I loved this arc. This and the platinum continuation of this arc will be the final arcs I read before catching up and it is exciting. After reading two less than stellar arcs back to back of B2W2 and SM it feels great to end this series just right in sinnoh which also just so happens to be my favourite region which only makes this even more sweet. Just like with other of my favourite arcs I think the best way to start is with negatives since the little amount should show how much I love this arc. So my only real negative honestly barely even matters to me. The one plot point in the arc I can't say I am completely down with is how our heroes learn about team galactic's plans. A team galactic grunt (Sird in disguise) just say the plans outloud to platinum while she was sleeping assuming she wouldn't hear which is just such a weird plot point that feels unnatural though at the same time now that I now the grunt was basically a copy of Sird it doesn't feel as weird since I can kind of see her doing something like it. Dia getting Regigigas was weird at first but honestly it is too funny to count as a negative. Especially since Dia deserves it for being such a chad. So those are really my only issues so now let's get to positives. I have no idea where to start but I guess an easy way is engagement. I was completely engaged during this arc, there wasn't a dull moment. The characters held the story excellently and even despite its long length I couldn't stop reading. To go more indepth into characters they were great. Not only did I love all of our dex holders but their dynamic is really what sold me. Dia and Pearl are such a great duo, probably the best of the entire manga. They are so fun and play off each other real well. They alone would carry the arc but luckily since platinum was already a thing when this arc started we have yet another character to play off. Platinum. She is so great. It's nice to see the female dex holder having a larger role in an arc yet even despite Platinum being the main focus and central character, her male dex holder counterparts in Dia and Pearl still feel important. They both have great combined and individual interactions with Platinum. Both comedic, helpful and wholesome. They make for such a good group and since the group dynamic changes later on as Dia and Pearl finally understand their place as bodyguards the dynamic never gets stale. Platinum easily could have been boring or annoying due to her upbringing and if it was played liked that and she was presented as overlly rude and demanding the dynamic wouldn't work but luckily even at the start of the arc Platinum never annoyed me and was always an enjoyable character. Platinum gets great, natural development throughout the arc which may seem like a given but after reading certain arcs with dex holders that should have but didn't develop this was a blessing. Dia was also amazing, maybe even my favourite of the bunch. When I heard of him before reading I assumed he would be a one note comic relief but that couldn't be further from the truth. He stands up to Cyrus by himself multiple times like a mad lad, gets some great development of his own at iron island, as I've said before has great chemistry with the rest of the group and is overall a very balanced character that suprised me to no end. Pearl is also good as to be expected. He is quite different from his 'Barry' counterpart which had me a little worried since I loved Barry's personality. Luckily Pearl is not only great in his own right but still carries alot of the aspects I loved about Barry in clever ways only really expanding his game counterpart. He connects with many pokemon throughout the arc which makes him incredibly likeable and creates an excellent balance between the extreme personalities of both Dia and Platinum. The best set of pokedex holders for sure. I now realise I have already said alot in this review while only really talking about 3 characters... Just proves how good they are. The usual wacky side characters every arc has are great here too. Maybe even moreso. Tons of out there characters adapted from the games yet they never feel completely out of place. Cynthia is just as good as her game counterparts. The gym leaders are given great nice. Team Galactic go in an interesting direction while sticking true to their game counterparts. There is just so much good in this arc to mention. The journey before the storm was great to see, I know not all arcs can do this due to their shorter length and thus usually go full plot for most of the arc. But just seeing the slow more sol journey of Platinum and her bodyguards added so much to the arc. I couldn't imagine it if the arc was hyperfocused on team galactic and that plot point. There are even more positives I could probably think of but I should probably end it here. What a great arc, I can't wait for platinum, all it needs to do is stick the landing and it will be legendary. Second favourite arc to me. All game elements are handled beautifully and all game mechanics don't feel forced (unlike FRLG). I can see people maybe disliking this arc due to it being heavily reliant on the games but I don't see that as a problem at all. It expands the game universe in great nuanced ways which is really all I ask for in these arcs. Anyway thanks for reading this arc was an absolute joy to read and I hope if you loved this arc I could give it justice and if you didn't like the arc as much you can at least see where I'm coming from!