Today Nintendo announced some details for the next upcoming chapter in the Pokemon series. Pokemon Diamond and Pearl will be hitting stores April 22nd. You will be able to transfer your existing pokemon from the GBA titles, through the GBA slot on your DS. There will be Wifi and local battles and trading with voice chat. Finally, if you pre-order a copy, participating stores will give you a Pokemon stylus.

Now I know most gamers out there hold nothing but disdain for the series, especially folks my age. But before you condemn, I have a confession to make: I like these games. Let me tell you why. Now when I say I like the Pokemon games, I am not speaking for the countless side story games that some refer to as poke-milking the franchise. I am just talking about straight up Pokemon games of the multiple color/gem variety. First of all, Pokemon is basically a classic RPG game with a highly addictive collection mechanic. You must travel around a region collecting Pokemon, by using your Pokemon to catch them. After a time, the Pokemon you use evolve and learn new abilities. Finally, what brings it all together is how fun it is to trade and battle other people playing the game. Now, I understand these games are for kids, but I don’t care. They are fun. Anyway, I am really looking forward to the first Pokemon game for the DS. Even though each Pokemon game is essentially the same game, with just newer Pokemon, I think I will be getting this one. Given that I haven’t played one in years, and that this iteration will feature WiFi battles and voice chat, I am predicting it will be pretty fun. That is, if you like Pokemon games.

Press Release