Bryon’s party featured a Magneton instead of a Bronzor, which increased the difficulty of his battle and rounded out his team’s abilities. Fantina’s Drifblim was also swapped for Duskull. Gardenia’s Cherubi had evolved into a Cherrim for Platinum’s fight, and Fantina’s Gengar was downgraded to a Haunter. In addition to the changes that Platinum made to its gym’s puzzles, most of its gym leaders also had different Pokémon in their teams. BDSP’s Gym Leaders Use Original Teams From D&P
Veilstone Gym originally featured sliding blocks that players had to move in order to clear a path to Maylene, but Platinum had punching bags that players hit to topple tire piles blocking the way forward. Rather than playing hide and seek with four trainers to reach Gardenia in Eterna Gym, players had to rotate the hands of the gym’s giant clock by defeating the four trainers before they could reach Gardenia.
Related: Which Pokémon BDSP Starter Evolution Is Best (& Why)Įterna Gym and Veilstone Gym also had updated puzzles in Platinum that didn’t make it to BDSP, which feature Diamond & Pearl’s originals. Fortunately, the Pokétch has a calculator so players can check their math. Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl brought back the original order, so Hearthome is the fifth gym once again, complete with its original puzzle. The interior had also been changed to feature a maze that players had to navigate in the dark rather than a brief math quiz that had players enter the door corresponding to each room’s answer to reach Fantina. Hearthome Gym was the fifth gym in D&P, but Platinum allowed players to challenge Gym Leader Fantina the first time they arrived in Hearthome City, making Hearthome Gym the game’s third gym instead.
The Eterna Gym, Hearthome Gym, and Veilstone Gym featured entirely new puzzles, and players challenged these gyms in a new order. Some of the gyms in Platinum had major renovations compared to Diamond & Pearl. Original D&P Gym Puzzles And Order Return To BDSP This Spring Path features Pokémon that are around level 50 and leads players to Turnback Cave, where the legendary Giratina will be waiting for them. Giratina can be found by returning to Route 214 below Veilstone City, where a new hidden path has been opened on the right just below Psychic Mitchell. While this parallel realm can’t be accessed in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, its resident Giratina can still be caught after players defeat the Pokémon League. With its unique mechanics and bizarre atmosphere that set it apart from anything else in the game, players may be disappointed to know that the Distortion World will not be featured in Diamond & Pearl’s remakes. However, Platinum’s Distortion World is absent as Giratina is no longer the mascot Legendary of the game that players encounter at the game’s climactic Spear Pillar. The showdown against Cyrus in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl brings back the original encounter from D&P in which players can catch either Dialga or Palkia depending on their version. With the notable lack of Platinum content in Pokémon: Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, players will find that these major changes did not transfer over to the newly released Gen IV remakes. However, this is currently speculation as Nintendo has not alluded to any DLC coming for BDSP, and Pokémon Legends: Arceus will likely be taking center stage for the franchise when it is released early in 2022. It’s possible that Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl will include content from Platinum in the future if there will, in fact, be DLC for the games. Related: Pokémon Diamond & Pearl Remakes: All Version Exclusive Legendary Pokémon Fans of Platinum’s many unique and interesting features may be disappointed to find that most of these changes did not transfer over to Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl. However, they include new features and updates of their own to set them apart from the originals.
While Platinum was widely considered a major upgrade to Diamond & Pearl, BDSP are functionally ports of the original games, for the most part, with enhanced 3D graphics. However, some of Platinum’s distinguishing features remain left out of Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl as the games adhere more to the content of the originals. These remakes promised to be faithful recreations of the original Diamond & Pearl games, though information available prior to their release suggested that some of the changes made in Platinum would return. With the long-awaited release of Pokémon: Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, players are finally able to jump back into the familiar Sinnoh region to discover everything that has changed about it since they last visited in Pokémon: Diamond & Pearl or Pokémon: Platinum.