InPokemon Brilliant DiamondandPokemonShining Pearl, players get to choose between three starter Pokemon. While these three are all great ways to start a new journey through thesePokemonremakes, players can do one better: shiny versions of the starters.
Updated on Jun 21, 2025 by Renri Seong:Shiny Pokemon are exceptionally rare Pokemon within thePokemonworld. Over time, the games have made it a bit easier to obtain Shinies thanks to Key Items like the Shiny Charm and breeding Pokemon via the Masuda Method. However, getting Shiny Starter Pokemon remains a challenge for gamers. Some trainers want to start out their journey with a Shiny Pokemon, which involves resetting the game until they get the Shiny of their choice. Since Shiny Pokemon have a 1/4096 appearance rate, players will need an excessive amount of luck and patience if they want to startBrilliant DiamondandShining Pearlwith a Shiny Turtwig, Chimchar, or Piplup. For those that are less patient and don’t mind waiting, multiple Sinnoh starters can be caught in the postgame as well as Ditto. This means trainers will be able to potentially breed their Pokemon for a Shiny Starter. The following guide had been updated to include information about Shiny Hunting starters in the postgame.
Shiny Pokemon in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl
Like in allPokemontitles,shiny versions of Pokemonare basically the same as the regular version, but with a different look and different color combinations. ManyPokemonplayers love to nab themselves shinies in order to have their Pokemon stand out from the crowd. LuckyBrilliant DiamondandShining Pearlplayers have figured out how to get the shiny versions of the three starters: Chimchar, Piplup, and Turtwig.
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Regardless ofwhich starter players choose inPokemon Brilliant DiamondandShining Pearl, any of them can turn out to be shiny. All players have to do is be ready to reset the game many, many times.
How to Get Shiny Pokemon in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl
Pokemon Brilliant DiamondandPokemon Shining Pearlplayers will want to start out by changing a few settings in their game. First, players should make sure to turn off autosave. This will be incredibly important for getting the rare spawn to show up. Next, players will want to turn Text Speed to “Fast” since there is a cutscene that they will have to watch several times. After that, turn battle effects off. Once players have their shinies in hand, they can turn battle effects and autosave back on if they wish, but they will want to make sure to keep these off while trying to nab the starter in the beginning.
Once players have Barry following them, they will want to manually save the game in this location:
Next, players just have to head toward Lake Verity. A cutscene will play, and then players will get to choose their starters. Wait until the first battle, see if thePokemon Shining PearlorBrilliant Diamondstarteris shiny, then soft reset the game if the starters are not shiny. They will not display as shiny in the briefcase; players will need to wait until after the Starly attack and battle has commenced. In order to sot reset, head to the Home menu, close the game, then open it again. The odds of getting a shiny starter are about 1 in 4100, so players will need to be ready to hunker down and soft reset the game many times before getting the starter they wanted.
Catching Shiny Starter Pokemon
Once players receive the National Dexand defeat the Elite Four, they’ll be able to catch all the Starter Pokemon pre-Generation 5 in the Grand Underground. Turtwig, Chimchar, and Piplup are all rare spawns in their respective hideaways, so players may need to enter and reenter until they see one roaming about.
Before going to these hideaways, there are a few things players can/should do:
After setting up a few Statues and getting the Shiny Charm (or not), trainers can start looking for the Sinnoh Starters. One option is tocatch as many Turtwigs/Chimchars/Piplupsthat appear in the Grand Underground. With the assistance ofthe Statues in the Secret Base, players will have a better chance of getting a Shiny.
The second option is to breed one of the three Pokemon with a Ditto at the Pokemon Nursery. Hatching Shinies take a long time, but having the Oval Charm will increase the chance of an Egg appearing. When hatching Eggs, have a Pokemon in the partywith the Flame Body abilityto speed up the Egg Cycles.
