A while back, a campaign was announced about how those who pre-order two copies of either version or, one of each version would get a bonus secret figure. Well, that's been revealed today and it turns out to be a the 3 Pokemon you can pick from at the start; Hikozaru, Naetoru, and Pocchama.

As with the previous games, players will be able to choose one out of 3 Pokemon to start with. These are a water type Pocchama, fire type Hikozaru and a plant type Naetoru.

New in the battle system is how attacks will be divided into either Normal (Physical) Attacks or, Special Attacks. For example, in previous games, "Lightning Attack" and "Lightning Punch" were both Lightning type attacks so they were considered to be special. This time however, "Lightning Attack" will be considered to be a Special while "Lightning Punch" is only Normal. Damage will vary between both kinds of attacks and players can find out what kind of attack a move is by looking up their Pokemon.

It has also been revealed how players will be able to make use of the GTS (Global Trading Station) in-game to battle or trade with other Pokemon trainers not on your Friends List.

Players will be able to trade Pokemon in two ways. The first is to set which Pokemon you want and if there is another player who has it, you can trade with them. The second is you offering a Pokemon you don't need and if another player wants it, you can also trade with them. Traders will then be displayed on Geonet, a map showing where all the players are. Currently, you can only trade within Japan but, it could become international.

As with previous games, you can battle your way through 7 different computer controlled players in the Battle Tower. New in Pearl/Diamond however is the "Wi-Fi Battle Room" where you can battle against 7 other players of similar rankings. You can choose to have single, double or multi-matches.

Don't want to battle with your friends? No problem! As the story progresses, you'll meet Chika Ojisan who will allow you to explore the expanding underground passages with your friends via link.

Grabbing your drills, friends can dig up a secret passage together. After entering, each player will have their own little hidden room. The objective of the game is to capture your friend's flag and bring it back to your own. But it's not going to be easy as each player will be able to setup various traps. If you meet your friend along the way back, you can grab the flag back from him/her too.

Besides that of course, you can also dig for treasure in the secret passages using your stylus by tapping sparkling areas. You can then play a mini game where you can excavate using a pickaxe or a hammer. Each tool will either allow you to excavate a large area or small area. Guiding you will be a map of cracks on the top screen.

Once you've finished excavating, you can bring back the various items to Ojisan. Any precious stones known as "Orbs (Tama)" you bring back can be traded for certain items. It's also suggested that you might be able to revive some of the Pokemon fossils that you find.

Finally, there is the Pokemon Contest where 4 trainers can elect one of their Pokemon to take part in to compete in 3 stages; Visual, Dance and Abilities.

In the Visual stage, "Condition Points" will be awarded for the Pokemon's appearance such as how smart or cute it looks. Then there are also "Dressup Points" awarded for the kinds of accessories the Pokemon is wearing. These accessories can be obtained during your adventures in the game and the more the accessories match the specified theme, the more points you get for your Pokemon.

Players will also have to do a little bit of cooking, making a pastry known as "Pofin". This involves mixing various fruits and nuts onto the Pofin using your stylus. If you mix them in too slow, the pastry will burn and if you do it too fast, the pastry will overflow.

Next, we have the Dance stage where the contestant Pokemons will take turns being the back and main dancers. As you'll probably have guessed, you will have to hit the 4 buttons and time them to the rhythm. Needless to say, the better you match the rhythm, the more points you'll get.

Last but not least, is the Abilities stage where Pokemon can show off their moves. These are then judged and points are awarded for their coolness and cuteness etc.

Winning the contest will reward you with more accessories to help you do better in the next try. Unfortunately, the contests can only be played with other players via wireless link and not on Wi-Fi.

Source:
• GameWatch

Related Links:
• Pokemon Summer Trial
• Diamond and Pearl Contents Revealed
• Release Date Set
• Official Nintendo Pokemon Diamond / Pearl Site.