With the recent launch of Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, gamers around the world have been given the opportunity to return to the Sinnoh region and explore the recreated locations, catch new and old Pokemon, and discover new secrets. One player recently discovered that having a follower Pokemon out in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl can help uncover invisible items--by running headlong into them.
The ability to make a Pokemon follow the player is unlocked by reaching Amity Square in Hearthome City, where the player is prompted to walk a "cute" Pokemon around the park. After this, players will be able to walk any Pokemon, cute or otherwise, by selecting it on the party screen and picking the Walk Together option. While many Pokemon such as Gyarados will not be displayed to scale, the ability to have a Pokemon follow the player character around may enhance the feeling of developing a bond with these adorable monsters, especially when they prove helpful.
Reddit user iwillblastufat shared a 20-second-long video depicting themself wandering around with an Empoleon, the final evolution of the Sinnoh starter Pokemon Piplup, following behind them. The pair run across a rocky beach on Route 213, avoiding inner tube-wearing characters, before Empoleon suddenly starts running in place. The player turns back and regroups with Empoleon, which has gotten stuck on an invisible item, and collects the item to discover a bottle of Calcium.
Inquisitive players can find a wide variety of hidden items in Pokemon games like Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, ranging from different types of Poke Balls to Potions to helpful items like Honey. However, players are generally expected to uncover them using the Dowsing Machine function of the Poketch, not by letting Pokemon stumble across them. This unexpected feature may be a bug that leads follower Pokemon to collide with unseen items, but if so, that might not be a bad thing.
As of writing, it appears that fans have mixed feelings about the ability of follower Pokemon to crash into invisible items. Several users expressed approval of the feature, especially since Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl did not seem to have updated the clunky Dowsing Machine mechanics. One user stated that it would have been more interesting to see follower Pokemon actively turn their heads when passing a hidden object instead of just being caught on it. However, another user asked if the games were even tested before release.
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are now available for Nintendo Switch.