Pokemon Gen 4

Hey guys, I recently bought a cheap DS lite and the only games I have right now are Professor Layton (1) and Pokemon Pearl, and I already beat Layton. I haven't played Pokemon since Silver in middle school, but I thought I'd give the new (relatively speaking - I know I'm two years late) games a try. What I'm wondering is, what's changed besides the graphics and the Pokemon? I want to do a little bit of research on the new mechanics before jumping too far into the game. I don't care about competitive battilng or anything, I just want to know what to look out for / look up. I know Pokemon have a 5th "ability" or a passive move now, and that they can be entered in contests or something. Can I still teach two Pokemon every HM in the game and train a team of ~3 Pokemon to clear every battle in the entire game, or is it more challenging now?

I'm probably also going to buy Soul Silver when that comes out, if this is good.

There are the Pokemon Contests, where you use your Pokemon's moves to "appeal" the judges to give you points. Other rounds in the Pokemon Contest include dressing up your Pokemon to a given theme using items that you acquire, and "dancing" by hitting the notes at correct times.

The 5th "ability" is just something to look out for. Many flying type pokemon, for example, have levitate, where they can't be affected by ground type moves.

Bibarel, Bidoof's evolution, can be taught every HM there is (except Fly), so get 2 Bibarel and a Starly and you'll be fine HM-wise.

You still can have ~3 Pokemon to clear every battle in the entire game. I've been perfectly fine using the starter pokemon, not even TOUCHING any other Pokemon other than my HM slaves (Able to defeat everyone with a breeze). I actually seem better off with my "only raise 1 pokemon" tactic than many other competitive battlers who EV train theirs and have a spread out arsenal.

Don't worry about natures, or EVs, those are only for those competitive people who like to show off using Pokemon. -Rolls eyes-