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Berries have appeared in every mainline Pokemon game since Gen 2, and they make a reappearance in Pokemon Diamond and Shining Pearl. The Switch remakes also bring back Poffins, which are made from combining Berries.
Pokemon can also hold Berries in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. This means they will auto-use them when certain status or health conditions are met. It's a useful way to cure poison, paralyze, and other effects without having to waste a turn, or an item.
Updated on February 28, 2022 by Renri Seong: Berries are a common held item used by Gym Leaders and even players in competitive battling. Getting Berries is simple in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, but like all other previous Pokemon games, they'll take time to grow. Once they're harvested, players can use Berries to make Poffins for the Super Contests or use them in battling. Berries, unlike Potions, are not man-made items, meaning a Pokemon will use them automatically when the time calls for it. While the easiest way to get Berries is by planting them to speaking to certain NPCs, some wild Pokemon may be carrying them too, making it possible to steal from them with the right move. The following guide has been updated to include another way of obtaining Berries as well as general information about the Berries in BDSP.
How to Get Berries in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl
Players can get Berries 3 ways in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl:
- Visiting 3 NPCs daily for free Berries.
- Planting and growing Berries.
- Finding wild Berry bushes.
To start planting and growing Berries, players will first have to obtain them from an NPC, or pick them from a wild Berry bush. These are the large, colorful items protruding from soil found along Routes while exploring the Sinnoh region.
Walk up to a dark patch of soil, and the game will prompt players to choose a Berry to plant. The time it takes to grow depends on what type is planted. An Aspear Berry only takes 12 hours until it's ready to harvest, but something like a Rowap Berry will take 4 days to fully grow.
To help harvest more once picked, players should use the Sprayduck watering can on them once planted in soil. This can be obtained by talking to a woman in the flower shop in Floaroma Town, on the way to Eterna City in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. This is also the location of one of the NPCs who gives away free Berries every day.
Wild Pokemon and Berries
Some wild Pokemon, such as Pichu, have a 5% chance of holding a Berry — specifically, an Oran Berry. This Berry can be stolen from the Wild Pokemon by using moves like Thief, or players can instead catch the Pokemon and take the item from it manually.
The only way to find out if a Pokemon is holding a Berry is if players send out a Pokemon that has the Frisk Ability. Wild Pokemon will use a Berry depending on what the Berry does. For example, if Pichu has an Oran Berry and reaches half health, it will automatically eat the Oran Berry. Pokemon holding berries that heal status ailments will eat the Berry if it is afflicted with a certain status ailment. A Pokemon holding a Chesto Berry will eat the Berry once it's put to Sleep, and recover from the Sleep ailment.
Pokemon like Vulpix have a 5% chance of holding a Rawst Berry, which heals burns. As a Fire-type, Vulpix can't suffer the Burn ailment, which means there's no chance of Vulpix consuming the Berry in-battle.
Avoid using moves like Bug Bite and Pluck when facing Pokemon that may be holding a Berry. This causes the Pokemon to eat the Berry instead of stealing it.
All Daily Free Berries and Where to Find Them
- Floaroma City, flower shop in the middle - Woman to the right will give a common Berry.
- Route 208 (Near Hearthome City) Berry Master’s House, he will give a good Berry.
- Pastoria City, southwestern house, woman to the left gives a rare Berry.
Come back to them every day to receive a new, random berry. This is a lot quicker once players get fly in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. This will also allow for faster travel between the area containing fertile soil. This makes looking after Berries a lot easier, resulting in a bigger harvest if watered multiple times.
Later on, players will unlock the ability to make Poffins for Super Contests in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. Poffins are made by combining Berries and then feeding the product to a Pokemon to raise its Sheen. The better the Berry, the higher a Poffin's level will be.
More Information About Berries in BDSP
In the inventory, players can check the Tag of a Berry to see what type of Condition it will improve. While weaker and more common berries like Chesto and Oran berries will improve one condition, rare Berries like Rowap may improve three or more Conditions. If players are trying to evolve a certain Pokemon by maxing out a Condition, they should stick to the Berries that improve only one Condition.
Berries are commonly used for healing when the going gets tough, but rare Berries have different effects. There are Berries that can increase Friendship, but at the cost of one of the Pokemon's Base Stats. For example, a Pomeg Berry will increase a Pokemon's Friendship while decreasing its base HP.
Since Friendship grows quite easily in BDSP, it's not advised to use Friendship-raising Berries on Pokemon unless that Pokemon's base stats are always low. Eevee, who has three different evolutions connected to the Friendship mechanic, has a 55 Base HP. Giving it a Pomeg Berry may lower its base HP, but Eevee's Base HP is already low. Still, players should always be checking their Pokemon's Base Stats before feeding them certain Berries.
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are out now for Nintendo Switch.