Pokemon Gold & Silver To Include Walking Meter

The latest Pokemon remakes bring more to the series than just a bunch of new Pokemon and updated visuals. Pokemon Company confirmed today something that was revealed on yesterday's episode of Pokemon Sunday: Heart Gold and Soul Silver will add an all new element to the franchise: the PokeWalker.

PokeWalker is a special walking meter that will be bundled with the two remakes. Different from the meter that Nintendo included with its Power Walker health software, the PokeWalker meter looks like a Pokeball and ties in closely with the two remakes.

The PokeWalker device interfaces with your DS via infrared. You can transfer over a single Pokemon, who then becomes visible on the device's screen.

As you walk around with the PokeWalker in hand, the internal Pokemon will gain experience. Its affection for you will also grow. The device converts your foot steps into "watts," which can be used to catch wild Pokemon and search for tools for sending back to the main Heart Gold/Soul Silver software.

Nintendo has yet to share pricing on Heart Gold and Soul Silver, so it's unclear if the inclusion of the PokeWalker device will make the price rise.

In addition to details on PokeWalker, Pokemon Company has shared first official screens for the game along with artwork for the main characters and initial Pokemon.

In Heartful Gold and Soul Silver, you'll be able to select from a male or female character to be your in-game counterpart. The character you don't select serves as a support role.

Those who played the original Gold and Silver will recognize the Pokemon cast. As with the original, you'll be able to select from Chikorita, Cyndaquil (Hinoarashi in the Japanese version) and Totodile (Waninoko in the Japanese version) as your initial Pokemon counterpart. Legendary Pokemon Ho-oh and Lugia also appear in the game.

Heart Gold and Soul Silver arrive here in Japan this Fall.