Pokemon Brilliant DiamondandPokemon Shining Pearlare upcoming remakes of the original generation 4.The games will retain their chibi style from the original, a style the main series hasn’t seen in a long time. Upon release of the remake’s trailer, fans weren’t sure how to feel about the visual style of the remake, as thegeneration 3 remakes ofPokemon RubyandSapphireopted for a more direct style. As a result, fans expected a more modernized take on the original gen 4 games, something more likePokemon XandYor evenSwordandShield.
Being faithful remakes to the original,Pokemon Brilliant DiamondandShining Pearlwill include many of the same beats as the original including the starter Pokemon. InBrilliant DiamondandShining Pearl,players will have the choice between the game’s 3 starter Pokemon Turtwig, Chimchar, and Piplup. The player will only be able to pick one and will more likely have to trade to get the others, but unless they want to complete the Pokedex, it’s unnecessary as Piplup is arguably the best choice for a starter.
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The Versatility of Piplup
InBrilliant DiamondandShining Pearl,much like most other mainline Pokemon games, the player will be tasked with defeating an evil team, collecting all 8 badges, and taking part in the Elite 4 challenge, becoming champion. WithPiplup’s final evolution Empoleonat their side, it’s easy to do just about everything in the game.
Though Pokemon games aren’t known for being very challenging lately, their games in the earlier days have been known to have some challenges. Thankfully,Piplup will be able to cover most ofPokemon Brilliant DiamondandShining Pearl. Being a Water-type that eventually becomes a hybrid Steel-type is very powerful, as its final evolution Empoleon resists over half of all types. Usually, Pokemon will only resist a small handful of damage types, such as the other starter options Turtwig and Chimchar. Their final evolutions Torterra and Infernape only resist 3 and 6 types respectively, both also weak to 4 types. Empoleon, on the other hand, can resist 11 of the 18 types available, while also being only weak to 3.
Piplup and Empoleon Dominates
Of course, Piplup wouldn’t be able to stand on its own very easily without evolving to its final stage, Empoleon, due to the added Steel typing. Still, with howPokemon Brilliant DiamondandShining Pearlnarratively play out,Piplup players shouldn’t have too much to worry about. The Gym challenges are each of a specific typing, with most being no issue for Piplup and its evolutions, though with a little preparedness, any Piplup player can make it through with ease.
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Empoleon’s Royal Assassination into Post Game
Of course, this is all under the assumption thatPokemon Brilliant DiamondandShining Pearlwill remain 1:1 faithful to the original games, and so anything can change. With that said, the only other challenge for a player’s Empoleon to overcome is defeating the Elite 4. This challenge consists of 5 elite-level Pokemon trainers, though with some planning shouldn’t be an issue for Piplup starter pickers.
With that, Empoleon (and its player) should become the champion of the Sinnoh region!Pokemon Brilliant DiamondandShining Pearlalso will have the added challenge of catching all the game’s legendary Pokemon. This is another challenge that will be no problem for Empoleon as bothPokemon Brilliant DiamondandShining Pearl’s mascot legendary Pokemon Dialga and Palkiaare Steel/Dragon and Water/Dragon types respectively. Empoleon will be able to resist these two with ease, as well as the 3 Psychic-type Lake Guardian legendaries.
Heatran, Regigigas, Giratina, and Cresselia are all of types that Empoleon can sit and tank while the player tosses Pokeballs. IfPokemon Brilliant DiamondandShining Pearlbring back Darkrai, Shaymin, and Arceus, well they might as well sit at the feet of Empoleon waiting to be caught as they won’t be able to do much either.
Pokemon Brilliant DiamondandShining Pearlare currently in development and will launch on Nintendo Switch in late 2021.
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