Pokémon: 10 Reasons Diamond, Pearl & Platinum Are Under-Appreciated
8. The Starter Pokemon Lines
This was the first gen to have all three starter Pokemon universally debated to start with, as opposed to two out-of-the three starters being debated in previous gens before. An example of this would be in Red, Blue, and Yellow where the fans mainly chose between Charmander or Squirtle.
In Diamond and Pearl though the choice was always a hard one to make between the three as all of their finals forms were so unique and useful. In a region with a low amount of Fire types, Infernape would be a great late game Pokémon. Turtwig would eventually become a Grass/Ground type which is a great coverage to have.
Piplup eventually becoming the Water/Steel type Pokémon Empoleon would be an incredible defensive Pokémon. This was a hard choice to make eleven years ago, and it is still a hard choice to make today.