Even before Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl were announced, fans were discussing potential changes they'd like to see made to the Generation IV games. While beloved, the original Sinnoh titles were famously flawed games from their frustrating gym order to strange choices in regards to its regional Pokédex -- issues the developers themselves seems to acknowledge by making changes for Platinum.
The Pokémon Company generally opts for faithful recreations rather than reimaginations with its remakes, but fans have been hoping the Gen IV remakes will have some necessary quality-of-life changes. But while it seems unlikely most of Platinum's improvements will make their way into Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, the recently-announced Pokémon Hideaways appear to at least fix a couple of the game's Pokédex issues.
In the latest Pokémon Presents, fans finally got a good look at Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl and some of the game's new features. Among these is an addition Sinnoh's beloved Underground called Pokémon Hideaways. These appear to be separate cave areas within the Underground where players can find and capture wild Pokémon, some of which can't be found anywhere else. Players can also affect the Pokémon that will appear by placing statues in their hidden base.
Notably, the trailer and subsequent breakdown shows player encountering a Munchlax and a Houndoom. In the original Diamond and Pearl, Munchlax was incredibly rare, as finding one required players to slather Honey on certain trees, then return after six hours (but before 24) to find a wild Pokémon. Making it harder was the fact that Munchlax could only appear on four of the game's 21 trees (which were determined by the player's Trainer ID and secret ID) -- and even on those trees, it only had a one percent chance of appearing.
However, while players who wanted a Munchlax could trade or transfer over a Snorlax and breed it, Diamond and Pearl's lack of Fire-types was a more glaring issue that frustrated most who played it. The game's regional Dex of Pokémon had just five Fire-types from two evolutionary families: the Chimchar line and the Ponyta line. Since Chimchar is only available as a starter, this left Ponyta and Rapidash as the only Fire-types available to catch in the wild before unlocking the National Dex, neither of which is particularly strong.
The situation was made even more confusing by the fact that Sinnoh has a Fire-type specialist in the Elite Four (whose team consists of Infernape, Rapidash and three non-Fire-types). Additionally, Generation IV did introduce another Fire-type: Magmortar. However, like several other Sinnoh evolutions, this final form for the Generation I Pokémon Magmar was only available post-game. While Game Freak likely wanted these Pokémon to be a nice reward for players who completed the game, the absence of the Magby line and Flareon (who could have been included alongside the new Eeveelutions) was more of a nuisance than anything.
While not introduced as such, Pokémon Hideaways seem like Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl's way of fixing Sinnoh's frustrating regional Dex without changing anything from the original. Those who want the most authentic Diamond and Pearl experience will likely be able to slather Honey on trees and hope for the best or teach their Lopunny Fire Punch for some type coverage, it's nice to see that this won't be the only way to enjoy Sinnoh on Switch.