Topic: 10 Things You Might Not Know You Can Do In Pokémon HeartGold/SoulSilver

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Pokémon can be very much a Guide Dang It series at the best of times - without a hook to a handy online resource, or a strategy book that could also be used to drop on planets you wish to crush, there's a whole heap of stuff you're unlikely to ever figure out for yourself. It's just too well hidden and too easy to miss. To get yourself a Weavile, for example, you have to level up a Sneasel. At night. Whilst holding a Razor Claw. And reciting Macbeth backwards whilst standing on a hilltop with your pants around your ankles (possibly). The game itself will never tell you this. And there's a royal half ton of other stuff you're likely to never find out unless, like me, you have Bulbapedia and Serebii bookmarked.

So with that in mind, I've compiled a list of 10 things in HGSS that you might not have otherwise noticed. Because there's some seriously cool stuff to find. But I'll warn you first, this post is naturally going to be PACKED WITH SPOILERS. So if you want to discover all this stuff for yourself, stop reading now (and we'll see you in 15 years' time). Onwards with the list:

Choose a starter Pokémon
No, the first thing on my list isn't that thing you're forced to do at the very start of your adventure. This is choose another starter Pokémon. One from Kanto (Bulbasaur, Squirtle, or Charmander), and one from Hoenn (Treecko, Mudkip, or Torchic). But, y'know, this is Pokémon. You work your off, and you're allowed to choose only one of each. Life is cruel. But still, you want them. So get all 16 badges and defeat Red. Next time you visit Oak in Pallet Town, he'll offer you one of the Kanto starters; next time you visit Steven Stone in Saffron City, he'll offer you a Hoenn starter. Choose wisely (but totally go for Mudkip. Because u liek dem)

Catch the Hoenn Weather Trio
Groudon. Kyogre. Rayquaza. They're all in here, all waiting for you to snag 'em. But there's a catch. Well, there's a couple of catches. First of all, you're going to have to get all 16 badges and defeat Red up on top of Mt Silver. Then go talk to Mr Pokémon after receiving a Kanto starter from Oak (see above), and he'll give you an orb depending on your game version. HG gets the Blue Orb, SS gets the Red Orb. Take it to the Embedded Tower situated on Route 47, and Kyogre (HG) or Groudon (SS) will show up, just waiting for you to bury them under a mass of broken Ultra Balls.
As for Rayquaza? Get a friend or gullible victim to trade you the legendary your version doesn't get (has to be one caught in HGSS), show them both to Oak and he'll give you the Jade Orb. Take that back to the Embedded Tower again and Rayquaza will stop by for tea and kick-.

Rematch with the Gym Leaders
Battling Gym Leaders is cool. Very cool. But don't you wish that Falkner was a bit less... rubbish? I mean fair play to him, he's the first leader in the game, but how much of a challenge would the Flying master be after he'd manned up a bit and got himself some decent Pokémon? Well, you can find out. Through a stupidly complex find/phone system. Basically, one day a week (after you've defeated them all¹), each gym leader will crawl out of their sweaty hovel and discover there's a world beyond their gym doors. And then swiftly decide they prefer standing around inside doing nothing all day and head back to the safety of the gym.
If you find them on their once-a-week excursion, you can assault them and demand their telephone number. At gunpoint if necessary. Once registered, you can ring them. And at one other time during the week (thanks for making this really simple, GameFreak), when you ring they'll ask you if you want to rebattle them. Agree and they'll head to the Fighting Dojo with much better teams. Happy battling.
When can they be met and rang? Consult Serebii.
¹ _{Don't quote me on that. I think it's after you've got all 16 badges, but it could be just after you've visited the fighting dojo in Saffron City}

Find Shining Leaves and obtain a Leaf Crown
This one is a bit of an oddity. You've probably noticed that if you talk to your Pokémon whilst wandering around, they'll sometimes be holding accessories. Well sometimes, very rarely, they'll find a Shining Leaf. Where they can find them depends on their Nature. If you do happen to come across one of these things, the leaf will attach itself to that Pokémon's status screen. Go show it to Lyra and she'll threaten to murder your loved ones unless you find five of them. Show her a Pokémon with 5 Shining Leaves attached, and the raving psychotic will turn them into a Leaf Crown.
No, it doesn't have any effect on your Pokémon. It's just there for the status screen. If you want to know where your Pokémon can find them, again, consult Serebii

Partake in an epic double battle of the mightiest trainers
Rival battles are cool. Gym Leader rematches are cool. Elite 4 Champion battles are cool. Bow ties are cool. OK, forget that last one. Wouldn't it be cool to have all those things rolled up into one package of coolness? "Very cool indeed" is the correct answer. Well then, after you've battled your rival in Mt Moon, you should go head back to the Dragon's Den in Blackthorn. There you'll meet your rival, desperately trying to suck less. And then Clair and Lance drop by and challenge you both to a fight. It's you teaming up with your rival, vs the 8th Johto Gym Leader and the Elite Four Champion.
But a word of warning, bring some strong 'mon. This is not an easy battle.

Have your photo taken... with a gym leader
When a 12-year-old sets off away from home on their own adventure, it's always comforting to know that behind every bush is a strange man desperate to take as many photos of them as possible. Where by 'comforting' I mean 'really freaking creepy.' And whilst Cameron continues to avoid arrest on child predatory charges, it's possible to have your photo taken with a gym leader. And as usual, it's a one-day-a-week thing in a specific area under specific conditions, with no special reward for doing it. For more info on when and where, clicky

Make your Pokémon truely Beauty-full
There's no contests in Johto, so there's no Contest stats screen on your Pokémon summaries. But when you get your Pokémon massaged by Daisy (available between 3pm and 4pm each day) in Pallet Town, their Beauty raises by 32 points and their Sheen by 22 points. Of course, the game won't tell you this and you'll only notice when you trade back to DPPt and check the Contest stats screen. The point of this isn't just to make your Pokémon look fantabulous, what it does is offer every species the ability to max out Beauty without the tedious Poffin-blending bit.
Yes, including Feebas, that ugly hyper-rare Magikarp thing that will only turn into Milotic with maxxed out Beauty. So obtaining that just got very slightly easier.

Bag yourself a hot bird. And a cold one. And a sparky one.
I'M SORRY I HATE MYSELF FOR THAT HEADING. The three legendary birds - Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres - are also in this game. Plenty of legendaries, huh? After you've got 16 badges, you'll find Zapdos sitting outside the power plant, Articuno deep within the Seafoam Islands, and Moltres nesting inside Mt Silver.

Turn Rotom into a washing machine (and a fridge, and a fan, and a lawnmower, and a...)
Back in Platinum, Rotom gained the ability to transform into 5 new formes, but only if you got an item distributed over Wi-Fi first. Now that restriction has been lifted, and all you have to do is take a Rotom to the faulty elevator in Silph Co. to find those transformable items again. Because what trainer could resist wandering around a city whilst being stalked by a vacuum cleaner?

Star up your Trainer Card
Gaining stars on your trainer card isn't a new feature, but knowing what gains you those stars is something you'll have to look up. You'll start with a red trainer card with no stars. After completing the following (in any order), you'll add stars and change the colour of your card:

• Defeat the Elite 4
• Obtain 1 Leaf Crown
• Get the high score record for all 10 Pokéathlon events
• Get 100 consecutive wins at the Battle Tower
• Complete the National Pokédex (Mew, Celebi, Jirachi, Deoxys, Phione, Manaphy, Darkrai, Shaymin and Arceus are not required)

Well, that's the end of it. Good luck out there, trainers.