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Appendix:Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl walkthrough/Part 1

< Appendix:Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl walkthrough
This is the Bulbapedia walkthrough for Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.
These pages follow the remade Nintendo Switch iteration, not Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. The guide for those games can be found here.


Introduction

When you first turn on the game, Professor Rowan introduces himself, welcoming you to the world of Pokémon. Then, he throws a Poké Ball to demonstrate what a Pokémon is. A Munchlax then appears from the Poké Ball and Rowan goes on to speak about human relationships with Pokémon as friends. He then states that his job as a professor is to conduct research on these Pokémon.

You are then asked to choose your appearance, so choose wisely as you will be unable to change your basic appearance once you have started your adventure. You then must choose a name, which will also stay with you for the remainder of the game. You are than asked what your friend's name is. He will be your rival. His official name is Barry, so from now on, he is referred as "Barry" in this walkthrough.

Your adventure has begun, so it's time to jump into the world of Pokémon!

Twinleaf Town

 
Twinleaf Town

The journey begins at your home in Twinleaf Town. You are watching the television special report titled "Search for the Red Gyarados!" in which a news broadcast describes a team searching for a red Gyarados in a far-off lake (which is presumably the Lake of Rage in Johto). The broadcast states that the team has not observed the Pokémon in question.

On your way out of the house, your mother will tell you that your rival wishes to see you as it is an emergency. She also warns you to stay out the tall grass as wild Pokémon may attack. Just as you enter his house, Barry bumps into you. He tells you to come with him to Lake Verity and says that he will fine $1 million if you aren't there. As he is about to leave, Barry notices that he has forgotten something and runs back inside the house. Head inside and upstairs, where Barry is deciding what to bring. He then notices you, threatens to fine you $10 million (which is 10 times of the original amount) and rushes out of the house. He will now be waiting for you on Route 201. Now head north to reach the route.

Route 201

Barry sees you and follows you. If you turn east and try to go through the tall grass, your Mom's words will suddenly pop out of nowhere and prevent you from entering tall grass. Head west and go to Verity Lakefront.

Verity Lakefront

 
Verity Lakefront

This is a short path that leads you to the lake. Follow the path and head into Lake Verity. Once you can go to Route 201, you can get a hidden Potion here that is accessed from the route.

Lake Verity

After you reach Route 201, Barry tells you about the news report on TV about the Red Gyarados. He wants to go to the local lake to see if there is a similar Pokémon, and he will now follow you. Walk to Lake Verity. Upon your arrival, you see Professor Rowan, and either Lucas or Dawn (whoever is the opposite gender of your selected player character). The two are searching the lake for something and discuss Rowan's return to Sinnoh after four years. They push past you, and Lucas/Dawn apologizes. Barry goes to investigate the briefcase Rowan left behind, but when you enter the long grass you are each attacked by a wild Starly. You then open the briefcase to find three Poké Balls, containing Turtwig, Chimchar and Piplup.

 
Turtwig
  
Chimchar
  
Piplup
Grass Fire Water
  Grotle   Monferno   Prinplup
Grass Fire Fighting Water
  Torterra   Infernape   Empoleon
Grass Ground Fire Fighting Water Steel

When you choose one, that Pokémon will become your first partner Pokémon, so choose wisely. Barry will automatically select the one with a type advantage over yours.

Turtwig, the Turtle Pokémon, is a solid choice. Turtwig evolves into Grotle at Level 18, and then Torterra at level 32. Turtwig is a Grass-type Pokémon, and Torterra is a Grass/Ground-type Pokémon. Torterra has great Attack and Defense, but low Special Attack and Speed. It gets powerful moves like Razor Leaf and Crunch pretty early on, and later Earthquake . Torterra also gets Wood Hammer. Another good move for Torterra is Curse, which boosts its Attack and Defense, its two best stats, while decreasing its Speed, which is already very low. It also gets Synthesis for healing itself. For TM moves it gets Bullet Seed, Giga Impact, and a wide range of other moves, including several setup moves. Torterra does have a major weakness to Ice-type attacks, so be wary of that. In any case, Turtwig does quite well at the Gyms and is a very good choice.

Chimchar, the Chimp Pokémon, has high speed and attacking stats, but at the cost of having quite low defenses (these are usual for Fire-type Pokémon). It can use both physical and special moves well. It evolves at Level 14 into Monferno, a Fire/Fighting-type Pokémon, and gains a ton of power, and eventually learning one of the second strongest Fighting-type moves, Close Combat when it evolves into Infernape. If you make sure Chimchar evolves before or in the first Gym, you shouldn't have trouble with the Rock-type Pokémon. Its defenses are low, but it often has the power to take out most Pokémon in the game with one or two hits before they even get a chance to strike, so it's not really that bad unless there is a type disadvantage. Chimchar's line can learn a variety of great moves, both with level up and TMs. It can learn Flamethrower at Level 47 if unevolved, but Monferno and Infernape can still learn it via TM35, which can be obtained before the sixth Gym. Brick Break, Focus Blast, and Fire Blast are some TM moves to consider, although it learns many, many more, like Rock Slide, Stone Edge, Earthquake and Dig. In comparison to the other two first partner Pokémon, Chimchar is probably the best if you're looking for an easier ride through the game.

Piplup, the Penguin Pokémon, has high defenses and Special Attack. Its Attack and Speed aren't that great, unfortunately. It evolves into Prinplup at Level 16. When it evolves further into Empoleon at Level 36, it gains the Steel type, making it a unique Water/Steel-type Pokémon. The addition of the Steel type will give it a wide variety of resistances, making it take very little damage from quite a few attacks- only Electric-type, Fighting-type, and Ground-type attacks are a major threat; nearly everything else is resisted. Unfortunately, this good typing comes at a cost: a movepool that isn't the best. With Empoleon's sub-par Attack stat, it is better off using Special attacks such as BubbleBeam, which Prinplup learns at Level 24. If you are fine using TMs and HMs on Empoleon, TM95 (Surf) and TM91 (Flash Cannon) are both very powerful attacks for Empoleon to learn. Also, Empoleon does eventually get the second strongest Water-type attack Hydro Pump at Level 59, though it has low PP and accuracy. In comparison to the other two first partners, Piplup is probably the hardest to use. It will struggle with its movepool until you get TMs, but will then become much more useful. Teach it Flash Cannon as soon as you acquire that TM, and it will be very powerful. Other TM options that could pay off include Ice Beam, Scald, and maybe Grass Knot. It also gets Swords Dance from the Move Reminder to compensate for its Attack stat, opening up more Physical options for it. Don't think that Piplup is a bad choice— it's a great Pokémon and the extra effort of training one is well worth it.

All of the first partners are good choices and it is down to your personal preference to make a decision. In any case, it's time to move on.

Battle the Level 2 Starly, and defeat it to give your new Pokémon experience points. Suddenly, Lucas/Dawn returns and remarks that Rowan would be very angry if he/she forgot the briefcase. When Lucas/Dawn realizes that you have used the Pokémon from the briefcase, he/she takes the briefcase and hurries off. Barry suggests heading back to Twinleaf Town.

On your way back to Twinleaf Town, you meet Lucas/Dawn and Professor Rowan, who takes a look at the Pokémon you and Barry had taken and returns to his lab. Rowan's assistant mentions that you should stop by Rowan's lab and then hurries off.

Twinleaf Town

After that, you will automatically return to your house in Twinleaf Town. You explain the situation that occurred at the lake, and Mom gives you a pair of Running Shoes and asks you to visit Professor Rowan in Sandgem Town.

Route 201

Head north to reach Route 201. This time, head east through the tall grass. Two Pokémon, Bidoof and Starly, can be found here, but they cannot be captured yet.

Head north through another patch until you reach a woman. She works for the Poké Mart and will give you ten Potions for free. Continue east until you reach Sandgem Town.

Sandgem Town

 
Professor Rowan's Lab
 
Sandgem Town

Upon reaching Sandgem Town, Professor Rowan's assistant will stop you and have you go with him/her. You are then shown the Pokémon Research Lab, the largest building in town. As you are about to enter, Barry zooms out and says that Rowan isn't as intimidating as he first seemed, and then departs for Jubilife City. After entering the lab, Professor Rowan examines the Pokémon you chose at the lake and lets you keep it as a gift. You will then be given the option to give it a nickname. The professor formally introduces himself, and entrusts you with a Pokédex to record the data of all the Pokémon that are found throughout the Sinnoh region. Lucas/Dawn also says that he/she is on a Pokédex quest.

Upon leaving the lab, Lucas/Dawn will give you a tour and show you the Pokémon Center and Poké Mart. He/she then insists that you tell your mom that you are leaving on a journey and leaves to Route 202, where he/she won't let you pass until you complete your mission in Twinleaf Town.

Twinleaf Town

Backtrack on Route 201 and head to your house. After you get some rest, your mother is happy to hear the news and will give you the Guidebook, and she tells you to make sure to come back to visit. Barry's mother then stops by and admits that Barry left so fast that he forgot the Parcel, but your mother suggests that you can delivery this to Barry personally. Barry's mom mentions that Barry should be in Jubilife City right now.

Leave Twinleaf and return to Sandgem Town. You can head south to Route 219 to pick up an Antidote, but you cannot explore the rest of this route until you gain access to Surf. Head north of Sandgem Town to reach Route 202.

Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl
walkthrough
Route 202, Jubilife City, Route 204, Ravaged Path, Route 203, Oreburgh Gate Part 2 →
  This article is part of Project Walkthroughs, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive step-by-step guides on each Pokémon game.
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