Pokemon Diamond Walkthrough for Nintendo DS

Pokemon Diamond Walkthrough for Nintendo DS
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Pokemon Diamond Walkthrough for Nintendo DS

Part 1 of our Pokemon Diamond walkthrough for Nintendo DS helps you get started from the beginning of your Pokemon adventure. Slide the Pokemon Diamond cartridge into your Nintendo DS, power it on, and get ready to catch ’em all. Start off by setting your gender and giving your character a name. You’ll then have to name your Rival character, who you’ll encounter periodically throughout the game. You can call him whatever you’d like, but for the purpose of this guide we’ll just call him “Rival.”

Getting Started - Twinleaf Town

Head downstairs and your mom tells you that Rival has been to see you. Head outside and go to his house (it’s the only other house with a mailbox, because non-important characters can’t afford such extravagance). Rival bumps into you on his way out of the house, realizes he forgot something and then heads back in. Enter and go upstairs where he’s grabbing a few items. He tells you to meet him on the road and he’ll fine you $10 million if you’re late. This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Go north to Route 201. You can’t go to the right because there’s tall grass and you have no Pokemon, so head left with Rival and you’ll reach Verity Lake. Professor Rowan and his assistant Dawn are already there, but they leave as soon as you and Rival arrive. Too bad for them, because they leave a briefcase in the grass. Rival runs over to it to investigate and you follow. Just as Rival opens the briefcase, a pair of Starly swoop down to attack. Get ready for your first Pokemon battle!

Choose Your Pokemon Diamond Starter Pokemon

Pokemon Diamond Starter Pokemon

Fortunately the briefcase holds three Poke Balls containing Pokemon Diamond’s starter Pokemon. Choose from grass-type Turtwig, water-type Piplup, or fire-type Chimchar. Any choice is fine, but be warned that Chimchar is going to have a rough time with the first gym leader and Piplup won’t do so hot against the second. In any case, your level 5 starter should have no problem taking out the level 2 Starly. After the battle, Rival mentions that you should catch up with Professor Rowan and Dawn to return the briefcase and Pokemon. Head back to Route 201. Once again you cross paths with the duo and Rowan thanks you for the briefcase and asks you to meet him in Sandgem Town. First, head back to your house and grab the running shoes from your mom. These let you run by holding in “B.”

Run back to Route 201. This time head to the right towards Sandgem Town. Defeat any wild Starly or Bidoof you encounter along the way. Go back to see your mom if your Pokemon gets weak, since she’ll quickly heal it. Rival and Dawn await you right outside Professor Rowan’s lab in Sandgem Town. Rival brags about getting to keep his starter Pokemon and then takes off. Go in and talk to Professor Rowan, and sure enough he lets you keep the Pokemon. He also gives you the Pokedex to record every Pokemon you encounter. Before continuing, head back to Twinleaf Town to collect the Journal from your mom and the Parcel from Rival’s mom. With that out of the way, your adventure and this Pokemon Diamond Walkthrough for the Nintendo DS are ready to kick into full swing.

Route 202 and Jubilife City

Head north from Sandgem Town onto Route 202. Dawn is waiting for you and she gives you a quick lesson in capturing Pokemon and five Poke Balls. Use them as you see fit. Starly, Bidoof, and Shinx are all available in this area. Continue along Route 202 until you reach a boy in a blue hat. It’s time for your first Pokemon trainer battle. He only has a level 5 Starly, so take it down and continue along the route. Two more trainers stand between you and Jubilife City to the north. They shouldn’t be a problem, but you can always head back to the Pokemon Center in Sandgem Town if you need to heal.

The Poketch

Enter Jubilife City and Dawn tells you that you can find Rival in the Trainer school on your left. Inside, give him the parcel. It contains two town maps, one for each of you. If you’re new to Pokemon games, you can talk to the various people inside the Trainer School to learn different Pokemon battle strategies. Otherwise, head outside to meet an unusual man. He tells you to go find three clowns hidden around the city and he’ll give you a prize. The “clowns” wear gold outfits. Find the first by the Poke Mart on the right side of town. The other two are on the left side of town, in front of the TV Station building and Poketch Company building. Each clown asks you a simple question. Answer “Yes” to all three and then head back to the stranger in the middle of town. He hands over the Poketch, which is like the iPod of the Pokemon world. Right now it’s basically just a clock, but its functionality will improve over the course of the game.

Pokemon Diamond Walkthrough: Route 203 and Oreburgh City

Heal your Pokemon if need be, and then take the exit on the right side of Jubilife City to enter Route 203. Rival is waiting there to challenge you, so get ready for your first battle with Rival. He has a level 7 Starly plus his starter Pokemon, which is now at level 9. Neither should pose much of a threat, especially since his starter doesn’t know any special attacks yet.

Proceed straight along Route 203 after giving Rival a beating. Battle all the trainers along the way for the money and experience points. Enter the cavern at the far end of Route 203. This is the Oreburgh Gate, and right inside a friendly man will hand over HM06: Rock Smash. It lets you break rocks outside of battle, but not until you get the Coal Badge, so keep heading straight to the right. Oreburgh Gate is a small cave, and you only have to battle two trainers on your way out.

Outside you find yourself in Oreburgh City. A kid calls you a “noob” and takes you over to the Oreburgh Gym. Rival is standing outside; somehow he’s already had time to beat the gym leader. He quickly brags about this, then mentions that the gym leader went to work in Oreburgh Mine. Once again Rival takes off.

Pokemon Diamond Gym Guide: Oreburgh Gym

Roark

Head south to reach Oreburgh Mine. You can battle two trainers in here or capture a Geodude or Zubat. Otherwise, just head to the southernmost area of the cave to find the Oreburgh Gym Leader, Roark. He demonstrates the Rock Smash ability and then leaves to return to his gym. Time to go get your first badge.

Note that if you chose Chimchar, you’re in for a tough fight here. You’ll need to head north of Oreburgh City and catch a Machop in the tall grass here. Its fighting-type attacks will fare well against Roark’s rock-type Pokemon.

Enter the gym and battle the two preliminary trainers. You should be able to take them out with no trouble whatsoever. Go back to Oreburgh Mine and train some more if they’re too tough for you. Roark himself will challenge you with a level 12 Geodude and Onix, and a level 14 Cranidos. Defeat all three Pokemon using Turtwig, Piplup, or Machop. Once you defeat Roark, he’ll hand over the Coal Badge. It lets you use HM06: Rock Smash outside of battle. He also gives you TM76, Stealth Rock, as a reward.

This post is part of the series: Pokemon Diamond Walkthrough

Our Pokemon Diamond walkthrough takes you from your humble beginnings in Twinleaf Town all the way through your final battle against the Elite Four champion.

  1. Pokemon Diamond Walkthrough: Twinleaf Town to Oreburgh City
  2. Pokemon Diamond Walkthrough: Oreburgh City to Eterna City
  3. Pokemon Diamond Walkthrough: Eterna City to Veilstone City