Generation IV

The fourth generation (Japanese:  fourth generation) of Pokémon games is the fourth set of Pokémon games released.

Like Generation II followed from Generation I, Generation IV follows from Generation III, although it is unlike Generation II in that it is not a direct sequel (Hoenn is inaccessible in all Generation IV games). Like previous generations, Generation IV focuses on one main region across three games, the Sinnoh region featured in on the Nintendo DS, released in 2006 and 2008 (and 2007 and 2009 outside Japan). Also like Generation II, the Generation IV games retain much compatibility with their Generation III counterparts, though in a different manner, and introduce many new Pokémon which are related to those of the previous three generations.

Much like Generation III remade the Generation I games, the Generation II games also received much anticipated remakes in the form of, and through details revealed in the five main games, Generation IV is thus known to be contemporaneous with Generation II, occurring three years after Generation I and Generation III. Like all generations, the handheld games are joined by home console games; Pokémon Battle Revolution and My Pokémon Ranch were released for the Wii during this generation.

Advances in gameplay
Much like how Generation II enhanced Generation I mostly by building on its features, Generation IV builds on the features introduced in Generation III. The advancements introduced in Generation IV include:
 * The addition of, bringing the total to 493. New evolutionary relatives abound in this generation, including those of , , and.
 * The addition of, bringing the total to 467.
 * The addition of (and removal of the unused ), bringing the total to 123. Many older Pokémon can now have one of two Abilities, rather than the single Ability they could have in Generation III.
 * Four more boxes in the Pokémon Storage System, bringing the total to 18, for a total of 540 Pokémon.
 * Another new region to explore, Sinnoh, yet again with its own Gym Leaders and Elite Four. Player characters are again changed.
 * Four new variants of Poké Ball, retaining the seven introduced in Generation III.
 * A new villainous team, Team Galactic, whose intent is to capture and, said to be the creators of the Pokémon universe, and remake it in the image of their leader, Cyrus.
 * The return of the real-time and days of the week system from Generation II, with enhanced transitions between the time periods of the day.
 * In addition, most overworld themes also have different variations depending on the time of day.
 * A three-dimensional rendering of the overworld, rather than just sprites, with the same style seen in previous games.
 * Moves are now designated physical or special based on the move itself, rather than its type. There is also now the category of status that includes moves that do not do direct damage such as, , and.
 * Pokémon are now able to be traded and battled over the Internet through the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. (However, the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection has since been shut down.)
 * When items are bought and sold, the item's proper plural is used, rather than a conditional (s). In past generations, the conditional (s) rendered selling some items, like the Silk Scarf or DeepSeaTooth, oddly, with "SILK SCARF(S)" and "DEEPSEATOOTH(S)" used regardless of if one or many were sold. Selling one of these items now renders as "Turned over the DeepSeaTooth and received 100," while selling multiple renders as "Turned over the DeepSeaTeeth and received 200."
 * Many words previously displayed with all letters being capital are now displayed correctly, such as instead of SOLARBEAM or Pokémon instead of POKéMON. Names of Pokémon and menu items, however, remain fully capitalized.
 * However, some menu items have remained capitalized in the later games.
 * Pokédex is now updated to show Pokémon forms, including back sprites.

Alterations from Generation III

 * A significant Pokémon battle mechanic is altered in which, after a Pokémon faints, its Trainer is no longer prompted to immediately switch in its replacement, instead waiting until the turn is resolved before the Trainer is prompted to do so. This prevents a Pokémon from being knocked out on the same turn that the Pokémon it replaced was knocked out, except by entry hazards, and also makes it possible for a move to miss because it has no target.
 * New and enhanced versions of Pokémon Contests, featuring more rounds and a different appeals process. Poffins are now used to enhance Contest stats, rather than Pokéblocks.
 * Secret Bases have been moved to the The Underground, where players can interact over local wireless connections.
 * The removal of item storage in the PC, as the Bag can now hold all kinds of items without limit.
 * Some Pokémon now display differences in appearance based on their gender.
 * The framerate has been downgraded to 30.
 * Players are now able to run inside all buildings.
 * Pokémon hatching from Eggs are now level 1 instead of level 5.
 * ,, , , , , , , , , , , and 's base experience values are changed.
 * 's EV yield is changed from 1 Special Attack to 2 Special Attack.
 * Double Battle Trainers can now walk towards the player to initiate a Double Battle.
 * The text color of NPC dialogue has changed from being either red or blue based on the NPC's gender, as in, to gray, as in . Colors are instead used to highlight important information.

Further additions in Platinum

 * Another new, with several different facilities from the one in Hoenn.
 * The ability to record battles in the Battle Frontier and with other players and share them over the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, through the Vs. Recorder.
 * The expansion of the Sinnoh Pokédex, from 151 entries (in Diamond and Pearl) to 210 entries (in Platinum).

Further additions in HeartGold and SoulSilver

 * The re-introduction of the seven Poké Balls made from Apricorns, unavailable since Generation II.
 * The first Pokémon in the party can now follow the player outside of battle almost anywhere in the overworld.
 * Instead of Contests, the Pokéathlon games are used.
 * Ability to register two key items instead of just one.
 * The Pokédex can now show the different forms of and, whereas in Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, it could not.
 * The introduction of Flat Battles, a type of battle in which all Pokémon that are above level 50 temporarily become level 50, regardless of their current level.
 * A dynamic camera in the overworld, which can be seen when entering some buildings, or going to certain locations. This went on to be greatly expanded in Generation V.
 * The stats affected by any given Nature are highlighted on each Pokémon's summary screens, with the increased stat being shown in red text and the decreased stat being shown in blue text.
 * A redesign of the interface that displays the items in the Bag, to facilitate access to items.
 * The menu now appears constantly on the bottom screen. A button is added to the menu allowing players to run without holding the B button.

Sinnoh


Like Generation III, Generation IV introduces a new region disconnected from all previous ones, the Sinnoh region, found far north of Kanto and Johto. Since it is so far north, snow can be found on its northern tip, as well as in the mountainous center of the region. Despite the region's northern location a part of Sinnoh has a tropical climate, and overall the climate varies greatly throughout the region. Much of the western half of the region is rural, while its east is comparatively urban. The southern area of Sinnoh is lush and green with big cities and small towns.

Sinnoh is said to be the first region to be created in the Pokémon world, and is home to several locations that have certain mythology or history associated with them, both natural and human influenced sites.

Starter Pokémon
Though it was initially rumored that the Grass/Fire/Water setup that had been the norm for the past three generations would be replaced with a Dark/Psychic/Fighting trio, these rumors were later proven false. At the beginning of the journey, players must choose from the Grass-type, the Fire-type , and the Water-type to defend themselves from a wild  in Diamond and Pearl, or be given one of the three by Professor Rowan directly in Platinum.

Gym Leaders
Like most other regions, Sinnoh has its own set of eight Gym Leaders. This set specializes in the same types as Gym Leaders from other regions, though not in the same order. Like always, Badges and TMs are given away once Gym Leaders are defeated.

Johto


Much like Generation I's version of Kanto was featured a second time in Generation III, caused Johto to be featured a second time in Generation IV.

Starter Pokémon
Much as Kanto's Generation III starters were the same as in Generation I, Johto's starters have not changed. Professor Elm offers, , or to the player as protection on an errand to Mr. Pokémon's house on.

Gym Leaders
As would be expected, Johto's Gym Leaders are the same as before, but many give out different TMs than they gave out in Generation II.

Kanto


In its fourth consecutive appearance, Kanto returns in HeartGold and SoulSilver much in the same way as it did in Generation II (as a post-League area).

Gym Leaders
Kanto's Gym Leaders are the same as in the original Gold and Silver, changing slightly from the group who were there in Generation I and Generation III. All Kanto Gym Leaders give TMs, unlike in Generation II.

Other Generation IV games
Pokémon Battle Revolution features a Pokémon Stadium-like arena for battle, allowing Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold, and SoulSilver to link to it through wireless communications between the Nintendo DS and Wii, much like previous generations' games would link to, XD, Stadium, and. Battle Revolution also features online battles with players around the world via the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.

My Pokémon Ranch lets players of deposit their Pokémon, via wireless communication, to a ranch owned by Hayley, who will also bring Pokémon to the ranch. Players can interact with up to 1,000 of their deposited Pokémon. An update for this game enables support for, as well as allowing storage for 500 more Pokémon, however, it was not released to players outside Japan, while players of HeartGold and SoulSilver cannot connect with the game at all.

Generation IV also included 3 new Mystery Dungeon games available worldwide and 3 exclusively available in Japan. Explorers of Time, Darkness, and Sky were available worldwide. The Mystery Dungeon games exclusive to Japan were Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Keep Going! Blazing Adventure Squad!, Let's Go! Stormy Adventure Squad!, and Go For It! Light Adventure Squad!.

Pokemon Rumble was introduced in Generation IV.

Discussion of Generation IV
The Physical-Special split introduced in Generation IV as well as the introduction of powerful items such as the, , and made competitive battling far more advanced and popular. This was also increased due to the GTS increasing the chance of finding a Pokémon with Pokérus and EV-enhancing items for a specific stat being introduced also made it far easier to EV train a Pokémon, which added another dimension to competitive battling as EV training is no longer as painstaking as it was before. Due to these additions this generation is widely praised by competitive battlers. The GTS also paved the way for the Masuda method through the transaction of foreign Pokémon, and this in addition to the Poké Radar made it far easier to acquire Shiny Pokémon.

After Diamond and Pearl, Platinum continued improving the series, adding a new, as well as introducing many new additions to the games (such as VS sprites and animated battle sprites for certain important NPCs, such as Gym Leaders and Rival). Platinum is also an important part of the series' continuity, as the storyline of the game is referenced in, showing where Generation V is placed on the timeline. The overall generation introduced many characters, some of whom have played notable roles during the following generations. HeartGold and SoulSilver brought older and newer players back to the Johto region with improved graphics and sound and other additions to the storyline and characters.

Sinnoh thematic motif
The theme of this generation is history of the universe, and myths and legends. The three starters' evolutions have references to myths and legends in themselves—for example, Torterra is based on the legend of, Empoleon has references to the god , and Infernape is based on. This also reflects on its legendary Pokémon, as Arceus is the literal creator of the universe and created the rulers of time, space and anti-matter, who are Dialga, Palkia and Giratina, respectively. All three of them are involved in Sinnoh myths, as are Uxie, Azelf and Mesprit: the embodiments of knowledge, willpower and emotions.

Some standard Pokémon are also connected to myths and legends, such as Drifloon and Drifblim that in folklore are said to take children and people to the Underworld and Spiritomb who is said to be made up of 108 spirits.

Some towns still preserve their history and myths. Celestic Town is said to be present since the beginning of Sinnoh, and has a shrine that dates back to ancient times, as well as a cave painting. Some other examples are the Solaceon Ruins, which contain Unown and is said to be as old as the ruins of Johto; the Snowpoint Temple, which was created long ago to contain Regigigas; Eterna City, which contains a statue of Dialga/Palkia; Floaroma Town, which was said to be a wasteland long ago, but then was transformed into a beautiful landscape by Shaymin; Mt. Coronet; and the Spear Pillar. Canalave City houses the first Pokémon library, which transcribes many of the legends of the region. Sinnoh was meant to establish the origin of the Pokémon universe and be more mysterious and historic than other regions.

Trivia

 * Every player character in all Generation IV games has a Wii in their room, referencing its status as the current Nintendo console during the generation.
 * Generation IV is the only generation in which:
 * Two core series game names have the same first initial in English (Pearl and Platinum); other languages, however, have had the same initial in their game names, with Spanish Azul and Amarillo for Blue and Yellow, and German Saphir and Smaragd for Sapphire and Emerald.
 * All three starter Pokémon are able to learn Stealth Rock.
 * All its games were released in the spring in North America, and in the fall in Japan.
 * The final evolution of each starter Pokémon is owned by one Gym Leader or Elite Four member.
 * Gardenia has a, has an , and Jasmine in HeartGold and SoulSilver has an.
 * None of the TMs from the previous generation had their move changed.
 * Generation IV is also the only generation that did not introduce:
 * A specialist.
 * Generation IV is the first generation to include:
 * Level 1 Pokémon legitimately obtainable in the core series.
 * Compatibility with both the generation preceding and following it.
 * Generation IV is the longest Pokémon generation in Japan, falling only 10 days short of being four years long.
 * Generation IV introduced the largest number of evolutions for Pokémon of previous generations, at 29.
 * Generation IV features the largest number of playable core series regions, with three.
 * Generation IV is the first generation officially released in by Nintendo's local subsidiary there. Even though the Generation II games  were released in South Korea on April 24, 2002, they were a result of Nintendo partnering with  as Nintendo of Korea would not be established until July 7, 2006.
 * At 716 days, the time between Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Versions and Pokémon Platinum Version is the longest gap in-between two main series games in the same generation.