Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl aim to be as faithfully recreated as the game was in 2022, of course with plenty of quality of life improvements. Part of the preserved parts of the game was the coveted PokéRadar, a Pokétch feature that greatly increases your chances of encountering shiny Pokémon and Pokémon with hidden abilities. Here's how to get it.
How to get the PokéRadar in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl
To get the PokéRadar, you will need to complete the game and unlock the National Pokédex. These feats are not too difficult. In fact, since the game has the passive Exp. Sharing feature, your whole team should be more than capable of defeating the Elite Four and Champion Cynthia compared to the original games from 15 years ago.
While this is a point of contention for many, this streamlined experience will allow players to spend their time in the new features these games have to offer, such as searching for the legendary non-Sinnoh Pokemon.
Unlocking the National Dex may seem like a daunting task to some, but don't worry. You don't have to catch every Pokemon in your Sinnoh Dex to do this. You just have to see them, whether it's trainer battles or wild battles. The game does a sufficient job of exposing you to all the necessary Pokémon without needing to own both versions or seek out external means to do so.
If you spend a decent amount of time exploring the area, such as walking through patches of grass, encountering water Pokémon while fishing and surfing, and battling most of the trainers you encounter on each route, you'll almost complete entirely the Pokédex.
Finally, for people who care about seeing Palkia or Dialga depending on their game of choice, you'll be able to get the Pokédex entry for the Legendary that isn't in your game. To do this, you'll need to have beaten the Elite Four at least Once. Next, head to Celestic Town. Enter the house directly behind the Sky Ruins entrance. There, an old lady will be on the left who will tell you about additional discoveries at Mount Coronet. She will then tell you about the Legendary Pokemon that is the opposite of the game you are playing.
Seeing Dialga or Palkia adds their entries to your Pokédex. If you had seen 149 Pokémon before them, you have just enough to unlock the National Dex. Head to Professor Rowan's lab in Sandgem Town. Show him your Pokédex progress and Professor Oak will come in and give his National Dex spiel. At the end of the conversation, Oak will give you the Pokédex upgrade.
After that, you'll find Professor Oak in Ramanas Park (formerly Pal Park). It will give you the Radar upgrade of your Pokétch. And that's all!
The PokéRadar will help you hunt for specific Pokémon in grassy areas that you wouldn't normally find by simply running through them in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. This tool will also help you find shiny Pokémon and those with hidden abilities.
Shiny Diamond and Shiny Pearl Pokémon are now available exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.
– This article was last updated on November 20, 2022
