Players who boot up Pokemon Brilliant Diamond or Shining Pearl today can experience a special Easter Egg that rarely occurs in the game.

On today January 12th, players who find themselves in Snowpoint City will be able to see a unique weather effect on the overworld called “Diamond Dust“. This effect places a sparkling snow effect on the screen, and is accompanied by increased encounter and egg hatch rates.

Today is January 12th and is one of the days you'll see Diamond Dust in Snowpoint City in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl.

In addition to that, it's one of the days you get both an encounter and a hatch rate boost: https://t.co/chnnU4GEcB pic.twitter.com/ipHY0FGE4m

— Joe Merrick (@JoeMerrick) January 12, 2022

This effect was also present in the original Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, and is meant to mark special occasions and holidays. In the case of January 12th, it is meant to mark the birthday of Game Freak director and composer Junichi Masuda. Incidentally, Masuda was the first to tease Diamond Dust as a feature all the way back in 2008 with the following blog post:

“Oh, yes.
Here’s a little surprise for you.
Please play Pokemon Diamond / Pearl on January 12th.
You’ll find something different!!!!!
I hope this year, things go well for all of you.
See ya.”
— Junichi Masuda, 10th January 2008

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