Guide: How to Level Up Before The Elite Four in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl
Players in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl may be breezing through most of the game but find themselves under-leveled when reaching the Pokemon League and facing the Elite Four + the Champion herself.
This level gap issue also came up during the original games which lacked a place to effectively grind/level up Pokemon to a high enough level for this challenge.
Thankfully, the Grand Underground presents a potential aid in leveling up Pokemon for the final challenge in the story.
How to get Experience Points?
As you play Pokemon Brilliant Diamond And Shining Pearl you will earn experience from battling trainers, wild Pokemon, and catching Pokemon. Facing higher level opponents will typically give you more experience per battle as long as your Pokemon did not faint during the battle.
All the Pokemon in your party will gain experience along the way which will help keep all your Pokemon from falling behind the ones doing the battling.
Lucky Egg
A Pokemon holding a Lucky Egg will earn extra experience points so it’s an incredibly helpful item to speed up this process. You can get one from the Grand Underground by reaching the Icy Cave in the North West corner of the map. This is most accessible entering the Underground from the Acuity Lakefront or Snowpoint City area.
Target Pokemon: Pachurisu
The best Pokemon to knock out for experience is historically Chansey due to it’s high HP stat and overall bulk. While this Pokemon is available in the wild, it’s much earlier in the game and is only around level 20 with a rare spawn rate on its respective routes.
Around this point in the game, your Pokemon are likely over level 50 so the experience they gain from these Chansey will mean much less due to the level difference.
There is however another option. This is none other than the EleSquirrel Pokemon, Pachurisu. This cute little Pokemon is surprisingly bulky and can be found at a much higher level than Chansey in Pokemon Hideaways. You can find these by roaming the Grand Underground.
White Out Cave is a good place to find this Pokemon which can be found near SnowPoint city(Northwestern Zone) to the east side of the map near the Icy Cave with the Lucky Egg.
You can increase the spawn frequency of this Pokemon by using statues of Electric type Pokemon in your Secret Base. Doing so will let you increase the chances of finding Electric type Pokemon in the Grand Underground Hideaways.
Statues can be found in boxes by digging in the Grand Underground.
If you’re missing these, you can still try exiting and re-entering the Hideaway for new Pokemon to spawn.
After earning 8 badges, Pachurisu will be between level 50 and 55 which can give 2000-2700 experience points.
You can reset your spawns by exiting and re-entering the Hideaway if you don’t see it your first try.
Do you have any other tips for leveling up during the late game? Let us know in the comments.