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Pokémon Diamond (ポケットモンスター ダイヤモンド, Poketto Monsutā Daiyamondo, Pocket Monsters Diamond) and Pokémon Pearl (ポケットモンスター パール, Poketto Monsutā Pāru, Pocket Monsters Pearl) are a pair of role-playing video games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console.

Pokémon Diamond and Pearl add an extensive amount of new features, such as Internet play over the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, while building on older game concepts such as Pokémon Contests. Set in the fictional region of Sinnoh, the games cover the adventure of a single protagonist embarking on a quest to capture and train Pokémon while simultaneously thwarting the agenda of the criminal organization Team Galactic.

Setting and plot

Diamond and Pearl are set in the region of Sinnoh, which is based upon the Hokkaidō prefecture of Japan. Sinnoh is characterized by both mountainous and snow-covered areas, and contains new Pokémon central to the plot.

The game contains 107 new Pokémon and chronicles the adventures of a new Pokémon trainer who strives to become the Pokémon League Champion, collecting and training various species of Pokémon along the way. As do most games in the series, Diamond and Pearl feature eight Pokémon gyms led by Gym Leaders, professional trainers whose expertise lies in a particular Pokémon type. Gym Leaders serve as bosses and reward skilled trainers with badges of merit, key to the advancement of the plot.

Diamond and Pearl begin in Twinleaf Town. After viewing a television report about a media-conducted search for a Red Gyarados spotted at a distant lake, the protagonist and his/her rival travel together to check the local lake for a Pokémon like it. They spot Professor Rowan, an expert in Pokémon evolution and his assistant, who is the playable character not selected: Dawn (girl) or Lucas (boy). After a short discussion the pair exits from the lake, leaving a briefcase behind. When they are attacked by wild Starly, the protagonist and his or her rival examine the case. The player is then given a choice between three Pokémon found in the briefcase, Turtwig, Chimchar or Piplup. After defeating the Starly, Dawn or Lucas retrieve and return the briefcase to the professor. Noticing that a bond has been forged between the young protagonist and his/her chosen Pokémon, Rowan offers it to him/her, asking that he/she embark on a journey and fill his/her Pokédex.

As the plot continues, the protagonist encounters the main antagonist, Team Galactic, although their motives are unclear. (However, as the player progresses through the game, it is made gradually more obvious that the leader, Cyrus, desires to end all life on the world so that he alone can form a more perfect, conflict-less place.) Team Galactic captures Uxie, Azelf and Mesprit, of Sinnoh’s three lakes, and imprisons them, making it the player’s responsibility to free them. Upon releasing the trio, he/she is able to travel to the sacred shrine atop Mt. Coronet and enter the cave, where the leader of Team Galactic awakens either Dialga, in Diamond, or Palkia in Pearl. Dialga or Palkia’s powers begin to overwhelm Sinnoh, causing the newly free Uxie, Azelf, and Mesprit to attempt to stop it. It is then that the player is able to engage in a battle with (and has a chance to capture) the version-appropriate legendary Pokémon.

Having completed this, and after meeting requirements set by the Elite Four, the player is able to contend with them, fighting its members and then the Pokémon League Champion, Cynthia.

Pokémon

As with all generations of Pokémon games to date, new species of Pokémon have been gradually introduced, bringing the total number of Pokémon to, as of Diamond and Pearl, 493 species. The only differences between Diamond and Pearl are some of the Pokémon readily available to the player; for example, Murkrow in the Eterna forest only appears in Diamond while Misdreavus will only appear in Pearl. Players can trade between different versions of the games to attain these species.

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 be bred to produce new species of Baby Pokémon, such as Mr. Mime who is preceded by Mime Jr., Chansey by Happiny and Roselia by Budew. Pokémon have been given new, further evolved forms; for example, Electabuzz can now evolve into Electivire and Roselia can now evolve into Roserade.

As in Pokémon Crystal and Emerald, opposing Pokémon each have a short animation (e.g., a Geodude will flex its arms, Golduck will jump around) when entering battle. New abilities, such as “Rivalry” and “Unaware”, have been added. Baby Pokémon in Diamond and Pearl, such as Clefairy’s pre-evolution Cleffa, can be found in the wild, whereas in previous generations attaining one usually required breeding. Starting from these games, certain Pokémon have cosmetic differences between gender. For example, a female Pikachu (see below) has a dent in its tail giving it a heart shaped appearance.

Gameplay

The gameplay of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl is very similar to that of previous Pokémon role-playing games (RPGs), with several changes and additions.

In previous generations, Pokémon attacks were deemed "physical" or "special" based on their type (for example, all Fire type moves were special and all Ground type moves were physical). Starting with Diamond and Pearl, moves are now categorized into three groups based on how they are executed. Examples of this include the move Fire Punch now being Physical, Gust being Special, and moves that do no damage are now in a new group called Status, or Other.

Pokémon Contests, events where one’s Pokémon compete in a show of sorts to win ribbons, return from Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire as “Super Contests”, with similarities and differences. Super Contests consist of three rounds. In the Visual Judgment round, players utilize the Nintendo DS’s stylus to place accessories and objects on their Pokémon to appeal to a particular trait, such as “Cool” or “Cute”, and earn points. In the Dance Judgment round, Pokémon compete with opponents in a test of rhythm and balance. The final round, Performance Judgment, is identical in premise to Pokémon Contests of the third generation of games; Pokémon use their techniques strategically to appeal to the judges and crowd. Assuming the same role as Pokéblocks in the third generation, baked goods called Poffins can be made through use of the touchscreen and fed to Pokémon in order to increase certain traits and, consequently, the likelihood of success in a relevant Contest.

First introduced in Pokémon Gold and Silver, Pokémon Diamond and Pearl features sensitivity to the time of day and day of the week, which is reflected in a number of facets, such as the lighting of the overworld and locations of non-player characters, the availability of certain species of Pokémon (Murkrow and Misdreavus can only be found at night, while Drifloon is only available on Fridays), and even the lighting during battles. The scale of the day and night cycle has grown from the original cycle of morning, day, and night; Diamond and Pearl's cycle features five different time periods: morning, day, evening, night, and late night.

A new device called the Pokétchor Pokemon Watch, resembling a wristwatch, can be obtained and plays host to a wide variety of features, including a time management system, a calculator, a map, a counter, a wireless link up search, and drawing pad.

Below Sinnoh is a large underground area, used for multiplayer gaming. Players can create and decorate secret bases (first featured in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire) and participate in minigames, one of which will allow the player to unearth fossilized Pokémon such as Cranidos and Shieldon. These Pokémon, as well as Spiritomb, can only be obtained by exploring this underground area.

Diamond and Pearl employ support for the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, allowing players to trade, battle and communicate through voice chat online. The basement of all Pokémon Centers provides access to a list of a player's Friend list to engage in these activities. The main system for trade is the Global Trade Station trading system. This allows players to search for any Pokémon they have seen on a worldwide scale, with the resulting list showing people around the world who are willing to trade that Pokémon, as well as the Pokémon they want in return for it. The trade does not have to be instant and an offer can be left for other players to browse and complete, even while the player is offline.

Along with the fifty existing Technical Machines (TMs), which teach Pokémon a new move, forty-two new TMs have been added to the game while the previous fifty have been retained, bringing the total to ninety-two. This marks the first time an entire fifty-TM set has been left intact between generations, and the first time the total number has exceeded fifty (fifty-eight counting HMs). Two of the eight Hidden Machines (HMs), which, like TMs, teach Pokémon a new move (but permanently), have also been changed. This gives the games a total of 100 machines to learn moves from.

Development

Along with the announcements of Pokémon Dash's release and the release date of the Nintendo DS, the development of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl was announced at a Nintendo Press conference in the fourth calendar quarter of 2004. Junichi Masuda, one of Game Freak's music and game developers, took on the development of the games. The games, slated for a release during 2005, were pushed into a release in 2006. It was not until mid 2006 where further information about the games would be given - compatibility with the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, connectivity with Pokémon Battle Revolution, and features such as the Pokétch and the inclusion of the time sensitivity were revealed.

Connectivity to other games

Diamond and Pearl boast compatibility with many other Pokémon games. They can connect with the Game Boy Advance Pokémon RPGs after earning the National Pokédex, when the Pokémon Game Boy Advance cartridge is inserted into the Game Boy Advance cartridge and accessory slot of the Nintendo DS while Diamond or Pearl is in the DS slot. After uploading six Pokémon from the cartridge, the Pokémon are sent into the Pal Park located southeast of Sandgem Town. Pokémon uploads are restricted to six every twenty-four hours per GBA cartridge. The player will have to re-capture such transferred Pokémon in Pal Park by means of a special Park Ball that has 100% chance of capture, before performing another transfer. Pokémon cannot be transferred from GBA cartridges to DS carts of different languages, Pokémon that know HM moves cannot be transferred, and the player cannot transfer any Pokémon back to the GBA cartridge once they are transferred to Diamond or Pearl.

Certain species of Pokémon traded internationally will have a Pokédex entry in the language of the game it originated from. This is enabled through a new function which is added to the player’s Pokédex, allowing the player to switch between multiple languages in those same Pokémon's entries, including Japanese, English, French, German, Spanish and Italian.

In addition, Diamond and Pearl are able to connect to Pokémon Ranger, the only Pokémon games to do so. Using this feature, a player will be able to send a Manaphy egg from Pokémon Ranger to Diamond or Pearl after completing a special mission in Ranger. Diamond and Pearl also feature wireless connectivity with the Wii Pokémon title Pokémon Battle Revolution, allowing players to upload Pokémon into the game wirelessly via the Nintendo DS.

Lastly, the games vary in regards to which Pokémon are in them. Some species are found only on Diamond Version and vice versa, and thus trading between versions is necessary to obtain some Pokémon.

Music

Nintendo DS Pokémon Diamond & Pearl Super Music Collection is a two-disc soundtrack featuring music scored by Hitomi Sato and Junichi Masuda under the supervision of Go Ichinose, with a few other fanfares composed by Morikazu Aoki. A two-disc soundtrack featuring music from the games was released on December 22, 2006.

It was released on 22 December, 2006 and is priced at ¥2520.

Reception

Pokémon Diamond and Pearl has an 88 out of 100 on Metacritic and an 85% on Game Rankings, which means "generally favorable reviews." The highest score given was a 92 by UK Official Nintendo Magazine, while the lowest is a 79 by NGamer UK. However, this was an import review of the Japanese version; the score was later revised to 81% for the US version.

GameSpot has also given Pokémon Diamond and Pearl positive reviews. Ryan Davis states " the most well-rounded Pokémon games to date." The games received an 8.5/10 (Great) from GameSpot.

IGN's review on Pokémon Diamond and Pearl was mostly positive, citing the core gameplay as holding up "incredibly well a decade later." Criticisms include the graphics and audio which do not fully capitalize on the capabilities of the Nintendo DS. Despite this, the game ended up with an 8.5 score which is classified as "Great" under their game tier system.

The UK Official Nintendo Magazine gave the game 92%, praising the game for having loads to do and the same addictive gameplay as the originals, but also criticized the game for being a bit too similar to the original in terms of elements such as some of the Pokémon's battle cries, which still resembled the electronic sound effect that they played when they originally appeared on the Game Boy.

Since its release, there have been over 10 million Pokémon trades over Wi-Fi.

At G4's G-phoria 2007, the games won Best Handheld Game, and were nominated for "Best RPG".

Sales information

Pokémon Diamond and Pearl were released along with the Nintendo DS Headset, supported by the game's voice over IP functions. First released late 2006 in Japan, two million copies of the games were shipped for Japan alone, though there were still shortages in response to a large demand. Pokémon Diamond and Pearl had the most successful launch week of games in the Pokémon series, and the best launch week for any Nintendo DS game for the country alone. Within forty-six days, the games sold three million units, becoming the fastest DS games to do so, and by the end of the year, the number increased to five million units in just under three months, marking themselves as the fastest- and best-selling Pokémon series in Japan alone.

The games' American release in late April of 2007 saw over 500,000 pre-orders of Diamond and Pearl in the United States, topping almost twice the pre-sale numbers as Pokémon FireRed and Pokémon LeafGreen. It went on to sell one million copies within five days of sales. As of the end of May 2007, Pokémon Diamond sold the most units of any video game for the year, with Pokémon Pearl coming in fourth.

It also became the fastest selling DS game in the United Kingdom, with Diamond topping the all-format game charts.

As of December 31 2007, Pokémon Diamond and Pearl combined have sold 14.17 million copies worldwide.

Japanese version glitches

Nintendo released a statement detailing glitches found in Japanese releases of Diamond and Pearl. The glitches lead to players being stuck in a wall in-game, or reaching previously unreachable areas only thought to be accessible with a Nintendo event, which may lead to the loss of saved data. Nintendo has officially released patches to certain retailers in Japan to rectify these glitches.

Notes and references

1. ^ "GamerNode.com : Pokémon Diamond Preview". GamerNode. 2006-09-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
2. ^ Thomas, Lucas (2007-04-18). "The Countdown to Diamond and Pearl, Part 6". IGN. Retrieved 2007-04-19.
3. ^ Macarthy, Andrew (2007-04-18). "Pokémon Diamond/Pearl pre-orders top 500,000". Nintendic. Retrieved 2007-04-25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
4. Thomas, Lucas (2007-04-11). "The Countdown to Diamond and Pearl, Part 5". IGN. Retrieved 2007-04-11.
5. "DS Wireless Communication". Pokémon.com. Retrieved 2007-03-27.
6. "Time will tell..." Pokémon.com. Retrieved 2007-04-19.
7. "Introducing Pokétch!". Pokémon.com. Retrieved 2007-03-27.
8. Thomas, Lucas (2007-03-29). "The Countdown to Diamond and Pearl, Part 3". IGN. Retrieved 2007-04-05.
9. "ポケットモンスター ダイヤモンド・パール公式サイト". Yahoo! Kids Japan. 2006-08-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
10. "IGN: Pokemon (sic) Pearl Preview". IGN. 2006-09-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
11. Gantayat, Anoop (2004-10-07). "NDS Gets Pokemon Sequels". IGN. Retrieved 2007-05-11.
12. Gantayat, Anoop (2004-12-29). "Pokemon In 2005". IGN. Retrieved 2007-05-11.
13. Gantayat, Anoop (2005-07-11). "Pokemon Update". IGN. Retrieved 2007-05-11.
14. Sullivan, Meghan (2006-06-07). "Pokemon Diamond & Pearl Details". IGN. Retrieved 2007-05-11.
15. Gantayat, Anoop (2006-06-07). "Connectivity Returns". IGN. Retrieved 2007-05-11.
16. Gantayat, Anoop (2006-06-15). "Pokemon Update". IGN. Retrieved 2007-05-11.
17. Thomas, Lucas (2007-04-04). "The Countdown to Diamond and Pearl, Part 4". IGN. Retrieved 2007-04-05.
18. "世界とつながる！「ポケットモンスター ダイヤモンド・パール」が北米で発売！ [[:Template:Ja icon]]". The Pokémon Company. 2007-04-13. Retrieved 2007-04-22. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
19. "Manaphy". Pokémon USA. Retrieved 2007-01-14.
20. "IGN: New Pokemon (sic) Announced". IGN. 2006-06-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
21. Pocket Monsters Diamond and Pearl Instruction Booklet (in Japanese). Nintendo. 2006. pp. 58–59.
22. "ニンテンドーDS ポケモン ダイヤモンド＆パールスーパーミュージックコレクション [[:Template:Ja icon]]". The Pokémon Company. 2006-12-01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); URL–wikilink conflict (help)
23. "Pokemon Diamond and Pearl (ds:2007)". Metacritic. 2007-4-22. Retrieved 2007-04-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
24. Davis, Ryan (2007-04-23). "Pokémon Pearl Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2007-04-24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
25. Harris, Craig (2007-04-20). "Pokémon Diamond Review". IGN. Retrieved 2007-04-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
26. "世界に広がるポケモンの輪！　ポケモンの交換数が日米通算で1000万匹を突破" (in Japanese). Famitsu.com. 13 June, 2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |accessdaymonth= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
27. "G4 - G-Phoria 2007". {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |accseedaymonth= ignored (help)
28. "NGCFrance.com". NGCFrance.com. 2006-09-28. Retrieved 2006-09-28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Text "'.urldecode($page).' Template:Fr icon" ignored (help); Text "Toute L actualité Nintendo Wii, DS & GameCube !" ignored (help)
29. "『ポケットモンスター ダイヤモンド・パール』、初週で脅威の約160万本 / ファミ通.com [[:Template:Ja icon]]". Famitsu. 2006-10-03. Retrieved 2006-10-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); URL–wikilink conflict (help)
30. "『ポケットモンスター ダイヤモンド･パール』の出荷本数が500万本を突破！ / ファミ通.com [[:Template:Ja icon]]". Famitsu. 2006-12-27. Retrieved 2007-01-01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); URL–wikilink conflict (help)
31. Burman, Rob (2007-04-18). "Pokémon Pre-orders pass 500,000". IGN. Retrieved 2007-04-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
32. "Nintendo "Pokemon" U.S. presales top half a million". Reuters. 2007-04-18. Retrieved 2007-04-18.
33. Surette, Tim (2007-04-26). "DS Pokémons caught 1 million times". GameSpot. Retrieved 2007-04-26. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
34. "Pokemon Top-Selling Video Game for Second Consecutive Month". Retrieved 2007-06-25.
35. "Financial Results Briefing for the Nine-Month Period Ended December 2007" (PDF). Nintendo. 2008-01-25. p. 6. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
36. "ポケットモンスター ダイヤモンド・パール／お知らせ [[:Template:Ja icon]]". Nintendo Japan. 2006-10-24. Retrieved 2006-10-25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); URL–wikilink conflict (help)
37. "IGN: Nintendo on Pokemon (sic) Bugs". IGN. 2006-10-24. Retrieved 2006-10-25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

See also

• Pokémon Bokujō Channel

External links

• Pokémon Diamond/Pearl subpage on Pokémon.com
• Pokémon Diamond/Pearl at the Japanese Pokémon Website Template:Ja icon
• Pokémon Diamond/Pearl at Nintendo of Japan’s website Template:Ja icon
• Pokémon Diamond/Pearl official Japanese website Template:Ja icon
• Pokémon Diamond/Pearl official U.S. website
• Pokémon Diamond/Pearl at GameWatch Template:Ja icon
• Pokémon Diamond/Pearl at Bulbapedia (a Pokémon-centric Wiki)
• Pokémon GTS Website
• Pokemon Diamond and Pearl on IGN
• Pokemon Diamond and Pearl on Gaming.Wikia

• 2006 video games
• Nintendo DS games
• Nintendo DS-only games
• Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection games
• Multiplayer online games
• Pokémon RPGs
• Video games developed in Japan