Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are the latest installments in the juggernaut video game franchise, and reintroduce players old and new to the Sinnoh region. The games continue GameFreak’s streak of remaking past generations after listening to fan demands, similar to Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire being products of long-lasting requests.

Pokemon’s fourth generation introduced a plethora of fan favorites, and the Sinnoh Dex has a plethora of solid candidates for a diverse team in terms of typing, stats, and specific niches that certain Pokemon can fulfill. Although the games are rumored to only have Pokemon from the Sinnoh Pokedex in them, this alleged restriction is not as limiting is it implies. The strongest compositions for a team in these games can be seen below.

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The Starter

Generation four starters.

The starter Pokemon are expectedly balanced in terms of battle capabilities. Torterra boasts impressive defenses and enough attack to take advantage of physical moves, while Infernape is a quick mixed attacker with impressive coverage. As for Empoleon, it is special-oriented and boasts a solid defensive type. Unique to Sinnoh, the starters’ types counter each other in some capacity because of the second type they get when they’re fully evolved. The gyms don’t particularly counter or put one starter at an advantage, unlike other generations such as the first two that respectively put the grass starter at an immense advantage and disadvantage. Like most Trainers, the choice only matters depending on what role players would like that other Pokemon cannot provide.

A Strong Flying Type

Staraptor

Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl continue the seventh generation’s tradition of streamlining HMs through other game mechanics and make planning move sets and party members far easier to handle. As a result, Flying-type Pokemon are not as mandatory as they once were. Still, Sinnoh isl home to unique and useful Flying types that might not just be the token flyer of a player's team.

Staraptor is Sinnoh’s take on the regional bird. Not only does it have impressive speed and special attack, but its Intimidate ability makes any physical attacker far less threatening. Its ability to naturally learn Close Combat is excellent coverage for a Pokemon that’s either weak to types weak to Fighting or is barely able to hurt them.

Evolving Togepi is less straightforward than Starly, but a bunch of friendship and a Shiny Stone later players can get Togekiss, a bulky support Pokemon with great offensive coverage (Normal, Flying, Fairy, Fighting, Psychic, and Fire, among others), an obnoxious but complementary ability in Serene Grace, and as of Gen 6, a part Fairy type that makes previously feared Dragon types into non-issues.

Sinnoh carries the tradition of bringing back a certain pesky species of bat Pokemon, but Crobat is a Pokemon worth the time spent improving friendship with a Golbat. Being one of the fastest Pokemon ever, especially among non-legendaries, and having a vastly more diverse movepool in modern games, Crobat can annoy and terrify opponents.

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A “Sinnoh Evolution”

pokemon go gen 4 evolutions now electivire

“Sinnoh Evolution” is a fan-appointed nickname to describe the abundancy of Gen 4 Pokemon that evolve into or from Pokemon introduced in previous generations. The aforementioned Togekiss is one of those evolutions. Sinnoh Evolutions are notable for being fairly rare and being obtained through unorthodox means, such as leveling up in a specific location, being traded while holding a particular item, or leveling up while knowing a certain move.

However, they make up for it by generally having effective niches and greatly improving upon Pokemon that were once dismissed as mediocre. This is especially the case with the Johto Pokemon that got new evolutions. Monsters like Yanma, Murkrow, Gligar, and Piloswine can brag about being part of a fully defined evolutionary line. Whether it’s having a complimentary move pool, enough attack power or defenses to dish out or take a hit, or a handy ability, these new evolutions are some of the most useful potential team members in the Sinnoh region. As such, having one or even two is guaranteed to contribute to a team’s success.

A Notable Physical or Special Attacker

Pokemon split image Grimmsnarl Alakazam Lucario Machamp

There are several Pokemon that are simply known for their sheer attack power, and having a team member that can simply destroy opponents and retreat when necessary is a neat last resort that Sinnoh delivers with pride. Classic Pokemon like Gengar and Alakazam can be obtained in this region, and carry their legacy of being quick special attackers whose fragility seldom matters. Their pre-evolved forms can be obtained as early as right before the second gym, and they notably counter most of Team Galactic’s Pokemon, whether they’re used by goons or admins, thanks to their typing.

Sinnoh is also home to some of the best sweepers in Pokemon's physical department, such as Garchomp and Scizor. They have types that are awkward to counter, access to the appropriate stat-busting moves like Swords Dance and Bulk Up, and pre-evolved forms that can be caught relatively early in the game. If players manage to evolve Gible and Scyther quickly, they will easily tear anything that doesn’t resist them apart, especially if provided with useful TMs.

A Bulky Pokemon

pokemon anime snorlax

Pokemon that specialize in defenses may not necessarily be able to dish out the necessary attacks to sweep, but being able to endure potential finishing blows while inflicting status ailments or healing a teammate is valuable, especially during more challenging fights. If players don’t have a Pokemon that already fits this niche, Sinnoh has plenty of potential candidates. If the player is lucky, they can encounter Munchlax relatively early, and end up with the infamously powerful tank Snorlax. Another normal type, Blissey, which has the highest base HP out of all Pokemon, is obtainable in the Sinnoh region. Besides Normal types that can do various things besides taking hits, Pokemon like Steelix, Bastiodon, Hippowdon, and Gliscor boast impressive defensive stats and can become a nuisance when fighting the right Pokemon.

A Fairy Type

Clefable

The fairy type didn’t exist when Sinnoh was originally introduced, but now that they're around, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are the perfect opportunities to use this blessing of a type in a reintroduced region. The additional Fairy type makes certain Pokemon such as Gardevoir, Azumarill, Mr. Mime, and Clefable more interesting for a lineup. These Pokemon all have their strengths and weaknesses, and the additional type provided by the franchise’s sixth generation makes picking teammates even harder. The Fairy type’s properties add a new spin to these Pokemon’s capabilities, and in a region whose Champion infamously has a part-Dragon pseudo-legendary as her ace, it’s best to take advantage of the remakes’ modern offerings.

Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl will be out on Nintendo Switch on November 19, 2021.

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