In a few weeks, the long-awaited Generation 4 Pokemon remakes will finally be in player’s hands. Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl seek to bring back the beloved DS games Pokemon Diamond and Pearl for Switch, and in doing so add new quality-of-life features. For the most part, these remakes seem to be faithful to their original versions, with more extreme departures found in Game Freak’s upcoming Pokemon Legends: Arceus. Generation 4 is looked upon favorably, so as long as these remakes keep what made the originals special, particularly some of Pokemon Platinum’s enhancements, they should be great.
Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl may end up the definitive versions of these games, as they bring new features and fresh takes on old ones. Costumes are now available for the player characters, and Sinnoh's Underground has been remade as the greatly expanded Grand Underground. However, one of the more low-key new features lies in the returning Poketch. This digital watch used to take up the bottom screen in Diamond and Pearl, but it can now be placed in the corner of the Switch’s single screen. All of the Poketch’s old functions appear to have returned, but there is one major new feature that reshapes the games: using Hidden Machines (HMs).
Hidden Machines in Pokemon
HMs have been a core part of Pokemon since the first generation. These special moves could be taught to Pokemon and used in the field, and as they take up valuable attack slots on party Pokemon while being required to progress, these moves were often particularly powerful. They only gained strength as generations continued, with Surf, Fly, and Dive being potent in strategic battling. HMs also provided a fair amount of flavor for the world, and made it feel like the player was going on an adventure.
These moves had a regular set in most games: Cut removed obstructive shrubbery, Surf allowed for water travel, Fly was used for fast travel, Strength was used to push boulders, Rock Smash could break rocks, Flash and Defog could illuminate obscured areas, Waterfall let players climb waterfalls, Dive let players dive into deep water, and Rock Climb allowed for climbing certain surfaces. As these moves opened up paths to progress, their use in the field was regulated by what Gym Badges the player had.
The Problems With HMs
The rigid necessity of HMs made them annoying to a lot of players. One of the biggest problems with HMs in early Pokemon games was they were mandatory for player progression. This resulted in some less valuable members of trainers’ teams being designated “HM Pokemon,” only kept around to use HMs and not actually fight. Pokemon who were taught HMs were often subject to special rules that changed depending on the game, preventing them from being traded, released, or transferred to future titles. This could almost always be solved via the Move Deleter, and HMs have always been multi-use unlike Technical Machines, but these restrictions still grated on players.
After an attempt in Pokemon Black and White to reduce HMs' importance in progressing the plot, they were removed altogether in Pokemon Sun and Moon. In their place was Ride Pokemon, a new element initially tied to Alola that gradually crept its way into future games. Ride Pokemon were gradually registered to the player’s Ride Pager as the story progressed, each one serving the purpose of HMs in the field. The Rotom Bike and Flying Taxi fill the role of HMs in Pokemon Sword and Shield, and Ride Pokemon have returned in Pokemon Legends: Arceus. It appears The Pokemon Company is dead-set on erasing the need for HMs in all upcoming Pokemon games.
How Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl Solve the HM Concern
This new status quo left fans scratching their heads over Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. These remakes were meant to be faithful to their source games, moreso than Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire and Pokemon: Let’s Go were supposed to be. Thus, fans wondered if the old HM system would be returning. However, those fears were unfounded, as Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl found a technological solution to the problem via the Poketch. Now the Poketch can call wild Pokemon to the player’s aid to use whatever HM they have acquired at that point in their journey. It’s an elegant solution, and one future Pokemon games should take into consideration.
Having wild Pokemon come to a trainer’s aid matches the feel of Pokemon’s adventure-friendly world, and could allow for cool moments where surprising helpers appear in specific locations. Having wild Pokemon on tap also solves a problem that Pokemon has had for its last couple of games, that being the implementation of old environmental hazards and puzzles. Even just having Rock Climb and Waterfall return as late-game HMs could add a massive amount of vertical variety to future games.
Now that wild Pokemon are simply being summoned akin to Pokemon Ranger, more personalized abilities could be used by each Pokemon, like a Magmar in a volcanic cave lighting a torch and a Lanturn appearing to illuminate a deep-sea settings. The potential for new and context-sensitive HMs is enormous, and by relegating them to wild Pokemon, trainers will be left to customize their teams to their liking.
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl release on November 19 for Nintendo Switch.
