Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl: How to Get Hidden Abilities
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Here are three ways of getting a Pokemon’s Hidden Ability in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Pokemon Shining Pearl for the Switch.
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Since the third generation, Pokemon come with an Ability, which is a mechanic that gives Pokemon a passive effect in or outside of battle. Most Pokemon usually have three different sets of Abilities: A Hidden Ability and two non-Hidden Abilities. In Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Pokemon Shining Pearl, there are three methods of obtaining a Pokemon with their Hidden Ability.
However, players need to remember that not all Hidden Abilities are better than a Pokemon’s regular Abilities. For example, Primarina (not available in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl) has the Hidden Ability “Liquid Voice,” which changes the typing of any sound-based moves into Water-type. This means Primarina’s Fairy-type move, Disarming Voice, is no longer super effective against Dragon, Dark, or Fighting-type because “Liquid Voice” has now changed that move’s typing into a Water-type move. Keeping a Primarina with its regular Ability, “Torrent” (ups the power of Water-type moves when HP is low) may be more advantageous than having Primarina with its Hidden Ability. Before hunting Pokemon with Hidden Abilities, decide whether or not they’re worth the effort.
Ways of Not Getting Hidden Abilities
There are some Pokemon that will never have a Hidden Ability when caught. To get their Hidden Ability, players will need to use an Ability Patch (more on this later). Some Pokemon that can’t be obtained with their Hidden Abilities are Starter Pokemon and Pokemon caught in the Grand Underground.
This means it’s pointless to soft reset before picking Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl’s starter Pokemon if players want a Turtwig, Chimchar, or Piplup with their Hidden Ability. On the plus side, starters can be Shiny Hunted.
As for the Grand Underground, Pokemon caught here will have an Egg Move, but will never have their Hidden Ability.
Other Pokemon that can’t obtain their Hidden Ability are the box art Legendaries (Dialga and Palkia), but they can get their Hidden Ability if they’re given an Ability Patch.
Use the PokeRadar
The PokeRadar is a Key Item given to the player upon completing the Sinnoh Pokedex and defeating the Elite Four. Once they’ve spoken to Professor Rowan and achieved the National Dex, they will be able to use the PokeRadar. To use it, walk into the tall grass and select it from the inventory. Then, walk towards any shaking grass to trigger a Random Encounter. Pokemon with Hidden Abilities will be hiding in patches that shed larger blades of grass.
Since players need to step onto tiles with shaking grass, they should buy Max or Super Repels to lower the chances of triggering a random encounter. Furthermore, Pokemon with Hidden Abilities need to be chained. Meaning if players want a Buizel with its Hidden Ability, they will need to chain Buizels with the PokeRadar until they find one in the right type of grass.
Advantages:
- It’s a surefire way to catch Pokemon with Hidden Abilities instead of relying on pure luck.
- Players could get lucky and get a Shiny Pokemon using this method.
Disadvantages:
- Available in the Postgame only/locked behind the National Dex.
- The Pokemon may not be the one players want, meaning this process can be time-consuming.
- Routes have limited Pokemon, meaning players aren’t going to be catching any Buneary on Route 201.
Ability Patch
Pokemon that are locked out of their Hidden Ability (starters, legendaries) can instead get them through an Ability Patch. This can be purchased at the Battle Tower for 200 BP (battle points) and is only available in the postgame.
Players will be rewarded 3 BP for clearing each room in the Battle Tower. Defeating the Tower Tycoon will reward 20 BP instead. Battles at the Battle Tower are very similar to competitive battles in that there are set Levels, and most of the opponents’ teams will be carrying Items or have a variety of moves.
Be sure not to purchase the Ability Capsule instead. An Ability Capsule will only swap between a Pokemon’s two Abilities (such as an Eevee’s Run Away to Adaptability), or will not be usable on the Pokemon at all (Pokemon without three Abilities). Furthermore, if a Pokemon with a Hidden Ability is given an Ability Capsule, it will lose its Hidden Ability in favor of one of its non-Hidden Abilities.
Tip: It may be better to avoid using an Ability Patch on Dialga or Palkia. This is because Dialga and Palkia’s default Ability, Pressure, is useful in all battles. For their Hidden Ability, they have Telepathy. This allows them to avoid any move from allies (such as Earthquake, which hits all Pokemon on the field except the user). However, Telepathy will not allow Pokemon to dodge status-inflicting moves such as Teeter Dance. The only way a Pokemon gets use out of Telepathy is if they’re in Double Battles. So unless Dialga or Palkia are being used competitively, it may be better to stick with their Pressure Ability instead.
Advantages:
- An Ability Patch can be bought more than once at the Battle Tower.
- The Ability Patch can be used on Starter or Legendary Pokemon.
Disadvantages:
- Locked in the postgame.
- Extremely time-consuming and requires a lot of patience and strategy to farm BP just to buy the Ability Patch.
Breeding the Hidden Ability
The final method of getting a Hidden Ability is by breeding Pokemon at the Pokemon Daycare. Simply have one of the Parent Pokemon with the Hidden Ability. Since generation 6, female Pokemon with a Hidden Ability had a 60% chance of passing down their Hidden Ability to their offspring. Despite this, male Pokemon or unknown gender Pokemon (ex: Magnemite) still have a chance of transferring their Hidden Ability when bred with a female Pokemon or a Ditto.
Advantages:
- Doesn’t require battling or catching Pokemon.
- Eggs can be hatched quickly to cut back on time.
- Excluding certain Pokemon, this method can be done during Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl‘s main story as long as Ditto is not needed at the Daycare.
Disadvantages:
- It is not 100% guaranteed that the offspring Pokemon will have the Hidden Ability.
- For Starter Pokemon, players will need to have used the Ability Patch on the Parent Pokemon. Furthermore, unless receiving a Pokemon of the same species in a Trade, players will need to have a Ditto.
- Ditto cannot pass on Hidden Abilities.
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Pokemon Shining Pearl are available now on Nintendo Switch.
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