Pokemon Diamond & Pearl Pokedex: Prima Official Game Guide Vol. 2 (Prima Official Game Guides)

Since Pokémon Diamond and Pearl came out I was always referencing Online Pokédexs, which became difficult if someone else was on the computer, so after reading another User review I got this book. I was amazed at the detail in this book. Being a long term player I wanted more that just a walk through. This book has level up moves, HM and TM moves and Egg moves for 490 Pokémon. The reference charts at the back are a nice touch, one can look up Egg groups, moves, item locations, item uses, Natures and Characteristics, underground items and a few other bits of information. The only thing bad I will say about this book is that it is paperback which will get a little damaged when you are referencing pages often. On the Pokédex pages they have neglected the Pokémon species (eg Bulbasaur the Seed Pokémon is missing for the Bulbasaur information). There are a few typos here and there (Pokémon DX- Whirlwind of darkeness). But the main annoying thing is that Pokemon 491 Darkrai, 492 Shaymin and 493 Arceus are not included in this book. I do recommend for people to buy this book as it is a very good reference book. I have been playing Pokémon since the days of Red and Blue and this is the best paper Pokédex on the market now

It has all the pokemon, but it goes by their numbers in numerical order; so, it takes a little effort to find them, but if you know their regions it will be easier locating them. It has maps of a few places and routes. It tells you where to find all the items and where to finds all the HMs and TMs. It tells you where to find all the berries, but it does not tell you where certain important buildings are, like the Move Tutor. All and all, it is good.

Initially, I bought the Ninento Power Pokedex because I thought it would be a safer bet to go with the 1st party guide. However, even without comparing that pokedex to this version, Prima's, I was unhappy with it. Both the Prima and Nintendo pokedexes are designed as a 2nd book to the walkthru books. Some of the comments of those guides mention that they don't go to the later parts of the game (after beating the Elite 4). Those parts are addressed here. However, I did not focus on the guide as I really just wanted a Pokedex reference. Nintendo Pokedex: 2 pokemon per page vertically arranged large size picture of pokemon basic stat info icon image (w/ male/female versions if needed) evolution path (text only) list of moves showing: number, name, category, type, contest, AP Prima Pokedex: 2 pokemon per page horizontally arranged medium size picture of pokemon basic stat info icon image - front AND back (w/ male/female versions if needed) evolution path W/ images and text list of moves showing: number, name, type, class, power, ACC, PP, ranges, DA (direct attack) black footprint and relative size to trainer image text description from both Diamond and Pearl... nice how to obtain the pokemon right on the page... CRITICAL, imo. Just based on that, you can see that Prima put a lot more information per page on the pokemon... Yes, some of it is fluff but, imo, a pokedex should be a reference. And for true pokemon fans, that fluff is very nice. Having how the descriptions differ from Pearl and Diamond is interesting especially if you have only one version of the game. It just seems like Prima put that extra effort into this. Some comments regarding the Nintendo Pokedex: 1. The list of pokedex in the front is based on Pokemon number and not alphabetically. (There is a alphabetic list in the back pages.) 2. The attacks listed w/ the pokemon do not show Attack, ACC, and PP. Instead, you need to flip to the back to look them up in the charts unless you have memorized them... I haven't nor do I plan to. 3. How to get the pokemon is not as well laid out. You have to reference either the Game Guide (volume 1) or use the back of the pullout poster/map. Basically, Nintendo's pokedex really makes you work to get the info and is very clearly designed to reference the game guide. Some comments regarding the Prima pokedex: 1. Table of Contents is Alphabetically arranged. 2. List of moves/attacks are better organized and available right on the pokemon page. (There are reference charts/lists in the back of the book as well.) 3. Sinnoh map is a 2 page layout - I prefer this over the pullout poster from the Nintendo pokedex b/c it's easier to use. 4. Lots of little interesting information like all the Pokemon arranged in boxes (as in the game) to show what it would be like if you did, indeed, Catch Them All. 5. Pull out poster of all the Pokemon images. 6. Unown pokemon... Prima's shows all the different Unowns. So, as a reference, the Prima

Wow! This is an amazing book!!! I think it helped a lot! The strategy guide is very precise and I knew exactly what to do! I'm really glad they wrote it like a Poke'mon for dummies kind of book because many people who have already been playing this game for years might already know these strategies, but newcomers still need info!! I thought that both volumes that Prima made are a perfect collection to beating Poke'mon Diamond and Pearl!! BUY THEM 'CAUSE THEY HELP A TON! Oh, and people who say that Prima guides are full of empty space should consider over 600 pages (including both volumes) of info, a lot. And, besides, since I am a visual learner, all of those pictures really help!

What I have to praise about this product is not what it has so much as what other published guides have been missing. Specifically, the previous Diamond and Pearl guide from this same publisher was missing a lot of information regarding pokemon that previous guides about previous pokemon games had included, such as pokemon statistics and move lists. With so many new pokemon in the latest games, and the new wi-fi battle network, not to mention Pokemon Battle Revolution coming for the Wii in the US in late June, anyone who wants to be competitive would benefit greatly from this guide. Finally, this guide has one more thing the previous guide lacks, and that's any information at all about what to do in Pokemon Diamond/Pearl after becoming Pokemon Champion. Even casual pokemon players, therefore, have a use for this guide. If you have something against Prima, Nintendo has a similar guide that may not have a poster, but is a dollar cheaper and may be more accurate. I haven't seen the Nintendo version of the guide yet, however.