Diamond and Pearl are set in the fictional region of Sinnoh, an island based on the Japanese island of Hokkaidō.[21] Sinnoh is not directly connected to any other Pokémon region.[21] It is characterized by large, snow-covered mountains; Mt. Coronet, a part of a mountain range, divides Sinnoh in half.[22] Unlike previous regions, Sinnoh has a "northern" feel to it because it is the first region with snow-covered routes.[21] Sinnoh is also characterized by its waterways with three main lakes, Verity, Acuity, and Valor, that form a triangle. Unlike the Hoenn region, however, which is mostly water routes, only 30 percent of Sinnoh's landscape comprises waterways.[21] Underneath Sinnoh's surface is the Sinnoh Underground, which is a large maze of caves and tunnels.

Locations in Sinnoh include Oreburgh City (クロガネシティ Kurogane City), Eterna City (ハクタイシティ Hakutai City), Veilstone City (トバリシティ Tobari City), Pastoria City (ノモセシティ Nomose City), Hearthome City (ヨスガシティ Yosuga City), Canalave City (ミオシティ Mio City), Snowpoint City (キッサキシティ Kissaki City), and Sunyshore City (ナギサシティ Nagisa City).

Story

See also: List of Pokémon characters and List of Pokémon

The games chronicle the adventures of a new Pokémon trainer who strives to become the Pokémon League Champion by collecting and training Pokémon. Like 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 Gym Badges, the key to the advancement of the plot. As with all core games, the protagonist must also thwart the schemes of a crime syndicate, in this case, Team Galactic, who plan to use Pokémon to create a new universe just for themselves, while destroying the current one.

As with all other Pokémon role-playing games, Diamond and Pearl begin in the protagonist's hometown. After viewing a television report about a media-conducted search for a red Gyarados, which was spotted at a faraway lake,[23] the protagonist and their best friend, Barry by default, travel together to check the local lake for a Pokémon like it. They spot Professor Rowan, a Pokémon evolution researcher, and his assistant, the playable character not selected in the game: Lucas (boy) or Dawn (girl). After a short discussion, the professor and his assistant leave the lake, leaving a briefcase behind. When they are attacked by a wild Starly each, the protagonist and their rival decide to examine the briefcase. They are then given a choice of one of three Pokémon found within—the Grass-type Turtwig, the Fire-type Chimchar, or the Water-type Piplup—and proceed to battle the attacking Pokémon. After defeating the Starly, Lucas or Dawn retrieves and returns the briefcase to the professor. Noticing that a bond has been forged between the young protagonist and his or her chosen Pokémon, Rowan offers it to them, asking that they embark on a journey and fill their Pokédex.

The protagonist encounters the antagonistic group, Team Galactic, early in the game, when he or she must save Professor Rowan from some of their thugs; however, their motives are unclear until later. The player encounters Team Galactic again when they take over a wind farm and when they set up a base in Eterna City, before eventually taking over Sinnoh's three lakes in an attempt to capture the Mirage Pokémon Uxie, Azelf, and Mesprit. Shortly after the player earns their seventh Gym Badge, Team Galactic captures the Mirage Pokémon and imprisons them inside the science laboratory of the Team Galactic Headquarters Building, where its members extract crystals from the Pokémon to create the Red Chain, an object that can control the legendary Pokémon Palkia in Pearl, or Dialga in Diamond. After releasing the trio, the protagonist can access the Spear Pillar, an ancient ruin atop Mt. Coronet, where the leader of Team Galactic summons Dialga or Palkia. The legendary Pokémon's powers begin to overwhelm Sinnoh, causing the newly free Uxie, Azelf, and Mesprit to attempt to stop it. The player then battles Palkia or Dialga, and after defeating or capturing the Pokémon, Sinnoh returns to normal. Afterward, the player continues their journey, eventually reaching the Sinnoh region Pokémon League's Elite Four. After defeating all four members, they battle the Sinnoh League Champion, a woman named Cynthia, who had appeared before in the game. After the protagonist defeats Cynthia, they become the new Sinnoh League Champion, finishing the main story. In the post-game, a new island to explore contains Pokémon not seen in the main game and has some new stores and a tournament center. The protagonist's old friend, who challenged them to battles multiple times before, will also be waiting for them here and will challenge them to one more battle.

Development

Pokémon Diamond and Pearl were developed by Game Freak and Junichi Masuda served as game director. The game's music was scored by Hitomi Sato and Junichi Masuda under the supervision of Go Ichinose, with a few other fanfares composed by Morikazu Aoki.[24] According to The Pokémon Company's Tsunekazu Ishihara, the games were designed with the DS's unique features in mind, such as the Wi-Fi capabilities and slot for Game Boy Advance cartridges.[25] The command buttons in the battle screen are large and color-coded; according to Masuda, this feature would facilitate gameplay for players unable to read.[26] Also, the touchscreen interface was designed to encourage players to use their fingers rather than the stylus to manipulate the screen.[27] Though most of the graphics in Diamond and Pearl are 2D, some of the background elements are 3D.[28][29][30] The decision to retain 2D graphics in Diamond and Pearl drew criticism; in response, Tsunekazu Ishihara said that "we wanted to maintain the original idea of Pokémon being a game that you played on this big map" and explained that physically, the games were in three dimensions but was designed to "maintain the original feel of the game". Responding to criticism over the use of Friend Codes in the games, Ishihara explained that it was a security measure taken to ensure that players would not be able to chat with strangers over the Wi-Fi connection.[31] Nintendo released a statement detailing glitches found in Japanese releases of Diamond and Pearl. The glitches caused players to be stuck in an in-game wall or lose saved data. Nintendo released patches to certain retailers in Japan to fix these glitches.[32][33]

Beta

In mid 2020, dataminers leaked the source code for Diamond and Pearl, revealing a collection of unused sprites and scrapped designs for new Pokémon. They were first leaked onto ResetEra, and were part of a series of Nintendo-related leaks of unfinished builds of games in development.[34]

Release

Development of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl was announced at a Nintendo press conference in the fourth calendar quarter of 2004 alongside the reveal of Pokémon Dash and details on the Japanese launch of the Nintendo DS.[35] Masuda stated it would "become a new type of game that offers a number of new forms of play" and that he was determined to create "the ultimate [Pokémon] version".[36][37] Though Diamond and Pearlwere expected to be released in Japan by 2005, Nintendo revealed that the developers were still working on aspects of the gameplay and that the games would not be released until 2006.[38] The company said that Diamond and Pearl would be able to communicate with Pokémon games for the Game Boy Advance, allowing players to transfer their Pokémon to the new games. Nintendo also announced that the games would make full use of the Wi-Fi capabilities of the DS, allowing 16 players to communicate wirelessly at one time.[39] Further information concerning the games was not released until mid-2006, when Nintendo President Satoru Iwatamentioned that connectivity with Pokémon Battle Revolution was also still in development;[40] new features such as the Pokétch and time sensitivity were also mentioned.[41][42]