There's a lot of reasons that fans wanted Pokemon Diamond and Pearl to get remakes. The Sinnoh region did many memorable things for the franchise: it introduced highly memorable Legendary Pokemon, invented Poffins, and pioneered Pokemon Trainers battling internationally over the Internet. Nintendo is taking its time delivering these remakes; even though a return to Sinnoh was the next step in the Pokemon tradition of revisiting old regions, at long last they're on the way. Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl will be on Switch before the end of the year, and it seems these remakes will be largely faithful to the design and spirit of the original games.

If Nintendo is keeping the vast majority of Diamond and Pearl's features, then there's one crucial part of the game that'll return in full force. One of the most innovative and entertaining features of Diamond and Pearl was the Underground. This labyrinth of tunnels beneath the surface of the Sinnoh region was a unique and rewarding version of multiplayer in Pokemon, supplying players with precious items and letting them design their own Secret Bases. Many Sinnoh fans are looking forward to Nintendo's second stab at the Underground and hoping it will be just as fun as the first one.

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The Underground was a rarity in the Pokemon games in that it had almost nothing to do with catching or battling Pokemon. There wasn't any battling to be done while running around the Underground's tunnels. However, its value to the player's journey as a Pokemon Trainer didn't come from battling. It came in large part from the player's power to excavate relics and treasures from the tunnel walls. Nintendo provided Pokemon Diamond and Pearl players a simple but clever mining minigame that would reward players with gemstones, Plates, endless Pokemon Fossils, and much more. It was both a rare source of bottomless loot, and a good way to pass the time.

The Underground also took some notes from the Hoenn region by allowing players to create Secret Bases. With the help of a Digger Drill, players could pick a spot anywhere in the Underground and establish a Secret Base. Once the base was created, players could turn to vendors in the Underground to buy all kinds of decorations for their bases, from furniture to giant plushes shaped like Pokemon. These bases were a simple, cozy way to take a break from the endless Pokemon training at Diamond and Pearl's core.

One more thing that really made the Underground a delight was that it was multiplayer. Players automatically communicated wirelessly with local DSes, allowing players to join together in the same instance in the underground and get into shenanigans together. Nintendo provided good ways for players to engage with each other. Trainers could prank each other by planting Traps, and encouraged players to steal flags from each others' Secret Bases in order to power up their own. All these aspects of the Underground added up to a delightful way to share and enjoy the Pokemon world aside from Pokemon themselves.

The Underground appeared to show up briefly during Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl's reveal trailer. If it's coming back, then it seems likely that Nintendo will have found ways to improve on the Underground for a new generation. For one thing, the Switch doesn't come with a stylus, so odds are it's found a way to rework the mining system for buttons and joysticks, or maybe even motion controls. Players might find new loot in the Underground that's coming from games like Pokemon Sword and Shield, too, making the mining system even more diverse and rewarding.

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Nintendo has the technology to make major adjustments to Diamond and Pearl's Secret Bases, too. By now it could come up with much more intricate, liberating decoration systems that result in much more than a furnished cavern. Fans would be delighted to see Nintendo take notes from Animal Crossing: New Horizons and give players broad freedom in posing and arranging furniture, as well as decorating the walls and possibly putting down wallpaper and carpets. Secret Bases are already good fun, but they deserve to be livelier.

The Underground's multiplayer aspects are bound to be expanded, too. It only seems natural that Nintendo changes the Underground to use the Switch's online service instead of limiting players to local play. That way Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl players could open online lobbies to each other, perhaps with the choice of inviting friends only or allowing strangers to join them in their instance of the Underground. One of the Underground's flaws was that it could feel pretty empty without many other players inside it. Using Nintendo Switch Online, the Underground could start feeling a whole lot livelier than before.

Any fan of Diamond and Pearl ought to be excited about the Underground. Even those who didn't much care for it or use it much should probably give the Underground a second chance. Nintendo hasn't really talked about the Underground's new incarnation, but odds are its made plenty of tweaks to bring this subgame into the modern era. After all, Diamond and Pearl are both about 15 years old; it's about time that the Underground gets a makeover, since it hasn't showed up in later entries to get regular adjustments. The Switch's advantages over the DS in terms of graphics and performance mean there's plenty of room for improvement.

It's pretty great to see that Nintendo wants to go back to the Underground. It easily could have saved itself time and energy by just cutting the Underground. After all, it was a completely optional game feature that players could ignore if they so chose. Instead, its taking the time to gather up everything that made the Sinnoh region special and bring it up to date.

That's great to see, because that's what lies at the heart of every remake. It's not just about giving players a chance to relive the game's plot; it's about reviving the whole experience of the game and showing it to a new generation of fans. Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl will be much better off with the inclusion of the Underground.

Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl will release on Nintendo Switch in late 2021.

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