Pokémon Diamond and Pearl/Headscratchers

• Waaaaaait a moment, Ms. Champion. Wait just a moment. I distinctly recall fighting tooth and nail for hours on end without healing to get to this insane Eldritch Location, then having to solve insane Gravity Screw puzzles in there so I can finally get to fight an insanely difficult Omnicidal Maniac while hanging onto the last shreds of sanity. Now I hope I don't come across as tactless and all, but where was your lv. 62 Garchomp then?
  • Addressed on the page: Helping Would Be Killstealing.
  • "Player! You're our only hope of beating Cyrus and saving the world, even though my pokemon are probably double your level and could easily destroy his team! Good luck!"
  • There's some indication, right before you fight her in her capacity as League Champion, that she's been grooming you to challenge her and the Elite four all along. So its possible she had you fight Cyrus so your pokemon could get the experience for beating him. If you lost, she could have just stepped in and ground him to dust in your stead, but by winning, you take another step on the path to the League. And she left you Giratina because she's nice like that (did *anyone* not catch the mascot legendary? In any of the games?).
    • In fact, would you rather fight Cynthia later with a lv. 62 Giratina? I wouldn't.
  • Hey, how do you even know she even had that Garchomp at that time? For all we know, her Pokemon could still only be in their 40s and she needs to level up her Pokemon like you. You think you're the only one who needs to Level Grind?
    • She wouldn't be Champion if her Pokemon were still in their 40s.
      • Actually, it could be possible that she is, which is kinda scary that she's so good that she's champion with low-level Pokemon...
      • In HGSS Lance's Dragonite is around level 40 at the time of the Rocket HQ, and he's still champion, so this is likely.
• What's with the pseudo-rival's family here? They seem far more interested in you than their child. And why do they just stand outside the lab after beating the game? Don't they have their own house to go to? Or even going inside the lab?
  • "Well Done, Son" Guy. They don't see their son worthy enough. Or maybe...Palmer is your father! DUN DUN DUN. (Just realized how you and your rival's relationship totally changes when you see them as family. Changes Silver somewhat, huh?)
  • We're taking about The Player Character you did not pick. On this note: Strangled by the Red String. You're an SPC, (s)he's an SPC, Mars commented on how much of a couple you are...
    • Oh, I always assumed she was making fun of you two about the couple thing. I'm not sure what the exact quote was, but it was more like, "What are you, some lovey-dovey couple to the rescue?". She didn't really go on about it that much.
  • You are a Child Prodigy. Someone who has saved your region from destruction, destroyed a cult, captured a bunch of Pokemon, and became a champion at only eleven. Your psuedo-rival is a Flat Character who researches Pokemon.
    • So? It's still their kid, whether or not I'm awesome doesn't mean they should go ignored.
    • Eh, Prof. Oak did the same thing with his grandson; maybe having little respect for family members just comes naturally to Pokémon researchers.
  • A lot of families tend to react like that, for a period of time at least.
• Fire Fang hits through Wonder Guard, even when hacked. Discuss.
  • My best guess would be a way to stop cheating courtesy of Game Freak. Look at it this way, Wonder Guard prevents all attacks except for super effective moves. Best thing to solo the game with ^[1]. Problem is, only one Pokēmon (Shedinja) has this and it isn't exactly the best Pokēmon to use. Solution? Hack it on to something with no weaknesses^[2] like Spiritomb. However, Game Freak caught to this and made Fire Fang able to hit through Wonder Guard to catch cheaters and hackers off guard. Why is it a guess? As far as I know, Game Freak hasn't said anything about this which would make this somewhat of a Guide Dang It.
  • Fire Fang no longer has this property in BW, so this may have just been a glitch. Note that it would normally hit Shedinja anyway because it's super-effective, so GF may not have realized this in time.
    • The point was to stop hackers, not people using the ability legitimately...
      • Shedinja, the only Pokemon who can legitimately have this ability, is already weak to fire. The Fire Fang thing works effectively to deter cheaters and doesn't change anything when used properly.
    • Actually, Porygon, Porygon2, Ralts, Kirlia, and Gardevoir are all able to Trace Wonder Guard. As Porygon and Porygon2 are able to learn Conversion and Conversion 2, it is actually possible to have a pokemon only able to be hit by Fighting type moves, or by Ground type moves. If Fire Fang can hit through Wonder Guard on any of these pokemon, then it is a glitch, and not an intentional method of deterring cheaters.
  • Actually, Spiritomb doesn't have an unique type combination, as it shares the Ghost/Dark typing with Sableye.
• Why are there wild Steelix in Sinnoh, even though they can only evolve by trading (while holding Metal Coat)?
  • Iron Island probably has naturally occuring Metal Coat, which lets it evolve (let's ignore the trading part since there's really no logical reason why that should even happen in the first place). As for the Victory Road and Snowpoint Temple ones, you got me.
  • Magic.
  • Same as how you can find some pokemon at levels lower than the levels at which they are supposed to evolve - pokemon evolution in the wild works differently from pokemon evolution in captivity. The same applies to pokemon breeding, which is why male-only pokemon are capable of breeding in the wild despite the lack of dittos in the area, and why multiples of various legendaries exist, yet you can't breed them yourself.
• So, how come in Platinum, the cutscene at the Spear Pillar adds Dialga and Palkia to the Pokédex as seen without you having to battle or catch them until later, but the events in the Distortion World don't do the same for the lake trio?
  • Most likely because it's not all that difficult to just go to the lake trio's caves and just encounter them there. Annoying, yes, but having to get to Spear Pillar all over again just for Dialga and Palkia's 'dex data would be even worse.
• How one is expected to capture the level 1 Regigigas in Platinum. You can't battle it until you have all three legendary golems in your party. How do you unlock the way to them? Having an event only level 100 Regigigas in your party, therefore making the level 1 Regigigas obsolete.
  • The level 1 Regigigas isn't actually useless. The level 100 Regigigas can't be EV-trained (kinda like customizing its stats through use) because EV's take effect when the Pokemon levels up. A level 100 CAN'T level up. Which makes the level 1 you get far better than the level 100 when they're both at level 100.
    • Just for information, the level 100 Regigigas can be trained somewhat using vitamins (and the so-called "box trick" to claim the results), and can also be EV Trained in Black and White, where the mechanism for updating stats was altered. Same, of course, for any other level 100 pokemon.
• It's implied Darach likes Caitlin.. But she's 14 and he seems to be an adult. Squick, eh?
  • Maybe as a friend?
• So, assuming that Dialga/Palkia/Giratina aren't what the myths claim them to be (gods of time/space/antimatter), then what would the purpose of Cyrus' plan have been? Surely if the dragons weren't truly capable of manipulating spacetime, Cyrus would have accomplished nothing by controlling them, eliminating the presence of any real threat. (Okay, so the nihilistic leader of a terrorist organization would be in control of a very powerful Pokemon, but that's not quite the same as resetting the universe.)
  • Yes, removing the one factor that his entire plan was based around does, in fact, ruin the plan. Funny how that works.
  • Who said that they're not capable of manipulating spacetime? They aren't what the myths claim, they didn't create time/space/antimatter. But they do have power such that they are capable of manipulating them, hence how Giratina can make the Distortion World, and why summoning Dialga/Palkia in diamond/pearl creates a massive distortion emanating from the peak where it was summoned.
    • Well then the reason behind my confusion becomes "how can they do that?" If they aren't gods, then I'm assuming they're pretty much just powerful beasts. So how does something like that acquire the ability to manipulate fundamental elements?
      • The same way any other pokemon does. Just more so.
    • If they're gods or not is pretty much irrelevent. They're god-LIKE and that's what matters, because their powers are the same. If something is a god or not is pretty much a human distinction anyway, and as Arcanine's dex entry shows, varies from region to region. But the creatures don't change.

1. ↑ This strategy is commonly used in the Battle Tower/Frontier to get lots of BP to earn prizes with
2. ↑ Spiritomb is a popular choice because of it's unique type combination