Questions About The Pokemon Diamond And Pearl Remakes We Desperately Need Answered
"Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl" are coming later this year, and the highly anticipated remakes have people excited. Announced alongside "Pokemon Legends: Arceus," the remakes of the 2006 Nintendo DS titles still have a cloud of mystery around them. While we know much about the games based on the original versions, we don't know what changes, if any, are coming to the remakes. This is the fourth generation of Pokemon and the fourth time Pokemon games have been remade in the original style (sorry, "Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee" don't count), so we can base our questions on some of the choices made in the other remakes.
For example, the most recent remakes "Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire" included features from more recent entries in the game, like Mega Evolutions. While this doesn't confirm anything, it does set a precedent for the Pokemon Company to make updates and enhancements for the remakes.
Does it include the Pokemon Platinum quests and enhancements?
As many Pokemon generations have had, there was a third game in the fourth generation of Pokemon. "Pokemon Platinum" released in 2009, two years after "Diamond and Pearl." The game is an enhanced version of the originals, making a number of changes, both big and small. With only a reveal trailer to go off, one eagle-eyed Twitter user noticed an NPC in the "Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl" remakes that only appeared in "Pokemon Platinum."
On Twitter, @voltimer_ noticed that an NPC was present in Floaroma Town in the trailer for "Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl" that only appears in the "Platinum" version of the original releases. The NPC will give you a Gracidea if you have a Shaymin with you, so they aren't the most significant character around. Bulbapedia has a comprehensive list of every change made in "Platinum," so hopefully the remakes include some of the meaningful changes.
Does it include Exp. share?
One of the more controversial topics in the Pokemon community is whether the remakes will include Exp. Share. For those who don't know, Exp. Share gives all Pokemon in your party experience after a battle, even if only one Pokemon participates in the fight. This removed a large amount of grinding in previous games, where each individual Pokemon would need to be leveled independently. In "Pokemon Sword and Shield," Exp. Share was automatically turned on, without the option to disable it. This was the first time it was forced on players in the main series. Exp. Share appeared in "Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire" and was the modern version of the item.
On Reddit, u/Weekly-Letterhead-37 made a post asking if people preferred the reduced grinding. Many said that they did because maxing multiple Pokemon without Exp. Share was monotonous. User u/123ditto wrote, "I also don't like to grind for exp and enjoy it this way a lot more. I still switch Pokemon in fights because I want to or have to and in SwSh I was never overpowered. But I think that many people just want the option to disable the share."
Which Pokemon are included in the remake?
Another very hot topic in the Pokemon community is the number of Pokemon present in new games. "Pokemon Sword and Shield" did not include the entire catalogue of Pokemon, and fans were wildly upset about it. At the time of initial release, "Pokemon Diamond and Pearl" included a full national Pokedex with 493 Pokemon, 107 of which were new. "Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire" included Pokemon from generations after Gen 3, so it stands to reason that "Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl" will include an expanded Pokedex.
Over on Reddit, u/StanTheMan1981 made a post asking how people think the Pokedex will be handled in the remakes, and commenters were very passionate about what they wanted to see out of "Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl." User u/RockinOneThreeTwo said, "I want to be able to use all 900+ even if there is only dex entries for sinnoh native Pokémon, I'd be ok with that since Home has its own Dex anyway now." However, they did say they don't expect this to actually happen. Others seemed to think that the "Platinum" version of the Pokedex was most likely, including more Pokemon than the original versions but nothing beyond Gen 4.
Does it include new mechanics like Dynamax and Mega Evolutions?
One of the bigger questions is if "Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl" will include some of the new gameplay mechanics from the recent games in the series. As mentioned earlier, "Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire" included Mega Evolutions, a feature introduced in "Pokemon X and Y" and not available in the original version. The features most likely to be included would be Dynamaxing and Gigantamaxing from "Sword and Shield," since that's the most recent game in the series.
However, over on Reddit, u/Stabber_64 made a post arguing why Mega Evolutions would fit better into the remakes. They stated that having Mega Evolutions back in the competitive scene would make for cool Mega Evolutions of Sinnoh native Pokemon. User u/Sigzy05 added that Dynamaxing would require the gyms to be redesigned in the game to accompany the large size of Dynamaxed Pokemon. Mega Evolutions would be able to be added to the game without redesigning the region or changing the lore.