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An advertisement in the newly-released May issue of CoroCoro in Japan has revealed that the next installment of Generation IV - apparently the third game to to Pokémon Diamond and Pearl - will be announced in the magazine's June issue, which will go on sale May 15. The advertisement features a text list of each set of Pokémon RPGs with their respective revised versions (Pokémon Blue, Crystal and Emerald) written in handwriting as afterthoughts. A hand at the bottom of the page waits to write a new name after Diamond and Pearl with a note that the announcement will be made in the next issue.

Source: Bulbapedia

Well, this is certainly exciting news. The third game is to be announceed in a month's time. Not long to wait now.

Also, if you continue reading the article, there are alledgedly two new Pokemon yet to be announced as well. All I can think of that remains is Arceus, so I'd presume at least one of them is an announcement from the next set.

I'm not really up to date with the general speculation at the moment, so if anybody 'knows' anything, I'd like to hear what you think.

Well i am hopeful i have a feeling one of the "new pokemon" is going to be giritua (sp?) new form and possibly a new form for shamin (sp?) i think that is all, that or offical announcements of them.

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Don't fear the reaper!
Wonderful system this "Democracy" is no mechanism to break a tie -Dinobot-
It's spelled Raymond Luxray Yatch but it's pronounced Throat Wobbler Mangrove.
Vi Veri Veniversum Vivus Vici
Sic Semper Tyrannis bush.

I have several questions about this pair of games and their players:

1. How long will this generation of Pokémon last? Like, if I get this June, for how many months can I reasonably expect people to be actively playing this generation of games?

2. Are there any Pokémon that are missing from both Diamond AND Pearl?

3. I've heard a lot about the interactivity and even somewhat "sandbox" nature of the gameplay--there's lots to see and do, such that it should satisfy both the adventurer (which I am) and the competitive perfectionist (which I am not). Is this true?

4. If I get either Diamond or Pearl, which one should I get?

5. If I get D or P, is it worth getting any game from the RSE or FRLG generations?

6. Are the types and Pokémon selection well-balanced?

7. Are there any super-powerful Pokémon that everyone puts a ton of into their battle lineup? (For the record, I strongly disliked the mewtwo/articuno spamming that pervaded the first generation. I like powerful pokémon to be well-distributed. Preferably including some ghost and rock pokemon.)

8. Is serebii.net or bulbapedia better?

9. Has flying-type been divorced from normal-type yet?

This post has been edited by Glenn Magus Harvey on 16th April 2008 06:25

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Check the "What games are you playing at the moment?" thread for updates on what I've been playing.

You can find me on the Fediverse! I use Mastodon, where I am @[email protected] ( https://sakurajima.moe/@glennmagusharvey )

Quote (Glenn Magus Harvey @ 16th April 2008 00:22)

I have several questions about this pair of games and their players:

1. How long will this generation of Pokémon last?  Like, if I get this June, for how many months can I reasonably expect people to be actively playing this generation of games?

2. Are there any Pokémon that are missing from both Diamond AND Pearl?

3. I've heard a lot about the interactivity and even somewhat "sandbox" nature of the gameplay--there's lots to see and do, such that it should satisfy both the adventurer (which I am) and the competitive perfectionist (which I am not).  Is this true?

4. If I get either Diamond or Pearl, which one should I get?

5. If I get D or P, is it worth getting any game from the RSE or FRLG generations?

6. Are the types and Pokémon selection well-balanced?

7. Are there any super-powerful Pokémon that everyone puts a ton of into their battle lineup?  (For the record, I strongly disliked the mewtwo/articuno spamming that pervaded the first generation.  I like powerful pokémon to be well-distributed.  Preferably including some ghost and rock pokemon.)

8. Is serebii.net or bulbapedia better?

9. Has flying-type been divorced from normal-type yet?

1. This generation should last as long as can be expected. People were still playing Emerald and FR/LG up til the release of Diamond and Pearl. I would assume that with the online capabilities of this incarnation, that it will be fully utilized until such time as it's replaced by the next gemstone in the series which contains more pokemon than this one. Personally, I play very little anymore, mostly because I've been working on trying to make useful custom teams, and to fully outfit my Leafeon, I need to level him to 72, not really an exciting job, so I take it in strides.


2. Manphy and Phanphy are the only ones "missing" from both games, as the egg must be mystery gifted over from Pokemon Ranger.

3. As for sandbox. I would disagree. The biggest "sandbox" aspect of this game is that the required cities that you go to are not linear/circular. You go way over east, and that unlocks something new to the west, which unlocks something to the north, but in order to get north, you have to go south... etc. etc...

4. Depends on what you want. Dialga is a Dragon/Steel, where Palika is a Dragon/Water. Both of which are Ubers, falling into question 7. Aside from that, my only real differentiation between the two games is that Houndour and Houndoom can only be gotten post 150 pokedex on the Pearl version. So if you're looking for Dark pokemon, pearl is the way to go. Also, Diamond beat out Pearl sales almost 2 to 1 and one point, so there are less Palikas in the online trading market, meaning that typically trading a Palika online is like a, "Get one of whatever pokemon I want free" card.

5. Depending on how much of a completionist you really are, it may be worth it to you. The only pokemon that are considered fully "unavailable" to capture on D/P are the starters from FR/LG, G/S/C, R/S/E, The legendary birds from gen 1, the legendary dogs from gen 2, Mewtwo, Mew, Celebi, Jirachi, Ho-oh, Lugia, Kyogre, Groudon, Latias, Latios, Rayquaza, and Deoxys. Everything else either makes an appearance in Diamond and/or Pearl, whether it be swarms, trophy gardens, or... in answer to the original quesion: certain pokemon can only be encountered when you have a specific GBA game in the GBA slot while playing. Magbys can only be found while FireRed is in, and Elekids can only be found while LeafGreen is in. There are a bunch other pokemon with similar affiliations to R/S/E, but again, that falls into your completeionist thing.

6. Umm... that's always up for argument. Until you unlock the national dex, there is only ONE WILD FIRE POKEMON: Ponyta. Meaning that if you like fire, you're gonna wanna start with chimchar. Aside from that painfully obvious deficency, things are relatively balanced. You don't get the super rod until way the hell after the E4, so water can also be an issue. (i always train a magikarp into a gyrados anyway, so it's never really a big deal for me )

7. For the record, Articuno kicks ass, and he is not classified as an Uber, so suck it up. As for ubers tho, Dialga and Palika will find their way into any team that needs a lift pre-national dex, as well as the 3 beings of whatever (I don't remeber the lore), Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie. Personally, I used Azelf and taught him Flamethrower to overcome Bronzong in the E4 my first time through. People like Giratina post-national dex, but he's just so cool, and he has killer ghost attacks! Ghost/Dragon with custom fitted ghost attacks = bye bye. If you find someone who enjoys their Action Replay a little too much, you're going to run into Darkrais here and there, but the most broken pokemon you're probably going to see are the starters. Like Blaziken, Infernape is Fire/Fighting, Torterra is Grass/Ground, and Empoleon is Water/Steel (!!!!)

8. Up to a personal opinnion. I usually use Serebii, and only consult Bulbapedia if I can't find it on serebii, as Bulbapedia is more, "What does **this** do?" and Serebii is more, "How do I do **this**?"
^^ if any of that makes any sense.

9. Sure! Tropius is a Grass/Flying, Articuno is an Ice/Flying, Dribflim is a Ghost/Flying, Salamence is a Dragon/Flying...

Acutally, no. Flying is secondary element to EVERYTHING, and I agree that it sucks. The ONLY exception to this, is that if you fanangle yourself an Arceus, you can break out a sky plate, and that will change his element to Flying. That is the only "pure" flying element pokemon. And what a lame way a ascertain him...

So there ya go, little answers to all of pokelife's problems. Hope it can help.

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If internal struggles were as enjoyable and glamorous as the self conflicted wars within video game characters, we would all be statues, reveling in perpetual self war. -Me

Play me on Rock Band 2, GH-WT, or any other Xbox GH!
Xbox Gamertag-MeanJerry

Quote (Glenn Magus Harvey @ 16th April 2008 07:22)

I have several questions about this pair of games and their players:

1. How long will this generation of Pokémon last? Like, if I get this June, for how many months can I reasonably expect people to be actively playing this generation of games?

Well looking at the number, GSC was released 2 years after RBY, RSE came in 3 years after that, and DP were 4 years after that. So, by the current increase, the 5th generation will be out in 2012.

2. Are there any Pokémon that are missing from both Diamond AND Pearl?

Yes. Lots. Too many to list here, but all of the old starters and legendaries are unavailable in game, but can be action replayed in. Likewise, Manaphy can be obtained from Pokemon Ranger, and Phione by breeding Manaphy or from Pokemon Ranch (not out yet outside Japan.) A lot of the old Pokemon are obtainable by transferring (not trading) them over from RSE/FRLG, or via a few methods ducks as dongle (where you have a 3rd gen game in the GBA slot), or swarming. The only Pokemon that can't technically be obtained in the geame without cheating are the GSC starters (which is one of the many pieces of evidence that GSC are getting a DS remake), a handful of old legendaries (for the same reason), and some new legendaries which are yet to have an event in which they will be unlocked. Its a pain, but its one of the things you have to live with.

3. I've heard a lot about the interactivity and even somewhat "sandbox" nature of the gameplay--there's lots to see and do, such that it should satisfy both the adventurer (which I am) and the competitive perfectionist (which I am not). Is this true?

Indeed, I'd say it is. There's the main plot, which is typical for Pokemon, but its there's more to do than in previous games. There's the Underground, Pokemon contests, swarming Pokemon (a different Pokemon each day) but not anything in the way of optional side-quests. However, there is a bit after the Elite Four for once (though not as much as in GSC, mind), and there is reason to keep going back to the game after beating it.

4. If I get either Diamond or Pearl, which one should I get?

There's no real difference, apart from a slight variation in Pokemon available. Out of the two legendaries, Palkia (Pearl) is considered 'better', with Spacial Rend being an Aeroblast equivalent, whereas Dialga's (Diamond) Roar of Time is a dragon type Hyper Beam. Really, I'd suggest reading up on which Pokemon are game specific, and seeing which group you'd prefer.

5. If I get D or P, is it worth getting any game from the RSE or FRLG generations?

Definitely so, maybe even all of them, just for completeness' sake. They make a lot more Pokemon available to you, via both trading and dongling.

6. Are the types and Pokémon selection well-balanced?

Yes, apart from the lack of Fire types, as leilong mentioned. Sadly this results in a large quantity of Infernape users. There is, however, an overdoes of Water types (IMO), with the Raticate equivalent of the series being second type water, along with a large number of early available Pokemon. There's a bit of a deficit of electric types too, apart from Shinx and the Pikachu family, but this is regularly the case.

7. Are there any super-powerful Pokémon that everyone puts a ton of into their battle lineup? (For the record, I strongly disliked the mewtwo/articuno spamming that pervaded the first generation. I like powerful pokémon to be well-distributed. Preferably including some ghost and rock pokemon.)

God, yes. Duplicate Pokemon are generally frowned upno, but there are a handful of Pokemon that are beasts in online play. Blissey, Skarmory, Wobbuffet (considered the most uber Pokemon in the game) are common, along with Togekiss with its flinchack spam, Absol with its critical spam, but apart from these and a few more like them, the distribution of Pokemon is pretty even. A lot of Pokemon are very viable, and so you'll meet a lot of variety in online play, which is great.

8. Is serebii.net or bulbapedia better?

I prefer Bulbapedia, simply because it has a search function. Serebii seems to have better, more in depth articles, but fewer of them. Pokemon of the Week on Serebii is helpful, but a lot of its articles are hard to find, and its Pokedex harder to navigate, and generally provides less information.

9. Has flying-type been divorced from normal-type yet?

Nope, all birds are still Normal/Flying, and flying is only ever a secondary type, apart from with Arceus. But now, every type has been paired with Flying, apart from fighting, so there are a lot of options.

Responses in quote. I know leilong answered too, but there are a few other things to mention.

Also, more news:

Bulbapedia

Quote (Wizwum @ 16th April 2008 11:08)

The only Pokemon that can't technically be obtained in the geame without cheating are the GSC starters (which is one of the many pieces of evidence that GSC are getting a DS remake)

As awesome as I admit that would be, it won't happen.

Looking at the bulbapedia article, Whitegold may sound like it could be a rehash, but the truth is that the starters are available.

In Emerald, after you beat the E4, you can receive one of the GSC starters from a man for free. Sadly, that means you would have to play through legitimately 3 different times on emerald alone to receive them all, but it can be legitimately done.

As for the GSC legendary dogs, they can be captured in firered and leafgreen after you unlock the national dex and beat the E4. Only one appears based on the starter you picked. (Entei > Bulbasaur, Suicune > Charmander, Raikou > Squirtle) and they are notoriously difficult to hunt down, as they elude capture in the same way that Mesprit does in D/P, except you don't get the handy map to track them... Ho-oh can be gotten from Pokemon Coleseum on the Gamecube, and Lugia from XD- gale of darkness, leaving Celebi as the only "unattainable" pokemon from the GSC era, and I guess that there was a special edition XD-GoD disc that came with a free celebi per game if you got it all special and such in japan.

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If internal struggles were as enjoyable and glamorous as the self conflicted wars within video game characters, we would all be statues, reveling in perpetual self war. -Me

Play me on Rock Band 2, GH-WT, or any other Xbox GH!
Xbox Gamertag-MeanJerry

Ah yes, I'd forgotten about all those sources. Game Freak do enjoy being annoying, don't they?

I still reckon the remakes are going to happen. The fact that the programming of D/P allows the game to have 'Johto' listed as a Pokemon's origin location is proof enough for me. Weaker points than that are that various references are made to Johto in D/P, and Jasmine's there. It makes sense in terms of the sequencing of things (FR/LG came out with RSE, so it would make sense for GSC to come out now.) Plus, RBY happened at the same time as RSE, and DP are at the same time as GSC. Not that there's any reason to speculate; we'll just have to wait and see.

Serebii

The latest news post on serebii confirms that there is a remake of Diamond/Pearl being released, Pokemon Platinum. In Japan it is being released in September but there is no release date set for the US. Shame.

Quote (Serebii)

This single page scan shows Pokémon Platinum (confirmed as the name, although technically the Katakana says Platina, but that is generally the term the Japanese use for Platinum), Giratina in its Origin Form as well as what seems to be a new battle interface and potentially a new costume for the main character in Platinum as we see by the Blue top on Lucas in the battle screen. We're awaiting other scans as well, hopefully to confirm this data as well as the other data we revealed yesterday, when the scans come in bigger size and quality.

I'm not sure what is meant by "new battle interface" since there is nothing new shown on the scans, but I am looking forward to it regardless. Also, wifiwars.com posted a news post about this same topic:

Quote (wifiwars.com)

According to a reported scan from the next issue of CoroCoro magazine, Platinum will be a remake of Pokemon Diamond and Pearl. Aside from the expected new pokemon, additional features include an online version of The Underground, a Battle Island, and new forms of existing Pokemon. Other cosmetic/interface changes have also been noted.

Both of these sites cite the CoroCoco scans, but I can't read Japanese and I don't have access to the CoroCoro book/cards/whatever myself so I have no clue if the details mentioned here are correct. Still, that's just what I found out so I figured I'd share it with all of you.

Also, there is an event at participating Toys R Us stores to get Darkrai. I don't remember why they're giving them away (maybe a new movie?), but all I know is it is May 31th-June 1st and free Darkrais are available:
One source out of many possible sources

This post has been edited by Caesar on 13th May 2008 15:55

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Is PJ

Z... O... M... G...

Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Awesome. Just awesome. Darkrai legit! Suck it, hackers! I will eat you souls with my legitimacy! Although there's not much to it, I am excited about unlocking the island and such. Finish out the map.

Also, with that sort of a draw on customers that weekend, there will be battles royale around! I'll pwn the ubers with my Mewtwo/Giratina combo, and I'll shut out the legitimates with my new team I've been working on.

As much as I love my Poketopia Electivire, something just feels cheap about him. I've found myself very attracted to the Borderline category of pokemon, as I recently started leveling (and EV training) a Mareep for and incredibly BA Amphros. Thank you Pokerus and Macho Brace!

I just recently finished out the prototype of my new Flygon, but without a flying move as of yet, I'm not sure he's fully prepared for battle.

My stupid Leafeon is now level 58-ish. That's a hella long journey for leaf blade btw. I gotta get him to lv 71 for him to learn it, and energy ball would just be wasted on him, as he's a physical over special, something the mystical waters (suck it, Milotic!) will NEVER see coming. That, and his ability to learn Areal Ace makes him formidable against the fighters, when it seems it would be a very normal effective battle, just gotta watch out for that Fire Punch.

I'm still battling with my Articuno and Charizard, which are also in the Borderline category, not sure why tho (I am, but I don't like to admit their flaws). I'm actualy a move down on Arti, as I finally deleted Defog off of him (<-- Don't judge me! ). Although it wouldn't be tournament legal, I think Sheer Cold would be fun, either that, or I may take it to the move tutor and teach him the strongest physical Ice move available, which I think is sadly in the 55 power range, but as a plus, it hits the opposing team, so there's that.

Charizard finally has Air slash, and since I learned that he can TM EQ, I may give him that as a suprise attack.

That leaves me one slot unused, and as I don't have a water yet, I may throw Vaporeon in again, or perhaps break out my old Gyrados. To mix it up from time to time, I could throw in my Rhypherrior with surf, My well rounded attack Steelix, or my ultimate gamble Shedinja. Oh the options!

And yes, I know I have some of the most strangely flawed teams, but it's way more fun this way, even if I don't win as many trainer battles. I still win everything in game tho, as the E4 has been my staple for leveling after EV training.

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If internal struggles were as enjoyable and glamorous as the self conflicted wars within video game characters, we would all be statues, reveling in perpetual self war. -Me

Play me on Rock Band 2, GH-WT, or any other Xbox GH!
Xbox Gamertag-MeanJerry

After my borther beat the game I couldnt resist playin' it,
right now my team is
lv.40 lucardio
lv.52 torterra
lv.60 palkia
lv.54 staraptor
lv.52 raichu
lv.53 uxie

What do you guys think?

Oh I will be there and my lvl 100 spawn of Sugimori will reign supreme lol.

Platinum = worst name ever. If only they'd swapped Crystal and Platinum's names around, it would all have made so much sense. I mean... DPP? Alliteration in the abbreviations? Shameful, Tajiri.

Clock Doc, try getting some well trained, strategic pokes rather than relying on overpowered legendaries (and Staraptor, for that matter. )

And wowee, US getting Darkrai. Maybe that means the UK will get it in 2012! Considering we had out Mew event last summer, I'd hardly be surprised...

WHat's been said about the 'new battle system'... it seems to be more of a new interface. A closer look at the battle screen shows the info box next to Giratina to be a dark grey.

With my main team almost all at level 100 (Gyarados, Togekiss and Infernape are there, just got to get Ludicolo (92), Dusknoir (81) and Blissey (83) up there now), I've decided its time to start afresh, with a team of stategic, but less used pokes, who have actually been EV trained (shock, horror!) I'll admit, I chose the whole team based solely on how badass they looked (there were a few cooler, but they were so horrifically uncompetitive, they had to be ignored,) and despite my strongest desires to include a FEAR Rattata, or a whole team of Endrevvers, I've settled on my Absol, Rapidash, Espeon, Umbreon, Flygon and Gardevoir. Movesets are a little hazy, but only Absol has been trained so far, with speed EVs maxed (I love Magikarps and the Power Anklet), and Attack soon to come. The only issue is that they're all sweepers, apart from Umbreon (although its counterpart will be an Espyjump), but at least it should mean an easier to train team once their EVs are maxed (I don't want to go into how mindnumbingly boring it is to train up a Dusknoir. Luckily, it has just become good enough for its Substitute to be able to stand up to my rival's Snorlax's Crunch, so it should be a little easier from here on out.

I'm still struggling on Gardevoir's moveset - there are so many special moves it can learn, and its tough trying to decide. Focus Blast or Energy Ball, (considering my Rapidash already has SolarBeam, and I'm yet to include a fighting type move; it's just... loads too innacurate!)?

Wizwum, there's nothing wrong with having a team of a 6 sweepers if you know how to use it right. One of my close friends was ranked #1 on gamebattles for awhile, but not anymore. The team that got him there is ridiculous: Gyarados lead, Metagross, Salamence, Garchomp, Infernape, and Tyranitar. Of course, his movesets are pure genius and he knows how to switch them in correctly to get the best use out of them. But yea, 6 sweepers.

I use a similar strategy but I use Trick Room so I can have slow and godly powerful pokemon on my team (Octillery, Rampardos, Shuckle, Machamp, etc etc etc). I made an Absol awhile ago and I can tel you that he is a beast. Mine has a Scope Lens with the Super Luck ability and is running Stone Edge, Night Slash, Psycho Cut, and X-Scissor. He can't hit Steels at all, but everything else gets ABSOLultely demolished, even if it doesn't hit SE or critically. I love Absol.

Clock Doc, the pokemon used in a team aren't really as important as how they are raised, used, and what movesets they run, as seen in my example above of my friend with 6 sweepers. While playing through the game, it doesn't really matter who you use because most pokemon can handle everything in game (including Staraptor and his beastly speed and Close Combat). Lucario in my opinion is one of the best offensive pokemon out there if he is used correctly. Torterra is also very solid and Staraptor can be good for surprises. A Raichu with the right moveset (substitute, focus punch, volt tackle maybe...) is amazing, but you can easily run four electric moves on him and have a really limited Raichu. I hate legendary pokes, but they are really good. Playing through the game you should have no problems, but if you were looking to play competitively with this team, you should reconsider. Palkia is not allowed in any tournament, and the other pokemon are weak vs common threats in the competitive arena. For example, a typical mix Infernape (FT/Overheat, EQ, Stone Edge, Close Combat) can hit every pokemon on your team SE and is faster than them all. Just things to keep in mind I guess.

/end Pokemon rant.

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Is PJ

I must admit, when facing my friends, my tanks seem to serve no purpose, other than making him take two attacks to take them down. I don't really enjoy battling with annoyers or tanks, and prefer to get stuck in with strong attacks, backed up by the occasional little tactic to take out any particularly hard pokes (there isn't a word strong enough to describe how much I hate Bronzongs. I must admit, his Bronzong is the main reason of using a Rapidash. I need to fit a Fire move onto something else too, just to make sure. But, if an all sweeping team can be as successful as you say it can, I might check it out.

Bronzong is a staple of my team, and he can definitely be OHKO'd. The only reason mine can't is because I give him an Occa Berry so he can survive that fire attack. But he usually takes two hits to take down. I use the first to set up Trick Room and then explode him the next turn typically.

Tanks and stallers can be useful, but there is no pokemon that can just sit back and absorb attacks all day long without some sort of boost beforehand. Some pokes can be real sturdy after a curse, amnesia, or iron defense, but tanks cannot generally just sit in and take hit after hit, especially due to the presence of mixed sweepers (eg physical Infernape packing FT or overheat). The true purpose of tanks/stallers is to switch in when you predict a big hit from your opponent and to force a switch so you get a free switch. For example, if they send out a Salamence, who usually carries choice specs and runs a special-based moveset, you switch in blissey, take like 40% damage from his draco meteor, and then you're free to switch in someone else on the next turn since you're safe; nobody will leave Mence in on Blissey, especially with a weakened Draco Meteor. An even easier example to see would be with forretress. He can take basically any non-fire attack without a problem, so he can just switch in, lay down some spikes/stealth rock/whatever and then switch out when a pokemon with a fire attack comes in. He's godly.

I really don't like stallers/tanks because they're tough to use for me, particularly because trick room limits my available time and stallers generally like to waste turns. The only ones I use are Shuckle and Metagross. Those are tanks. I switch them in, they soak an attack, and then set up something on the switch. My shuckle has ~550 special defense, so he doesn't fear special attackers. I can switch him in during trick room, take a special hit, power trick as they switch, and then sweep with gyro ball for 3 turns.

The good thing about pokemon is that basic any pokemon can be used effectively with the right team to support it or the right amount of prediction. I say just find some pokes you like, try to think of a good way to organize them into a team and then just get used to using them. Try to figure out how to switch in the pokes you want to use, what attacks they can survive, and what they can kill. Really once you raise the pokemon you like it's really fun to try to make it work.

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Is PJ

Quote (leilong @ 16th April 2008 13:01)

Quote (Wizwum @ 16th April 2008 11:08)

The only Pokemon that can't technically be obtained in the geame without cheating are the GSC starters (which is one of the many pieces of evidence that GSC are getting a DS remake)

As awesome as I admit that would be, it won't happen.

Looking at the bulbapedia article, Whitegold may sound like it could be a rehash, but the truth is that the starters are available.

In Emerald, after you beat the E4, you can receive one of the GSC starters from a man for free. Sadly, that means you would have to play through legitimately 3 different times on emerald alone to receive them all, but it can be legitimately done.

As for the GSC legendary dogs, they can be captured in firered and leafgreen after you unlock the national dex and beat the E4. Only one appears based on the starter you picked. (Entei > Bulbasaur, Suicune > Charmander, Raikou > Squirtle) and they are notoriously difficult to hunt down, as they elude capture in the same way that Mesprit does in D/P, except you don't get the handy map to track them... Ho-oh can be gotten from Pokemon Coleseum on the Gamecube, and Lugia from XD- gale of darkness, leaving Celebi as the only "unattainable" pokemon from the GSC era, and I guess that there was a special edition XD-GoD disc that came with a free celebi per game if you got it all special and such in japan.

Actually you forgot one, in XD:GoD you can obtain all the johto starters by completeing the battle moutian 3 times straight through with out stopping. Also in colosum you can get there evolved forms to capture (all of then not just one, though you can only get one at first.) Then you can trade them over to a day care center to breed. The emerald one is if you complete the hoen pokedex talk to professor birch again and he will give you you're choice of one of the starters.

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Don't fear the reaper!
Wonderful system this "Democracy" is no mechanism to break a tie -Dinobot-
It's spelled Raymond Luxray Yatch but it's pronounced Throat Wobbler Mangrove.
Vi Veri Veniversum Vivus Vici
Sic Semper Tyrannis bush.

Ok, I switched out Palkia for my gyrados, but i'm leaving uxie in because he special d.... In a lil' I'll list my moves....BTW, where do you get volt tackle?

Complete Pokemon Battle Revolution for the Wii, and you'll be able to dowload a lvl10 Pikachu with Volt Tackle and Surf onto as many copies of the game as you like. Only one per game though. Or, when breeding, if the mother Pikachu/Raichu is holding a Light Ball in Emerald, the baby Pichu will have the move. I must admit, I've been tempted by a Volt Tackling, Surfing Raichu for a while now. Sadly, that requires beating BPR first...

And thats ojne of the things I love the most about the newer generations of Pokemon - no water what Pokemon you choose to use, there's always a move set or strategy that can be used to make it competitive. Its much more about choice of moves and tactical application that strength of Pokemon nowadays, which makes for a much more enjoyable online scene. Legendary clause makes this yet more fun, and its always fun to watch a team of 'weaker' Pokes take out a team of legendaries and ubers. Ah, Marriland's FEAR Rattata VS. |||UNTOUCHABLE|||, I lolled.

Staraptor-
Close Combat
Fly
Arial Ace
Brave Bird
Uxie-
Confusion
Yawn
Dream Eater
Thunderbolt
Palkia-
Water Pulse
Dragon Pulse
Fire Blast
Spacial Rend
Torterra-
Strength
Razor leaf
Earthquake
Stone Edge
Raichu-
Thunder Wave
quick Attack
Charge Beam
Thunderbolt
Lucario-
Close Combat
Dark Pulse
Flash Cannon
Auro Sphere



Anyone know any good electric attacks for Raichu?
Or, any reccomendations?

Quote (Clock Doc @ 14th May 2008 23:14)

Staraptor-
Close Combat
Fly
Arial Ace
Brave Bird

Uxie-
Confusion
Yawn
Dream Eater
Thunderbolt

Palkia-
Water Pulse
Dragon Pulse
Fire Blast
Spacial Rend

Torterra-
Strength
Razor leaf
Earthquake
Stone Edge

Raichu-
Thunder Wave
quick Attack
Charge Beam
Thunderbolt

Lucario-
Close Combat
Dark Pulse
Flash Cannon
Auro Sphere



Anyone know any good electric attacks for Raichu?
Or, any reccomendations?

Well for Raichu, Thunderbolt is a very good move. No reason to change from that, but no reason to have Charge Beam on top of it.

I'll start out by saying this - as a general rule of thumb, you want to avoid having more than one of the same type of move on the same Poke. Fly, Aerial Ace and Brave Bird are all type Flying, so you'll just sit using the most powerful whenever you need supereffectivity, so the other two are just wasting slots. Albeit, as a team not based solely on competitive play, Fly is sadly a must, but that at least means you can drop Aerial Ace. True, it may always hit, but Brave Bird is a beast of a move, and is especially good for such a powerful Physical Sweeper as Staraptor. Something like Steel Wing might be a nice idea, though could be a waste considering Close Combat already gives all the type coverage Steel Wing would. Endeavor can be nice too, but not a great choice for a sweeper who'll get OHKOd easily. Agility might be a good idea, to give an extra Speed boost to recover from the bad side of Paralysis, or to overcome anything slightly faster than you, or possibly U-turn.

Same, with Uxie, I wouldn't go for Confusion ever, and would only go with a Yawn/Dream Eater combo if I had to. Uxie is really a tank, with its defensive stats a lot higher than its offensive ones. Amnesia might be an idea, as would Rest, and Confusion should be replaced by Extrasensory or Psychic, if you want to use the TM. Uxie is also an Endrevving candidate, with Endure and Flail, but this is just a one off move, and Uxie really lacks the Attack stat to do much with it.

Palkia will have Aura Sphere and Aqua Tail when its a high enough level, and this should really be backed up Spacial Rend and Earth Power or Ancientpower. Really, Aqua Tail should also be replaced by Surf (considering Palkia's higher Sp. Atk stat.) This sets pretty much a no-brainer, considering Palkia's lack of stat boosting moves.

Lose Strength ASAP. Use a Heart Scale and teach it Woodhammer to replace Razor Leaf, and maybe get Crunch in there. Of course, you could also go down the tanking route and give it Curse, Leech Seed, one of the above offensive moves and Substitute. Torterra has a lot of options, but pick carefully to get a nice combination of moves.

Raichu makes a nice Mixed Sweeper, and is a good candidate for carrying your Return. Thunderbolt is a no-brainer, and could also carry Grass Knot, Substitute and Focus Punch, or Focus Blast, Iron Tail, or maybe even Dig. Beware Earthquakes, so Grass Knot or a Focus Punch/Blast might be a better choice, and forget Iron Tail if you have either of those.

Lucario is your only one that doesn't need much changing on it. Thats a pretty solid moveset, but its Sp. Atk is slightly higher than its Attack, so drop Close Combat for Dragon Pulse, and you're all set.

Remember, I've worked these out as move sets for individual Pokes, and it won't neccessarily work together as a functioning team. A more competitive team works just as tactically in the way the Pokemon work together as to how they work individually. As long as you have at least one or two moves covering each type across the board, thats a good enough starting point.

I always keep guaranteed hit moves because i usually find myself in a tight spot and need to make sure I hit

I was just checking Raichu's stats. I thought his attack was marginally higher than his sp attack. It seems I was wrong. This gives him a lot of options, though. If you raise him to be a physical attacker (a nature with + attack, and some attack EVs), then you could give him volt tackle for a STAB'd physical electric move and substitute/focus punch to do some big damage another way. Sadly, aside from that he doesn't have for physical moves. On the special side, tbolt is the obvious choice. If you really wanted, you could get the surfing pika from PBR, give it thunder and rain dance and then use that on raichu. He'd do gigantic damage with rain dance boosted surf and STAB'd 100% accuracy thunder. As for the last spot, maybe a nice hidden power would work. With those two moves he can't hit dragon or grass types very well, so HP Ice would work. That'd be fine. Of course, trying to get a surfing pikachu with a good natuer AND HP ice would take a long time and isn't very likely.

Of course, you could always hope someone else on your team sets up rain dance and then run nasty plot in the other slot. A nasty plot + STAB'd thunder from raichu will do some serious damage.

Torterra looks solid, with the exception of Strength. You need that to get through the game, though, so that's fine for now. Razor leaf is kind of weak, but his only other alternative for STAB'd physical grass attack is wood hammer which damages himself. It's up to you if you want that. Stone edge and EQ are good choices. Eventually you might want to consider taking out strength and giving him curse to boost his already big defense and attack, and maybe giving him wood hammer instead of razor leaf. Leech seed also works well on him sometimes.

I don't have any advice for Uxie or Palkia. I never use ubers so I don't know what move sets are good for them. Basically anything that can do damage will be dominant on them.

Staraptor has three flying moves, but looking at his move pool there's no much he could have instead. I'm not really sure what Staraptor usually has, actually. After a close combat or two, pretty much any attack will kill him, so recoil damage should not be a big concern. So maybe brave bird isn't a bad option after all. It's similar to rampardos kind of. He has garbage defense and will die in one hit, so head smash recoil is no problem for me. I do love aerial ace, though. Idk. The only other options are agility, endeaver, and U-turn anyways, which aren't particularly useful, so it's up to you what to do with him.

As for Lucario, he has so many good uses, it's scary. I've never used him but I have had him used against me. he is good as a mixed sweeper, special sweeper, physical sweeper, endure/reversal user, and a variety of other things. Even with the set-up he has now, he should have no problem with most things. I hate steel as an attacking type, but with fighting, steel, and dark he can hit every time combo for at least neutral damage so you're covered. I see no huge reason to change at this point.

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Is PJ

All right, finally worked out a few move sets that I like....
Palkia- Surf, Dragon Pulse, Fire Blast , Spacial rend
Torterra- Razor Leaf, Earthquake, Stone Edge, Hyper Beam
Raichu- Iron tail, quick Attack, Grass knot, Thunder bolt
Staraptor- Fly, Close Combat, Aerial Ace, Brave Bird
Uxie- Return, Yawn, Dream Eater, Thunder
Lucario- Focus Punch, dark pulse, flash cannon, auro sphere...

MY main comcern with this team is staraptor, as stated before, I dont like the idea's oh having all one type of move...I'm fairly happy with everyone else, so if I could get some help on Staraptor it would be great.

My Staraptor has Return, Close Combat, Double Team, and Fly. Fly is only for utility, as Staraptor is the one pokemon that never, ever leaves my party, even if it's an only-decent physical sweeper. Double Team is a cheap-ass move that most competitive battlers avoid and for good reason - for in-game purposes it's great, but if you want to battle competitively don't put Double Team on. If you want a replacement for some of your Flying moves, it's a good idea to make one of them Normal for the STAB; I chose Return, which rocks all over the place. Close Combat is great because of Fighting's type coverage - Ice, Rock, and Steel types are all problems for a Normal/Flying. If you have to pick a Flying move, you should probably make it Brave Bird (for damage), Aerial Ace (for the 100% hit), or Fly (for utility purposes only).

So yeah, I'd replace one of those two Flying moves with a Normal attack, like Return. That's all I have to say.

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this is a blog mostly about comics and videogames
END SPOILER

Very good point about the Return on Staraptor Caesar, in an idiotic lapse of judgement I'd completely forgotten it'll get STAB...

The issue with Wood Hammer's recoil doesn't really seem much of a problem to me. I guess with Torterra's high defense, it won't neccessarily get OHKOd, but an Ice Beam could easily handle it. I dunno, it just seems that maybe the recoil damage won't make much of a change, as it migth still get OHKOd even when on full health (the only issue where it does arise is when you take out a Blissey with a recoil move. Chances, are, 1/4 of 700 odd is gonna faint the user from recoil, especially if they're a low HP sweeper. Base HP of 50ish or less won't result in a very high HP at all.)

Clock Doc... Fire Blast. Its just... not worth the risk. Now you could agrue the maths: 85% of 120 = 102 for Fire Blast, and 100% of 95 = 95, so yes, on average, across the board, Fire Blast will do more. But, the problem arises when you're stuck in a tight corner, and a Fire Blast missing will completely destroy your chances. Yes, the damage will be less, but at least its better than none. Flamethrower removes the element of chance and gives you something to rely on.

Hyper Beam on Torterra should be a big no-no. Firstly, its Hyper Beam. Thats reason enough in itself. Secondly Torterra's Attack is better than its Spcieal Attack, and if you're Cursing as well, this will be increased even more. Giga Impact is identical, but physical, and even that would be slightly better. Return is better than Hyper Beam in all circumstances. Hyper Beam is 150 power over 2 turns. Thats 75 per turn. Return on a maxed happiness Pokemon? 102, every turn.

Also, with Lucario Focus Punch is a wasted slot. If you get hit when you use it, you flinch automatically. Thats why everything that uses reliably has to have a Substitute too (either on the moveset, or Baton Passed (not preferable)) The risk is too high, and you'll no doubt sit there, and just use Aura Sphere every time, because its more reliable, more accurate, and generally will deal more damage. Dragon is a great type, so Dragon Pulse would be a nice choice. Or go for a better Physical move, and have him as a mixed sweeper. I'd advise against Focus punch on its own though.

Quote (Wizwum @ 15th May 2008 15:20)

Very good point about the Return on Staraptor Caesar, in an idiotic lapse of judgement I'd completely forgotten it'll get STAB...

That was laszlow that said that. I had actually forgotten about the STAB also. Haha.

Also, good points for revision, Wizwum. That basically covers everything I was going to say.

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Is PJ

Oops, sorry Lasz, my bad.

Speaking of which, sadly, I'm the same with my Togekiss. Obviously, its Flinchhacked, with Air Slash, Aura Sphere and Psychic (a wasted move, seeing as poisons aren't all that common, and Air Slash's STAB and flinch chance outweigh Psychic's use against Fighters.) But, just for convenience, It has Fly as its fourth move, even though its on my main battling team. At least with my new team, it'll be on a physical sweeper, rather than Togekiss.

And even before getting this new team off the ground, I'm already being tempted by a team of UUs and NUs. Looks like I'm already planning out my Platinum team then...

Wiz, your point is valid, but. the main reason I put hyper beam on there is so I could have high damage attack besides EQ.....And unless theres an easier way of getting giga impact that from the game corner forget it...

And the point on lucario, I wanted to give him focus blast but couldnt find it...it's local would be much abliged

You can buy it at the Department Store in Veilstone. As I've said though, there's really no point, as Aura Sphere is more accurate and Lucario's S. Atk is better than its Attack anyway. I'd go for Focus Blast or Aura Sphere, rather than two fighting moves.

More News:

Oh, how I wish I lived in the US.

I wanna post and brag... my Leafeon is complete! I got him to lvl 71 today, allowing him to learn Leaf Blade: 90 power Physical Grass... Yay. (Plus STAB on that BTW...)

The only downside, was that on the path to getting Leaf Blade, the best (and only) grass attack worth having is Razor Leaf, which I have to ask, was RL nerfed in the later generations, or has it always sucked? I remember that being the move of choice for many a Venusaur in the first generation. I still have it on hand as I believe it is a team hitter... in all of it's 55 power-dom. But I've been trying to maximize the Usage of Synthesis, and as a recovery move it's good, but I can't stand sunny day...
My ace-in-the-hole with leafy is his fun ability as a grass pokemon to learn Aereal Ace. If I could find something else worth adding in place of Razor Leaf, I'd swap it out, but as it stands at the moment, most every physical attack Leafeon learns is lame as hell. The grass superpowers fall into Solarbeam, Magical Leaf's full accuracy, and the Drain family's recovery powers, all - of course - using the special stat. All I know is that Leafeon is enough of a physical powerhouse that he can drop a golem with Razor Leaf... seriously. You get that beautiful X 6 multiplier with it, but it's still darn impressive.

I need to trade with someone that can gimmie a pokemon holding a Protect TM, as I can't find one, and I don't want to gamble for a year and a day, and my Shedinja really needs it.

Also, I recently got a Smeargle, which I'm going to Pimp out like crazy, but I'm not sure how, or with what... Ideas? I know he can't really be a formidiable fighter, but a twacked out moveset would be worth it. To find a hacked Arceus and teach him judgement would be the ultimate, especially as it would get STAB...

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If internal struggles were as enjoyable and glamorous as the self conflicted wars within video game characters, we would all be statues, reveling in perpetual self war. -Me

Play me on Rock Band 2, GH-WT, or any other Xbox GH!
Xbox Gamertag-MeanJerry