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As with any Pokedex, though, some Pokemon will be a real pain to get hold of. Legendary Pokemon have their own challenge, but finding them often isn’t too tricky. It’s other random Pokemon that are seemingly impossible to find.

Updated February 11, 2022, by Ryan Woodrow: With every non-Mythical Pokemon from Generation 4 and earlier catchable in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, there are bound to be some that are harder to track down than others. Be it because of their relative strength, or something to do with their lore, there are a handful of Pokemon in the game that players will have to invest some serious time to catch in the wild. This will take players all over (and under) the Sinnoh region, engaging with all of the game’s gimmicks and mechanics, including the Grand Underground, secret bases and Honey Trees.

10 Kecleon

A Pokemon often neglected by Game Freak, still unobtainable in Pokemon GO, and rarely featured in regional Pokedexes, Kecleon is keeping camouflaged in these games. The bright side is that there are two ways to get hold of Kecleon, but both can be troublesome.

Firstly, it is exclusive to Brilliant Diamond. From there, it can be found in the Grassland, Riverbank, Still-Water, and Sunlit Caverns of the Grand Underground. However, only after the player has obtained their National Pokedex. The other way to get it is to use the Poke Radar on the Northern part of Route 210, with a 12% encounter rate. But again, the Poke Radar is only obtained after getting the National Pokedex.

Kecleon isn’t anything special from a competitive perspective, but it has a few unique traits that make it fun to play with. Its ability, Color Change, means that it changes type to that of the move it last got hit by. In most cases, that makes it resistant to that move, but there are some unique cases like Dragon, where it will actually give it some trouble.

9 Castform

A Pokemon that changes with the weather, Castform has been somewhat rare in every game it’s appeared in. It often requires the right weather effects to spawn or is simply given away as a gift to the player. Thankfully, pinning down its location in this game isn’t too difficult, but getting hold of it is.

For Castform, players will need to use the Trophy Garden at the back of the Pokemon Mansion on Route 212. Each day, the owner, Mr. Backlot, will mention a rare Pokemon he’s seen in the garden that day. This is random and can be one of 16 Pokemon, of which Castform is one. Once Mr. Backlot mentions Castform, it will have a 5% encounter rate in the Trophy Garden’s grass for that day.

Castform is unique in the Pokemon world, as it is one of the only non-Legendary Pokemon not to have a Hidden Ability. Castform’s stats are downright average, with 70s across the board. Its different forms give it some range, although it does require players to have weather-changing abilities elsewhere on their team to get the most out of Castform’s ability to change type.

8 Rotom

Those who played the original Diamond & Pearl will remember the creepy event that surrounded the capturing of Rotom. It was presented almost like a Mythical Pokemon, with the circumstances surrounding the encounter. These players will be pleased to know that it remains intact in these remakes.

After getting the National dex, players must head to the Old Chateaux next to the Eterna City exit of Eterna Forest. Venturing around in here will lead players to a TV showing static and creepy imagery. Interacting with it will cause Rotom to attack. Once it’s caught, players will get the Secret Key, which they can take to the Veilstone Galactic HQ to get Rotom’s various forms.

Once players have captured Rotom, they’ll be given the Secret Key item. Taking this to the Eterna City Galactic Building will grant access to a secret room with appliances that Rotom can possess. This gives Rotom a wide range of uses, some of which are occasionally seen in the competitive battling scene thanks to the boost it gives Rotom’s stats and alterations to its type.

7 Ditto

Friend to Pokemon breeders and members alike, Ditto is a hot commodity whenever a new Pokemon game comes out. While Ditto is available in the game, players will need to wait until after they’ve got their National dex before venturing out to find it.

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The first place Ditto can be found is in the Stargleam Cavern in the Grand Underground. This is the giant cavern in the center of the Underground map, which can only be reached by entering the underground from Celestic Town. The other way is to use the Poke Radar on Route 218 to get it at a 12% encounter rate.

Ditto’s transforming ability isn’t so great under normal circumstances. The fact that it has to use a whole turn to change puts it at a severe disadvantage. That’s why players should get an Ability Patch on it as soon as possible, to give it the Impostor ability, which causes it to change immediately. It’s sadly below-average stat-wise, but singleplayers can have fun with it.

6 Porygon

In the original games, the best way to get Porygon was via the Veilstone Game Corner. However, due to a change in ESRB rating policies since then, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl weren’t allowed to include this due to it being gambling. To avoid having their kid-friendly game rated a 12 by ESRB, ILCA replaced the Game Corner with a clothing shop.

This meant that Porygon had to be moved somewhere else, though, and their place of choice was the Trophy Garden. Porygon is among the 16 Pokemon that Mr. Backlot may tell the player about each day. This makes getting hold of it relatively simple, although it will require some patience.

Porygon’s evolved forms are pretty powerful Pokemon for players who are willing to get the items and do the trade evolutions. Porygon2 is preferred in the competitive scene due to a slightly wider movepool and the use of Eviolite, however, Porygon-Z is just as good for singleplayers. It has some great stats and depending on its ability, the way players train those stats can affect what role it fills in a team.

5 Eevee

A Pokemon that has surged in popularity since the original games, Eevee was a big part of Generation 4, as it got new evolutions in Leafeon and Glaceon. That said, it isn’t actually part of the Sinnoh Pokedex and may be a bit harder than expected to track down.

The first way to get it is as yet another Trophy Garden Pokemon, which means more talking to Mr Backlot. However, there is another way, but it requires getting the National dex. Once this is done, simply talk to Bebe, whose house is next to the Pokemon Center in Hearthome City, and she will gift one to the player.

Eevee is undoubtedly one of the most versatile Pokemon in the game. Players can make an Eevee on their team into almost anything they want. If they want simple attacking power, then Flareon, Vaporeon, and Espeon will be great. Jolteon can strike ludicrously fast, whilst Umbreon takes a few good hits whilst chipping away at opponents. Ultimately, players can make their Eevee into whatever suits them best.

4 All Starter Pokemon

Starter Pokemon are usually a rare commodity in Pokemon games, especially those of the region where the game is set. However, the designers were nice this time around, and players can get every starter Pokemon in a single save file without the need for trading.

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Players must obtain their National dex, then navigate the Grand Underground to find them all. Each type can be found in different caverns and are all fairly rare encounters.

Grass Types - Grassland, Riverbank, Still-Water & Sunlit Cavern Fire Types - Volcanic, Sandsear & Typhlo Cavern Water Types - Fountainspring, Riverbank & Still-Water Cavern

(Bulbasaur can also be found in the Swampy & Bogsunk Cavern).

Starter Pokemon are always going to have solid stats. These Pokemon are designed to be the player’s primary companion, after all. These early Generation Starters aren’t seen in competitive all that much, although Venusuar has some interesting niches thanks to the Chlorophyll Hidden Ability. Given the Pokedex is restricted to just Generation 4, though, Pokemon like Infernape could make a substantial impact on almost any battlefield.

3 Spiritomb

A Pokemon famously annoying to get ahold of whenever it appears, Spiritomb is a strong Pokemon that has found its way home to the Sinnoh Region and the Hallowed Tower once again. The first thing players must do is get the Odd Keystone, which is handed out by a Blackbelt on Route 208, just before reaching Hearthome City.

With this item in their bag, players must then interact with a pile of rocks in the Southeast of Route 209. It will then become the Hallowed Tower. The next step is a bit of a pain, but players must go into the Grand Underground and talk to 32 different people. These remakes make it easier than the originals, though, as NPCs now count towards this total, and the online mode makes finding other people very easy. Getting this Pokemon as early as possible will be great to help with the game’s biggest challenges.

Spiritomb is one of the few Pokemon in the game that enjoys having just a single weakness. In the original Sinnoh games, this was no weaknesses, but the addition of Fairy-type has since thrown that away. Spiritomb still has a lot to offer, though. It has great defensive stats, and while its attacking power is nothing special, it’s enough to put Pokemon weak to it on notice.

2 Feebas

While later Generations would cool their jets about Feebas, it is a tremendous pain in both Generations 3 and 4. The Generation 3 remakes, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, gave players a break by changing Feebas’ encounter mechanics. However, these Generation 4 remakes did not.

The first step is to go into Mount Coronet and find a foggy cavern. Using Defog here will reveal a large lake. In this lake, 4 of the water tiles contain Feebas. These tiles are decided at random and change every day. What’s more is that the tiles where Feebas appears only give a 50% encounter rate, meaning players will need to check every tile in the lake multiple times to know for sure that they didn’t accidentally miss it.

Whilst Feebas is in the Magikarp-class of joke Pokemon, Milotic is a powerful ally that players should be desperate to get their hands on. It has a couple of useful abilities. Marvel Scale increases its defense whenever it has a status condition, and Competitive raises its Special Attack whenever a stat is dropped. It has access to an incredibly wide movepool and enjoys the luxury of 100 in Special Attack and 125 in Special Defense.

1 Honey Tree Munchlax

This, the rarest Pokemon, arguably in the entire franchise, is still very much a feature in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. While Munchlax is now available in the Grand Underground, players of the originals will remember the pain of trying to get one purely by using Honey Trees, something they can still do in the remakes.

The way honey trees work is simple, slather honey on a tree, wait for 6 hours, and encounter a Pokemon from a random pool. Munchlax is extra horrible, though, because only a random 4 trees out of the 21 in the game can spawn it. What’s more is 2 of these trees are determined by the save file’s Secret ID, which the player can never know without hacking. The cherry on the cake, though, is that even when players do locate the right trees, Munchlax’s encounter rate is a pitiful 1% meaning it will take days or potentially months to find.

Munchlax is surprisingly strong for a baby Pokemon, but players are going to want to evolve it into a Snorlax as soon as possible. The absolute walling capabilities of Snorlax are well documented, as it has 160 in HP and 110 in Special Defense. This can be enhanced with a move like Curse, which lowers Speed but raises Attack and Defense. Snorlax is undoubtedly slow, but it can hit like a truck when used by a player who knows its strengths.

Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl is available now on Nintendo Switch.

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