Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Remakes Confirmed for Switch

The Pokémon Company revealed this Friday, the 26th, the remakes of Pokémon Diamond & Pearl, from the Sinnoh region, which were originally released for the Nintendo DS, in 2006. Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl arrive in 2021 for the Nintendo Switch , with no set date.

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Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl (Image: Handout/The Pokémon Company)

Despite not having a specific release date, it is expected to arrive only in the second half of the year, as was the case with Pokémon Let's Go Eevee & Let's Go Pikachu and Sword & Shield. The game is being developed by ILCA, Inc., the same studio responsible for the production of Pokémon Home, and directed by Yuichi Ueda, from ILCA, and Junichi Masuda, from Game Freak.

There was already a lot of speculation about the Sinnoh remake, precisely in the order that The Pokémon Company plans the re-releases (the latest being Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, from the Hoenn region). Brilliant Diamond and Shinning Pearl are limited to the fourth generation of Pokémon, with the starters Piplup, Chimchar, and Turtwig. It is also in this generation that the legendary creation trio are introduced: Dialga, Palkia and Giratina.

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl (Image: Handout/The Pokémon Company)

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl (Image: Handout/The Pokémon Company)

In addition to the eight gyms you'd expect from any traditional Pokémon game, the story that accompanies the fourth generation is steeped in mythology. In Sinnoh, the protagonist is also responsible for preventing the domination plans of Team Galactic, a group that imprisons Dialga, a legendary that controls time, or Palkia, a Pokémon that can distort space. The player needs to defeat the legendaries to restore order to Sinnoh.

Pokemon Legends: Arceus

During the Pokémon Presents event, The Pokémon Company also announced the franchise's new open-world game, Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Still set in the Sinnoh region, the setting is made in a “feudal Japan”, without many technologies and industrial developments: everything takes place on the outskirts of a village.

Scheduled for 2022, Pokémon Legends: Arceus will bring a mechanic similar to Pokémon Let's Go for capture, with the throw of the Poké Ball, but without closing the scenario as in traditional games. There will still be battles, and for that, the player will start with one of the three initials: Rowlet, Cyndaquil and Oshawott - yes, there is a mix of generations this time.