After some not-so-coy suggestions on Japanese variety show Pokemon Sunday last week, the speculation has now ended: Pokemon Gold and Pokemon Silver, the second-generation editions of Nintendo"s infectious creature-collecting RPG, are being remade for the Nintendo DS, ten years after the originals. Rechristened "Heart Gold" and "Soul Silver," the game(s) will debut in Japan this fall.

The announcement comes from a page on the official Japanese Pokemon site. Nothing of much substance is there, though, except the two logos you see on the right. No solid release date besides "Fall" was revealed. More substantial information is expected to follow in future editions of CoroCoro Comic, the Japanese manga magazine that features Pokemon stories and keeps fans updated with the biggest news in the franchise.

Heart Gold and Soul Silver follow in the footsteps of Pokemon LeafGreen and FireRed, the Game Boy Advance remakes of the original Pokemon games. Although they looked and played much better than they did on the comparatively clunky original Game Boy, diehard Pokemon fans saw them as a great way to collect all those first-generation Pokemon to beef up their Pokedex even further. Naturally, the return of Gold and Silver"s roster will serve the same purpose, and we"ll bet the rest of the game will offer a few new wrinkles to the constantly revised feature set that keeps the series everlasting.