Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Pokemon Shining Pearl players that are interested in obtaining Shiny Pokemon may want to consider using the Masuda method. Indeed, this technique considerably increases the likelihood of hatching a Shiny Pokemon, and it centers around breeding Pokemon that have different countries of origin. This makes foreign Dittos quite desirable, and this guide will detail how Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Pokemon Shining Pearl fans can get their hands on them.

Updated on March 24, 2022 by Renri Seoing: Shiny Pokemon have been sought after by many Pokemon trainers all around the world. While most players will stumble upon a random Shiny Pokemon in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, there are those that will Shiny Hunt for a Pokemon that they want. One method of Shiny Hunting is the Masuda Method, which involves breeding a foreign Ditto with a Pokemon of their choice. Players can get a foreign Ditto via trading. For the Masuda Method to work, one of the parent Pokemon needs to originate from a different region/language from the other parent. The reason Ditto is a preferred as the foreign Pokemon is because Ditto can be bred with almost every Pokemon. The following guide has been updated to include another way to get a Foreign Ditto.

How to Get a Foreign Ditto in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl

The first step toward obtaining a foreign Ditto is to encounter all 151 Pokemon that are in the Sinnoh region Pokedex. While players will come across many of these Sinnoh region Pokemon through standard gameplay, there are a few that may require some extra attention. Pokemon BDSP's Drifloon, for instance, can only be found on Fridays, and fans that have not yet caught one of these Ghost/Flying-type Pokemon will need to plan accordingly.

After completing the Sinnoh region Pokedex, players should make their way to Professor Rowan's lab in Sandgem Town in order to unlock the National Pokedex. Fans should then head over to Ramanas Park and talk to Professor Oak to obtain the PokeRadar. With these two pieces of technology earned, players should navigate to the grass in Route 218 and use their PokeRadars to catch a Ditto in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.

Fans are now ready to exchange their Dittos for a foreign one, and that is done by accessing a specific Global Room. Indeed, players are using a certain Link Code to trade Dittos across regions, and here are details on how to access it:

  • Press "Y"
  • Select "Global Room"
  • Select "Yes, with a Link Code"
  • Enter: 44484448

Upon entering this room, fans should initiate a trade with anyone else that is present and check the region of the Ditto that they have on offer. This is done simply by selecting that Ditto and then choosing "Check other Pokemon." The Ditto's region will now appear just to the right of its level, and Pokemon BDSP players can confirm the trade once they find a Pokemon that is suitable.

To note, fans that attempt to obtain foreign Dittos in this fashion may need to exercise some amount of patience, as one may not be available immediately upon entering the Global Room in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. That said, this is currently the best way to go about getting one of these desirable Pokemon, and players that are persistent should eventually be rewarded for their efforts.

Play BDSP in A Different Language

pokemon brilliant diamond shining pearl new file

If players have more than one profile on their Nintendo Switch, they can start a new file on Brilliant Diamond or Shining Pearl using that profile. At the very start of the game, players get to choose which language they want to use for their file.

Once a language has been chosen for BDSP, it can't be changed.

For example, if players choose Japanese for their second file, then any Pokemon caught in that file will have a "JPN" labeled Pokedex entry. Any Pokemon caught in an English playthrough will be labeled "ENG" and so forth.

Since it's still unknown whether Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl will ever be accessible in Pokemon Home, this method may not be too useful until there is a way to transfer Pokemon from save file to save file. Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield didn't have this problem because players can access their SwSh save files in Pokemon Home, allowing them to transfer foreign Pokemon without needing to trade.

Furthermore, the problem with Ditto in Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl is that it's locked in the postgame. Meaning if players choose to start their game in a foreign language, they'll need to play through the entire game, beat the Elite Four and Cynthia, and then look for Ditto in the Grand Underground.

This is the only way to get a "Foreign Ditto" without having to trade with someone else. As mentioned, however, since there's no way to transfer Pokemon from game to game via Pokemon Home, this method is only useful if players want to trade a Foreign Ditto to someone they know.

Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are out now, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.

MORE: Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl: Complete Guide & Walkthrough