Beginner's Guide: Tips and Tricks for Getting Started

This is a guide for getting started in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl (BDSP) on the Nintendo Switch. Learn more about the basics of the game to get you started, as well as advanced techniques to help you in battles and Pokedex completion!

Pokemon BDSP Tips and Tricks

Useful Tips for Main Story

Beginner's Guide to Pokemon BDSP
Choose Chimchar as your starter Best Team Tier List Get Walking Pokemon after visiting Amity Square in Hearthome City To easily catch Pokemon, reduce HP to red and inflict status condition Save before obtaining one-time available Pokemon in order to allow for reroll Use TMs wisely Visit the Grand Underground

Choosing Your Starter

It's recommended to choose Chimchar as your starter Pokemon for Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl. The Chimchar line matches up well against most of the Gym Leaders, Elite Four, and Team Galactic. Similarly, the limited selection of Fire-type Pokemon in Sinnoh makes Chimchar an even more valuable addition to your party.

Pokemon	Advantage
Chimchar	・One of the few Fire-type Pokemon you can get in-game ・Strong against most of the Gym Leaders' typings
Piplup	・ Its final evolution has a unique and strong defensive typing with Water/Steel ・ Has an easier time dealing with Cynthia's Garchomp compared to the other two
Turtwig	・Has the lowest level needed to reach its final evolution at Lvl 32 ・Has early access to strong moves such as Razor Leaf and Bite.

Best Starter Pokemon

Best Team Pokemon Tier List

Below are the best candidates we recommend for filling out your team for the main story playthrough. When sufficiently trained, these Pokemon can handle Gyms and the Elite Four without significant problems.

Rank	Pokemon
	Infernape Gyarados Garchomp Lucario
	Empoleon Torterra Luxray Azumarill Rapidash Roserade
	Jirachi Mew Alakazam Gengar Golem Staraptor

Best Team: Best Pokemon to Use for the Story

Get Walking Pokemon at Amity Square

You unlock the feature to have your lead Pokemon walk around with you in Sinnoh after you visit Amity Square in Hearthome City for the first time. You are able to travel to Hearthome City after defeating the 2nd Gym Leader and clearing Eterna City of Team Galactic.

How to Get Walking Pokemon

Reduce wild Pokemon HP to red to easily catch

The lower the wild Pokemon's HP is, the easier it is to catch them. It's recommended to always get the wild Pokemon's HP to its red phase. To further increase your chances of capture, you can:

• Use False Swipe move to reduce Pokemon HP to 1
• Inflict Sleep or Freeze status condition
• Use a Special Ball

How to Catch Pokemon

Save before encountering one-time available Pokemon

You can soft reset a Pokemon's nature and IVs by saving before an unrepeatable event or legendary Pokemon encounter then restarting your game if you didn't get a favorable Nature.

Players reroll in order to get Natures that don't nerf stats that the Pokemon needs. Additionally, players want to get the most IVs as possible for their Pokemon, which adds onto the Pokemon's base stats, in order to attain the highest stats possible for their Pokemon (perfect IVs).

How to Soft Reset for the Best Nature and IVs

Use TMs Wisely

Unlike in recent Pokemon games, TMs in the Sinnoh remakes are single use and break once they are used on a Pokemon. The good news is you usually get more than one copy of any TM, but it is still a good idea to save your TMs until needed.

All TM Locations

Visit the Grand Underground

The Grand Underground is an expanded version of the Underground from the previous games. Here you can dig for fossils and spheres, build secret bases, and catch exclusive Pokemon not found above ground. You can first access the Grand Underground before challenging the second gym.

Grand Underground Features

Completing the Pokedex

Tips on Completing the Pokedex
Get all Starter Pokemon by trading with another device or another player Obtain the National Dex by encountering all Sinnoh Pokemon Trade online to obtain version exclusives

How to Get the National Dex

To unlock the National Dex, you need to encounter all 150 Pokemon on the native Sinnoh Dex. You don't need to capture every Pokemon to do this. Battling every trainer in every area on your journey to becoming Champion should get you most of the Pokedex entries. Afterward, speak to Professor Rowan at Sandgem Town.

How to Unlock the National Dex

How to Get All Starters

In order to obtain all 3 Sinnoh starters in 1 save file, you'll need to trade with another Switch console containing either Brilliant Diamond or Shining Pearl. You can do this as soon as right after you catch your first wild Pokemon on Route 201.

How to Get All the Starter Pokemon

Trade Online

Online trading is a must to get version exclusive Pokemon as well as certain evolutions. Trading locally and online can be done via the Union Room. The Union Room is located at the center of the second floor of any Pokemon Center. In order to access the Union Room, you need Wi-Fi and a Nintendo Online Subscription.

How to Trade Online

Locations and Collectibles

Collectibles and Locations
Move Reminder: How to Relearn Moves	All Poketch App Locations
Move Tutor Locations and Move List	All Honey Tree Locations and Pokemon
List of Clothes and Styles	Missables and One-Time Events
All HM Locations (Hidden Moves)	Pokemon Nursery Location
How to Change Clothes and Metronome Shop Location	List of Ribbons
Useful Characters and Their Locations	Poketch Clowns Locations
Move Deleter Location	List of Stickers
All In-Game Trades	-

Other Tips and Tricks

Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl Tips and Tricks

Unlock Mystery Gifts by talking to man in Jubilife TV 2F Use Hidden Moves to clear obstacles in areas Win Super Contest Shows by raising Pokemon conditions and doing well in the dance mini-game Cook better Poffins to raise your Pokemon's conditions more Water your berry patches regularly to avoid drying Put stickers on your Pokeballs to create entrance effects Battle online in the Union Room Identify Shiny Pokemon by their different color and entrance animation

How to Unlock Mystery Gifts

Est. Playtime to Unlock	2 hours

You can unlock the ability to receive Mystery Gifts at the TV station in Jubilife City, which can only be entered after getting the 1st badge and defeating the Galactic Grunts in a Double Battle north of the city. Talk to the TV producer and answer his questions correctly to unlock the Mystery Gift feature.

How to Get Mystery Gifts and List of Codes

How to Use HM Moves

You stand facing the obstacle (small tree, boulders, rocky wall), then pull out your Poketch's Hidden Moves app and select the applicable HM to use. You can also press A when facing certain obstacles for it to prompt use of the HM as well. Below are the list of Hidden Moves and the obstacles they help overcome.

Hidden Move	Purpose
Rock Smash	Smashes a breakable rock
Cut	Cuts down a small tree
Fly	Fast travel to towns and landmarks
Defog	Clears the fog in areas
Surf	Travels over deep blue water
Strength	Pushes big boulders
Rock Climb	For ascending or descending rocky walls
Waterfall	For ascending or descending waterfalls

All HM Locations (Hidden Moves) and How to Use

How to Win Super Contest Shows

In Super Contest Shows, the performers' goal is to earn Hype Points. Work together with the 3 other contestants to earn a set amount of Hype Points for the show to be a success. Below are the key points to winning Super Contest Shows:

How to Be Star of the Show in Contests
Visual Evaluation: Cook Poffins to raise condition Use Scarfs to boost condition Match Ball Capsule Sticker with theme Dance Evaluation: Aim to hit notes perfectly Use Contest Move when you're about to miss notes Move Evaluation: Create a Move Chain Know when to use Contest Move

Super Contest Show Guide and New Features

How to Cook the Best Poffins

Poffins can be vital to your success in Super Contest Shows. Make sure you cook high quality Poffins in order to boost your Pokemon's Coolness, Beauty, Cuteness, Cleverness, and Toughness conditions even more. Below are the key points to cooking better Poffins:

Cooking High-Level Poffins
Use Berries with strong tastes Shorten cooking time by stirring properly Avoid spilling or burning Cook inside Amity Square

How to Cook the Best Poffins

How to Grow Berries

Plant berries in patches of soft soil in order to grow berry trees that produce more of the berry you planted. Each type of berry tree has different growth rates, but they all progress through the same 5 stages: just planted, sprouted, growing, blooming, and ripe for picking.

Gray soil indicates that the soil is dry. Avoid having a berry tree grow in gray soil, or less berries will be produced. Water your plants regularly or when the soil turns orange to prevent it from becoming dry.

How to Grow Berries

How to Use Stickers

2D layout

3D layout

Through Capsule Decoration, you can customize your Pokeballs by adding Stickers onto them. There are over 90 stickers to be collected in-game and you can apply up to 20 stickers onto a Pokeball. You can place stickers on your Pokeball capsule using a 2D or 3D layout.

Stickers create effects when the Pokemon exits from its ball in battle or in Super Contest Shows. The effect of the sticker is denoted in the sticker's title (e.g. Heart, Fire, Song, Electricity, etc.). The effect factors into the visual evaluation of Pokemon during Super Contest Shows.

How to Use Stickers (Pokeball Seals)

How to Battle Online

The Union Room will be the main way for you to battle other trainers. Access the Union Room by simply pressing Y anywhere in the Sinnoh region. In order to access the Global Union Room and battle players online, you need Wi-Fi and a Nintendo Online Subscription. It was announced that Ranked Battles will not take place in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.

How to Battle Online

How to Tell if a Pokemon is Shiny

Shiny Pokemon boast a different color palette from their regular counterparts and are often sought out by trainers. You can also identify them by their entrance animation. Shiny Pokemon encountered in the wild have a shining effect once they appear.

On their status page, Shiny Pokemon also have a Shiny Symbol in the form of 2 ✦ (red four-pointed stars).

How to Tell if a Pokemon is Shiny

All Tips and Tricks Guides

Post Game Guides
Post Game Content and 100 Percent Guide	How to Use the Poke Radar
How to Unlock the National Dex	Ramanas Park Guide
List of Swarm Pokemon	How to Get to the Battle Zone
How to Get Mysterious Shards	Ribbon Syndicate Guide
How to Get Trainer Card Stars	When Do Legendaries Respawn?
Beginner's Guides
Best Team	Best Starter Pokemon
How to Trade Locally and Online	Pokemon by Route: Best Pokemon to Catch
How to Have Pokemon Follow You and Walk With Pokemon	How to Get Money Fast
Groups Guide: How to Join and Create	Character Creation and Customization
Pokemon Allowed in Amity Square Guide and Map	Daily and Weekly Events Guide
How to Battle Online	How to Evolve Pokemon
Type Chart	Language Settings
How to Add Friends	How to Catch Pokemon: Best Pokemon for Catching
List of Settings and Best Settings	What Happens When You Lose?
Should You Use TMs?	-
Collectibles and Locations
Move Reminder: How to Relearn Moves	All Poketch App Locations
Move Tutor Locations and Move List	All Honey Tree Locations and Pokemon
List of Clothes and Styles	Missables and One-Time Events
All HM Locations (Hidden Moves)	Pokemon Nursery Location
How to Change Clothes and Metronome Shop Location	List of Ribbons
Useful Characters and Their Locations	Poketch Clowns Locations
Move Deleter Location	List of Stickers
All In-Game Trades	Global Wonder Station
Game Mechanics
Poffin Guide: How to Cook the Best Poffins	Super Contest Show Guide
How to Use Stickers (Pokeball Seals)	Fishing and How to Get Each Rod
How to Make Traded Pokemon Obey You	How to Grow Berries
How to Use Ball Capsules	How to Use Vs. Seeker
How to Use Itemfinder and Find Hidden Items	Nature Chart and How to Check Natures
How to Change the Date and Time	How to Change Nicknames
Jubilife TV Lottery Prizes and How to Win	Massage Girl: How to Get Massages
How to Delete Save Data	How to Get More PC Boxes
How to Access Pokemon Boxes on the Road	How to Transfer Save Data
How to Use the PC and Boxes	Can You Nickname Traded Pokemon?
How to Stop Evolution	Characteristics Guide and Meaning
How to Save Your Game	How to Release Pokemon
Is Fashion Case in the Game?	How to Adjust Screen Size
How to Hide the Poketch	Are There Accessories?
How to Farm Held Items	-
Advanced Tips and Tricks
How to Get All Starter Pokemon	How to Do a Nuzlocke Challenge
How to Tell if a Pokemon is Shiny	-
Pokemon Battles
How to Use STAB Effectively	Double Battles Guide
All Status Conditions	How to Escape and Run Away From Battle
How to Avoid Random Battles	Colosseum

Pokemon BDSP Related Guides

Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Wiki

Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl Guides
Pokedex	Story Walkthrough
Maps and Locations	Grand Underground
Moves	Items
Abilities	Beginner's Tips & Guides
Training and Breeding	Battle Tower
Tier List & Movesets	Message Boards
News and Game Info	Characters