Pokemon Diamond - Reached Moo Moo Milk Cafe

I haven't been updated in a while, but it isn't that I haven't been playing. I haven't had a lot of time, but I've still put about an hour or two into Pokemon Diamond most days. I just haven't passed any major milestones. Each time I play, I capture some Pokemon I don't have or I explore through a side cave and get a TM. So it just doesn't seem right to update.

I like that, since acquiring the bike, there are a ton of new places I can go. I had assumed that the game would continue its relative linearity and I would just find and fight the third gym boss in Hearthome. To my surprise (and delight) after exploring the city, you don't fight the trainer there yet and get to explore quite a bit more and see many more towns. I've been to like three different places and haven't even found a gym yet.

Granted, I also haven't found anything incredibly interesting. Just some new Pokemon and a few new items. Oh, and the day care is pretty cool. Still, I feel like I'm exploring which I love. And since Pokemon requires no grinding, I just get to explore and fight and it all feels natural and fun. There's just a lot to recommend to this game. I can go out and capture Pokemon I don't have (and give them clever names). Or I can go and level up my Pokemon to find new abilities. Or I can tool around the underground looking for new items. And I just get more options as the game progresses. I'm very impressed by this game.