Games
Diamond and Pearl: Sinnoh, eight badges and the physical and special split
Diamond and Pearl are the 2006 Nintendo DS pair that introduced the Sinnoh region, 107 new species and a physical or special category on every damaging move. The two versions differ in their cover legendary, Dialga in Diamond and Palkia in Pearl, and in a set of wild evolutionary lines that appear in only one cartridge. In 2026 they are played from used DS cartridges on any DS or 3DS system, and the 2021 Nintendo Switch remakes Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are the current-system way to play the same story.
Diamond and Pearl on Nintendo DS: structure, versions, postgame and how to play in 2026. Drafted 8 Nov 2026.
Sinnoh runs eight gyms, four Elite Four members and Cynthia
Sinnoh is split north to south by Mount Coronet, and most of the route network loops around it. The player starts in Twinleaf Town, picks a starter from Professor Rowan's briefcase beside Lake Verity, and travels with the rival, Barry. The antagonists are Team Galactic, led by Cyrus, who captures the three lake guardians Uxie, Mesprit and Azelf to summon the cover legendary at Spear Pillar on the mountain's summit. Eight gyms sit between the start and Victory Road. Eight Hidden Machines gate the map, and two of them, Defog and Rock Climb, are new to this generation. At the Pokémon League the Elite Four are Aaron (Bug), Bertha (Ground), Flint (Fire) and Lucian (Psychic), fought in that order. The Champion is Cynthia, and her Garchomp outclasses anything else in the main story. The regional Pokédex lists 151 species, and the credits roll after the Champion.
Each version keeps several evolutionary lines to itself
Diamond and Pearl share most wild encounters but divide a set of lines between them. Diamond has Murkrow, Stunky, Cranidos and Larvitar. Pearl has Misdreavus, Glameow, Shieldon and Bagon. Each cover legendary appears only in its own version: Dialga in Diamond, Palkia in Pearl. Four older species still evolve only through a trade, as they have since 1996: Kadabra, Machoke, Graveler and Haunter. A complete National Pokédex therefore needs the other version, or Platinum, HeartGold or SoulSilver, which all trade with this pair. The Global Trade Station once matched strangers online for this. With that service gone, the practical setup is a second cartridge in a second DS-family system and a local wireless trade at the Union Room in any Pokémon Center's basement. Local wireless needs no server and still works in 2026.
Turtwig, Chimchar and Piplup reach the first badge in Oreburgh
Turtwig is Grass and evolves at levels 18 and 32. Chimchar is Fire and evolves at 14 and 36. Piplup is Water and evolves at 16 and 36. Each final form gains a second type: Torterra is Grass and Ground, Infernape is Fire and Fighting, Empoleon is Water and Steel. The first milestones run in this order. Lake Verity, where the briefcase is opened and the first wild battle happens. Jubilife City, the first large city, where the Pokétch, a watch on the touch screen, is handed out. Oreburgh City, where Roark's Rock gym gives the first badge; Turtwig and Piplup hit it for double damage, and Chimchar gains Mach Punch as Monferno at level 14. Eterna City, where Gardenia's Grass gym gives the second badge and Team Galactic keeps its first building. Piplup players meet a Grass gym there with a Water starter.
The postgame opens the Battle Zone and the National Pokédex
After the credits the player can reach the Battle Zone by ferry from Snowpoint City. It holds four areas: the Fight Area, the Survival Area, the Resort Area and Stark Mountain, where Heatran waits after a short story with a trainer named Buck. The Fight Area's Battle Tower is the only battle facility in Diamond and Pearl, with streaks of seven battles at a time. Seeing every species in the Sinnoh Pokédex earns the National Pokédex, which opens Pal Park on Route 221: six Pokémon per cartridge per day come over from a Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, FireRed or LeafGreen cartridge in the DS Game Boy Advance slot. The Elite Four return with higher-level teams. Cresselia appears on Fullmoon Island, reached from Canalave City, and then roams Sinnoh.
Every damaging move picked a physical or special side in 2006
Before Generation IV a move's category came from its type. Fire, Water, Grass, Electric, Ice, Psychic, Dragon and Dark moves were all special; every other damaging type was physical. Diamond and Pearl gave each damaging move its own category. Fire Punch, Ice Punch and Thunder Punch became physical and used Attack. Shadow Ball became special. Waterfall became a physical Water move, which finally suited Gyarados's high Attack. For a player coming from Ruby, Sapphire or FireRed this is the biggest change in team building: read the category beside each move on the summary screen before planning around a species' Attack or Special Attack. The rule has held in every main-series game since 2006. The glossary entry is at /reference/glossary/#physical-special-split, and the move finder lists each move's learners in this version group.
Platinum and the 2021 remakes reworked the same map
Platinum, released in Japan in 2008, is the third version of this region. It changes the gym order, expands the regional Pokédex from 151 to 210 species, adds the Distortion World and Giratina's Origin Forme, and replaces the Fight Area's lone Battle Tower with a five-facility Battle Frontier. Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, released on Nintendo Switch on 19 November 2021, remake Diamond and Pearl rather than Platinum. They keep the 151-species regional Pokédex and the original gym order, rebuild the Underground as the Grand Underground with Pokémon Hideaways, and give the whole party experience after every battle in the manner of later generations. A player who wants Platinum's additions still needs the 2008 cartridge. Legends: Arceus, from 2022, is set in Hisui, the same land generations earlier, with a different structure entirely.
Online play for Diamond and Pearl ended in May 2014
Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection closed on 20 May 2014. That ended the Global Trade Station, online battles, online Mystery Gift and friend-code trading for every Generation IV game. Local wireless trading and battling between two DS-family systems still work. Diamond and Pearl were never sold digitally on a Nintendo eShop and have no Nintendo Switch Online release, so a used cartridge is the only way to own them in 2026. Any DS, DS Lite, DSi, 3DS or 2DS runs them; only the original DS and the DS Lite have the Game Boy Advance slot that Pal Park needs. Pokémon caught here reach modern games by a chain: Poké Transfer into Black, White, Black 2 or White 2, then Poké Transporter and Pokémon Bank on a 3DS, then Pokémon HOME. Pokémon Bank can no longer be downloaded and ends service on 25 February 2027, so the chain works only on a 3DS that already has Bank and Poké Transporter installed, and only until that date.
| Species | Version |
|---|---|
| Murkrow, Honchkrow | Diamond |
| Stunky, Skuntank | Diamond |
| Cranidos, Rampardos | Diamond |
| Larvitar, Pupitar, Tyranitar | Diamond |
| Dialga | Diamond |
| Misdreavus, Mismagius | Pearl |
| Glameow, Purugly | Pearl |
| Shieldon, Bastiodon | Pearl |
| Bagon, Shelgon, Salamence | Pearl |
| Palkia | Pearl |
Dialga and Palkia confirmed on the official Japanese site (pokemon-jp-dp), 8 Nov 2026. The wild lines are still from memory; no official page lists them.
| Order | Leader | City | Badge | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Roark | Oreburgh City | Coal Badge | Rock |
| 2 | Gardenia | Eterna City | Forest Badge | Grass |
| 3 | Maylene | Veilstone City | Cobble Badge | Fighting |
| 4 | Crasher Wake | Pastoria City | Fen Badge | Water |
| 5 | Fantina | Hearthome City | Relic Badge | Ghost |
| 6 | Byron | Canalave City | Mine Badge | Steel |
| 7 | Candice | Snowpoint City | Icicle Badge | Ice |
| 8 | Volkner | Sunyshore City | Beacon Badge | Electric |
Leaders, cities, badges and order confirmed in the Nintendo of America manual (manual-dp), 8 Nov 2026; the manual names the fourth leader Wake. Types are not in the manual and stay check.
5 checks before you act
- Hold Up, Select and B on the title screen to delete a previous owner's save before starting.
- Set Text Speed to Fast and Battle Scene to Off in the Options menu.
- Read the version name on the title screen and use it on every encounter list.
- Pick a starter with Roark's Rock gym and Gardenia's Grass gym both in mind.
- Collect the Pokétch in Jubilife City; its apps arrive one at a time as the story goes on.
Read next
Sources read for this page
- ReadWriter's game knowledgeundated
- ReadPokéAPI Diamond Pearl version-group metadataread 7 Nov 2026
- ReadPokéAPI species and evolution records, repository cacheread 7 Nov 2026
- ReadPokéAPI Brilliant Diamond Shining Pearl version-group metadataread 7 Nov 2026
- ReadNintendo Support: Service Discontinuation: Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection Serviceread 8 Nov 2026
- ReadNintendo Support: Pokémon Bank End of Serviceread 8 Nov 2026
- ReadOfficial HOME service overviewread 7 Nov 2026
- ReadPokémon Diamond Version instruction booklet (Nintendo of America)read 8 Nov 2026
- Readポケットモンスターオフィシャルサイト: ダイヤモンド・パール, お楽しみread 8 Nov 2026
- Readポケットモンスターオフィシャルサイト: ダイヤモンド・パール, ポケモンread 8 Nov 2026
- ReadNintendo Store: Pokémon Brilliant Diamondread 8 Nov 2026
- Read任天堂: ポケットモンスター ダイヤモンド・パールread 8 Nov 2026
- ReadNintendo UK: Pokémon Diamondread 8 Nov 2026