How to unlock Mystery Gift in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl

Meg Bethany Koepp
mystery gift in pokemon sword shield

You don’t start off with the Mystery Gift feature unlocked in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl. Instead, you must do something specific to access it. Here’s what you need to know.

Introduced in the Generation II Pokemon games, Mystery Gift allowed players to link with each other locally to receive a random gift. It’s evolved a lot since then – instead of finding another fan to connect with, all you need now is an internet connection.

The feature isn’t available from the start in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, though. You need to unlock it to be able to use it and claim your free prizes.

How to unlock Mystery Gift in Pokemon BDSP

In the original 2006 games, you had to speak to a man in the Jubilife TV Station to access the feature. But that’s not the case in the Sinnoh remakes; the method has changed.

Now, Mystery Gift is unlocked automatically after beating the third Gym Leader, Maylene, in Veilstone City.

That’s right – you don’t need to do anything now! Just progress the story, and you’ll be able to access it soon enough.

screenshot of mystery gift menu in pokemon brilliant diamond shining pearl
You don’t unlock the feature straight away.

How to use Mystery Gift in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl

To access the feature, press X to bring up the main menu and then click on Mystery Gift. Here, you’ll see Get via Internet and Get with Code/Password.

Get via Internet checks with Nintendo’s servers to see if there’s anything that can be downloaded.

The Get with Code/Password option is where you will input any codes you get from promotions such as GameStop or the Pokemon Trainer Club Newsletter email.

As of February 2024, there are no Mystery Gifts active for Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. And while we suspect it’s unlikely there will be more in the future considering the franchise and moved on with the release of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet and its DLC, keep an eye on our Mystery Gift codes guide, as that will be updated with any new offerings.

screenshot of mystery gift menu in pokemon brilliant diamond shining pearl


For other Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl guides and walkthroughs, check out these:

How to get Mew in Pokemon BDSP | Pokemon BDSP Version exclusives | All Legendary Pokemon in Pokemon BDSP | How to get the Poketch in Pokemon BDSP | Lucario weaknesses in Pokemon | Best starter to pick in BDSP | How to customize outfits in Pokemon BDSP | Pokemon BDSP Trade Codes | How to beat all Gym Leaders in Pokemon BDSP | How to walk with your Pokemon