Basics

Welcome to the basics section of our Pokemon Diamond/Pearl guide! This section of the guide covers, as you might expect, all of the basics of the game, from the control scheme to battling and catching Pokemon to traveling from town to town and city to city, and more!

As with our comprehensive walkthrough, the spoilers will be slight, but not entirely non-existent. Those looking to guarantee their ignorance on in-game plots and how the game functions might not find full-blown spoilers here, but they still might want to play the game (or at least try) before reading this section of the guide.

Since Pokemon Diamond/Pearl is only on the Nintendo DS, explaining what the controls do won't be a fruitless endeavor in multi-platformism. Our grid below will briefly explain the function of each control, with the control name on the left and the explanation on the right.

Those who have played a Pokemon game before won't need to read this section, because the series has changed very little since the 1990's. However, if this is your first Pokemon game, you might be confused as to just what the game's all about, what you're supposed to do in the game, and how the game is ultimately beaten.

Pokemon Diamond/Pearl is a multifaceted RPG. In the game, you play as a main character (who you name, pick the gender of, et cetera) who wants to become a Pokemon trainer. What are Pokemon, and how do you train them? Well, Pokemon are wild animals which are wildly popular in Sinnoh (where the main game takes place), but these animals can be captured and pitted against other Pokemon (whether wild or captured) in battles between the temporary enemies. To catch Pokemon, one uses a Poke Ball (or a variant thereof) in battle with a wild Pokemon. Once captured, the Pokemon joins your team and you can level up that creature, exploit its strengths, and use it against other Pokemon as you go about your quest.

Your quest is elementary enough to understand, and is again quite familiar to those who have already played games in the series. Thrust into the limelight by finding a famous Pokemon professor's briefcase with three young Pokemon within, you choose one and go about your quest to capture more Pokemon, battle other trainers, and ultimately gain the eight badges that each of the Gym Leaders in Sinnoh have for you. They must be taken out in order (hence our highly linear walkthrough), but it's getting from Gym to Gym and doing everything in between that makes the game truly unique, and truly worth playing for Pokemon fans and RPG nerds alike.

If you're confused, worry not, fledgling Pokemon trainer! We'll explain in detail everything that needs explaining! Read on!

There are really only two types of Pokemon encounters that you should be aware of. The first are wild encounters, and the second are trainer encounters. Both are similar to each other in some ways, but the battle types are also significantly different from one another as well.

So-called "Wild" Pokemon can be encountered on various routes in the game, in caves, and certain other places. Most are found in "grass," though they can also be found anywhere in environments like caves or mountains, and in water (if you fish or surf). Pokemon owned by trainers are usually stronger and smarter for the regions you're in when compared to the wild Pokemon in the area (though this may be too much of a generalization). The latter, unfortunately, can't be captured—only killed (though the game doesn't allow Pokemon to be "killed"... rather, they "faint"). As far as capturing Pokemon is concerned...

Capturing Pokemon might sound simple enough, but in reality it's a time-consuming art that necessitates a degree of patience and skill. Some Pokemon are easily caught, while others take a considerable amount of time, patience and luck to acquire. Either way, there are general rules to capturing a Pokemon that should be considered regardless of the degree of difficulty in actually capturing them.

You'll want to weaken your target considerably—as much as possible without risking killing the foe. A smart way to do this, if you're dedicated enough, is to place a Pokemon in battle that has weak attack potential for the type of Pokemon you're attempting to capture. You can then chip away slowly but surely on the foe's HP until it gets low enough (somewhere in the red is usually a good place to try and get it). At this point, toss a Poke Ball and wish for the best (you can consult the Inventory section of the guide for more Poke Balls to use... with varying degrees of success and special uses). If captured, the ball will shake three times and stars will then appear above it. Congratulations! You've captured a Pokemon! Now what?

Training captured Pokemon and learning to keep a working party (or group of parties) is probably one of the most important aspects of the game, and is an integral part in getting through the game successfully. Essentially, your party will consist of six Pokemon at any given time (as there are six slots in your active Pokemon party to be occupied), and these Pokemon can be switched out, mixed around, et cetera, by using computers most commonly found at Pokemon Centers in most in-game towns and cities. You'll have access to all of the Pokemon you've captured via these computers (but not the Pokemon encountered, which is different in that it only fills in parts of your Pokedex).

Many players will play differently with their parties. Some like to work in a lot of different Pokemon as they go, while others will rely on the same Pokemon time and time again, capturing other Pokemon just to fill in the Pokedex or for in-game completion, but not for any use. We recommend a mixture of both methods. It's completely unrealistic and generally impossible to work in each Pokemon you capture (especially after the main quest... we're talking about 400+ Pokemon here), but it is realistic to have two working parties of Pokemon, for a total of twelve. It's a smart idea, therefore, to have twelve strong, able Pokemon to use at any given time.

What does "working party" mean? Generally, this insinuates that you have a well-balanced party of six, with unlike weaknesses and strengths, so that all possible enemies can be effectively dealt with. They should be well-leveled (on or above the levels of wild Pokemon in the area, if not considerably higher) and they should be well-used (throwing in a water-based Pokemon against a Luxray is probably not a good idea, for instance). Equipping them with berries and other battle items is also a good idea, though it's completely possible to get through the game without having one Pokemon use one berry or in-battle item. That will be entirely up to you.

The flow of the game is the final really important thing you have to understand in order to successfully play through the game. The game is an RPG, but it's fairly linear (more like an old-school RPG) and badges can only be acquired in a specific order (so there's no jumping around like there can be in, say, Zelda: LttP on the SNES). As you visit towns and cities, you'll open up more areas to explore, like routes, caves, and the like. As you progress, you'll also have to take care of the main story of the game, which involves Team Galactic.

Therefore, the game is multi-faceted in that it has a couple of main stories, one involving Team Galactic and the other really only involving you, the outrageous number of trainers in the game, and the Pokemon in the field that you may or may not catch. This is where the game's non-linear side comes out, because while you can only progress the main quest in a certain order, you can always go back to previously-visited areas (especially after you get the ability to Fly) to collect berries, fight trainers who want a rematch, or to capture Pokemon you previously visited.

Otherwise, this is really all of the information a person needs to get started in the game. Issues such as Poffins, beauty contests, et cetera will be covered in good time in the side quests section of the guide. And without further delay, here is the top ten things you should keep in mind as you play the game. Enjoy!