By Liam Ferguson
There are a ton of legendary Pokemon hidden in the back half of Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, with lots of ways to catch them all.
Legendary Pokemon are in league with shinies as status symbols in the Pokemon franchise. While the mythical Pokemon found on the games’ box art are typically just a sign of significant story progress, the others are both a symbol of completing the game and some of the most powerful tools to do so. Many of these titans are sequestered in the endgame and postgame of their respective titles, and a combination of low catch rates, powerful offense, and sometimes limited event availability can make them difficult to obtain without online trading. It’s always exciting to see what new legends have been added to Pokemon, so their number will likely continue to increase.
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are a massive celebration of mythical Pokemon, continuing the trend from Sword and Shield’s Crown Tundra DLC. To date, all legendaries from the first four Pokemon generations except for Celebi, Phione, and Manaphy have been made available in or through Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. Some of these Pokemon are caught as they originally were, some are still locked behind event distributions, and some are obtained through connecting with other games. Almost half the series’ legendaries can be found in BDSP alone, and there’s no understating how big a deal it is for Pokemon collectors.
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Mythical Pokemon Caught in the Original Diamond and Pearl
The group of mythical Pokemon that must simply be found and caught in BDSP should already be familiar to Diamond and Pearl players. These Pokemon include:
- Dialga and Palkia
- Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf
- Giratina
- Regigigas
- Heatran
- Cresselia
Dialga and Palkia are encountered on Mount Coronet immediately after the final battle with Cyrus. Like in the original games, Dialga is fought in Brilliant Diamond and Palkia in Shining Pearl. After preventing a catastrophe by stopping these Pokemon, Sinnoh’s legendary trio, Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf, will return to their lakeside caves for fighting. Uxie and Azelf can be caught as normal, but Mesprit must be tracked down with the Poketch. Giratina sadly has no story scenario here and is simply found in Turnback Cave post-National Dex, but it does have a superboss form in the Distortion World that can be fought in Ramanas Park.
The remaining three mythical Pokemon are also all locked behind the National Dex, so trainers should make a point of diligently fighting and catching Pokemon throughout their journey. Heatran is found in Stark Mountain at the end of a lengthy sidequest in the Battle Zone. Regigigas is found sleeping in Snowpoint Temple as usual, but BDSP tasks players with catching the three Regis in Ramanas Park first before Regigigas wakes up. Finally, Cresselia can be found on Fullmoon Island after initiating a quest in Canalave City. It runs away like Mesprit, but players should be able to overcome this with status ailments.
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Pokemon From Distributions and Old Saves
While most legendary Pokemon could be caught in-game, several had to be unlocked through external means first. Currently, these Pokemon are:
- Mew
- Jirachi
- Shaymin
- Darkrai
- Arceus
From the launch of Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, players were able to take Mew and Jirachi on their adventure. After reaching Floaroma Town several hours in, trainers may notice a fancy elderly couple in the bottom left corner. If Pokemon Let's Go, Pikachu! or Let's Go, Eevee! save data is present on the player’s Switch, the old lady will give them a Mew. Similarly, if Pokemon Sword or Shield data is on the Switch, the old man will hand over a Jirachi. While these gift Pokemon start at low levels, they are normally rare distribution prizes, so fans are happy to have an easy, offline method for obtaining them.
Pokemon Diamond and Pearl’s distribution Pokemon are back, mostly using the same methods. Shaymin can be obtained by heading to Route 224 with Oak’s Letter, which can be obtained via Mystery Gift until 7:59 a.m. PT on March 27, 2022. Similarly, from March 31, 2022, at 11:24 p.m. PT until April 30 at 1:28 p.m. PT, the Mystery Gift will provide a Membership Card to get Darkrai from Canalave. Obtaining Arceus only requires Pokemon Legends: Arceus save data, but it has some qualifications. The save must have all main missions completed, otherwise the Azure Flute will not appear in the player’s bedroom in Twinleaf Town. After the National Dex has been obtained, players can travel to the Hall of Origin above the Spear Pillar to fight Arceus. This event was cut from Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, so seeing it restored is bound to make some old fans smile.
Ramanas Park Fills Out The Rest of the Legendary Pokemon Roster
Assuming the remaining mythical Pokemon aren't added, all that remains is the past legendaries in Ramanas Park. These mythical Pokemon are:
- Regirock, Regice, and Registeel
- Raikou, Entei, and Suicune
- Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres
- Latias and Latios
- Ho-Oh and Lugia
- Kyogre, Groudon, and Rayquaza
- Mewtwo
Ramanas Park is a new area in BDSP, replacing Pal Park on Route 221, and can be accessed after the National Dex has been obtained. Various caves are dotted around the park, and accessing them involves mining Mysterious Shards in the Grand Underground to trade for various Slates. Players will need to defeat or catch all the legendaries in a given chamber to unlock a higher-tier chamber, and will need one Slate per Pokemon, so the process will take a while. To start, players will need Discovery Slates for Regirock, Regice, and Registeel in the Discovery Room. Completing this will unlock the Johto Room in Brilliant Diamond with Raikou, Entei, and Suicune, the Kanto Room in Shining Pearl with Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres, the Soul Room in both games with Latias and Latios, and the Distortion Room in both with a level 100 Origin Forme Giratina.
Catching or defeating all the Pokemon up until this point (besides Giratina) will unlock the rest of the Slates and Rooms. Ho-Oh is exclusive to Brilliant Diamond, and Lugia is exclusive to Shining Pearl. Kyogre, Groudon, Rayquaza, and Mewtwo are in each version, and serve as a fitting end to a trainer’s Pokemon-catching journey. Areas that collect past mythical Pokemon are a great idea, and hopefully future games continue the trend.
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Pokemon Shining Pearl are available now on Nintendo Switch.
MORE: Pokémon: Ranking Every Sinnoh Legendary
