The Pokémon Company finally announced the legendary Arceus event for Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl! An update for the games goes live at 9:00 p.m. EST on March 15. From there, you’ll be able to battle Arceus, but there’s a catch. You need save data from Pokémon Legends: Arceus present on your Switch console… but that save data needs to have completed every story mission in the game. Get all the details here, including information on Shiny hunting!
Arceus Location
As mentioned earlier, you must have finished all twenty story mode missions in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. This, by extension, means you’ll need to have captured each Pokémon at least once — all 242 of them. It’s important to note that Shaymin, Darkrai, and Manaphy aren’t required for Pokédex completion in Legends: Arceus, but Arceus itself is a requirement. Keep that in mind!
Remnants of the Hall of Origin Arceus event were present in the release versions of Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl. If that data is anything to go off of, the Arceus you battle here won’t be Shiny-locked. This means the BDSP event will be the first legitimate way of obtaining Shiny Arceus outside of Japan-exclusive events. This could change in the update, but we’ll be sure to revise this post if any of these details change.
With Legends: Arceus save data present, you’ll find the Azure Flute on the top floor of your house, which then activates at the top of Spear Pillar. If you forgot how to get to Spear Pillar, don’t worry! Start from Oreburgh City, head north, and then make a right turn into the cave. Follow the top path, Surf across the water, and then Rock Climb up to the east exit. Spear Pillar is a (fairly) straight shot from there!
Of course, you’ll need to have the National Pokédex and entry into the Hall of Fame to be able to encounter Arceus at all. Assuming you’ve met those requirements, you’ll be able to use the Azure Flute at Spear Pillar to create a huge staircase up to the Hall of Origin. There, you’ll find Arceus — who appears at Level 80. Make sure you’ve got plenty of Ultra Balls and a Pokémon with False Swipe (like Gallade) or Super Fang (like Pachirisu). If you’re going for its Shiny form, save at the very top of the Hall of Origin’s staircase.
If you’d like more guides for Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, we’ve got plenty of them! One that might help you is our Legendary Pokémon guide, which details the locations of every single Legendary Pokémon in the game. There are plenty of other guides, too, and you can find them via the link below. Good luck, and happy hunting!
If you would like to read more Pokémon guides, please follow this link.
