4th Gen Going Underground

[Shining Raichu]

There is a vast underground area that stretches the entire length of Sinnoh. This place is home to all sorts of useful treasures that will help you on your journey, hidden within its very walls. But I've noticed that this mystical cavern, with its sparkling jewels, is something that rarely gets spoken about. So, I've come to remedy this. Here are some questions!

• How much time have you spent/do you spend in the underground?
• Traps - do you always fall into them or have you become a pro at avoiding them?
• Does the plethora of elemental stones and other useful items make the game too easy, as compared with HGSS where you have to work just to find even one?
• Did you find it strange that there are no wild Pokemon in the underground, given the existence of Ground Pokemon that are more than capable of finding their way there?
• Was it unrealistic that the underground did not act as an alternative portal between places in Sinnoh rather than just exiting the way you came, no matter how far away from the genesis point you had ventured? Would you have preferred to be able to use it this way?

 

[bobandbill]

How much time have you spent/do you spend in the underground?
I'll be lazy instead of making an estimate and say 'a lot'. =p I found it quite fun to play in, and might try it again when I have a break when I play about with Platinum again, certainly.

Traps - do you always fall into them or have you become a pro at avoiding them?
I found them easy to avoid because of the detector tbh... only 'hard' if you're in someone else's base or they plant them while you are inside and then step onto them. Although I did that myself. ;p

Does the plethora of elemental stones and other useful items make the game too easy, as compared with HGSS where you have to work just to find even one?
Too easy? Hardly. Still gotta walk around to a spot and locate a mining place, and then learn how to play the minigame correctly... and a lot of the good stuff is only obtainable post-E4 as well so I don't feel it made anything too easy tbh, and luck is involved as well with specific items appearing. Compared to HGSS which has them available via the bug catching comp or the Pokeathlon on certain days - ie minigames as well, just with more variety - I don't think it that much easier.

Was it unrealistic that there are no wild Pokemon in the underground?
It's Pokemon; realism isn't the greatest factor for me. =p I didn't mind it or think it out of place. I did think though all those heart scales indicated a lot of dead Luvdisc in the past though...

Was it unrealistic that the underground did not act as an alternative portal between places in Sinnoh rather than just exiting the way you came, no matter how far away from the genesis point you had ventured? Would you have preferred to be able to use it this way?
Again - imo as it's Pokemon the lack of realism there is a somewhat silly factor to take into account, but that's me. That would have been rather breaky as well mind (what if you exited out of a place you hadn't been yet? What about the parts in Sinnoh in which the underground is under an ocean? Your Pokemon would need surf and if they didn't... well.) Too many factors there to make that viable or well, realistic in its own way. =p

And there's one thing missing - capture the flag! That's such a forgotten part of the underground! =( (Although it being local wifi only probably doesn't help). I like the music during that bit though and it brings traps into it far more as you've got to run more and check for those less if you're being chased.

And bases I suppose, which were neat (although clearing them out was kinda annoying...), and they were less fun than RSE's bases as well.

 

[Nakuzami]

How much time have you spent/do you spend in the underground?
Uh... no idea. Quite a bit, I guess.

Traps - do you always fall into them or have you become a pro at avoiding them?
I don't really encounter traps, and when I do it's usually ones that I place and purposely step on because I'm bored :/

Does the plethora of elemental stones and other useful items make the game too easy, as compared with HGSS where you have to work just to find even one?
No, not really. It can be very helpful though. I just don't usually need evolution stones.

Was it unrealistic that there are no wild Pokemon in the underground?
Yes. There should have been Pokemon everywhere.

Was it unrealistic that the underground did not act as an alternative portal between places in Sinnoh rather than just exiting the way you came, no matter how far away from the genesis point you had ventured? Would you have preferred to be able to use it this way?
Well, it would be nice to use it this way, but if it was this way, you could get the Explorer Kit in Eterna and just skip to Snowpoint, unless they made it so you have to come down from the place to get there. By that time it would help, you'd already have Fly :S

 

[PlatinumDude]

• How much time have you spent/do you spend in the underground?: I spend around half an hour to an hour in the underground, looking for fossils and rare items.
• Traps - do you always fall into them or have you become a pro at avoiding them?: I check for traps with the radar before I go on. Sometimes I accidentally fall into a trap without checking for it.
• Does the plethora of elemental stones and other useful items make the game too easy, as compared with HGSS where you have to work just to find even one?: Digging for elemental stones is easier than working for them, IMO, despite their rarity.
• Did you find it strange that there are no wild Pokemon in the underground, given the existence of Ground Pokemon that are more than capable of finding their way there?: Yeah, I found that strange. I would have liked to battle wild Pokemon underground, but if they show up frequently, then it's annoying.
• Was it unrealistic that the underground did not act as an alternative portal between places in Sinnoh rather than just exiting the way you came, no matter how far away from the genesis point you had ventured? Would you have preferred to be able to use it this way?: Yeah, it's unrealistic. I would have liked it if I could surface at another area instead of going back to where I started.

 

[Squirrel]

How much time have you spent/do you spend in the underground? Quite a while, it's fun searching for treasure and you get some great stuff! But not as fun with no one to do it with.
Traps - do you always fall into them or have you become a pro at avoiding them? I often make sure to go into them because they're pretty fun. Like blowing into the screen or clearing rocks - it's a bit different y'know?
Does the plethora of elemental stones and other useful items make the game too easy, as compared with HGSS where you have to work just to find even one? They're easy to get in HGSS though, with the bug catching contest and pokeathlon both being easy to win? But still, I wish there was a place to buy them like in the old games.
Did you find it strange that there are no wild Pokemon in the underground, given the existence of Ground Pokemon that are more than capable of finding their way there? Yes! Although I'm glad since it's nice to be able to walk around treasure hunting for once without being stopped every 2 seconds by a wild pokemon. Maybe they should've made it like Drilburs in Gen V and made it so that dust clouds with pokemon could appear?
Was it unrealistic that the underground did not act as an alternative portal between places in Sinnoh rather than just exiting the way you came, no matter how far away from the genesis point you had ventured? Would you have preferred to be able to use it this way? It was unrealistic, but it would've been even more unrealistic to be able to appear above ground wherever you want. What if you tried to go up where there's water or somewhere that's not on the map? Plus digging upwards where there's not currently a hole would be nearly impossible, so maybe you should be able to go up from any area that you've already dug down from? It could also then lead to some new special places if there were some pre-dug exits.

 

[Elite Overlord LeSabre™]

•How much time have you spent/do you spend in the underground? A fair amount of time, especially when I was still trying to get my secret base set up the way I wanted it to. Once that happened, I visit only when I'm running low on Heart Scales or colored shards.
•Traps - do you always fall into them or have you become a pro at avoiding them? I soon became fed up with landing in random traps, so I got into the habit of routinely tapping the touch screen so I can avoid them. I don't dig them up as I'd rather save my inventory space for more useful items.
•Does the plethora of elemental stones and other useful items make the game too easy, as compared with HGSS where you have to work just to find even one? I'd much rather have an abundance of stones rather than very few of them - that was a major weakness of the Johto games, and in fact I had to import a Water Stone from Platinum to evolve my Staryu in SS.
•Did you find it strange that there are no wild Pokemon in the underground, given the existence of Ground Pokemon that are more than capable of finding their way there?Nah, I liked the fact that you didn't have to deal with random encounters, actually.
•Was it unrealistic that the underground did not act as an alternative portal between places in Sinnoh rather than just exiting the way you came, no matter how far away from the genesis point you had ventured? Would you have preferred to be able to use it this way? I would have liked it if it was more realistic in where you emerged from, wheter or not it was near where you entered.

 

[The Nightmare]

How much time have you spent/do you spend in the underground?
Alot of time mainly 2 hours so more.
Traps - do you always fall into them or have you become a pro at avoiding them?
I do avoid them alot but I sometimes randomly encounter them.
Does the plethora of elemental stones and other useful items make the game too easy, as compared with HGSS where you have to work just to find even one?
I don't find them much but I do find alot of evo stones.
Did you find it strange that there are no wild Pokemon in the underground, given the existence of Ground Pokemon that are more than capable of finding their way there?
Not really, It would be annoying if you keeped on encountering pokemon on the underground.
Was it unrealistic that the underground did not act as an alternative portal between places in Sinnoh rather than just exiting the way you came, no matter how far away from the genesis point you had ventured? Would you have preferred to be able to use it this way?
It was unrealistic because it was normally like a mine than traveling to another place but it was okay when I traveled around the underground.

 

[cazzler]

• How much time have you spent/do you spend in the underground?

A lot, I was actually addicted to it haha.

• Traps - do you always fall into them or have you become a pro at avoiding them?

Never really ran into any of them...

• Does the plethora of elemental stones and other useful items make the game too easy, as compared with HGSS where you have to work just to find even one?

I think it was convenient, unlike HG/SS where it took quite a bit to get one of the Pokeathlon.

• Did you find it strange that there are no wild Pokemon in the underground, given the existence of Ground Pokemon that are more than capable of finding their way there?

Yeah I did, I thought there would have been some Pokemon down there...

• Was it unrealistic that the underground did not act as an alternative portal between places in Sinnoh rather than just exiting the way you came, no matter how far away from the genesis point you had ventured? Would you have preferred to be able to use it this way?

A 'digging' fly would be cool I guess lol yes I would prefer it this way.

 

[Cresselia*]

How much time have you spent/do you spend in the underground?
A lot, I love to dug up some things like evolutionary stones c:

Traps - do you always fall into them or have you become a pro at avoiding them?
Only 4 or 5 times.

Does the plethora of elemental stones and other useful items make the game too easy, as compared with HGSS where you have to work just to find even one?
I thought it was fun, and I HGSS it isn't so hard.. yeah you have to have time for it, but other than that I thought it was good there were plenty.

Did you find it strange that there are no wild Pokemon in the underground, given the existence of Ground Pokemon that are more than capable of finding their way there?
Idunno about that.

Was it unrealistic that the underground did not act as an alternative portal between places in Sinnoh rather than just exiting the way you came, no matter how far away from the genesis point you had ventured? Would you have preferred to be able to use it this way?
Ehm idunno again, it can be very annoying when you want to go to the place you left. And if you did, you would be able to get to cities you wouldn't becauyse you haven't the badges..

 

[vaporeon7]

When I first got Pokemon Pearl I spent so much time underground. I was so stupid back then because I didn't know you could burry spheres to get them to grow. I didn't have to worry about falling into to traps really because I had no friends with the game at the time. No, in HeartGold and SoulSilver it was so annoying, having to struggle to get a Water Stone to evolve my Eevee. I never thought about this but it is weird that there are no Diglett or other underground Pokemon. Yes it was unrealistic but very understandable. After all, I could end up in the water and it would like be digging up from a cave in Minecraft all over again.

 

[~*!*~Tatsujin Gosuto~*!*~]

How much time have you spent/do you spend in the underground?
I have probably spent over 25 hours down there if you want to count both my Pokemon Pearl and Platinum games

Traps - do you always fall into them or have you become a pro at avoiding them?
Majority of the time, I avoid them because I am a pro at it

Does the plethora of elemental stones and other useful items make the game too easy, as compared with HGSS where you have to work just to find even one?
I guess its easy

Did you find it strange that there are no wild Pokemon in the underground, given the existence of Ground Pokemon that are more than capable of finding their way there?
At first when serebii.net introduced the Underground I thought I would be able to find Pokemon living underground (such as Diglett) but when they announced that there was no Pokemon I was relieved because I did not want to go underground and run into so many Pokemon like I would be in a cave or in water. But now that I am thinking about it, it is quite strange


Was it unrealistic that the underground did not act as an alternative portal between places in Sinnoh rather than just exiting the way you came, no matter how far away from the genesis point you had ventured?
It would make sense if they used it as a alternative path, it is so much quicker.

Would you have preferred to be able to use it this way?
Yes I would have liked it this way


:t354:TG

 

[Pokemon Trainer Touko]

• How much time have you spent/do you spend in the underground? Not a lot of time. I'm not a fan of mining xD;
• Traps - do you always fall into them or have you become a pro at avoiding them? Wait there are traps? :O
• Does the plethora of elemental stones and other useful items make the game too easy, as compared with HGSS where you have to work just to find even one? Yes it makes it soo much easier to evolve pokes =D
• Did you find it strange that there are no wild Pokemon in the underground, given the existence of Ground Pokemon that are more than capable of finding their way there? Yes, they should've had things like Zubat and other pokes that are commonly found in caves
• Was it unrealistic that the underground did not act as an alternative portal between places in Sinnoh rather than just exiting the way you came, no matter how far away from the genesis point you had ventured? Would you have preferred to be able to use it this way? It would've been more realistic if there were exits and stuff instead of teleporting to where you entered.

 

[jcsimpson]

How much time have you spent/do you spend in the underground?
I spent a decent amount of time down there on my own when I first bought Diamond and then I got bored of it until my Brother bought Pearl. Then we would zoom around for hours.

Traps - do you always fall into them or have you become a pro at avoiding them?
I rarely fall in them unless I'm not paying attention or someone plants one very slyly.

Does the plethora of elemental stones and other useful items make the game too easy, as compared with HGSS where you have to work just to find even one?
I wouldn't say it made the game too easy as the stones didn't do much to make battles easier, but I will say it was too easy to obtain the stones.

Was it unrealistic that there are no wild Pokemon in the underground?
Yes but I'm glad there we no wild Pokemon as the underground was a nice break from random battles and leveling.

Was it unrealistic that the underground did not act as an alternative portal between places in Sinnoh rather than just exiting the way you came, no matter how far away from the genesis point you had ventured? Would you have preferred to be able to use it this way?
I think it was unrealistic yes, but convenient.

 

[Yoshikkko]

How much time have you spent/do you spend in the underground?
A lot, my cousin and I were getting Spiritomb with just the two of us, so that took a lot of time. It was also a lot of fun getting all the shards and planting gems and stuff.

Traps - do you always fall into them or have you become a pro at avoiding them?
The only person I really played it with was my cousin, and we never really set traps for eachother, just sometimes for fun.

Does the plethora of elemental stones and other useful items make the game too easy, as compared with HGSS where you have to work just to find even one?
I don't think so. It's not like you need elemental stones that much, that it would make the game considerably easier if they made them easier to get. I don't really mind actually.

Did you find it strange that there are no wild Pokemon in the underground, given the existence of Ground Pokemon that are more than capable of finding their way there?
I've never thought about it, but it would be fun to encounter a Diglett once in a while haha. Maybe a Diglett that would help you with digging, like just a small chance event.

Was it unrealistic that the underground did not act as an alternative portal between places in Sinnoh rather than just exiting the way you came, no matter how far away from the genesis point you had ventured? Would you have preferred to be able to use it this way?
I never really gave that thought, I don't think it's important and it might be unrealistic, but then again the whole game is just fiction. It wasn't really necessary for them to make that realistic since it doesn't really matter.

 

[FrostPheonix]

How much time have you spent/do you spend in the underground?
Much more recently than before, but I still haven't spent a long time there. About an hour altogether maybe.

Traps - do you always fall into them or have you become a pro at avoiding them?
...
No. The ones that the game set up are always in the way of the minerals, which means I see them before I step on them. Although, since my trap bag is full, I usually step on them for fun.

Does the plethora of elemental stones and other useful items make the game too easy, as compared with HGSS where you have to work just to find even one?
Not really, as most of it is kinda useless pre-E4 and you've gotta work hard and have luck for the really good ones.

Did you find it strange that there are no wild Pokemon in the underground, given the existence of Ground Pokemon that are more than capable of finding their way there?

Now that you mention it, yes. Never gave it a thought though before ^^.

Was it unrealistic that the underground did not act as an alternative portal between places in Sinnoh rather than just exiting the way you came, no matter how far away from the genesis point you had ventured? Would you have preferred to be able to use it this way?

That would have spoilt the game early on, right? You could have gotten to legendaries too, like Darkrai etc, and what would you do if you were beneath a building, a mountain or the ocean? Would have been nice though if they had specific parts that open up once you explore the places above them, and so you could have gotten around through the underground. And a legend (although there are already too many in D/P/Pt), it seems it deserves one of its own.

 

[Neptune Vasilias]

• How much time have you spent/do you spend in the underground? Plenty, I'll say about 40-50 hours the least. Even if I don't, my sister goes underground whenever I'm not playing. =3
• Traps - do you always fall into them or have you become a pro at avoiding them? I'm a pro. xD I love dismantling them. Sometimes I step on one to see what kind of traps they are. Bubbles and fire have lovely graphics to admire. xD
• Does the plethora of elemental stones and other useful items make the game too easy, as compared with HGSS where you have to work just to find even one? Not so. They're quite rare but not as difficult to obtain like HGSS. Heck I found half a dozen of Cranidos fossils in a row once! xD
• Did you find it strange that there are no wild Pokemon in the underground, given the existence of Ground Pokemon that are more than capable of finding their way there? Now that you've mentioned, yeah. But maybe it would be just plain with only Digletts and Dugtrios there. And Hippopotas to say the least. :]
• Was it unrealistic that the underground did not act as an alternative portal between places in Sinnoh rather than just exiting the way you came, no matter how far away from the genesis point you had ventured? Would you have preferred to be able to use it this way? Totally, I have always feel that and I find it irritating because I would love to use the underground as a method to bypass some annoying routes to get to, say, Mt Coronet or so. It doesn't make any sense that you dig far underground away from your starting point and when you resurface, you simply poof and warp to where you began. :/ I really appreciate the idea of having designated portals that might lead up to specific spots in Sinnoh. :>

 

[PelipperMail]

How much time have you spent/do you spend in the underground?
To be honest, not much at all. Very close to nothing. I don't have any interest down there, in fact, I'm not even sure what I'm supposed to do down there. When I first when underground I had no idea what I was doing, and I'm too proud to go back down there and find out.

Traps - do you always fall into them or have you become a pro at avoiding them? These don't apply to me.
Does the plethora of elemental stones and other useful items make the game too easy, as compared with HGSS where you have to work just to find even one?

Did you find it strange that there are no wild Pokemon in the underground, given the existence of Ground Pokemon that are more than capable of finding their way there?
This is very odd, to me. You can find Pokémon in caves, when smashing rocks, and you can even find them when diving - so why can't they be found underground? :surprised:

Was it unrealistic that the underground did not act as an alternative portal between places in Sinnoh rather than just exiting the way you came, no matter how far away from the genesis point you had ventured? Would you have preferred to be able to use it this way?
I suppose it make sense, from a game functionality point of view - but from a realistic perspective, it really doesn't make much sense.

 

[miltankRancher]

How much time have you spent/do you spend in the underground?

Not a lot actually. I'm not a real fan of them.

Traps - do you always fall into them or have you become a pro at avoiding them?

I avoid them as soon as I see them. I'm the ones putting up traps for my brother.

Does the plethora of elemental stones and other useful items make the game too easy, as compared with HGSS where you have to work just to find even one?

This one I like. It's now easier to evolve Pokemon than before.

Did you find it strange that there are no wild Pokemon in the underground, given the existence of Ground Pokemon that are more than capable of finding their way there?

No Geodude/zubat/ Other Pokemon= pretty fine. I'm not there to catch Pokemon anyway.

Was it unrealistic that the underground did not act as an alternative portal between places in Sinnoh rather than just exiting the way you came, no matter how far away from the genesis point you had ventured? Would you have preferred to be able to use it this way?

Yes. When i first had access to it, I traveled wide underground hoping i can reach someplace different, but no. You just had to return to your entry point.

 

[The Corrupt Plague]

How much time have you spent/do you spend in the underground?

I'm not sure but let's just say a lot. Most of it is spent mining.

Traps - do you always fall into them or have you become a pro at avoiding them?

I do every now and then but they are pretty easy to get past.

Does the plethora of elemental stones and other useful items make the game too easy, as compared with HGSS where you have to work just to find even one?

It's certainly more convenient when I need to evolve a pokemon right this second.

Did you find it strange that there are no wild Pokemon in the underground, given the existence of Ground Pokemon that are more than capable of finding their way there?

It's for the best. It would be extremely annoying to run into Zubats when I'm looking for places to dig.

Was it unrealistic that the underground did not act as an alternative portal between places in Sinnoh rather than just exiting the way you came, no matter how far away from the genesis point you had ventured? Would you have preferred to be able to use it this way?

No. This would be too much of a gamebreaker.

 

[Pingouin_7]

• How much time have you spent/do you spend in the underground?

A lot.
When I first got Diamond, I was able to reach Eterna City in less than a few hours.
I spent the rest of my day messing around in the Underground.
TBH, the Underground is better in D/P than in Platinum, because the radar works better in D/P.

• Traps - do you always fall into them or have you become a pro at avoiding them?

I usually walk on them on purpose.

• Does the plethora of elemental stones and other useful items make the game too easy, as compared with HGSS where you have to work just to find even one?

I'd rather get elemental stones easily than having a hard time getting them.
Besides, once I'll really need a certain type of stone, it'll take ages for me to get one, while if I dig while I don't need one, I'll find a lot.

• Did you find it strange that there are no wild Pokemon in the underground, given the existence of Ground Pokemon that are more than capable of finding their way there?

I don't really worry about it.
Imagine running into wild Pokémon every 10 steps while trying to collect 50 flags/talk to every Hiker? Argh!

• Was it unrealistic that the underground did not act as an alternative portal between places in Sinnoh rather than just exiting the way you came, no matter how far away from the genesis point you had ventured? Would you have preferred to be able to use it this way?

I think it was alright. It's Pokémon, you see.
Is it realistic for a character to start spinning and then fly right through the ground and them come out of a black hole?