Pal Park



Pal Park (Japanese: パルパーク Pal Park) is a special Pokémon preserve present in the five Generation IV core series games, located at the east end of in Sinnoh and in Fuchsia City in place of the  in Kanto.

According to Professor Oak, Pal Park attracts Pokémon from other regions.

Accessing Pal Park
In Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, players can travel to Pal Park as soon as they have obtained a Pokémon that knows and earned the  or. Access will be denied, however, until all the Pokémon in the Sinnoh Pokédex have been seen and the National Pokédex has been obtained. Until this is achieved, the construction workers outside will mention that Pal Park will be opening soon. Once the National Pokédex has been obtained, Professor Oak will meet the player on and invite the player inside the building. He will briefly explain how Pal Park works, as well. Players will also find that the "Migrate from " option will appear on the main menu screen when the game is loaded, provided a GBA game is in the Nintendo DS's second slot.

Pal Park in HeartGold and SoulSilver is located where the Kanto Safari Zone was in previous games, at the north end of Fuchsia City. It is stated in-game that it used to be a Safari Zone, but when the warden closed it down, his son opened Pal Park in its place. As players cannot enter Kanto without the National Pokédex, it is also required in these games. As soon as the player has arrived in the city, the migrate option will appear on the menu screen, regardless of whether Pal Park has been visited or not.

Migration
Unlike Generation II's Time Capsule, the transfer from Generation III to Generation IV via Pal Park is permanent; Pokémon sent over cannot be returned to any Generation III game.

First, Pokémon must be migrated from the Generation III game. If a Generation III Game Pak is inserted in the GBA slot of the same Nintendo DS or Nintendo DS Lite system as the Generation IV game and the player has visited Pal Park, an option will appear on the main menu labelled "Migrate from ". When selecting this option, the player is presenting with a stripped-down view of the Generation III game's PC on the Nintendo DS's touch screen (the player cannot view the Pokémon's statuses, other than their minisprite, species, nickname, level, markings, and held item). Pokémon that know a move that is an HM in the origin game (called "hidden moves" by the game) cannot be migrated. After selecting exactly 6 Pokémon, the game will confirm with the player that they want to send those 6 Pokémon. If the player has any migrated Pokémon that have not yet been caught, no additional Pokémon can be migrated.

In, it is only possible to migrate 6 Pokémon to that game from a specific Generation III game once per 24 hour period (excluding manipulations); in , this restriction was lifted, allowing an unlimited number of migrations from a single game in a 24 hour period.

Pokémon can only be migrated if the Generation III game and Generation IV game are the same language, unless the Generation IV game is Korean, in which case any language Generation III game can be used (due to the Generation III games not being released in Korean). However, it is possible to trade between languages in Generation III, so it is possible to migrate, for example, a Pokémon originally met in a Japanese game from a Spanish Generation III game to a Spanish Generation IV game.

The games will permanently treat the Pokémon's current name as a nickname if it does not match the expected name for that language. As a result, using Pal Park in Korean will always trigger the aforementioned flag, since the GBA versions do not even have the expected charset in them.

Manipulation
Despite the game having settings in place to restrict the amount of Pokémon migrated in a single day, these restrictions can be avoided and an unlimited number of Pokémon transferred into Generation IV. If, once a Catching Show has been completed, the player turns off the game system and changes the date on the Nintendo DS to show one day later, and inserts a second Generation III game, he or she will be instructed to reset the time on the DS. This will prevent migration from the second game, but allow the original game—that has already had six Pokémon transferred—to send Pokémon into the Generation IV game. Also, the Nintendo DS's clock can be set to the time displayed in the GBA cartridge before choosing Pal Park option to avoid the 24 hour period of waiting before transferring their Pokémon.

Despite these workarounds, no further migrations can be made until all six Pokémon transferred have been caught, and changing the Nintendo DS clock or playing the game on another Nintendo DS system will delay Pal Park migration for 24 hours.

Catching Show
After the Pokémon have migrated to the Generation IV game, they can be caught in Pal Park through an event known as a Catching Show. The Catching Show can be played even if the Generation III game is removed. Each Pokémon has a specific area of the park that they reside in, and therefore, they must also be found before they can be received. Pal Park uses a special type of Poké Ball known as a Park Ball, which always succeeds. Once a battle begins, there are only two commands that can be used: Throw Ball, or Run. Even if the player runs, they can still encounter the Pokémon again at a later time to catch it. The player may choose to leave the park at any time, but if they do they must then re-capture all migrated Pokémon on a subsequent visit.

Score
In addition to transferring Pokémon from Generation III, Pal Park also has a score system that will offer rewards depending on the player's score. The score will be given at the end of the Catching Show by the Park Ranger. The score is worked out by how fast the captures are completed and what Pokémon are transferred over. If a rarer or a legendary Pokémon is migrated, such as, a higher score will be given, as opposed to more common Pokémon such as , which will be given a lower score. Timing will also alter the score: if it takes longer to complete the challenge the score will be decreased; however, if it takes a shorter amount of time to complete the challenge, the score will be increased. When Pal Park is first visited, a default high score of 2000 will be set by the player's rival (either in the Sinnoh games or  in the Johto games). The Park Ranger always gives the player a Berry as a reward; the higher the score, the rarer the Berry.

Modifications to transported Pokémon
Despite the player in the Generation IV game catching the Pokémon again, its OT, ID number, and Poké Ball remain the same. Migrated Pokémon retain their held items. Its friendship is reset to 70.

Many Pokémon obtained in Generation III gained an Ability in Generation IV. Due to Ability being dependent on personality value in the Generation III and IV games, this means that some migrated Pokémon have an Ability that does not match their personality value (since the Ability is not changed upon migration). However, because Abilities are recalculated upon evolution in Generation IV and, if that Pokémon evolves in games of these generations its Ability will change to match its personality value.

While non-English and non-Japanese characters cannot normally be used in the Generation III games, they do occur in some in-game trades and preset player names. If a Pokémon has a nickname or original Trainer that has one of these characters, it will be turned into a kana character in the Western Generation IV games due to encoding issues.

Pal Park only reads the data of the game the Pokémon was originally generated in, rather than its in-game met location. This sets any Pokémon created in FireRed or LeafGreen to Kanto; Ruby, Sapphire, or Emerald to Hoenn (even if it was caught on Navel Rock or Birth Island, which are located in Kanto); and Colosseum or XD to "distant land". (Pokémon obtained from Wonder Cards are treated as being created in the game they were received in.) A Pokémon whose Egg is created in a game based in one region and traded to another region before it was hatched will display the name of the region it was generated in, rather than the one it was hatched in; this means that a Pokémon generated in Emerald but hatched in FireRed will have the OT and ID of the FireRed player but list that it was met in Hoenn.

In addition, the level obtained at is changed to the level arrived at. Due to the lack of a met date in the Generation III games, the date obtained becomes the date it was caught in the Catching Show.

Lobby
Pal Park is a large area consisting of a large park and a small entry building. Entering the building will take the player into the lobby, where they can accept to take part in the Daily Catching Show by talking to the Park Ranger. There are two floors in the lobby. The first is where registration for the show takes place. One woman on the left side of the building will tell the player their highest score achieved in the Catching Show, another will give the player two Pokétch apps, the Kitchen Timer and Color Changer by showing her a and a  respectively. The second floor is accessible using the stairs on the right. Many people come up here to see all of the shows, as there are glass windows from which the entire park can be seen. In total, there are seven people within the lobby.

In HeartGold and SoulSilver, Pal Park is located in Fuchsia City, replacing the Safari Zone from Generations I and III. It holds almost exactly the same function as Sinnoh's Pal Park. It is available as soon as the player arrives in Fuchsia City, as the player already has the National Pokédex by then.

Park


Pal Park itself is a huge park, with different terrains to suit all sorts of different Pokémon. Upon entering, the player will begin in the field area of Pal Park. This contains a large open space with large patches of tall grass, inhabited by field Pokémon. There are two patches of grass within the area, a small patch on the east, and a larger patch on the west. There are 123 Pokémon that can appear in this area. There are three different paths the player can take in order to get to another area of the park; the north-western stairway will take the player to the forest area, the north-eastern stairway will take the player through a pathway to the mountain area, and traveling east will take the player to the sea area by jumping off a ledge.

By following the path up the far north-western side of the park, the player will reach the forest area of Pal Park, where forest-dwelling Pokémon live. There are 74 Pokémon that can appear in this area. It is a long, narrow strip of pathway following up the far western side of the park, then it takes a right turn up in the corner of the park, and travels east until the player reaches the pond area. The path is a long, narrow, dark pathway covered by tall trees, with the ground covered all the way by tall grass. The only other way to get to and from the forest area is by traveling through the pond area.

When the player reaches the pond area via the forest area, the player must travel a short distance east to reach the pond, a pool of water, able to be ed across, where all the wild Pokémon inhabit. There are 37 Pokémon that can appear in this area. If the player travels south while getting there, they will find a ledge going down into the mountain area. Once entering the square pond to find Pokémon, they can go south to reach dry land, where they can also climb up and down stairs on the steep mountainside to reach the sea area. Alternatively, the player can enter from the sea area by traveling north through part of the mountain area to reach the southern part of the waterside, where the player can across the light water to the other side. There is no other way of getting to the pond in the north-eastern corner.

The mountain area is located in the middle of a mountainside, in the center of Pal Park. It can be accessed by jumping a ledge in the pond area just north of there, or going through a little forest pathway from the field area. The mountain area has a small patch of grass, where the player can find wild Pokémon. There are 105 Pokémon that can appear in this area. Most of this area is covered with grass, while only a small part of it isn't. There is also a ledge the player can jump down to reach the sea area. This is the only way to leave the area apart from turning back to the field area.

The final area in the park, known as the sea area, is found in the south-eastern corner of the park. It can be accessed by going east from the field area, or south from the mountain area, by jumping down the ledge and going down the mountainside. The sea area makes up a large section of the park, with a large area of sea coming in from the west. When the player enters from the mountain or pond area, there is a large ledge to a sandy beach where the sea meets the land. The area also has rocky terrain, with many rocks on the beach and in the water blocking the way, so that the player cannot travel any further east past the mountain side. By ing across the deep blue water, the player can encounter many different types of wild sea Pokémon. In total, there are 47 Pokémon that can appear in this area. If the player goes west past another set of ledges, they will end up back on the eastern side of the field area where they began, making a big loop.

Although it is a West Sinnoh location in Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, it uses East Sinnoh trees. Similarly, it is a Kanto location in HeartGold and SoulSilver but it uses Johto trees and rocks.

Music
The Pal Park shares its background music with the resident Safari Zones in the games it appears in, using that of in HeartGold and SoulSilver, and using that of the Great Marsh in Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum. This is somewhat fitting considering it replaces the Kanto Safari Zone in HeartGold and SoulSilver, though the Kanto Safari Zone theme is the same as the trading and evolution theme.

Trivia

 * In the internal data of the Generation V games, the theme of the Poké Transfer Lab, which is titled the same in the soundtrack release of, is called SEQ_BGM_PALPARK. This is a reference to it being the generation's equivalent to the Pal Park of the Generation IV games.
 * Prior to the release of Pokémon Platinum, Pal Park was the only way to obtain (and thus its Generation IV evolution ),, the Legendary birds, and the Legendary titans in the Generation IV games. Prior to the release of Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, Pal Park was the only way to obtain starter Pokémon introduced before Generation IV, ,  and , the weather trio, and the eon duo.
 * Prior to the 2007 distribution, the 2010 Japanese  distribution, the  distribution, and the 2007 Japanese  distribution, Pal Park was the only way to obtain, ,  and  in the Generation IV games, respectively.
 * Some Pokémon, such as, which are only obtainable via an event in Generation IV, can be obtained without one in Generation III.
 * Some items can only be obtained in Generation IV through Pal Park.

Name origin
The English and Japanese names are based on the word "pal", an affectionate term for a friend. Other language versions use a similar naming style, although the German- and French-language versions are less colloquial and translate to Park of (the) Friends.