendary Red training and ultimately passing the torch to his successor. They have a mentor\/prot\u00e9g\u00e9 relationship in the manga, whereas in the games, this is their first time meeting, and it\u2019s defined as a no-holds-barred battle. Although it\u2019s a cool twist, the interpretation removes the shock value and mystique of the encounter.<\/p>\n While the anime never gave us a true Red, Ash Ketchum serves as the closest stand-in. Though his early win\/loss record pales in comparison to Red\u2019s legendary feats, Ash steadily grew into a far more capable trainer over the years and decades. He even defeated Leon, who is canonically considered to be the strongest trainer in the world, in Pok\u00e9mon Journeys<\/em>. That achievement places Ash on par with Red. Now, with Ash having been absent since being replaced by Liko as the anime\u2019s lead in 2022, his eventual return could be shrouded in mystery, potentially kicking off with a showdown against his replacement. It could be a climactic Pok\u00e9mon battle, like in Gold & Silver<\/em>, as well as a passing of the torch moment like we saw in the manga.<\/p>\n An even better option, however, would be a follow-up to the 2013 special Pok\u00e9mon Origins<\/em>, a tribute to 1996\u2019s Pok\u00e9mon Red & Green<\/em> starring Red. While Origins<\/em> adapted the story of those games into anime, a follow-up miniseries could do the same thing for Gold & Silver<\/em>. Rather than ending with Mewtwo or a Mega Evolved Charizard, the climax could place Gold atop Mt. Silver where Gold finally faces Red. Much like Jaden vs. Yugi in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX<\/em>, the battle could conclude just before a winner is decided, preserving the same ambiguous ending as the games.<\/p>\n Pok\u00e9mon has been around for three decades, yet it has never adapted one of the video game franchise\u2019s most iconic moments into anime. Why The Pok\u00e9mon Company is still waiting is anyone\u2019s guess, but there\u2019s never been a better time to show us Gold and Red\u2019s Pok\u00e9mon battle in beautiful animation \u2014 inspiring a whole new generation of Youngster Trainers, just like it did for me.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"red](\"https:\/\/static0.polygonimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/red-vs-gold-pokemon.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=2\")
\n <\/picture>Image: Game Freak<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"Gold](\"https:\/\/static0.polygonimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/red-in-pokemon-gold-and-silver.jpg?q=70&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=1\")
\n <\/picture>Image: Game Freak<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"pokemon](\"https:\/\/static0.polygonimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/chorus\/uploads\/chorus_asset\/file\/16278319\/PO001.png?q=70&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=1\")
\n <\/picture>Production I.G<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n