Before fans of the Pokemon franchise get to see a version of the Sinnoh region from the distant past called Hisui in Pokemon Legends: Arceus next year, they have the opportunity to revisit the locales many grew to love 15-years ago via Gen 4 remakes Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. Both were spotlighted during a Pokemon Presents livestream on August 18, with Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl revealing gameplay details like an updated Grand Underground and returning features like Poke Ball seals to customize how monsters enter battle.
Last week's showcase also focused on some of the Sinnoh region's returning characters, such as Oreburgh City Gym Leader Roark and the new look of the arena in which he's fought. Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are billed as more "faithful" remakes, being created by Pokemon Home developer ILCA rather than Game Freak proper, but there are clearly plenty of changes made to the originals. As such, the developer should offer more character-building moments for Diamond and Pearl's cast akin to previous remakes, and a great place to start would be with the friendship between Volkner and Flint.
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How Pokemon Remakes Have Benefitted Their Characters
Generally speaking, characters in Pokemon video games have never been particularly deep. Many are based around archetypes, like the original Red, Blue, and Green versions having snot-nosed and arrogant rival Blue or hardened army veteran Lt. Surge, and only some have more than a few lines of dialogue. However, the first attempt at a standalone Kanto region remake, 2004's Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen, expanded upon the personalities and relationships of multiple characters. A new Key Item called the Fame Checker offered miscellaneous fun facts, meanwhile some like Elite Four member Lorelei got entire story arcs in the added Sevii Islands.
The 2018 Nintendo Switch remakes Pokemon Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! (more based on Yellow version) did something similar with Lorelei getting an additional scene to better establish the power of the Elite Four. Meanwhile, characters like Red and Blue got new roles as they were no longer central to the plot. Generation 2 Pokemon games Gold, Silver, and Crystal gave Kanto characters more development at a chronological point three years after the originals, but then 2009's HeartGold and SoulSilver went even further by giving nearly all Gym Leaders interests and relationships outside of battling. For example, Violet City's Falkner participates in Pokeathlon competitions and is friends with Fuchsia City's Janine.
Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire gave Hoenn characters new designs and a lot more to do when they released in 2014, in-part explained by the game's metanarrative of there being alternate dimensions in the Pokemon universe. Sometimes development is seen with interactions between older characters, like Champion Steven and Gym Leader Roxanne being said to hunt for rare stones together. Other times, new characters were added to give people depth, such as Gym Leader Wallace having a niece named Lisia who serves as the region's resident Contest Idol.
Volkner and Flint: Diamond and Pearl's Great Bromance
With Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl set to add features like Pokemon following their trainers (which was seen in HeartGold and SoulSilver), it would also make sense for ILCA's remakes to follow the trend of giving Sinnoh's characters more character. There are interesting dynamics with Gym Leaders already, from the father-son duo Roark and Byron being competing miners with lead fossil Pokemon to Maylene trekking through the snowy Route 217 barefoot just to see her friend Candice. However, Volkner and Flint had a lot more to do than most.
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Flint is one of Sinnoh's Elite Four, and he's the only one whom players encounter outside of the Pokemon League. When the player character first enters Sunyshore City, Flint arrives and asks them to give Volkner an envigorating battle. As the eighth and final Gym Leader in Sinnoh, Volkner has apparently grown bored of weak challengers and spends most of his day renovating the Gym. Naturally, when players win the battle it offers Volkner new hope for the future, as he says the fight was a lot of fun.
Their interactions go much further than that, building off the already appealing trope of an insanely energetic and headstrong individual paired up with a calculating but generally lethargic foil. In Pokemon Platinum's postgame, players encounter Flint and Volkner in the Fight Area just outside Sinnoh's Battle Frontier. They take part in a Multi Battle against the player and their rival Barry, and share a very similar set of Pokemon that include then-new Gen 4 evolutions Magmortar and Electivire. They also potentially interact in the Villa that players can purchase in Platinum's Resort Area, where significant NPCs from all across the game visit.
Volkner and Flint's similar Pokemon choices go beyond the aforementioned Magmortar and Electivire pairing. Neither use a full team of monsters considered to be their signature typing in Diamond and Pearl versions (though for Flint this is in-part due to Sinnoh's lack of Fire-types), and they're also the only significant trainers to decorate their Poke Balls with seals as the player might.
Game Freak likely picked up on this duo being popular, as they come together in other mainline Pokemon games and auxiliary media. Pokemon Black and White Elite Four Shauntal has pre-battle dialogue referencing Volkner and Flint on separate occassions. Sinnoh-focused seasons of the Pokemon anime have arcs for the two, and they also interact during the Platinum chapter of the Pokemon manga. When Volkner was added to DeNA's gacha mobile game Pokemon Masters EX, he got an entire story event called "The Eccentric Electrician," during which Volkner does everything in his power to reigniting a burnt-out Flint.
It's hard to say where Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl could take steps to bolster this duo's relationship as of this writing. However, it could be as simple as giving them a brief scene together after the credits akin to the Memory Link feature in Black 2 and White 2 that paired characters like Skyla and Elesa to bridge the gap in time before those sequels took place. If this kind of thing happens, it should extend further than just Volkner and Flint. Pairings like Roark and Byron or Maylene and Candice are also good examples to mine, but these Gen 4 remakes could stand out more by giving completely new pairings the chance to shine.
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl will release on November 19, 2021, for Nintendo Switch.
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