5 features Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl should take from Sword & Shield

Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl are officially on the way to Nintendo Switch, and there are quite a few features it should borrow from Sword & Shield.

After years of waiting, Pokemon fans finally got what they wanted when Nintendo announced that remakes of Diamond & Pearl will be coming to Nintendo Switch in 2021 under the names Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl.

The Gen 4 remakes are believed to be exact replicas, with the biggest change being updated graphics. The footage revealed so far also seems to rule out many modern features like Pokemon appearing in the overworld.

Having said that, the games would definitely benefit from implementing a few smaller updates to improve the overall experience and make them worth the (re)entry cost, and there’s still plenty of time for these to be announced.

With the runaway success of Sword & Shield – which have become the franchise’s best-selling games in 20 years – here are five features from Gen 8 that should be carried over to Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl.

Getting rid of HMs completely

Longtime Pokemon fans will no doubt be dying to jump back into the world of Diamond & Pearl, but one feature they’d probably rather not revisit is HMs (Hidden Machines), which are required to reach certain areas on the map.

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Sword & Shield got rid of HMs and their alternatives completely, with trainers able to get upgrades for their Rotom Bike or use Flying Taxis to get around the Galar region instead of having to teach HMs like Surf and Fly.

This change went down overwhelmingly well with players, and it would be great to see Diamond & Pearl go down the same route – or at the very least, introduce Secret Techniques like in Let’s Go! Pikachu & Eeevee.

Access to your PC box from anywhere

Another welcome change in Sword & Shield was the Pokemon Box Link, which trainers are given early on in the game. The handy feature allowed players to access their storage Boxes remotely, removing the need to constantly visit a Pokemon Center.

This meant that trainers could switch up their party of six on the go instead of having to travel to a nearby town, which proved especially useful when trying to catch specific Pokemon or battle certain Gym leaders that had type weaknesses to exploit.

Clothes and accessories

The ability to customize your trainer’s clothes and accessories has been around since X & Y, but Sword & Shield really stepped the fashion game up with multiple boutiques across various towns, each with their own unique style.

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We don’t expect Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl to have quite as many options, but it would be great to see some kind of player customization in the remakes, especially as it’s now a standard feature in modern video games.

It’s certainly not an essential addition to the game, but it helps make the game feel more personal when you can show off your individual style, and it would help bring it in line with the current generation.

Pokemon Camp

Pokemon Camp was one of Sword & Shield’s signature features, and it would make a great addition to any game in the franchise going forward.

Once trainers received a set of Camping Gear, they could set up a campsite anywhere they wanted to in the Wild Area. The main point was to cook curries for your Pokemon, which gave effects like healing, granting a boost to EXP, or making them more friendly.

It also offered a nice break from battling and trying to catch ‘em all, as it allowed players to interact with their Pokemon and see them play with cute animations.

Nature changing Mints

Pokemon Natures have been an important part of Pokemon catching since the early days. Each type of Nature will boost one base stat by a small amount and hinder another base stat by a small amount. For competitive players, this often means catching loads of creatures to get the right Nature.

Sword & Shield effectively nerfed this modifier, though, by introducing various Mints that could be given to Pokemon to change their Nature in all but name. A Lonely Mint, for example, would make Attack grow faster but Defense grow slower.

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Whether having the option to do this is a good or bad thing really depends on how difficult you want your games to be, but it would be good to have Mints there in order to keep everyone happy.

While we wait to see if any of these features will make the cut in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, make sure you visit our dedicated Pokemon hub for the latest news, guides, and leaks.