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Pokémon Diamond Pokémon Pearl
File:Pokémon Diamond Japanese Boxart.jpg File:Pokémon Pearl Japanese Boxart.jpg
Developer(s)	Game Freak
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Platform(s)	Nintendo DS
Release	September 282006<br\> TBA 2007<br\> TBA<br\> March 2007
Genre(s)	RPG
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer, online multiplayer

"Pokémon Diamond" redirects here. For the bootleg, see Telefang.

Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl are two new, Pokémon roleplaying games for the Nintendo DS. These games are the new flagship games in Nintendo's Pokémon video game series. Diamond and Pearl were released September 282006 in Japan. Exact dates for American, European and Australian releases are unknown.

Project history

Diamond and Pearl were officially announced on October 92004, though further information, other than their titles, was not divulged. Details concerning the games were slowly unveiled by Japanese manga magazine CoroCoro Comic. Early on, CoroCoro released only artwork and statistics for new Pokémon scheduled to debut in the games in its articles. As 2006 progressed, more and more information about Diamond and Pearl were revealed by it, and eventually in-game screenshots and videos were released.

Features and information

Setting and plot

• Diamond and Pearl will be set in the new region of Shin'ou, which is formed of 70% of land (montains and terrains) and 30% of water. Some place will be covered by snow.

• Shin'ou will feature an underground world, which will be used for multiplayer gaming. Players can create and decorate "secret bases", like they could in Ruby and Sapphire, and participate in minigames, one of which will allow the player to dig up fossilized Pokémon.

• A new criminal organization, called Team Galaxy, will star in Diamond and Pearl. A woman named Mars will act as Team Galaxy's boss. Given that she is presumably named after the planet Mars, it has been speculated that the names and themes of executives in Team Galaxy will follow suit.

• The Shin'ou trio will be caught by Team Galaxy when the protagonist reached a certain point or criteria of the game. The protagonist will team up with his/her rival and take down Team Galaxy's members - Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Then, the trios will be freed by the protagonist. The trios will stop Dialga or Palkia from overwhelming Shin'ou using their psychic powers (they are Psychic-type Pokemon) at the later of the game.

Gameplay

• The Pokédex now allows one to input their own weight and height to be compared to that of a Pokémon.

• Diamond and Pearl will utilize five different time periods, a concept originally introduced in Pokémon Gold and Silver; though the scale of the system has grown substantially and now features morning, daytime, afternoon, evening, and night.

• Pokémon Contests, which first appeared in Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald, will return as "Super Contests", with a few similarities and differences. Super Contests consist of three rounds. In the Visual Judgement round, players utilize the DS's stylus to place objects on their Pokémon in order to receive points. In the Dance Judgement round, a player's Pokémon competes with its opponents in a test of rhythm and balance. The final round, Performance Judgement, is identical to the original premise of Pokémon Contests; Pokémon use their attacks to score points.

• Assuming the same role as Pokéblocks, Pofin or Pokébread can be made through use of the touchscreen and fed to Pokémon in order to increase certain traits and the likelihood of success in a Contest.

• Aesthetic differences between male and female Pokémon of a given species will be implemented, including aspects such as differently sized or absent distinctive physical features. In the example provided by CoroCoro, a female Wooper has smaller antennae than its male counterpart.

• Diamond and Pearl will feature new abilities, such as "Belligerence" (which raises a Pokemon's attack when its opponent is of the same gender), "Natural" (Pokemon always attacks Pokemon with higher stats), "Simplicity" (raises the effect of hold items or attack after effects), and "Unconventional" (disables other Pokemon's ability), a feature introduced in the previous generation of games, Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald.

• A completely new device known as the Pokétchi, resembling a wristwatch, can be obtained and will play host to a variety of features, including a time management system, a calculator, a method for monitoring Pokémon in the breeding center, a type chart, and a radar.

• The Battle Tower will return.

• The three starter Pokémon will continue the theme from all other Pokémon games, giving the player a choice of a Grass, Fire, or Water-type.

• Pokémon will make animated entrances into battle, as revealed in a Japanese commercial.

• Diamond and Pearl will feature new Pokémon natures; the ones revealed are "Meticulous" and "Frivolous".

• Diamond and Pearl will feature two new Poké Balls, the "Health Ball" and the "Dark Ball", the Health Balls heals the pokemon when it is captured and the Dark Ball makes it easier to capture pokemon in dark places, such as caves or at night.
• Although no new elements will be introduced, there will be new combinations of elements, such as Poison/Dark and Ice/Grass.

• So far all baby pokemon that appear in Diamond and Pearl can be captured in the wild (such as Subomi, the pre-evolution of Roselia, which is found early in the game). Additionally, all pokemon that hatch from eggs start at level 1, as opposed to level 5 (as they had previously).

Connectivity to other games

• Diamond and Pearl are compatible with the Game Boy Advance Pokémon RPGs after completing a task within the game. The Game Boy Advance Pokémon RPGs will be inserted into the GBA slot of the Nintendo DS, while the Diamond/Pearl copy is in to upload Pokémon.

• Pokémon uploads are restricted to six per day per GBA cartridge, and the player will have to re-capture such transferred Pokémon in a park before transfering from another GBA game.

• The players will not be able to transfer any of the Pokémon back to the GBA cartridge once they are transferred to their Diamond/Pearl copy, as it was announced that the transfer is permanent.

• The DS's native support for Wi-Fi will be employed, allowing players to trade, battle and communicate through "voice chat" online.

• Diamond and Pearl will feature Wi-Fi connectivity to the upcoming Wii Pokémon title Pokémon Battle Revolution.

• Diamond and Pearl will feature a global trading system, with allows trainers to search for any Pokémon they want, the resulting list showing all the people that are willing to trade that Pokémon, as well as the Pokémon they want in return for it.

Pokémon

See also: Shinou Pokédex and Fourth-generation Pokémon

On May 142004, the first Pokémon of the fourth generation, Munchlax, was revealed. Following the pre-evolved form of Snorlax a score of other new Pokémon to appear in Diamond and Pearl were revealed in articles in CoroCoro Comic. Early in production, it was intended that Pokémon introduced in previous generations of the series would receive new, pre-evolved forms; Pokémon available from as far back as Pokémon Red and Blue can now be bred to produce new infantile species, such as Chansey who is preceeded by Pinpuku and Mr. Mime by Mime Jr.. Pokémon have also been given new, further evolved forms; for example, Electabuzz can now evolve into Erekiburu and Roselia can now evolve into Rozureido.

The mascots of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl were confirmed as Dialga and Palkia, like Groudon and Kyogre before them, when box art for the games was released in late June. Dialga will represent Diamond, as its name suggests, and Palkia Pearl, following in the trend of the past two generations. It is unknown if the two legendary Pokémon will be exclusive to the version they represent, or if they will be universally available as Ho-oh and Lugia were in Gold and Silver.

Impact and Sales

The game's release in Japan has been a huge success, with queues in Japanese stores reaching record lengths. Even though 2,000,000 copies were shipped (1 million copies per game), there have still been shortages in many Japanese stores due to the huge demand.

References

1. "Australian Release Date". Retrieved 2006-09-28.
2. "Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl". Retrieved 2006-08-12.
3. "Pokémon Diamond/Pearl - Shinou Underground". Retrieved 2006-08-12.
4. "News".
5. Pokémon Diamond/Pearl - The Pokédex
6. "The time of day". Serebii.net. Retrieved 2006-06-27.
7. Pokémon Diamond/Pearl - Pokémon Contests
8. Pokémon Diamond/Pearl - Pokémon Contests
9. Pokémon Diamond/Pearl
10. Pokémon Diamond/Pearl - The Pokétch
11. August 2006 News
12. "New Pokemon Revealed: Naetle, Hikozaru, and Pochama". Retrieved 2006-08-05.
13. Commericail At youtube
14. Two new Pokéballs
15. Pokémon Diamond Preview
16. Pokémon Battle Revolution announced for the Wii
17. GTS trade system
18. "Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl Sold Out". Retrieved 2006-09-28.

External links

• Official Pokémon Diamond/Pearl Page on the Japanese Pokémon Website Template:Ja icon
• GameWatch page on Diamond/Pearl
• Nintendo's Pokemon Diamond and Pearl Page
• Bulbapedia's Pokemon Diamond and Pearl Entry

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• 2006 computer and video games
• Nintendo DS games
• Pokémon video games
• Nintendo Wi-Fi games
• Multiplayer online games