50 Fun Facts About Pokemon Diamond and Pearl (Generation 4)

Which real Japanese island inspired Sinnoh, the first Pokémon region with snow-covered routes?

Hokkaido gives Sinnoh its cold northern feel: a snowy mountain range splits the region in half, and three great lakes form a triangle across it.

Which Generation IV Pokémon changes form by possessing an oven, a washing machine, a fridge, a fan or a lawnmower?

Rotom has a body of plasma that slips inside machines to control them, and the first appliance developed for it to inhabit was an electric fan.

Which balloon-like Ghost-type Pokémon from Sinnoh is said to tug children away to the afterlife?

Drifloon is easily shaken off and dislikes heavy children, yet one writer at The Verge still named it the best Pokémon of all time.

Which Sinnoh League Champion, a travelling archaeologist, is ranked among the hardest bosses in video game history?

Cynthia later turns up unannounced in Pokémon Black and White, a rematch so tough and so unexpected that fans compare it to a jump scare.

Which Pokémon debuted in a 2005 film before its games arrived, then joined Super Smash Bros. Brawl as a fighter?

Lucario starred in Lucario and the Mystery of Mew a year before Diamond and Pearl, and its attacks in Smash grow stronger as it takes damage.

Which villainous group in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl plans to destroy the universe and create a new one?

Team Galactic names its commanders Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, and seizes Sinnoh's three lakes to capture the Pokémon that sleep in them.

Which tiny Electric-type squirrel Pokémon did Sejun Park use to win the 2014 Pokémon World Championships?

Pachirisu also booby-traps its food stores: it hides furballs charged with static electricity in tree holes to shock would-be thieves.

Which Sinnoh Pokémon is said to have hatched from an egg and shaped the universe with 1,000 arms?

Arceus changes type to match whichever Plate it holds, and fans have long argued over whether its name takes a hard or a soft c.

Pokémon Diamond and Pearl use the touchscreen of which handheld console to dress up Pokémon for Contests?

Nintendo DS owners in Japan bought three million copies in forty-six days, after the best launch week any game on the system had seen there.

Which penguin Pokémon, the Water-type starter of Sinnoh, is too proud to accept food from its Trainer?

Piplup can dive in icy water for ten minutes to hunt, and its pride only grows: its evolution Prinplup lives alone, sure it is the most important.

Which Legendary Pokémon, the mascot of Pokémon Diamond, is said to have started time when it was born?

Dialga is said to make time more stable with every beat of its heart, and the Diamond Clan of ancient Sinnoh worshipped it as a god.

Which evolution of Eevee, new in Generation IV, is popular at ski resorts because it can make snow fall?

Glaceon can drop its body temperature below minus 75 degrees Fahrenheit, freezing the moisture in the air into ice to fire at its enemies.

Which baby Pokémon was the first Generation IV species ever revealed, two years before Diamond and Pearl?

Munchlax was unveiled in May 2004, and it hides food in its fur to eat later, though it usually forgets the snacks are there.

Which Dragon and Ground-type Pokémon, the Sinnoh Champion's ace, blends a dragon with a hammerhead shark?

Garchomp folds its body and spreads its wings until it looks like a jet plane, and it is said to fly as fast as one.

Which baked treats, made from berries in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, boost a Pokémon's chances in Contests?

Poffins took over from the candy-like Pokéblocks of the Game Boy Advance games, and feeding them raises traits such as Cool or Cute.

Which wristwatch-like gadget on the lower screen in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl runs a clock, calculator and map?

The Pokétch gains new apps as the adventure goes on, among them a counter and a drawing pad to doodle on with a fingertip.

Which feature of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl lets players leave Pokémon swap offers for strangers around the world?

The Global Trade Station was the new feature art director Ken Sugimori said pleased him most, and its trades can complete while a player is offline.

Which mountain range divides Sinnoh in half and holds the ancient ruin Spear Pillar at its summit?

Mt. Coronet is where the villains summon each game's mascot Legendary, and legend says the lava dweller Heatran was born from its magma.

Which Sinnoh researcher, an expert in Pokémon evolution, leaves a briefcase holding three starters at a lake?

Professor Rowan lets the player keep the starter after seeing the bond formed in that first battle, then sends them off to fill the Pokédex.

What is the default name of the player's best friend and rival from Twinleaf Town in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl?

Barry challenges the player again and again through the story, then waits on an island after the credits for one more battle.

Pokémon Diamond and Pearl open in Twinleaf Town with a TV report on the hunt for a red specimen of which Pokémon?

Gyarados fever sends the player and their best friend to the local lake hoping to spot one of their own, which is how they stumble on their first Pokémon.

Which heroine of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl works as the professor's assistant when the player chooses the boy?

Dawn also stars in the anime of the era, where she sets out from the same hometown as the daughter of a former Top Coordinator.

Which Electric-type Pokémon, the final form of Shinx, is able to see straight through solid objects?

Luxray pays for its X-ray vision in sleep: seeing through walls burns so much energy that it has to rest for long stretches afterwards.

Which Sinnoh Pokémon is said to be formed from 108 malevolent souls bound to a stone 500 years ago for their misdeeds?

Spiritomb needs no spell to do harm: it is said to lay curses on others simply by thinking wicked thoughts.

Which Generation IV Pokémon has three heads with separate minds and can evolve only if it is female?

Combee gather in swarms of around a hundred that lock together into walls like a beehive, forever collecting honey to please their queen.

Which fossil Pokémon can topple skyscrapers with its skull but has a smaller brain than its own pre-evolution?

Rampardos grew a skull so thick it left almost no room for a brain, and researchers suspect that low intelligence is what drove it to extinction.

Which female-only Pokémon of Generation IV was inspired by Yuki-onna, a vengeful spirit of Japanese folklore?

Froslass is said to knock on doors during blizzards, and anyone who opens up without checking first risks being frozen on the spot.

Which Generation IV evolution began acting strangely after extra software from a buggy disc was installed in it?

Porygon-Z was meant to travel through alien dimensions, but the upgrade misfired, and even academics doubt it counts as a true evolution.

Which hedgehog-like Mythical Pokémon changes into its Sky Forme when it touches a Gracidea flower?

Shaymin can dissolve toxins in the air and turn ruined land into fields of flowers, but it slips back to its Land Forme as soon as night falls.

Which Grass and Ground-type Pokémon carries nests on its back and has been mistaken for a moving forest?

Torterra herds wander in search of clear water, and ancient civilizations believed that a giant one lived deep underground.

What was the Sinnoh region called in the distant past, as shown in the 2022 prequel that sends players back in time?

Hisui is Sinnoh in an earlier age, and it is far less safe: wild Pokémon there can attack and injure the player directly.

Which Pokémon lulls people into nightmares that only a Lunar Feather from Cresselia can cure?

Darkrai means no harm: the nightmares are only a defence mechanism, and the Pokémon was first revealed to fans in February 2007.

Which poison frog Pokémon travelled with Brock in the anime and jabbed him whenever he flirted?

Croagunk took over a job once done by Misty and Max, and the species is modelled on the poison dart frog.

Which male-only evolution of Kirlia, new in Generation IV, fights with blades that extend from its elbows?

Gallade taught itself swordsmanship, and because it can sense what a foe is thinking, its strikes are the ones that land first.

Which realm, home to Giratina, was added to Sinnoh in Pokémon Platinum?

The Distortion World grew out of the director's talks to his team about antimatter and an upside-down reflection of Mount Fuji.

Which boss of the villains in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl gives a speech about creating a new world without spirit?

Cyrus means to use the Legendary Pokémon of time and space to do it, calling them down at an ancient ruin on a mountaintop.

Which Legendary Pokémon, the Being of Knowledge, is said to wipe the memories of anyone who sees its eyes?

Uxie is said to have given humans the intelligence to solve problems, and legend holds that it hatched from the same egg as its two lake siblings.

Which Mythical Pokémon reaches Pokémon Diamond and Pearl as an egg sent over from the spin-off Pokémon Ranger?

Manaphy can breed to produce Phione, yet a Phione can never evolve into one, and water makes up 80% of its small body.

Which codenamed detective, introduced in Pokémon Platinum, trails the villains of Sinnoh across the region?

Looker sneaks into the villains' headquarters alongside the player to eavesdrop on their leader's big speech.

Which device came bundled with Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver so players could carry a Pokémon around all day?

The Pokéwalker turns real footsteps into watts, a currency that players swap for rewards once the Pokémon is sent back to the game.

Before Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, what alone decided whether an attack counted as physical or special?

The move's type was all that mattered, so every Fire attack was special; Diamond and Pearl judged each move on its own, which reshaped competitive battling.

Which post-game complex, first seen in Pokémon Emerald, returned in Platinum but was left out of the 2021 remakes?

The Battle Frontier's absence from Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl was among the complaints critics raised about the remakes.

Where in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl do players recapture Pokémon migrated from Game Boy Advance cartridges?

Pal Park accepts only six Pokémon per cartridge every twenty-four hours, and the trip is one-way: none can ever be sent back.

Which object do the villains of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl forge from crystals taken from three captured lake Pokémon?

The Red Chain gives its maker control over the Legendary Pokémon of time or of space, depending on which version is being played.

Which item does the player's mother hand over in Twinleaf Town once they have received their first Pokémon?

The Running Shoes are followed by an errand: after the first trip out of town, the rival's mother hands over a Parcel to deliver to her son.

Which Game Freak veteran directed Pokémon Diamond and Pearl and also helped compose the games' music?

Junichi Masuda set out to make what he called the ultimate Pokémon version, and he returned as co-director of the 2021 remakes.

Which studio made the 2021 remakes of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, the first main-series games not led by Game Freak?

ILCA built the pair as faithful remakes, and critics split over the chibi-style characters and the missing extras from Platinum.

Pokémon Diamond and Pearl shared Game of the Year at the 2006 Famitsu Game Awards with which role-playing game?

Final Fantasy XII tied with the pair for the top prize, while Diamond and Pearl also took home the Best Hit award.

Which Bug-type Pokémon from Sinnoh has a violin-like cry that became a long-running internet meme?

Kricketune makes its music by rubbing bladed arms against its body, and a 2022 Pokémon game slipped in an official nod to the meme.

Which sea slug Pokémon comes in two different-looking forms depending on whether it lives in the East or West Sea?

Shellos evolves into Gastrodon, which is said to have carried a huge protective shell in ancient times and has no bones in its body at all.