Pokemon Diamond and Pearl

[Misty]

I didn't realize how soon it would be before the DS Pokemons were coming out. The last Pokemon I played was Ruby and Sapphire. It looks more of the same, but that's okay--I've always liked it that way. And, of course, there're new Pokemon to catch--some of the legendary Pokemon; like Dialga, look really awesome.

With Pokemon coming to the Wii, I wonder if there's going to be some sort of connectivity between the Wii and DS? I can see it happening.

I know....I still like Pokemon. It's not insanely popular anymore, but it's still got the charm. I may preorder my copies so I can also get those cool limited edition Styluses.

You guys planning on getting these? I know RPG Dessie will

[Smurvis]

Re: Pokemon Diamond and Pearl

Gold and Silver were the last I played. It had all 251 Pokemon (or whatever). Seems like the following games had the next 100 + the previous 150 but not the full roster... and it got old.

I'm semi-interested in Diamond/Pearl... but I'm sick of them getting rid of the old pokemon. They need to come out with one that's just got all 800,000 of them.

[goldgecko4]

Re: Pokemon Diamond and Pearl

I haven't played a Pokemon since Crystal, but I have Pearl pre-ordered at my local game crazy. I don't expect them to do anything drastically different with the mechanics, but I do expecti t to be fun all the same.

[RPGD]

Re: Pokemon Diamond and Pearl

Then you'll be happy to know that, with the exception of some GBA legendaries, every single Pokemon in the series will be catchable in DP, with most of them found in the wild. There are lots of evolutions for classics like Rhydon, Magneton, Magmar and Porygon, too. Babies like Pichu and Cleffa and evolutions like Cacturn and Steelix can be caught in the wild, too. Furthermore, babies now hatch at the more logical Lv. 1. The grand total is a whopping 493, if I remember right.

You can also permanently transfer Pokemon from the GBA games to the DS games, and their stats, level, OT, moves, EVs, IVs and held items remain completely intact, allowing you to exploit the cloning trick in Pokemon Emerald.

I've played the game, and it is beyond a shadow of a doubt the best in the series. The presentation is a brilliant mesh of 2D and 3D, and the challenge factor is bumped up. The musical score is also lightyears beyond even the most recent titles. Here is a sample. Hell, here's another.

There's way too much for me to elaborate on, so why don't you just visit Serebii.net and see for yourself.

I will say that the GTC is perhaps the best thing that ever happened to the series.

The Global Trading Center allows you to post Pokemon you want to trade online with people from around the world. Just drop them into a box and set whatever you want in exchange, then come back later and some new beasties will appear in their place from some random guy. You literally set it and forget it. Naturally, you can also browse what's available yourself and trade on the fly.

[SkylureX]

Re: Pokemon Diamond and Pearl

I'm somewhat interested in it... How much Wifi integration is there?

[Misty]

Re: Pokemon Diamond and Pearl

Traditionally, I get both versions of Pokemon games, and have a friend of mine play one version while I play another.

I want to play Diamond, but my friend insists on that. So we're in a little dispute over which versions we'll be playing

[RPGD]

Re: Pokemon Diamond and Pearl

There's an online community, online pictochat, online battles, online trading, and complete sync with the upcoming Pokemon Battle Revolution.

Oh, and online voice chat.

That's a whole lotta online.

I think you'd like Pearl, Misty. The games are so huge, you'll likely end up finding yourself playing only one. Especially since you'll be able to find everything more easily with the online functionality.

Also, the criteria for filling the Pokedex is simply to see the Pokemon, rather than catch them, though you still don't get the detailed info 'till you make the catch. When you see all the Pokemon in the Sinnoh regional listing, you'll get the National Mode upgrade. However, you don't need it at all to use Pokemon that aren't in the Sinnoh regional dex. Their ID numbers will just appear as question marks 'till you get National Mode.

The Sinnoh regional listing has a nostalgic grand total of 151 Pokemon including Manaphy, the region's Mew. Nearly all of them are newer ones. When the game is beaten, well over 420 can be found in the wild.

[Misty]

Re: Pokemon Diamond and Pearl

So, RPG Dessie, will we be exchanging DS friend codes?

EDIT: The Online portion of this has to be the most interesting thing about these new Pokemon games. It'll change a lot of minds, I'll tell you that!

[Smurvis]

Re: Pokemon Diamond and Pearl

Then you'll be happy to know that, with the exception of some GBA legendaries, every single Pokemon in the series will be catchable in DP, with most of them found in the wild.

You can also permanently transfer Pokemon from the GBA games to the DS games, and their stats, level, OT, moves, EVs, IVs and held items remain completely intact, allowing you to exploit the cloning trick in Pokemon Emerald.

I've played the game, and it is beyond a shadow of a doubt the best in the series. The presentation is a brilliant mesh of 2D and 3D, and the challenge factor is bumped up. The game is almost as amazingly awesome as Smurvis himself, but still falls short of expectations. The musical score is also lightyears beyond even the most recent titles. Here is a sample. Hell, here's another.

There's way too much for me to elaborate on, so why don't you just visit Serebii.net and see for yourself.

I will say that the GTC is perhaps the best thing that ever happened to the series.

The Global Trading Center allows you to post Pokemon you want to trade online with people from around the world. Just drop them into a box and set whatever you want in exchange, then come back later and some new beasties will appear in their place from some random guy. You literally set it and forget it. Naturally, you can also browse what's available yourself and trade on the fly.

You are a gentleman and a scholar.

[RPGD]

Re: Pokemon Diamond and Pearl

I bet you'd like that, wouldn't you?

Oh, and the TM list has doubled. Including HMs, there are 100.

In PBR for Wii, you can register up to 20 teams from your DS game, and even use it as the controller. Lots of online modes with customizable rules.

The 493rd Pokemon, Aruseus, is by far the most powerful Pokemon yet, and created the world along with a few other Pokemon according to Sinnoh mythology. It's a Normal type, but it's base stats are 120 across the board, with a total composite of 720. Also, it has the characteristic "multi-type", which changes it's type depending on the type of Plate it is holding. There are 16 Plates hidden across Sinnoh, each one describing the legend of the creation Pokemon and representing a certain type.

It look-a like dis:

Also, wow.

[Misty]

Re: Pokemon Diamond and Pearl

I bet you'd like that, wouldn't you?

<giggles> Yeah....

I'm curious as to what the Gym Leaders are going to look like. Oh, and the badges. I've been wanting a true Pokemon game to come out for the DS. I don't consider Mystery Dungeon or Ranger true games, even though I do like them.

EDIT: PBR looks good. Really good.

[RPGD]

Re: Pokemon Diamond and Pearl

The badges are pretty. You get a badge case and the badges get dull as the days go by. Fortunately, you can keep them nice and shiny by polishing them.

Also, tapping them makes a chime with a different pitch depending on the shininess. Reminds me of Earthbound.

Oh, and there's a whole different set of BGM for daytime and nighttime. Even for the Pokemon Centers.

Anyway, the badges are as follows (blurry piksh):



From top-left: Coal Badge, Forest Badge, Cobalt Badge, Fin Badge, Relic Badge, Mine Badge, Glacia Badge, Beacon Badge.

Respective Gym Leaders are as follows:

Hyouta (Rock):

Natane (Grass):

Sumomo (Fighting):

Makishi (Water):

Merissa (Ghost):

Tougan (Steel):

Suzuna (Ice):

Denji (Electric):

The thought of this game's sales figures in the states frightens me. In less than three months, they sold a combined total of 5 million copies in Japan, outselling every prior main entry within the same timeframe.

[Cosmic Jeff]

Re: Pokemon Diamond and Pearl

Yeah, I've been playing the handheld Pokemon games since I was 12 and I'm pretty sure I'll play the new ones too. They're not all that sophisticated. They're pretty much like Dragon Quest, except instead of grinding 4 characters you wind up grinding a few hundred, which sounds like a nightmare, but somehow nostalgia can make a complete idiot out of me.

[RPGD]

Re: Pokemon Diamond and Pearl

You'd be surprised at how deep the level of strategy is in the competitive battling community, though. It's like chess had sex with sudoku and Fallout or something. Some are strategi nazis, though, and ban any abilities that involve a random element. Screw them. I'm keeping my Double Team.

Speaking of which, online battles pit you against either friends or persons of the same skill level.

[DK]

Re: Pokemon Diamond and Pearl

So will you even want to catch all the other 300 after completing the shinnoh region?

Is there anything to do after Shinnoh than catch catch catch?