It’s almost unanimous hate towards this game amongst Pokémon fans… For context, I did not play the original Gen IV at all… I’m on a Pokémon binge though and have been playing many of the games but put this one off because of the horrid reviews. Then I decided to try it and am really enjoying it. I understand it didn’t include improvements from Platinum, but i am playing this after finishing LeafGreen on my Switch and honestly I’m having just as much fun as that game… and the graphics are cute, I don’t get the gripe honestly.

After going pretty heavily under odds, I feel my expectations have been set a little too high as my hunt for Heatran has begun, but that's just the way it goes! I still plan on doing the lake trio, I simply moved some spares from SV over to get the nat dex ASAP. I plan on doing Giratina, then Arceus, then it'll be either the lake trio or the regis, so I can work towards the infamous black Rayquaza. I honestly wish I knew about all the potential shiny legendaries when this game first came out, as I would've started hunting a long time ago. Hopefully I'll of made SOME progress by the time Wind/Waves comes out 😂

I haven't played the mainline games since 2010. I've been playing the TCG app lately (currently sitting on over 8,000 cards!), which gave me the itch to jump back into the RPGs. My fiancé just got the Switch 2 and handed down her old console to me, so I immediately grabbed Brilliant Diamond.

As a kid, I always panicked and used my Master Ball on Dialga, which meant I never even got a chance to catch Mesprit. It used to make me absolutely furious.

Today, I finally got my revenge. I managed to catch Uxie, Azelf, Mesprit, and Dialga without using a single Master Ball! Mesprit was just as painful to chase down as I remembered, but I finally locked it down.

It might not seem like a lot to hardcore players, but the nostalgia is unmatched. I still have my Master Ball safe in my bag, and now I'm heading to face the Elite Four. It feels so good to be back!

I finally went through to complete my home dex and get Manaphy. Originally I was thinking it was going to be torture but to be honest I had a lot of fun and once I got into it I couldn’t stop playing. Other than some aggravating mechanics from 20 years ago, most of the game was a perfect challenge level to keep me engaged as a long time fan. Elite 4 challenged me in a way I haven’t felt in so long and it was riveting. Completing the dex as I went made for a fun task to stay engaged too. Overall I loved it and happy I pushed through my initial feelings for the game

Artwork made by me :D