Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are incredibly faithful remakes of the 2006 DS Originals. This includes every Pokemon Trainer team, map, location, and Pokedex mainly adhering to the original games, giving a sense of consistency and nostalgia. However, developer Studio ILCA has added a variety of new content and overhauled mechanics for fans to experience, with some of these adjustments extending to the catchable Pokemon in these remakes. This includes the ability to catch some of the past generation starters, such as the Johto Region's Cyndaquil line.
Catching Cyndaquil in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl is only possible after a player beats the Elite Four and unlocks the National Pokedex in the post-game. From there, players can encounter the Fire-type starter in the game's Grand Underground, an area that can be accessed using the Explorer Kit item. The Grand Underground also gives players access to the Pokemon Hideaway, where players can encounter exclusive Pokemon like Cyndaquil. However, there is one aspect of Cyndaquil that fans take issue with in this game, and that is its lack of back flames.
Many fans have noted that ever since Pokemon went into 3D, some creatures didn't translate well when making the shift from 2D sprites to models. One of the commonly cited examples of this is how 3D affected the Cyndaquil line. The sprites of past 2D entries had given Cyndaquil, Quilava, and Typhlosion prominent flames on their backs, which made them stand out and look unique. In comparison to their 3D counterparts, fans bemoaned that they look less impressive without the flames, with Typhlosion suffering the most from this omission. Fortunately, one modder was able to restore this beloved trait of the Gen 2 starter in Shining Pearl and Brilliant Diamond.
A video posted by Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl modder TheYisusOne, also known as Yisuno, revealed that they were working with the animations in the game, specifically those relating to Cyndaquil. In the clip, the modder demonstrated how they had added flames to each member of the Cyndaquil. These can be seen in the Pokemon's idle and battle animations in the video.
Many who were ardent fans of the evolutionary line praised the mod, as it gave their favorite fire starter Pokemon more personality and uniqueness that was missing ever since Pokemon X and Y. As this seems to be a work-in-progress mod, there's no download link for it just yet. Despite that, this mod shows how much fans love certain Pokemon and wish to make them more expressive like some of their 2D iterations.
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are available now for Nintendo Switch.
