Everything New in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl: Full List of Changes

We've compiled a short list of all the new features rumored to be implemented in the new Sinnoh region remakes, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.

Nintendo announced the official development of the remakes fans have been asking for since the company began to revitalize its older titles. Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, the new versions of Diamond and Pearl (2006), were announced earlier in 2021 and have since been at the forefront of many trainers' minds. What was billed as a "faithful" adaptation of the games seems to have some a bit upset, however, as new leaks concerning changed—and unchanged—features have been brought to light.

Everything New in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl

First off, trainer customization will be available in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. Trainers should be able to choose their skin tone and customize their outfit appearance similar to the system seen in the Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee games. It is currently unclear how far this customization stretches, however.

Trainers will also be able to visit Pokemon Hideaways as an extension of the underground secret base mechanic. Super Contest Shows will function in a similar manner as an extension of typical contests.

Trainers will be able to take advantage of the experience share feature seen in Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield. They will also be able to choose a Pokemon to explore the region outside of their Pokeball with them, which works as a shortcut to increase friendship. This will come with the standard friendship benefits of move dodging, and so on.

Pokemon now have idle animations based on their original Diamond and Pearl sprite stances. Their fainting cries have also been tweaked.

The only notable changes to gym structure is that move sets have been slightly adjusted. Otherwise, the leaders, puzzles, and structure are direct translations from the original games.

Perhaps the largest and most impactful shift between Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl when compared to the newer titles is its reversion on TMs and HMs. According to Centro LEAKS (@CentroLeaks), "the original DP HMs are now TMs" and those TMs are now single-use only. Gym leaders will reward more than one TM per win, which we assume is an attempt to balance the system.

Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl will officially launch on Nov. 19.