While many generations of Pokemon have their fans, the fourth generation is one of the most favored. Many fans have a strong attachment to the Sinnoh region and what it brought to the franchise. With Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl now out, one talented fan revisited the original DS release with a cute and nostalgic animation.
While Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl saw the Sinnoh region upscaled and given a fresh new look on Switch, plenty of the game's features needed to be re-tooled for the lack of the dual screens from the Nintendo DS. The original Diamond and Pearl titles tried to use the dual screens to their advantage, with one screen featuring the information players needed while the touch screen lets fans interact with the game more closely than previous Pokemon games.
Reddit user gatekid3 decided to go back to the days when players could play Diamond and Pearl with the original DS title and created an energetic and inspired animation featuring the Sinnoh region's starters. The animation sees the handheld open to reveal three Poke Balls that open as the stylus taps on the screen. Chimchar, Piplup, and Turtwig pop out of the Poke Balls to stand upon the handheld, only to have the DS close on top of them.
The animation is incredibly nostalgic, as gatekid3 has recaptured the general aesthetic seen with the original DS model in pixel art, which is an impressive feat and definitely displays a fair deal of skill. Fans took to the comments to express that the adorable and familiar animation has made them smile, with some pointing out with some concern that the DS squishes the starters upon closing. Other fans have reassured them that the Pokemon are okay, as they had only been put back into their Poke Balls.
Some fans have mentioned that such a nostalgic animation has ended up being a bitter reminder of how the age of the DS has ended with the 3DS. Nintendo has announced that the 3DS eShop will shut down next year, along with the Wii U eShop, which also comes with the end of the handheld's Wi-Fi services.
Some comments on gatekid3's post deal with fans paying tribute to the 3DS eShop, hoping it "rests in peace." Diamond and Pearl's own specific wi-fi services ended in 2014, but with the release of Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, players can now enjoy trading with Sinnoh trainers once again.
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are available now on Nintendo Switch.