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Only applies to those of us in the U.S., but hey! It falls comfortably between the Japanese anniversary (September) and the European anniversary (not until July), so it's as good a time as any to commemorate it. I'm pretty sure we have a "five years since Diamond and Pearl" thread somewhere but I think ten years (and that amount of time since the last thread has been used) probably justifies a new topic.

I may have said this before, but while Ruby and Sapphire was the generation I grew up with, and I've played the GBA games countless times, it was Diamond and Pearl that really solidified me as a Pokémaniac. It was the first video game I had ever preordered, and I can still remember going with my brother to get the games on day one (I had Diamond, he had Pearl). It was so long ago that I still had the original DS system--it was beautifully clunky and a dark shade of blue--and I vividly remember starting the game on the car ride home. Old Turtwig and I had our fair share of good times, and it felt like such a real adventure to me at the time. Later on I came to consider the Diamond and Pearl games among the less great entries in the series, because of some poorly-implemented mechanics (so much backtracking and too many HMs to name a couple), but as the first Pokémon title to make the jump to Nintendo DS, it succeeded by and large and set into motion what I believe is the longest Pokémon generation to date, other than perhaps the first one.

So vote about the starters and post some good memories of playing Diamond and Pearl here!

... fuuuuuck

Piplup is obviously the best.

Anything else is just wrong.

Ah, good times....

I still remember being in elementary school, fifth grade, and playing this with my friends. I started with Pokémon Silver, played Red and Emerald after that, but I didn't have a link cable or anything so DP was the first time I was able to play with other people. Countless hours were spent trading, playing underground tag, exchanging cool tips and tricks about the games (at least, I recall back then these kinds of things were still driven by rumors and word of mouth rather than the internet), and just having a good old time with friends.

And the soundtrack, oh man. As amazing as the GS soundtrack is (which may be my favorite, perhaps because I played it first), it has its limitations and The DP soundtrack resonates with me like no other. Even now I still listen through it regularly, always in fascination.

I still keep the Palkia stylus I got on release by my desk to use sometimes.

Spoiler

(https://www.ninsheetmusic.org/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Frg96C0O.jpg&hash=81493d7dd9eec7cc4f39c7b07a9f07a10b9aade8)

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This poll has a correct answer
Ninjad
Ninjad by a text wall too

I was so disappointed when I found out that tweaked legendaries (shaymin/darkrai) weren't transferable through pokebank. That will always be one of my favorite glitches in pokemon

I think I put the most hours in gen 4 (especially if you include the side games), and I had lots of fun battling with people at school and online friends. The platinum WiFi Plaza was fun too at times

Quote from: Dude on April 22, 2017, 07:45:00 PMPiplup is obviously the best.

Anything else is just wrong.

Agreed

LATIOS MY BROTHER AND I HAVE THOSE TOO I HAVE THE DIALGA ONE

SOMEWHERE

what is a pokemon

idk, but i bet only nerds know what pokemon is
and even a nerdier nerd would use a pokemon as their pfp

On a more serious note, I... didn't like any of the gen 4 starters. Which sucks, because I loved the game, but for some reason, none of the starters really resonated with me. And, I know this is super controversial, but I absolutely hate Piplup, just because I hated the way it acted in the anime.

But I remember falling asleep after a long day, listening to the Eterna Forest music. That's probably my best memory of it, since all my best memories involve falling asleep listening to something :P

Quote from: NocturneOfShadow on April 22, 2017, 07:48:00 PMThis poll has a correct answer
Ninjad
Ninjad by a text wall too

It took you three minutes to type six words

I've warmed up to it quite a bit but I absolutely hated Piplup when I first got the game, and to this day it's the only starter I've never finished the game with

Like now I like it better than Chimchar I guess but at the time I thought Piplup was not very cute and EVERYONE thought it was cute and it was a weird time

But yeah overall I'd agree it's the weakest group starters. Their designs are very "Sinnoh" if that makes any sense like they capture the overall feeling of the generation, but maybe that's not such a great thing when you have 20-30 Pokémon that are just bizarre evolutions or baby Pokémon to go with pre-existing Pokémon

I remember seeing all the info online, since I started following Serebii then... and Piplup was my favorite. Looking back on Sinnoh, I love it much more than I did before. It took me a while to really, really love Sinnoh but now I adore it with all my heart. I like the new evolutions, the region's gorgeous, the music is outstanding... it's just honestly really wonderful.

Quote from: mastersuperfan on April 22, 2017, 08:30:47 PMIt took you three minutes to type six words

I was on mobile and I got a text from my mom and then I got redblocked but it worked out fine

The greatest generation. Sure, the plot wasn't as deep as...um, non-Pokemon games. And Diamond/Pearl had only two Fire-types throughout the whole generation. It was a flawed game.

But holy shite, I loved it. The trek through Route 216 made me love Pokemon forever, even though many games with better gameplay came about throughout the years.

And of course, the soundtrack. If it weren't for this game, I would probably be covering tasteless EDM tracks for my life, so thanks to this great game for everything :)

Turtwig > Piplup > Chimchar

My game in Diamond was a shiny magnet. Probably the game where I found the most shinies (except maybe Leaf Green?), including two shiny Ponytas and a shiny Rhydon.

Also, yeah, almost forgot about the lack of Fire types. Who thought that was a good idea, then, on top of that, have a Fire type Elite Four member!!!? It'd also be nice to see some more evolutions of old Pokemon in future generations, though probably not quite to the degree Gen 4 did it i blame eviolite.

I will say that turtwig is acceptable tho

I picked Turtwig my first time, but I think Piplup is the best. Chimchar's also good, but its design gets progressively more unattractive as it evolves (which is a trait that applies to every single Fire starter in my eyes).

Quote from: mastersuperfan on April 22, 2017, 09:55:36 PMbut its design gets progressively more unattractive as it evolves

story of my life, except i was always unattractive

Quote from: mastersuperfan on April 22, 2017, 09:55:36 PMI picked Turtwig my first time, but I think Piplup is the best. Chimchar's also good, but its design gets progressively more unattractive as it evolves (which is a trait that applies to every single Fire starter in my eyes).

Completely agree about the Fire starters. It's especially bad with Tepig and Litten though.

That trait started with gen 4

all the starters sucked but the one i used was piplup

Quote from: NocturneOfShadow on April 23, 2017, 09:12:36 AMThat trait started with gen 4

Also a fair opinion

I might not like Blaziken but it does have a neat design

Quote from: NocturneOfShadow on April 23, 2017, 09:12:36 AMThat trait started with gen 4

i dunno
combusken is pretty ugly imo

But torchic and blaziken are both grand

not to start a war or anything but combusken is my favourite of the three

There you go, the trait started with gen 4

I actually liked infernape so I'd argue it started 5th.

I'm with ya, buddeh. Monferno's awesome too.

i dont really like combusken but blaziken is a magnificent creature

I think there was something off with the entire monkey line

Quote from: NocturneOfShadow on April 29, 2017, 01:01:59 PMI think there was something off with the entire monkey line

Must be all that imitation of Sun Wukong, the Monkey King of Chinese mythology.

On-topic more, I picked Piplup when I played Pokemon Diamond because of its evolutionary line. I'm glad Game Freak did a take on penguin-mons that don't just evolve into bigger penguins--I'm into emperor penguins that are actual emperors.

Heh
You said wukong

well chimchar in the anime was unbearable so there's that

The only starter pokemon that have never really appealed to me are Meganium and Delphox.
Otherwise I like all the others to varying degrees.

Anyhoo, I chose Turtwig for Gen 4 since I usually never choose the grass starter and I really like Torterra. Except it stinks against candice...
The underground really had me hooked for a while too!

Quote from: DocDoom2 on April 29, 2017, 09:20:03 PMAnyhoo, I chose Turtwig for Gen 4 since I usually never choose the grass starter and I really like Tortilla.

ftfy

Quote from: cashwarrior1 on April 30, 2017, 06:15:33 AMftfy

You win this thread. Everyone else can go home, try again next time!

In all seriousness, Gen 4 was the first Gen I ever played; my first game was Platinum, but it's still Sinnoh. I just love the games to death & Platinum really made my 5th grade year amazing! Of course, I wasn't all that serious of a gamer even then, so a lot of times my "playing" would be seeing how many circles I could run in the Underground in x time, or trying to see how long it took me to make a lap around a certain place on my bike. But even so, I have great memories of the game. And of course, I started my tradition of always going Grass-type here, and Turtwig and I travelled the world over! (Sorta)

I remember saving every step when my DS was on red battery life. I don't know why I thought that's what I needed to do, but I did.

Quote from: E. Gadd Industries on April 30, 2017, 11:42:32 AMtrying to see how long it took me to make a lap around a certain place on my bike.

Glad to know I wasn't the only one to do this. My favourite thing was to race myself from Celestic Town to Oreburgh. But running around the underground with my sister was great too.

Super contests

Quote from: AmpharosAndy on April 30, 2017, 01:05:18 PMGlad to know I wasn't the only one to do this. My favourite thing was to race myself from Celestic Town to Oreburgh. But running around the underground with my sister was great too.

Mine was from anywhere to Solaceon Town (most of the time); I would always put Pokémon in the daycare & forget about them for a while, and then by the time I got there, I barely had the money to take both occupants out.

This generation is special to me. Growing up, we all played gen 1 and 2, but pokemon became sort of "not cool" to still be playing around the gen 3 release. Once gen 4 returned, so did the "fad" of playing pokemon, and it was better than ever: Online trading/battle, no more link cables needed, spectacular new looks and tunes (for the time) and not only all new pokemon, but new evolutions of familiar pokemon. I have countless memories of playing in the underground caves during our study hall period, or after school in the band hall before marching band rehearsal, etc. I'll never forget playing Diamond and Platinum and always starting with turtwig because chimchar was lame and piplup was over-rated! (Ha!). Plus turtles are cool. Can't say I wasn't reminiscing about all of these good memories while writing [this] (https://soundcloud.com/olimar12345/jubilife-city-with-introduction/s-l6QLu). This gen is easily one of my favorites.

Quote from: Olimar12345 on May 03, 2017, 08:34:09 AMPlus turtles are cool.

You got that right!

(Just still waiting for a platypus pokemon)

Quote from: Olimar12345 on May 03, 2017, 08:34:09 AMThis generation is special to me. Growing up, we all played gen 1 and 2, but pokemon became sort of "not cool" to still be playing around the gen 3 release. Once gen 4 returned, so did the "fad" of playing pokemon

For my people it was HGSS specifically that brought Pokémon back lol. Still gen 4 but different games, I guess. I just remember I didn't know many people who played DP when they came out but when HGSS came out suddenly everyone was bringing their Pokéwalkers to school.

At my school pokemon was still lame when hgss and bw came out but in high school I started bringing yellow version to school
Gen 6 was about where it became mainstream for mine

Quote from: Altissimo on May 03, 2017, 08:51:12 AMFor my people it was HGSS specifically that brought Pokémon back lol. Still gen 4 but different games, I guess. I just remember I didn't know many people who played DP when they came out but when HGSS came out suddenly everyone was bringing their Pokéwalkers to school.

To be honest, with Gen 2 being my favorite generation I was actually really disappointed by HGSS. They should've been more like Black/White... imaging Johto in that style makes me even more disappointed with what we got. BELL TOWER!? SERIOUSLY!? NO CONTESTS!?!!!! THE NERVE! The atmosphere and graphical style just completely got rid of the mysticism, quaintness, and sense of adventure Gen 2 was filled to the brim with.


If I had to do a comprehensive ranking of the Pokemon games, I'd probably do (spacing represents significant jump in quality):
Gold/Silver/Crystal
Black/White
Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire

Diamond/Pearl/Platinum
Black 2/White 2

Red/Blue/Yellow
Sun/Moon
FireRed/LeafGreen
Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald

X/Y
HeartGold/SoulSilver

you put SuMo in tier 3

explain

ORAS and XY are so similar that idk how people rank them so vastly differently

Oh my. I have a lot to say about that ranking....

Quote from: Dudeman on May 03, 2017, 08:50:36 PMyou put SuMo in tier 3

explain

I mean, it was good, just not amazing. The bottom tier is the only one that's "I'll probably never want to play these games ever again." I'm not sure if you expected it to be higher, or lower, or...? Though, to be fair, if I also took into account how much they affected me in terms of competitive play, Sun/Moon and Black 2/White 2 would definitely be closer to the top.

Quote from: SlowPokemon on May 03, 2017, 08:59:12 PMORAS and XY are so similar that idk how people rank them so vastly differently

In terms of gameplay, sure, they were the same, but ORAS cleanly trumps X/Y in pretty much every other aspect.

Quote from: Latios212 on May 03, 2017, 09:10:10 PMOh my. I have a lot to say about that ranking....

do it, mr "i use four periods for my ellipses"

Quote from: BlackDragonSlayer on May 03, 2017, 10:15:07 PMdo it, mr "i use four periods for my ellipses"

HEY, SCHOOL TAUGHT ME THAT'S THE PROPER WAY TO END A COMPLETE SENTENCE WITH AN ELLIPSE. LATIOS IS A GOOD GRAMMAR MAN.

Quote from: Dudeman on May 03, 2017, 10:17:01 PMHEY, SCHOOL TAUGHT ME THAT'S THE PROPER WAY TO END A COMPLETE SENTENCE WITH AN ELLIPSIS. LATIOS IS A GOOD GRAMMAR MAN.

ftfy

i question what kind of school you went to

you know what, screw you, dragons aren't even real

i respect your beliefs, dudeman, but you're wrong. dragons do exist, i saw one.

When someone speaks with ellipses, one must ask themselves, "Do I tickle them, or do I tackle them?"

What? How does that have anything to do with anything?

Quote from: Bespinben on May 03, 2017, 11:45:50 PMWhen someone speaks with ellipses, one must ask themselves, "Do I tickle them, or do I tackle them?"

Ben I'm sorry but you're crazy

Bless you, Ben.

Ben, NSM's Most Insightful 2017

Can't tell if spammy topic-derail, post in wrong topic, joke lost in replies, or genuine concern for mental health.

Given Ben's gradual trend downwards in post quality recently, I'd lean towards the fourth option.

The most likely answer is all four of them at once

I honestly thought the correlation was highly accessible given the audience. Much disappoint.

Quote from: BlackDragonSlayer on May 03, 2017, 10:15:07 PMmr "i use four periods for my ellipses"

Quote from: Dudeman on May 03, 2017, 10:17:01 PMTHE PROPER WAY TO END A COMPLETE SENTENCE WITH AN ELLIPSE. LATIOS IS A GOOD GRAMMAR MAN.

Quote from: Bespinben on May 03, 2017, 11:45:50 PMWhen someone speaks with ellipses, one must ask themselves, "Do I tickle them, or do I tackle them?"

(https://www.dropbox.com/s/axojvf7xuy3jqku/Photo%20May%2006%2C%202%2036%2027%20AM.png?dl=1)

(https://www.dropbox.com/s/096imunu37d5pt9/Photo%20May%2006%2C%202%2028%2028%20AM.png?dl=1)

Maybe it's because your quote wasn't correct

Oh I don't play PMD so I didn't get the reference.

Quote from: Olimar12345 on May 06, 2017, 06:46:26 AMOh I don't play PMD so I didn't get the reference.

Quote from: Olimar12345 on May 06, 2017, 06:46:26 AMOh I don't play PMD so I didn't get the reference.

Whaaat? Nsm is like PMD.com!

https://www.pmd.com/

I don't see the similarity...

Pahahaha I didn't know that was a thing XD