The Sinnoh Pokedex from Diamond and Pearl includes 493 Pokemon. Gen 4's biggest change is the physical/special split by move instead of type. Gyarados can finally use its 125 Attack on Water moves. The flipside: Sinnoh has a brutal Fire-type shortage. Infernape and Ponyta are basically it before postgame. Filter by type to see just how limited some coverage is.

C
Mesprit
#0481

Mesprit

psychic
A
Azelf
#0482

Azelf

psychic
S
Dialga
#0483

Dialga

steeldragon
S
Palkia
#0484

Palkia

waterdragon
S
Heatran
#0485

Heatran

firesteel
B
Regigigas
#0486

Regigigas

normal
S
Giratina
#0487

Giratina

ghostdragon
B
Cresselia
#0488

Cresselia

psychic
C
Phione
#0489

Phione

water
A
Manaphy
#0490

Manaphy

water
A
Darkrai
#0491

Darkrai

dark
B
Shaymin
#0492

Shaymin

grass
S
Arceus
#0493

Arceus

normal

  • 493 total across Generations 1 through 4. The Sinnoh regional dex has 151 Pokemon (a nod to Gen 1). Many popular species are locked behind the National Dex, which you unlock after seeing all 150 Sinnoh Pokemon. The regional dex is notoriously limited, especially for Fire types.

  • Before Gen 4, whether a move was physical or special depended on the move's type. All Water moves were special, all Fighting moves were physical, regardless of the actual move. Diamond and Pearl changed it so each move has its own physical or special category. This lets Pokemon like Gyarados (125 Attack) finally use physical Water moves.

  • Chimchar. Infernape is Fire/Fighting with great Speed and mixed offenses. The reason it's the top pick: Sinnoh has almost no Fire types. Chimchar and Ponyta are your only options before postgame. Piplup evolves into Empoleon (Water/Steel, unique typing), and Turtwig's Torterra (Grass/Ground) is solid but slow.

  • The Sinnoh regional dex only includes two Fire-type evolutionary lines before the National Dex: Chimchar and Ponyta. If you didn't pick Chimchar, Ponyta is your only Fire-type option until postgame. Platinum fixed this by expanding the regional dex, but DP is stuck with the drought.

  • Generation 4, released in 2006 in Japan and 2007 in North America for the Nintendo DS. Introduced the physical/special split per move, online trading via the GTS, the Sinnoh region, and 107 new Pokemon including new evolutions for older species.

  • Diamond gets Dialga, Cranidos, Stunky, Murkrow, and Scyther. Pearl gets Palkia, Shieldon, Glameow, Misdreavus, and Pinsir. The legendary you pick is the bigger decision.

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