This year has been busy for Nintendo and the Pokemon Company, with thePokemonfranchise celebrating its 25th anniversary since the release of the first games in 1996. Among the releases for this anniversary, long-overdue remakes ofPokemon DiamondandPearlare coming, thoughPokemon Brilliant DiamondandShining Pearlare different in terms of graphics from recentPokemongames likeSwordandShield. Regardless, these remakes are the perfect opportunity to reintroduce belovedfeatures from the originals andPokemon Platinum, such as the WiFi Plaza, the Battle Frontier, and the Poketch.
The Poketch, short for Pokemon Watch, was a tool available in all three Generation 4 games, withPokemon Platinumfeaturing an improved version. Unlike the WiFi Plaza or the Battle Frontier, however, the Poketch was designed specifically for the Nintendo DS console, which won’t be the system on whichPokemon Brilliant DiamondandShining Pearlwill release. The Poketch was found used in the bottom screen of the Nintendo DS, and this needs to be changed according to the design of the Switch if the remakes are to retain them.
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The Best Poketch Apps that Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl Should Keep
With no bottom screen on the Switch,Pokemon Brilliant DiamondandShining Pearlneed to change the way the Poketch is used and viewed, even though there is no official confirmation this will be in the game. The Poketch was unique and entertaining thanks to all the different apps it featured, including basic stuff like the Digital Watch and the Calculator, making a sort of earlyPokemonsmartphone. However, what made the Poketch great were other apps it had, like the Friendship Checker, the Move Tester, and the Day-Care Checker, which all were quality-of-life features great to have in such earlyPokemongames.
The Friendship Checker was a very useful app that allowed trainers to have a direct, quick, and effective way to take a look at how friendly their Pokemon really were. The Move Tester was a way for more inexperienced trainers to learn which moves were effective or not effective against specific Pokemon types, using exclamation marks on the screen to tell players if the chosen types were good to use. Then, the Day-Care Checker was another useful tool for players to keep an eye on theirPokemon currently residing at the Day-Careto see if they produced an egg, and it also showed the Pokemon’s genders.
While these things may seem elementary, at the time they were incredibly avant-garde features to have inPokemongames, where players previously had to check in person if their Pokemon had an egg at the Day-Care, for example.Pokemon Brilliant DiamondandShining Pearlskipping the inclusion of the Poketch would be sad, and it would also have an impact on the actual feeling of the remakes, which thus far are described as being faithful to the originals. If they do not retain the Poketch as it was inDiamond,Pearl, andPlatinum,Pokemon Brilliant DiamondandShining Pearlshould at least include a modernized version that’s more in line with the currentstandards set byPokemon SwordandShield.
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How The Poketch Could Return in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl
IfPokemon Brilliant DiamondandShining Pearlwere to include the Poketch, there is the matter of how. Part of the allure of the Pokemon Watch was to have useful stuff happening on the bottom screen of theNintendo DSwhile doing other activities, but for the Switch this would need to be changed in significant ways. The Poketch could simply be included in another menu, rather than having its dedicated space, and players could toggle it on or off depending on what they want to do.
This change would also alter the way the Poketch is used, as it would become much more of a secondary feature, especially for checking useful information in the game. For example, if players want to look for specific berries and where to pick them, that’s when they’d use the Poketch inBrilliant DiamonandShining Pearlso they can launch the Berry Searcher feature from theoriginal gen 4Pokemongames. InDiamond,Pearl, andPlatinum,this would be sort of a companion app to check from time to time, even if not looking for anything in particular.
Then again, the reintroduction of the Poketch could happen for nostalgia rather than actual use, at least if the feature is going to stay the same as in the original titles. This leads to the idea that the best way to handle the Poketch inPokemon Brilliant DiamondandShining Pearlwould probably be to adapt it based on themenu options fromSwordandShield, having the main hub with a few options to select from. Whether this is going to be the case or not, players shouldn’t expect the Poketch to return toBrilliant DiamondandShining Pearlas they knew it from the original games.
Overall, the possibility that this feature comes back is not slim, but it will need to have structural changes that allow for both easy navigation within the Poketch, and adaptation to the standards of the newer installments in the series. Here’s to hoping the Poketch will not be gone forever, but instead find anew home inBrilliant DiamondandShining Pearl.
PokemonBrilliantDiamondandShiningPearlwill be released on August 06, 2025 for Nintendo Switch.
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