Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl are bringing back the Sinnoh region, itself filled with plenty of mysterious Pokémon lore players will want to know before playing the upcoming remakes. Not much has been revealed about Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, but the footage shown so far suggests they could include elements from Pokémon Platinum, making for exciting possibilities in both gameplay and fiction.
Pokémon Diamond & Pearl were released for the Nintendo DS in 2006. They were the fourth generation of Pokémon games and were the biggest entries yet at that point. Pokémon Diamond & Pearl had nearly five hundred Pokémon in its Pokédex, and it was easier than ever before to catch them, as this was the generation that finally added online functionality to the series.
Pokémon Diamond & Pearl were set in the Sinnoh region, and some Pokémon lore made them standouts as well. Sinnoh was based on the island of Hokkaido and its surrounding regions of Japan, and it will soon be coming to the Nintendo Switch, as Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl are set to launch at the end of 2021. Some particularly interesting Pokémon lore makes the region one of the most mysterious, and many secrets relating to the creation of the universe can be found there.
The Pokémon series has often been unclear about its lore, with information about the oldest Pokémon coming from myths and legends. The games explain where Pokémon like Mewtwo and Porygon come from, but creatures like Celebi and Mew are more shrouded in mystery. Pokémon Diamond & Pearl threw all of that away, by introducing the Pokémon creator god. The Sinnoh region houses Arceus, the creator of the Pokémon universe. Arceus is said to have created the world and had a direct hand in creating the Mythical and Legendary Pokémon that reside in Sinnoh.
The references to Arceus being god were so obvious that an event involving the player ascending into the heavens to battle it was never officially released. None of the Pokémon games released after Pokémon Diamond & Pearl have introduced anything on the level of Arceus in terms of power or overall relevance to the mythology of the entire Pokémon world. There are a lot of mysteries surrounding Arceus, but fans might soon learn more, as a prequel set in ancient Sinnoh is on the way. Pokémon Legends: Arceus is set in the era when the area was only beginning to be colonized by humans, and it will be interesting to see what new Pokémon lore is revealed about the creator figure.
The Pokémon series is no stranger to censorship, but Pokémon Diamond & Pearl might have had the strangest one of all. In the Canalave Library in Sinnoh, there is a book that talks about how humans and Pokémon were once considered equals. That information was the result of the localization, as the original Japanese text claimed that humans and Pokémon used to marry each other in Sinnoh. This is one of the creepiest pieces of Pokémon lore of all time and it's likely that it will be censored again in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl.
Pokémon Diamond & Pearl introduced more new Legendary and Mythical Pokémon than any game before it, by adding nine Legendary Pokémon and five Mythical Pokémon to the series. The three box Legendary Pokémon of Gen IV were Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina. Dialga is the Pokémon that rules over time, Palkia is the master of space, and Giratina commands antimatter. Together, they are known in Pokémon lore as the Creation Trio.
The player will encounter the Lake Trio in Sinnoh, as they are part of Team Galactic's plan. These are Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie. Those who go snooping around can also encounter the Lunar Duo, Cressalia, and Darkrai, who are the shepherds of dreams and nightmares. The first breedable Mythical Pokémon was introduced in Gen IV, with Manaphy being able to give birth to Phione when bred with a Ditto.
Pokémon Diamond & Pearl also introduced a new Legendary Pokémon that ruled over others from a previous generation. Regigigas was introduced in Gen IV and it's the Pokémon that commands the three Legendary Titans of Hoenn (Regirock, Regice, and Registeel). There were also a few Legendary/Mythical Pokémon that operated on their own. Heatran was a volcanic Pokémon that was said to have been born at the same time as the Creation Trio, while Shaymin is said to have caused plant life to bloom all over the Sinnoh region.
Pokémon Diamond & Pearl was the start of the Legendary Pokémon bloat for the series, with some of them feeling like unnecessary additions to the series. It's possible that Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl will give them more backstory.
It's currently unclear whether Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl will be remakes of the original games, or whether they will include content from Pokémon Platinum, which was the third game of Gen IV. On a basic level, Pokémon Platinum increased the game speed and balanced the levels of the enemy trainers. The biggest change to Pokémon Platinum was expanding Team Galactic's role in the story.
Team Galactic is led by a Pokémon trainer named Cyrus, who wants to use the power of the Sinnoh Legendary Pokémon to create a new world. In Pokémon Platinum, he comes close to achieving this goal, by creating a gateway to the Distortion World, where the rules of reality in Pokémon lore don't apply. The Distortion World is home to Pokémon's Giratina, whom the player must catch/defeat. Of all of the changes made to Pokémon Platinum, the Distortion World is the one most likely to be kept in the game, as it's one of the best dungeons in the series. Pokémon Platinum also added a Battle Frontier, but there's a good chance it won't appear, considering the one from Pokémon Emerald didn't make it into Pokémon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire.
The worst Pokémon Elite Four may be the Elite Four of Sinnoh, notorious for being one of the most difficult in Pokémon lore. It was so bad that they actually had the levels of their Pokémon significantly reduced in Pokémon Platinum. A lot of players were forced to level grind like crazy to beat Aaron the Bug-type member of the Elite Four in Pokémon Diamond & Pearl, and it was easy to become discouraged when facing him and his allies. If the player knows what they are going up against, then Elite Four can be prepared for, but the same cannot be said for Cynthia.
Cynthia is the Pokémon League Champion of the Sinnoh region and is considered to be one of the most difficult opponents in the series. Red's team in Pokémon Gold & Silver might be higher level, but the typing and attacks used by Cynthia's team are better. Cynthia's Garchomp is also notorious for its hellish strength in battle. There are a lot of Pokémon fans who complain that the series has become too easy, but that complaint doesn't hold up in the face of Sinnoh's Elite Four and Champion.
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl will be available for Nintendo Switch on November 19, 2021.
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July 13, 2021 at 12:27AM
