Generation 4

The 4th installment to the Pokémon franchise. This generation is well known for the physical, special move split which made moves doing physical or special damage dependant on the nature of the move itself rather than the type (for example, pre generation 4 all fire moves were special). This Generation also added online capabilities with the GTS (Global Trade Station) and Online Battles. This Gen began with Pokémon Diamond and Pearl in 2006 and Pokémon Platinum in 2008 on the Nintendo DS. In 2009 a remake of the Gen 2 games were made titled Pokémon Heart Gold and Soul Silver.

Mechanics
The arguably biggest change in terms of mechanics was the Physical Special Move split. This drastically helped many Pokémon in terms of viability in competitive play. This Generation added a special way to Shiny Hunt often called the “Masuda Method” by fans. The “Masuda Method” Increased the odds of a shiny Pokémon offspring if both parents were from foreign speaking countries (A French pikachu bred with a Japanese Ditto for example). This was likely added to promote the new GTS (Global Trade Station), a place where players could trade with people around the world using Online Connectivity.