Geography
Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, Brilliant Diamond, and Shining Pearl
Rooms and pillars
Turnback Cave is a maze-like cave filled with dense fog. The cave has a fixed starting point—the entrance room—and a fixed terminal room—Giratina's room. The rooms between those points are random every time the player goes through a door, and the room generated will be in one of two types of layouts: a room with a single pillar in the center, or a room with an odd pattern of rocks that may obstruct other entrances.
In Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, Brilliant Diamond, and Shining Pearl, the inscription on the wall on the central pedestal in the entrance room reads:
- ...Past three pillars... to the sleeping... ...before 30 is surpassed...
In Pokémon Platinum, the inscription instead reads:
- ...Past three pillars... offer up...to the... ... before 30 is surpassed...
To reach Giratina's room, the player must find three pillar rooms; the room immediately after the third pillar room found is guaranteed to be Giratina's room. If the player passes through a total of 30 rooms before arriving at Giratina's room, the next door that is entered will return the player to the entrance room, where another attempt can be made. Exiting a room through the door from which it was entered returns the player to the entrance room, with the exception of the third pillar room and the door from the entrance room returning to Sendoff Spring. Each other door has a 25% chance to lead to the next pillar room.
In the pillar rooms, The inscription at the base of the pillars features two numbers. The first denotes which pillar room the player is in, while the second denotes how many total rooms the player has traversed (including the current room) since leaving the entrance room.
In Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, saving the game and reloading from within any intermediate room will cause all doors in that room to lead back to the entrance room. In Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, reloading a save within an intermediate room will cause the door which the room was originally entered from to be forgotten, meaning no door will lead to the entrance unless 30 rooms have already been entered.
Giratina's Room
Giratina's room has four entrances like other rooms in the cave, and from each a set of stairs descends to a central pedestal upon which Giratina will stand (or an item if Giratina has already been caught). In Pokémon Platinum, Giratina will only be present if the player did not catch it in the Distortion World. If Giratina has been caught, there will be a portal to the Distortion World where the player can obtain the Griseous Orb. If Giratina is not present, there will be an item, which reappears upon each subsequent visit to the room. Exiting any one of the doors from this room will return the player back to the entrance room.
There is an inscription on the wall on the central pedestal that reads:
- This is... That where life sparkles... That where life has faded... A place where two worlds overlap...
Pokémon Legends: Arceus
Turnback Cave is a small yet spacious rounded cavern that is empty, with stone pillars lining the wall. Giratina will appear in the cave after accepting Request 91: "On The Trail of Giratina" from Professor Laventon.
Items
Item
|
Location
|
Games
|
|
Reaper Cloth
|
Giratina's room, if the player reached it by passing through only 3 rooms and Giratina is not present (reappears each time)
|
D P Pt BD SP
|
|
Rare Bone
|
Giratina's room, if the player reached it by passing through 4-15 rooms and Giratina is not present (reappears each time)
|
D P Pt BD SP
|
|
Stardust
|
Giratina's room, if the player reached it by passing through 16-30 rooms and Giratina is not present (reappears each time)
|
D P Pt BD SP
|
|
Griseous Core
|
Rewarded for catching Giratina to complete Request 91
|
LA
|
|
Pokémon
Generation IV
Before encountering a pillar
Pokémon
|
Games
|
Location
|
Levels
|
Rate
|
|
|
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
45-46
|
30%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
17-18
|
25%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
15, 17
|
30%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
16
|
10%
|
10%
|
0%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
44-46
|
30%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
18
|
5%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
16
|
0%
|
0%
|
10%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
16, 18
|
10%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
44
|
5%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
15
|
20%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
45-46
|
35%
|
Special Pokémon
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
44, 46
|
8%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
18
|
8%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
44, 46
|
8%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
18
|
8%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
18
|
4%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
18
|
1%
|
A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here.
|
Between first and second pillars
Pokémon
|
Games
|
Location
|
Levels
|
Rate
|
|
|
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
55-56
|
30%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
25, 27
|
25%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
54-56
|
30%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
25, 27
|
30%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
26
|
10%
|
10%
|
0%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
28
|
1%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
28
|
4%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
26
|
0%
|
0%
|
10%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
28
|
1%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
26, 28
|
9%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
54
|
5%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
25
|
20%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
55-56
|
35%
|
Special Pokémon
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
54, 56
|
8%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
28
|
8%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
54, 56
|
8%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
28
|
8%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
28
|
4%
|
A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here.
|
Between second and third pillars
Only five of the six possible rooms have wild encounters; the second of the possible rooms between these pillars never has wild encounters.
Pokémon
|
Games
|
Location
|
Levels
|
Rate
|
|
|
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
65-66
|
30%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
37-38
|
25%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
64-66
|
30%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
35, 37
|
30%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
36
|
10%
|
10%
|
0%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
36
|
0%
|
0%
|
10%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
38
|
5%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
36, 38
|
10%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
64
|
5%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
65-66
|
35%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
35
|
20%
|
Special Pokémon
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
64, 66
|
8%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
38
|
8%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
64, 66
|
8%
|
|
D
|
P
|
Pt
|
|
38
|
8%
|
A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here.
|
Note: After third pillar
While there is a fourth encounter table in the game code for generating encounters where everything is a further 10 levels higher after the third pillar, it is not used and is thus not encounterable through vanilla gameplay. Any tables with values of a Lvl. 45 Bronzong in Platinum, for example, are not representative of vanilla gameplay.
Generation VIII
Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl
Before encountering a pillar
Pokémon
|
Games
|
Location
|
Levels
|
Rate
|
|
|
|
|
BD
|
SP
|
|
45-46
|
30%
|
|
BD
|
SP
|
|
44-46
|
30%
|
|
BD
|
SP
|
|
44
|
5%
|
|
BD
|
SP
|
|
45-46
|
35%
|
A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here.
|
Between first and second pillars
Pokémon
|
Games
|
Location
|
Levels
|
Rate
|
|
|
|
|
BD
|
SP
|
|
55-56
|
30%
|
|
BD
|
SP
|
|
54-56
|
30%
|
|
BD
|
SP
|
|
54
|
5%
|
|
BD
|
SP
|
|
55-56
|
35%
|
A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here.
|
Between second and third pillars
Pokémon
|
Games
|
Location
|
Levels
|
Rate
|
|
|
|
|
BD
|
SP
|
|
65-66
|
30%
|
|
BD
|
SP
|
|
64-66
|
30%
|
|
BD
|
SP
|
|
64
|
5%
|
|
BD
|
SP
|
|
65-66
|
35%
|
A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here.
|
Special encounters
Pokémon Diamond and Pearl
A Giratina appears here on the first visit. If run from, it respawns upon leaving the area.
Pokémon Platinum
Altered Forme Giratina at Turnback Cave in Platinum
An Altered Forme Giratina appears here after entering the Hall of Fame if it was defeated or run from in the Distortion World. If it is defeated or run from, it respawns after entering the Hall of Fame again.
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl
An Altered Forme Giratina appears here on the first visit. If defeated or run from, it respawns after entering the Hall of Fame.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus
Giratina can be caught in its Origin Forme during Request 91: "On the Trail of Giratina", which becomes available after completion of Mission 26: "Seeking the Remaining Plates". It is coded to never be Shiny. If defeated, it respawns after the player exits and reenters the cave.
Layout
Entrance, pillar room, and Giratina's room
Random rooms
Version
|
Between entrance and first pillar
|
Between first and second pillars
|
Between second and third pillars
|
Diamond
|
|
|
|
Pearl
|
Platinum
|
|
Music
The Distortion World portal in Pokémon Adventures
Pokémon Adventures
In The Final Dimensional Duel V, Flint and Volkner entered the Distortion World through Turnback Cave. They were soon after followed by Platinum, Palmer, Cheryl, Riley, Mira, Marley, and the Advanced level Grunt. After leading the group to the portal, the Grunt was about to head out, but he was stopped by Platinum, who voiced her distrust towards him. She, however, promised to protect him from Team Galactic, which the Grunt agreed to, and led them through the portal.
Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Adventure!
Turnback Cave appeared in Enter the Distortion World!. After managing to make Kaisei spill out how to get to the Distortion World, Charon traveled to the cave and entered Giratina's realm through it with Kaisei, followed by Hareta, Koya, and Jun.