Crazy Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl glitch lets trainers catch Shaymin early

Trainers can catch Grass-type Mythical Shaymin in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl by using a glitch, despite the encounter being locked behind the Oak’s Letter Key Item.

There have been some classic Pokemon glitches over the years, from MissingNo in Red and Blue and infinite Nuggets in FireRed and LeafGreen to the Surf glitch in Ruby and Sapphire that let players swim on land.

The latter has actually returned in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl and is allowing fans to encounter and catch Shaymin despite it being locked away by developers.

Surf glitch makes Shaymin accessible in Pokemon BDSP

As pointed out by Pokemon YouTuber PokeTips, you don’t need to wait until the Oak’s Letter Key Item is added to the game via Mystery Gift to unlock the battle with the rare ‘mon.

There are very specific conditions needed to perform the glitch, though: one of them being you need to have beaten the Elite Four and Sinnoh Champion and obtained the National Pokedex. You also need to be comfortable with the possibility that it could ruin your save game, so do so at your own risk.

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The glitch takes place on Route 224, just past Victory Road, and involves spamming the A button by the ocean as you’re triggering a battle with an NPC trainer. If done correctly, you’ll be able to Surf on land and position yourself in such a way that you can break boundaries and swim all the way to Shaymin.

If you manage to catch the Grass-type, you can speak to a lady in Floaroma Town and receive the Gracidea Flower. This allows you to switch between Shaymin’s Land and Sky Formes.

The Pokemon Company will no doubt patch the glitch out in an upcoming update so if you don’t want to wait for a future Mystery Gift event to get the Mythical, you may want to take full advantage of this BDSP exploit as soon as possible.