Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl Should Explore One of the Series’ Greatest Bromances
Earlier than followers of the Pokemon franchise get to see a model of the Sinnoh area from the distant previous known as Hisui in Pokemon Legends: Arceus subsequent yr, they’ve the chance to revisit the locales many grew to like 15-years in the past by way of Gen 4 remakes Pokemon Good Diamond and Shining Pearl. Each have been spotlighted throughout a Pokemon Presents livestream on August 18, with Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl revealing gameplay details like an up to date Grand Underground and returning options like Poke Ball seals to customise how monsters enter battle.
Final week’s showcase additionally centered on a few of the Sinnoh area’s returning characters, resembling Oreburgh Metropolis Fitness center Chief Roark and the brand new look of the sector through which he is fought. Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are billed as more “faithful” remakes, being created by Pokemon Home developer ILCA somewhat than Sport Freak correct, however there are clearly loads of adjustments made to the originals. As such, the developer ought to supply extra character-building moments for Diamond and Pearl‘s solid akin to earlier remakes, and an important place to start out could be with the friendship between Volkner and Flint.
How Pokemon Remakes Have Benefitted Their Characters
Typically talking, characters in Pokemon video video games have by no means been notably deep. Many are based mostly round archetypes, like the unique Pink, Blue, and Inexperienced variations having snot-nosed and arrogant rival Blue or hardened military veteran Lt. Surge, and just some have various strains of dialogue. Nonetheless, the primary try at a standalone Kanto area remake, 2004’s Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen, expanded upon the personalities and relationships of a number of characters. A brand new Key Merchandise known as the Fame Checker supplied miscellaneous enjoyable info, in the meantime some like Elite 4 member Lorelei received complete story arcs within the added Sevii Islands.
The 2018 Nintendo Change remakes Pokemon Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee! (extra based mostly on Yellow model) did one thing comparable with Lorelei getting a further scene to higher set up the facility of the Elite 4. In the meantime, characters like Pink and Blue received new roles as they have been not central to the plot. Era 2 Pokemon video games Gold, Silver, and Crystal gave Kanto characters extra growth at a chronological level three years after the originals, however then 2009’s HeartGold and SoulSilver went even additional by giving practically all Fitness center Leaders pursuits and relationships exterior of battling. For instance, Violet Metropolis’s Falkner participates in Pokeathlon competitions and is mates with Fuchsia Metropolis’s Janine.
Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire gave Hoenn characters new designs and much more to do after they launched in 2014, in-part defined by the sport’s metanarrative of there being alternate dimensions within the Pokemon universe. Generally growth is seen with interactions between older characters, like Champion Steven and Fitness center Chief Roxanne being mentioned to hunt for uncommon stones collectively. Different occasions, new characters have been added to provide folks depth, resembling Fitness center Chief Wallace having a niece named Lisia who serves because the area’s resident Contest Idol.
Volkner and Flint: Diamond and Pearl’s Nice Bromance
With Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl set so as to add options like Pokemon following their trainers (which was seen in HeartGold and SoulSilver), it might additionally make sense for ILCA’s remakes to observe the development of giving Sinnoh’s characters extra character. There are fascinating dynamics with Fitness center Leaders already, from the father-son duo Roark and Byron being competing miners with lead fossil Pokemon to Maylene trekking via the snowy Route 217 barefoot simply to see her pal Candice. Nonetheless, Volkner and Flint had much more to do than most.
Flint is one in all Sinnoh’s Elite Four, and he is the one one whom gamers encounter exterior of the Pokemon League. When the player character first enters Sunyshore Metropolis, Flint arrives and asks them to provide Volkner an envigorating battle. Because the eighth and remaining Fitness center Chief in Sinnoh, Volkner has apparently grown bored of weak challengers and spends most of his day renovating the Fitness center. Naturally, when gamers win the battle it affords Volkner new hope for the longer term, as he says the struggle was lots of enjoyable.
Their interactions go a lot additional than that, constructing off the already interesting trope of an insanely energetic and headstrong particular person paired up with a calculating however typically torpid foil. In Pokemon Platinum‘s postgame, gamers encounter Flint and Volkner within the Fight Area just outside Sinnoh’s Battle Frontier. They participate in a Multi Battle towards the player and their rival Barry, and share a really comparable set of Pokemon that embrace then-new Gen 4 evolutions Magmortar and Electivire. Additionally they probably work together within the Villa that gamers should buy in Platinum‘s Resort Space, the place vital NPCs from all throughout the sport go to.
Volkner and Flint’s comparable Pokemon selections transcend the aforementioned Magmortar and Electivire pairing. Neither use a full workforce of monsters thought of to be their signature typing in Diamond and Pearl variations (although for Flint that is in-part on account of Sinnoh’s lack of Fire-types), and so they’re additionally the one vital trainers to brighten their Poke Balls with seals because the player may.
Sport Freak probably picked up on this duo being common, as they arrive collectively in different mainline Pokemon video games and auxiliary media. Pokemon Black and White Elite 4 Shauntal has pre-battle dialogue referencing Volkner and Flint on separate occassions. Sinnoh-focused seasons of the Pokemon anime have arcs for the 2, and so they additionally work together in the course of the Platinum chapter of the Pokemon manga. When Volkner was added to DeNA’s gacha mobile game Pokemon Masters EX, he received a whole story occasion known as “The Eccentric Electrician,” throughout which Volkner does the whole lot in his energy to reigniting a burnt-out Flint.
It is exhausting to say the place Good Diamond and Shining Pearl might take steps to bolster this duo’s relationship as of this writing. Nonetheless, it could possibly be so simple as giving them a short scene collectively after the credit akin to the Memory Link feature in Black 2 and White 2 that paired characters like Skyla and Elesa to bridge the hole in time earlier than these sequels happened. If this sort of factor occurs, it ought to prolong additional than simply Volkner and Flint. Pairings like Roark and Byron or Maylene and Candice are additionally good examples to mine, however these Gen 4 remakes might stand out extra by giving fully new pairings the prospect to shine.
Pokemon Good Diamond and Shining Pearl will launch on November 19, 2021, for Nintendo Change.
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