Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Game Rant

In order to grow stronger, Pokemon need to evolve. The easiest and well-known method is by having them battle and level up. Other species evolve with high Friendship or if given an Evolution Stone. However, some Pokemon will only evolve when they've been traded to another person. If players intend on filling up their Pokedex in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Pokemon Shining Pearl, they'll need to trade.

The safest way to trade Pokemon in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl is by trading with a Group or by using a Link Code. This way, players will know that they'll get their evolved Pokemon back. Be aware that sometimes it isn't enough to just trade Pokemon to evolve them. Some Pokemon may need to hold special Items if they want to reach the next stage of evolution.

Updated March 24, 2022 by Renri Seong: With every new generation, there's a Pokemon that is incapable of evolving unless it's traded to another player. Unfortunately, this creates a challenge for trainers who want to complete the Pokedex, but prefer to play solo. The second generation added a second aspect to in-game trading that remains a part of Pokemon today. A Pokemon may need to be traded if it wants to evolve, but if it's not holding the right item, then nothing will happen. Despite Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl adding Pokemon from Pokemon Platinum, a handful of Pokemon won't be able to evolve until BDSP's postgame because their evolutions items are impossible to get in the main story. The following guide has been updated to include a list of where players can find all trade evolution items in Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl.

RELATED: Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl: How to Trade Pokemon and Battle With Friends

There are 151 Pokemon in the Sinnoh Dex, but several Pokemon can evolve by trading once players have unlocked the National Dex. To get the National Dex, players will need to beat the Elite Four and see every Pokemon on the Sinnoh Dex. The National Dex allows trainers to see and catch Pokemon that debuted in the Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn regions. In addition, it also expands beyond Manaphy, who's no. 151 in the Sinnoh Dex.

Below is the list of Pokemon that can evolve through trading:

Pokemon	Evolution	Dex	Requires Item?
Poliwhirl	Politoed	National	King's Rock
Kadabra	Alakazam	Sinnoh	N/A
Machoke	Machamp	Sinnoh	N/A
Graveler	Golem	Sinnoh	N/A
Slowpoke	Slowking	National	King's Rock
Haunter	Gengar	Sinnoh	N/A
Onix	Steelix	Sinnoh	Metal Coat
Rhydon	Rhyperior	National	Protector
Seadra	Kingdra	National	Dragon Scale
Scyther	Scizor	National	Metal Coat
Electabuzz	Electivire	National	Electirizer
Magmar	Magmortar	National	Magmarizer
Porygon	Porygon2	National	Upgrade
Porygon2	Porygon-Z	National	Dubious Disc
*Feebas	Milotic	Sinnoh	Prism Scale
Dusclops	Dusknoir	National	Reaper Cloth
Clamperl	Huntail	National	Deep Sea Tooth
Clamperl	Gorebyss	National	Deep Sea Scale

Since the fifth generation, Feebas evolved into Milotic if it was given a Prism Scale and then traded to another player. With the return of Pokemon Contests in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, Feebas can once again evolve via its original method. This means maxing out its Beauty Condition by feeding it Dry-flavored Poffins.

While there are some surefire ways to get an evolution item (such as the Metal Coat), certain Pokemon species will be carrying the items they need to evolve. For example, once Poliwhirl can be found in the wild, it has a 5% chance of holding a King's Rock.

Finally, trading Pokemon will not be accessible for the player until after they've beaten Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl's first gym in Oreburgh City. Once this is done, they can take the stairs in Pokemon Centers to access the Global or Local Rooms and start trading.

The Base Stats Of Every Pokemon with Trade Evolution Requirement

These are the base stats of every Pokemon (and its evolved form) with a Trade Evolution requirement in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl:

Base Form

Name	HP	Atk	Sp Atk	Def	Sp Def	Spd
Poliwhirl	65	65	50	65	50	90
Kadabra	40	35	120	30	70	105
Machoke	80	100	50	70	60	45
Graveler	55	95	45	115	45	35
Slowpoke	90	65	40	65	40	15
Haunter	45	50	115	45	55	95
Onix	35	45	30	160	45	70
Rhydon	105	130	45	120	45	40
Seadra	55	65	95	95	45	85
Scyther	70	110	55	80	80	105
Electabuzz	65	83	95	57	85	105
Magmar	65	95	100	57	85	93
Porygon	65	60	85	70	75	40
Feebas	20	15	10	20	55	80
Dusclops	40	70	60	130	130	25
Clamperl	35	64	74	85	55	32

Evolved Form

Name	HP	Atk	Sp Atk	Def	Sp Def	Spd
Politoed	90	75	90	75	100	70
Alakazam	55	50	135	45	85	120
Machamp	90	130	80	65	85	55
Golem	80	110	55	130	65	45
Slowking	95	75	100	80	110	30
Gengar	60	65	130	60	75	110
Steelix	75	85	55	200	65	30
Rhyperior	115	140	55	130	55	40
Kingdra	75	95	95	95	95	85
Scizor	70	130	55	100	80	65
Electivire	75	123	95	67	85	95
Magmortar	75	95	125	67	95	83
Porygon2	85	80	105	90	95	60
Porygon-Z	85	80	135	70	75	90
Milotic	95	60	100	79	125	81
Dusknoir	45	100	65	135	135	45
Huntail	55	104	94	105	75	52
Gorebyss	55	84	114	105	75	52

RELATED: Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl: How to Get Alakazam

Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl: Evolution Items in the Postgame

An oversight Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl seems to have is forgetting to put evolution items in the Grand Underground or somewhere around Sinnoh for players to grab before the postgame. This is an issue because Pokemon like Magmar (Shining Pearl) and Rhydon can be caught in the Grand Underground, but their evolution items are in the Battle Zone. Thus, if players wanted to evolve their Gligar into Gliscor or their Rhydon into Rhyperior before the Elite Four, they're out of luck.

Evolution is important because most evolved forms will have better stats than their pre-evolved form. In some cases, a second stage evolution may have higher Defense while the third stage evolution may have lower Defense. Before trading over a Pokemon, players should always check their Pokemon's stats and see if the trade is worth the trouble. However, most Pokemon are much stronger once they're fully evolved.

GR Report

Level up your gaming knowledge with Game Rant, packed with news, reviews, and insights from the gaming world. Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

As stated, evolution trade items are items that need to be held by the trading Pokemon. The item will be consumed upon the Pokemon's evolution, so if players want to evolve another of the same Pokemon, they'll need to get the item too. Luckily, most evolution items can be bought at the Battle Tower with Battle Points (BP).

Here are all the items required for trade-evolution in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl:

Item	Where to find it?	National Dex Required?
King's Rock	5% chance of being held by Poliwhirl or Poliwrath.	Yes
Metal Coat	Speak to Byron at Riley's house on Iron Island.	Yes
Protector	Route 228	Yes
Magmarizer	5% chance of being held by Magby (Shining Pearl)	No
Electirizer	5% chance of being held by Elekid (Brilliant Diamond)	No
Upgrade	Speak to Professor Oak in Eterna City after getting the National Dex	Yes
Dubious Disc	Route 225	Yes
Deep Sea Tooth	Fountainspring Cave in Grand Underground (Canalave City, Twinleaf Town)	No
Deep Sea Scale	Icy Cave in Grand Underground (Celestic Town); 5% chance of being held by	No
Reaper Cloth	Route 229	Yes

Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Pokemon Shining Pearl are available on Nintendo Switch.

MORE: Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl Player Gets Surprise Shiny While Completing Pokedex