4th Gen Seven years ago today, (April 22, 2007)

[professor plum]

Pokemon Diamond and Pearl was finally released in the United States.
Seven. Years.
When did you get it?
Which one did you get?
What were your first impressions of the game?
Who did you start with?
How long did it take you to finish it?
What was your favorite feature implemented?
What was your favorite pokemon/line introduced?

Me, I remember buying them early on April 22, 2007, and playing Diamond at IHOP after we bought it. I was so excited for the game - all the features seemed awesome. I was so stoked to have Day/Night back, and the Sinnoh region seemed so awesome.
I believe I went with Piplup, because it was adorable n_n;
And, I finished the game in about a week or so. I remember being so excited to be able to move my Pokemon from RSE/FRLG via Pal Park to my game.
I still have my copy, somewhere, that I need to finish migrating from :B
My favorite Pokemon introduced was probably..Spiritomb. I know, it's an incredibly ugly Pokemon, but the concept behind it has always interested me - 108 souls, etc.

 

[Cherrim]

I bought Diamond on its release day too. It was a few days after my birthday so I was allowed to pick out a brand new DS Lite with it. I got the White one, since my brother had gotten the Black one for his birthday earlier that year and it was really exciting to get to play a new generation of Pokémon on a brand new console, too. :)

I remember being drawn into it pretty quickly. I didn't have high hopes after Gen III since I didn't really like any of the games in it, including FRLG, so Diamond was going to be my last attempt at Pokémon before giving it up for good. Luckily, I got hooked really easily so I kept going with the series and I'll always be thankful to the game for keeping me tied to the fandom. I started with Piplup since I didn't really like any of the others (although I have warmed up to Turtwig by now).

Before I made it to the end, I discovered Cherrim and thought it would be neat to train one so I dropped everything and slathered honey trees for a Cherubi and then trained it up to a Cherrim. I was momentarily disappointed by the fact that it wasn't controlled by the time of day rather than strong sunshine but I got over it pretty quick. I ended up keeping it in my party, so I had to train it up to the level of my other Pokémon and I'm slow so it took me another week before I was ready to face the Elite Four but... I did it! I think it took me 3-4 weeks in total to beat the game. And then I played it for almost a year afterwards, picking it up repeatedly even after Platinum had come out.

Diamond is still my favourite Pokémon game, even after all these years. :)

 

[Rosehip]

I think July 1st (my birthday), either in 2007 or 2008. My memory's so poor these days, so I barely remember. :(

My first impressions were...well, considering it was my first Pokemon game, I had a lot to get used to, luckily Diamond wasn't too hard to get used to, so I had no problems getting into the game. I loved it. The step up from the Game Boy was much appreciated, Game Freak making good use of the DS' technological advancement from the GB. Story was brilliant, the cities had a nice charm to them.

I originally started with Chimchar, since I like fire, and Chimchar looked pretty huggable :p

Took me a few days to about a week and a few to beat the main story of Diamond, due to me lacking any knowledge of the game ;_; that, and I sucked back then. Around 3 to 4, I was trapped in the after game areas for a good while iirc. Like I said, I was horrible at it. The Pal Park was fun, my friend let me borrow his 3 golems to get Regigigas. :p

 

[TwilightBlade]

When did you get it?
The day it came out. It was an early birthday present.

Which one did you get?
Pearl. My twin brother would get the opposite version, and he didn't want the pink mascot.

What were your first impressions of the game?
Awesome! I always loved Pokemon because of the trading capabilities. With Wi-fi, I could trade with everyone. It was like having 100 twin brothers all of a sudden to play with. :P

Who did you start with?
Female protagonist named Angel.

How long did it take you to finish it?
Not too long, maybe a week at the most. I never restarted the file and it has accrued over 700 hours.

What was your favorite feature implemented?
Hmm hmm, besides the Wi-Fi connectivity, I loved Snowpoint City. I really liked many of the apps on the Poketch too.

What was your favorite pokemon/line introduced?
I'm quite fond of many Sinnoh Pokemon, such as Gliscor, Yanmega, Froslass, Garchomp, Honchkrow, Mismagius, Lumineon, Staraptor, and Luxray. I don't have a definite favorite from the Sinnoh region, though.
As for legendary Pokemon, I adore Cresselia, Shaymin, Darkrai, and Arceus.

 

[Altairis]

Seven years!!??! I can't believe it was that long ago, since I remember so clearly when DPPt information was first being leaked from Japan D;

When did you get it?
I am pretty sure I got it on the release date, or I ordered it on Amazon and got it a couple days after.
Which one did you get?
Diamond!

What were your first impressions of the game?
I loved it! I didn't dislike a majority of the Pokemon and actually liked almost all of them, surprisingly.

Who did you start with?
I was planning on starting with Chimchar, but I picked Turtwig randomly and that's who I ended up with.

How long did it take you to finish it?
I don't remember exactly. But probably just a couple of days, haha.

What was your favorite feature implemented?
I just remember thinking everything was cool tbh. The region. The cities. Poketch. Connecting to Wifi was really cool.

What was your favorite pokemon/line introduced?
Staraptor! I use that bird in almost every one of my playthroughs, haha.

 

[Hiatus]

My first fourth-generation game would be Pokémon Diamond; bought it few months after it was released. Would've purchased it on release day, but I didn't have a DS back then nor did I have enough money to buy one. Lots of my friends were playing Diamond and Pearl before me, and that made me feel... pretty jealous, to be honest. :( Oh well; at least I've gotten the chance to give it a shot, so that's all it matters.

When I first started this game, was instantly mesmerized by all those new graphics; I just simply loved them. When picking starter, I wound up going with Chimchar, as I found it to be the cutest. To finish its storyline, it took me approximately two weeks. Throughout my gameplay, feature that I enjoyed most would be all those new online stuff, such as battling wireless with people over Internet, trading, exchanging Friend Codes, etc. As for my favorite fourth-gen Pokémon, that's probably gotta be Togekiss.

 

[Treetwig]

When did you get it?
I think it's 2010.

Which one did you get?
Diamond.

What were your first impressions of the game?
Awesome!Was not disappointed.

Who did you start with?
Lucas

How long did it take you to finish it?
3 days

What was your favorite feature implemented?
Wifi,poketch,underground,Battle frontier and the wifi plaza.

What was your favorite pokemon/line introduced?
The Infernape line since I used it everytime in my playthrough.

 

[Guardian]

When did you get it? About a year ago.

Which one did you get? Platinum

What were your first impressions of the game? Nice Box art lol. Still havent played the game, it's sitting in my desk waiting for me to finish Firered and Emerald.

Who did you start with? Once I start the game, it'll probably be Piplup, not sure how long I'll stick with it though. Turtwig is cool too.

How long did it take you to finish it? Well.

What was your favorite feature implemented? Looking forward to night/day thingy.

What was your favorite pokemon/line introduced? Luxray, Floatzel, and some extra evolutions for previous generations

 

[Harmonious Fusion]

When did you get it?
Release day, at around 6 PM local time. Yes, I remember this.

Which one did you get?
I got both, but played Diamond first.

What were your first impressions of the game?
All I remember of my very first impressions was that I liked the attack animations.

Who did you start with?
Turtwig

How long did it take you to finish it?
Three days, give or take.

What was your favorite feature implemented?
The GTS, and wi-fi play in general. I spent so much time trading with people around the world, it was ridiculous.

What was your favorite pokemon/line introduced?
It's a toss-up between Glaceon and Froslass. Fourth gen is one of my least favorites in terms of Pokemon introduced, but I love those two ice-types.

 

[CelticsPhan]

Back in June 2007, my cousin got Diamond and I was so jealous. He let me play it for a few minutes and I was so impressed with the newness of it. When my birthday rolled around in August, I was so excited to get going on it. I chose Piplup and went through the whole game with Empoleon, Staraptor and a few others I can't remember.

I chose Lucas (even though I dislike his design) and finished the game in about a month. I absolutely loved the introduction of WiFi Battling, because now I could play with all of my friends. The GTS was mind-blowing.

My favorite Pokemon in Gen 4 was Weavile, while I liked the Starly and Shinx lines. My [first] competitive team was Azelf, Salamence, Weavile, Blissey, Machamp, and Flygon.

 

[Kikaito plush]

When did you get it? I got it the day it came out
Which one did you get? I got Pearl
What were your first impressions of the game? I like this awesome music
Who did you start with? Chimchar
How long did it take you to finish it? about 2 days
What was your favorite feature implemented? the GTS of coarse
What was your favorite pokemon/line introduced? Lucario

 

[Hikamaru]

When did you get it?
I first played the games when my brother got Diamond for his 10th birthday in April 2008, and I managed to play a bit of it (his starter was Piplup, and he had a pretty lame team imo because it had Pikachu and Roselia in it) but then he put his strict "no sharing with my sister" restriction on me. Then I eventually got Pearl for my 16th birthday that October, and that's where I really got immersed in the 4th Generation. (Although I seriously liked Diamond's exclusives better but Pearl's mascot legendary is my fave type, Water)

Which one did you get?
As mentioned, I have both versions but Diamond was the one I played first. The one I technically own is Pearl though.

What were your first impressions of the game?
I think these games were really nice, I never would have expected attack animations to start looking awesome in the game plus the story was nice and it wasn't as linear compared to 5th and 6th Gen.

Who did you start with?
Piplup on my first run. Although I tend to pick Chimchar on subsequent re-runs due to how awesome Infernape is.

How long did it take you to finish it?
I never really got to finish the story (on my brother's Diamond he did finish the story but I'm not counting it) because Black and White came out before I even tried to get around to it. Oh well.

What was your favorite feature implemented?
The seals on Poke Balls which allowed you to customize the animation when a Pokemon is sent out. Such a shame they removed it in the next generation and never re-implemented it since. Oh, and the physical/special split that made some Pokemon usable again.

What was your favorite pokemon/line introduced?
Ugh so hard... I have so many fave lines from this generation, but if I picked one it'd be the Chimchar line. It's strong, fast and I love monkeys!

 

[BakingBluePotatoe]

When did you get it? May 12th, 2007 according to my Trainer Card. I NEVER dared think about Resting my Pearl file!
Which one did you get? I was going to bet Dimond at first, but somehow I changed my mind to Pearl at the last minute.
What were your first impressions of the game? AKDJFLKSAUDTIOUVKLJXLCKVJIUORIU
Who did you start with? I chose Dawn, named her Momoko, and I chose Chimchar, and named him Pyro. Lame I know, but... <3
How long did it take you to finish it? That I do not remember
What was your favorite feature implemented? The Poketch! It was so cool and handy to have. x3 And I look back on the Wifi Trading with fond memories... I do believe all the trading and breeding and collecting is what sucked up a lot of my time!
What was your favorite pokemon/line introduced? Lucario, hands down.

... I even maxed out the clock at 999:59... I am VERY surprised that I STILL do not have a full Pokedex ! O_O

 

[Pendraflare]

Guess i'll answer these, why not.

When did you get it?
I got Pearl on the North American release of April 22, 2007. I got Diamond a tad over a week later.

Which one did you get?
As I just said, I got Pearl first and it's my main one with over 440 hours logged, but I have Diamond as well. Pearl is my main one because I really like Palkia.

What were your first impressions of the game?
I thought it was really neat for Pokémon to enter 3D, I liked the attack animations and the environments.

Who did you start with?
Chimchar the first time I played through. It was nice, and I kinda liked it because it was fast and got me through the game smoothly.

How long did it take you to finish it?
My first playthrough of Pearl I think was 35 hours before I beat the game. There was a lot of exploring I did.

What was your favorite feature implemented?
The fact that it introduced Wi-fi to the Pokémon franchise for battling all around the world, but most importantly, the physical/special split. This changed the strategies of so many Pokémon and made old ones much more fun to use. Playing through the game, battling the Champion, Cynthia, is always fun too. Dat Garchomp!

What was your favorite pokemon/line introduced?
Most of them were the new evolutions, like Roserade, Mamoswine and Gliscor. But aside from those I really like Staraptor.

 

[Sydian]

I actually still have the same save I started when I got Diamond on April 22, 2007. It's insane that they're already that old, honestly. I bought both Diamond and Pearl that day after saving for months and checking Serebii constantly for updates on the new Pokemon and places.

Sure, nowadays I make it pretty clear that I do not like Diamond and Pearl, but at the time, I thought they were amazing. I remember playing on the couch at my me maw's house everyday after school and trying to keep my two games in check with each other since I was playing them at the same time (I don't recommend that btw! lol). I remember getting grounded really close to the end of the game and I made good grades that week and got my DS back for the weekend. I was so excited to be able to pick up where I left off and beat the game before my brother did. I lost my original copy of Pearl and had to buy a second. Then I lost that one and got a third as a gift. Then I found copy #2 I thought I had lost and gave it to my boyfriend at the time as a birthday gift since I still had the box, haha.

My first Diamond team was Infernape, Staraptor, Floatzel, Dialga, Luxray, and Mesprit. :)

 

[Anvils Alive]

I've owned Diamond since my 12th birthday (May 4). I remember when I picked Piplup because I often went with the water starter.

 

[curiousnathan]

Well my sister first bought Pokemon Pearl because she got a DS for Christmas that year. I ended up playing it more than she did and eventually got Diamond. (This was quite recently after DP were released.) I loved it, especially compared to the graphics of RSE The features were amazing, so was the music, Sinnoh looked stunning. They were really good games; I enjoyed them a lot despite majority hating them for some reason.

I can't believe it's been THAT long. :o

 

[-Yoshi-]

When did you get it?
Very Early.

Which one did you get?
Diamond.

What were your first impressions of the game?
I liked it, just the intro was too long and that Cranidos was hard.
Who did you start with?
Chimchar. The fire-types. :D
How long did it take you to finish it?
I think I beat it pretty quickly. I remember being on vacation and being bored a lot, so I played that.
What was your favorite feature implemented?
Don't remember the name, but that underground gem thing was always fun.

What was your favorite pokemon/line introduced?
Hmm. I really liked Lucario. Watching the show, I thought it was like a legendary. So, the fact that you got a legendary was awesome. Also, I just remember my Lucario kicking Cynthia's Lucario's ass.

 

[Lenin_]

When did you get it?
Right after the release, got my very first nintendo Ds too!

Which one did you get?
I bought Pokemon Pearl

What were your first impressions of the game?
Amazing, I loved it.

Who did you start with?
Chimchar

How long did it take you to finish it?
I finished the game in 1 day.

What was your favorite feature implemented?
The WTC was awesome!

What was your favorite pokemon/line introduced?
Probs Arceus.

 

[Evening]

I bought Diamond a few days after its release, it was slow, but otherwise, really good.
I started with Turtwig 'cause I guessed that its final evolution stage would look boss, and I was right!
It took me around 20 hours to finish it, I did A LOT of things that made me finish it in around 20 hours instead of the usual 10 (gotta catch 'em all! ;>)

Wi-Fi connectivity, it changed the world of Pokemon...it's one of Gamefreak's greatest gifts.
As for the Pokemon, I like them all. My favorite Pokemon featured in D/P/PT would have to be the Buizel line, aaand maybe Togekiss too.

Soooo, it's been seven years now, okay...