Today marks the worldwide release of Shining Diamond & Brilliant Pearl, a return to Sinnoh for the first time in over 15 years. It’s only fitting that we mark the occasion and end this flashback series to the Diamond & Pearl era by talking about where it all began: Pokemon TCG Diamond & Pearl.
Pokemon Diamond & Pearl was released in North America on the 22nd of April 2007 for Nintendo DS. The game marked the inception of the fourth generation of Pokemon including a new region (Sinnoh), new characters, and of course new Pokemon. For years, fans have been begging for a remake and that wish has finally been granted.
A month after the North American release of the video games, Pokemon TCG launched their newest English expansion, Diamond & Pearl on May 23rd 2007 ushering in a new era for the card game with brand new mechanics in the form of LV. X. Nowadays we know LV. X cards for their collectability and it’s easy to see why when you look at the vast artworks and card designs ranging from Empoleon to the brand new promo Zacian LV. X from Pokemon TCG: Celebrations.
Pokemon TCG: Diamond & Pearl also changed reverse foils into what we know to this day. Before this release, the reverse holofoil of a card included the stamp of the set’s name and a holo background on the artwork of the card. Post-Diamond & Pearl base set holofoils added a holographic layer to the entire card apart from the Pokemon’s artwork – this design change has stuck to this day.
The set ushers in the fourth generation of Pokemon by focusing on their box art legendaries alongside the newest additions to the Pokedex. Holo Dialga and Palkia stand out with their mirrored artworks by Nakaoka who designed a further 11 cards in the set. Then there’s fan favourite Pokemon like Gengar who is gifted a beautiful backdrop of stars which somehow isn’t a holographic card (I’ll never get over this).
Topping off the Diamond & Pearl base set expansion, and probably the main draw for collectors, is Sinnoh’s starter trio evolution line culminating in LV. X versions of Emploeon, Infernape, and Torterra.
This was a way to usher in the new generation by making the chase cards for the first fourth-generation set Pokemon that went on to become many kids from 2007’s main Pokemon in their team. Pokemon TCG: Diamond & Pearl, like the other expansions we’ve covered in this retrospective, has very low PSA graded quantities. In total, there are only 1036 cards from the whole set in a PSA slab with a meagre 192 PSA 10s making real-world price estimates tricky with minimal data.
Is Diamond & Pearl your favourite generation of Pokemon? Are you nostalgic for the Diamond & Pearl era of Pokemon TCG?
Read about Diamond & Pearl: Stormfront
Read about Diamond & Pearl: Secret Wonders
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John-Anthony Disotto – Ludkins Media Editor-in-Chief
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