Pokemon has always been addictive, but catching them all is now uninspired and is in need of a desperate breath of life.
The concept of the game has not changed much (if any) at all since its debut. A classic RPG where you travel around catching and training all the Pokemon known to mankind.
Pokemon Pearl may be visually superior to the original Pokemon games but there is not enough originality for it to be considered a good or memorable game. Yes, addictive but not inspiring.
I believe in the saying, if it isn't broke, don't fix it - someone should send a memo to the Nintendo suits. They've replaced perfectly fine HMs, (Whirlpool) and replaced them with boring ones (Defog - believe me, this HM will just annoy you). The original 151 Pokemon were also much more intriguing than this new batch of Pokemon. Also the clunky uses of the touch screen leave much to be desired for the DS.
It seems as though Nintendo is just trying to drain every dollar bill out of the franchise, which is unfortunate because Pokemon had and has such potential to grow and is unfortunately digging its own grave with laziness and complacency.