Hello there! Welcome to the world of pokemon! This will be a guide to the 4th gen games,
pokemon D/P. This guide applies to both D/P, but I placed it under Pokemon Pearl so it can
be easily located. Check my Pokemon Diamond cheats for more specific guides/info.
So you think you're ready to play pokemon? Maybe you aren't maybe you are. Here will be a
quick walkthrough of how to get through D/P will the easiest of efforts! I won't be
explaining the little details in the game like dialect or specific trainers. Those can be
left to the more dedicated guide makers. Anyways let's get started!
You'll start with a typical Pokemon introduction. Select your gender character, pick a
name, choose your rival's name, etc. Once you get that done, you'll be brought to Twinleaf
Town. After finishing watching your TV, head downstairs. Your mom will tell you a few
things. Go to your rival's house(the one next door) and go upstairs. Talk to your rival,
and for the sake of this guide we'll call him Mike. I always name my rival Mike, so I'll
be referring to him as Mike from now on. So go ahead and talk to him and head outside.
Then follow the route upwards and go to Lake Verity. It is recommended to save before
entering this area, just in case you want to make some last minute changes on your
pokemon.
You'll have to choose from a briefcase of three pokemon. A fire, grass, and water type.
Mike will choose your weakness type. So if you chose fire, then he will choose water;
grass and fire; water and grass. This shouldn't make much of a difference in gameplay
though. If you aren't sure about which starter you should choose, I'll briefly explain the
pros and cons.
Chimchar- Normally in pokemon games, the fire type usually pays off in the long run for
its power. However they tend to struggle with the first gym, with the exception of
Cyndaquil in the G/S/C series. This shouldn't be a problem for Chimchar when it evolves at
lv.14, a relatively low level to evolve, which is good. It will gain its second fighting
type at this point and learn Mach Punch, a solid fighting type move that mimics the effect
of Quick Attack. With the addition of fighting, it gets rid of the rock weakness. If you
didn't already know, the first gym is rock type. However fighting does add several other
weaknesses in the long run. Chimchar's final evolution, Infernape, has great speed and
both good physical and special attack. While it learns few other moves than fire and
fighting, you can teach it Shadow Claw, Stone Edge, and even Earthquake. But I won't get
into that now
Piplup- A relatively slow fighter at first. It doesn't learn it's first decent water move,
Bubblebeam, until it evolves into Prinlup and learns it at lv.18. So you'll have to stick
to Bubble and Metal Claw until then. Good thing Piplup has an advantage against the first
gym, giving easy experience. Piplup doesn't really pose much of a threat until it evolves
into its final form, Empoleon. This water/steel type resists most attacks that are in the
game. Plus it adds a great special attack and defense to your stats. Piplup, although
starts out slow, evolves into a great pokemon in the long run.
Turtwig- Turtwig is similar to Piplup, that it starts out slow, but you'll rarely find any
good grass types in the game. So this may be your only chance to get a decent one. Turtwig
focuses on defense and physical attacks. So don't expect the powerful grass move,
Solarbeam, to be of much use to this physical attacker. Instead, Turtwig's final
evolution, Torterra, is now grass/ground. It also learns the powerful ground move
Earthquake right when it evolves at lv.32! This move can decimate the competition early on
in the game. So never delete this move! However Torterra is on the slow side of the
battlefield. You can pick up a Quick Claw by talking to a lady in one of the large houses
in Jubilife City. The same can be used on Piplup if you chose it instead.
After you chose your appropriate starter, or got yourself all three by cheats or trading,
head over to Sandgem Town and talk to Prof. Rowan. Head to the route ahead and go to
Jubilife City. You'll find a few trainers and wild pokemon, like Shinx. Shinx is a good
addition since its one of the few electric types you'll encounter. It also learns Crunch
which may be useful throughout the game. Anyways, go to the Training School and talk to
Mike there. He'll give you a world map you can look at. Use it to find the location of
Oreburgh City and head in that direction. There are also two students who will battle you.
If you beat them, they'll hand over TM10 Hidden Power. They both have lv.10 Abra with only
that move. They can be pretty tough if you aren't prepared.
On the route to Oregburgh City, you'll face Mike for the first time. He'll sport a lv.9
Starly and whatever starter he chose. Once you beat him, heal up at the PKMN Center and
continue on. Don't forget to stock up on potions!
That's all for now. Check for my next guide. It will cover the Oreburgh Gym and up to
Eterna City!