General Pokemon Discussion Topic

[Pete]

hyperdude said:

azel said:

I've got pretty much all the legendaries from previous game, bar Celibi and Mew.

Oh could I trade celibi and mew too? (Not mewtwo )

[The Stiv™]

Sorted btw. I was going to the wrong house. *cough*

[hyperdude]

azel said:

hyperdude said:

Oh could I trade celibi and mew too? (Not mewtwo )

See i'm bad at reading things properly.

Beat first Gym leader so easily!

OMG! I also was in the mines and found a gold geodude. I caught it of course.

[Baxter]

It's out June the 20-something here.

Not that I'll be picking up a copy just yet, for financial reasons.

[Pete]

hyperdude said:

OMG! I also was in the mines and found a gold geodude. I caught it of course.

Awesome! I haven't come across a shiny Pokemon for years. Worst one was in Gold, when my first wild battle was with a shiny Pidgey, but I hadn't had the oppertunity to buy any Pokeballs

[hyperdude]

My friend code: 4553 6838 8420

Anybody heard you can clone Pokemon via GTS.

www.youtube.com/?v=jUjrQeQZ7nc

Wouldn't risk it personally.

[Pombar]

Can anyone tell me where they got their copy? My mate ordered his off eBay for £22, and it's a fake case & manual, an almost genuine game, but it crashes the system if a single pokemon on his team is KO'd. So to not take this risk, I'd quite like a known reliable source to get it from

[madhair60]

Gametron Exchange, Burleigh Street, Cambridge

[Pombar]

Online stores plxlthx (I also have the hate for you having a store that imports near you)

[madhair60]

Play USA?

Edit: I work at Gametron. ^_^

[Pombar]

You also have a job at said store! D: I HAFF TEH HATE

[Arch_one_zero_one]

www.cdwow.com

[Moo]

Amazon.com?

[Baxter]

So I picked up Diamond on Wednesday. Though I've only reached the Solaceon area (no, I'm not one to rush through these things), I felt I ought to briefly pass judgement on my experiences thus far.

I've written enough about my thoughts on storyline progression in Madhair's "rant" thread, so I won't go into great detail once more. In short, it still serves its purpose, but is growing tiresome, and it'd be nice to see a twist or two in the typical formula next time round, or perhaps just a certain degree of customisation. On the plus side, Sinnoh proves a more charming backdrop than the somewhat bland Hoenn region, and Team Galaxy make for rather captivating antagonists - nothing revolutionary, of course, but they're at least more intriguing than the cartoonish fluff that was Team Aqua/Magma.

Despite my minor progress in the game itself, I'm more than aware of the new creatures on offer, and I'd say that overall, they're superior in design and more memorable than the mixed bags of the past two generations. Far as I'm concerned, Piplup and Chimchar are right up there with the starting Pokemon of the original games. I just wish they'd put a bit more thought into the names - "Bidoof" only stands out because it's quite possibly the worst title I've heard for anything. Ever.

Contrary to many, I actually find the overworld graphics quite charming - at first glance, they don't appear much different from the GBA titles, but as time goes on you notice the occassional nice effect here and there. Less is more, as they say. It's the battle visuals that are in need of improvement, although they're hardly an eyesore either.

One minor gripe thus far is the sound. In comparison to previous installments, which at least had some charm in this area, the music here is really quite grating, I must say (on the plus side, altering BGMs for day and night is a nice touch). And why do Pokemon still have the same voicebites as 10 years ago?

Ultimately, however, it's the gameplay that counts above all else, and unsurprisingly, this is where Diamond truly shines. The old magic is still there, the battling and catching processes seem to be as accessible and well-rounded as they've ever been, and overall it's proven a far more absorbing experience than the rather nondescript Ruby/Sapphire was in its earlier stages. Or at all.

So yeah. Thumbs-up, for now. I may write a longer review once I'm done.


Oh, and for anyone who cares - my splendid team as of this point:

Drifloom - 24
Geodude - 23
Kadabra - 23
Piplup - 24
Ponyta - 23 ([censored] lack of decent fire-types)
Staravia - 23

Though I'll probably relinquish one of the first two or Staravia for an electric-type shortly. Any suggestions on which to ditch?

[Alex]

I actually think D/P's soundtrack is one of the best yet - a major favourite. Only Fr/Lg's beats it really, and that's only 'cos it's the original (but with better quality of course).

You could probably do without Drifloon - as funky a Pokemon as it is, you can probably just use Kadabra/Alakazam for the majority of the attacks you'd want it learning anyways - so it's probably the more expendable member of your team.

[Baxter]

doctoroak said:

I actually think D/P's soundtrack is one of the best yet - a major favourite. Only Fr/Lg's beats it really, and that's only 'cos it's the original (but with better quality of course).

You could probably do without Drifloon - as funky a Pokemon as it is, you can probably just use Kadabra/Alakazam for the majority of the attacks you'd want it learning anyways - so it's probably the more expendable member of your team.

It's not all bad, admittedly. The battle themes are as catchy as they've ever been, the "Galactic executive" and rival ones in particular being real favourites. It's just certain overworld music which is starting to get on my nerves.

Thanks for the tip. Any pointers on a superior fire-type? The only one obtainable here that I can recall off the top of my head is Magby and its evolutions.

[Alex]

I myself have been using a Magmortar since I could get one traded, trained and evolved in my copy of Diamond - and it's definitely a hell of a Pokemon. If you can get your hands on a Magby and a Magmarizer, go for it - it'll easily end up your star player on the team.

[Baxter]

That's what I was planning on doing eventually - indeed, Magmortar is a beast, and Pontya/Rapidash have always seemed a little lacking in the attacks department. Far as I'm aware though, Magby is one of the GBA insertion Pokemon. Would I be better off acquiring the National 'Dex before facing the Elite Four, then, or just sticking with a Rapidash for now and hoping for the best?

[Alex]

It's almost impossible to get the National Dex before the elite 4 (in fact, it pretty much is unless you're trading). You'd be better off just getting someone to trade you a Magby and a Magmarizer. Failing that, Rapidash is pretty useful too, though you may want to give some consideration to getting a strong fighting type and sticking Fire Punch on it.

[Pombar]

I found both Diamond and Pearl (or in fact Pete found and showed me) in my local computer exchange store. But then saw the price tag as £38. So no.

[Arch_one_zero_one]

I haven't played in almost a month, I'm thinking about starting it all again, as I've forgotten what's happened, and where I'm supposed to go but it just seems a bit annoying since I have two badges, all my pokemon are almost level 30, and my starter is about level 40. So much wasted training. *sob*

[Metallix Brother]

I'm tempted to get this, but I want my awesome team from the old days. That is to say, I want to hold onto my Mew. What games would I need to purchase so as trade it onto this?

[Alex]

The games before Ruby and Sapphire aren't compatible. All the GBA games are though.

[Metallix Brother]

In other words, I'd need to get one of the GBA games to transfer Mew onto this one. (I only got as far as Blue)

[Pete]

The GB games aren't compatible with the GBA/ DS games, I'm afraid.

Looks like your Mew is stuck...