How To Unlock The National Pokedex - Pokemon Diamond, Pearl ...

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New ChecklistAll ListsMy ChecklistsAllAll ListsMy ChecklistsHow creative can you get with your first free checklist?Create a free accountHow to Unlock the National PokedexBy Nadine Dornieden, Jim McQ, Casey DeFreitas, +1.1k moreUpdated: Dec 19, 2021 7:51am UTC

Unlocking the National Pokedex unlocks even more features in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, like the PokeRadar. Getting the National Pokedex first requires seeing every Pokemon in the regional Sinnoh Pokedex. Here's how to find the most elusive Sinnoh Dex Pokemon, and what to do to unlock the National Dex once you have in Pokemon BDSP.

See the entire list of Pokemon in the Sinnoh Pokedex

How to Get the National Pokedex in Pokemon BDSP

There are two seemingly simple steps to unlock the National Dex:

1. See (not catch!) the first 150 Pokemon in the Sinnoh Dex
2. Head to Professor Rowan's Lab in Sandgem Town

How to See Every Sinnoh Dex Pokemon

You will naturally see just about every Pokemon you need to in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl as long as you see every wild Pokemon and battle every trainer. However, there are a few especially elusive Pokemon:

• Version exclusive Pokemon
• Drifloon
• The story Legendary Pokemon you don't catch in your version - either Palkia or Dialga.

Version exclusives are actually pretty easy - make sure to battle all the trainers! Otherwise, you'll need to trade to see the ones you miss.

See How to Get Drifloon for more details, but the short answer is that Drifloon only shows up on Fridays at Valley Windworks, and the only trainer that has one is inside Hearthome Gym, but you only battle them if you answer the questions incorrectly.

How to See Palkia or Dialga

To see the Legendary Pokemon you're missing, first, you must defeat The Elite Four, and the Champion. Essentially, this is beating the game. Then, head to Celestic Town, and go inside the house with Cynthia's grandmother. Speak to her, and she'll show you a picture of either Palkia or Dialga, whichever you're missing.

Picking up the National Dex

Once you've seen the first 150 Pokemon in Sinnoh, you can upgrade your Pokedex to the "National Pokedex" where there aren't 150 slots to fill, but over 400. Now, simply head to Sandgem Town, one of the first locales, and the hometown of Professor Rowan and his Pokemon research lab. Head to his lab near the northwest of town, and run inside. If you speak with him, he'll be astonished and extremely happy that you've filled the Pokedex out. This will undoubtedly assist him in his intensive research.

But wait - there's more! Suddenly, an old friend, Professor Oak from prior Pokemon games, will appear. Rowan and he are good friends, and he's come to Sinnoh to visit. After rubbing your ego for a while, Oak will hand over the expanded National Pokedex, which will allow you to start adding more than 300 new Pokemon not originally seen in Sinnoh to your data collection. There are many ways to fill in this Pokedex (such as trades, imports, and of course, wild battles), but as Oak warns, it won't be an easy task to do so. Good luck!

See the entire Brilliant Diamond Shining Pearl Pokedex (List of Pokemon), which includes locations for all 493 Pokemon within Pokemon BDSP.

Up Next: How to Evolve Gligar

PreviousHow to Complete the Sinnoh PokedexNextHow to Evolve Gligar

Top Guide Sections

• Brilliant Diamond Shining Pearl Pokedex (List of Pokemon)
• Brilliant Diamond Shining Pearl Version Exclusives
• Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl Walkthrough
• Post Game

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Pokemon Diamond VersionGame FreakInitial Release: Sep 28, 2006Learn moreGo to comments