Those who played the original versions of Pokemon Diamond and Pearl might remember a special event occurring on January 12, 2008, that featured a "diamond dust" sparkle effect when players visited Snowpoint City. Those playing the Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl remakes today have noticed that this special event has been replicated, with the same sparkling meeting those who travel to Snowpoint City.
The unique time-activated Easter egg was included for the 40th birthday of veteran Pokemon composer, programmer, and director, Junichi Masuda. The Nintendo legend has been responsible for overseeing many of the mainline entries in the series, including the creation and approval of new Pokemon characters. Although Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are different from the original games, this continuing Snowpoint City Easter egg is a welcome throwback for Junichi Masuda's 54th birthday in 2022.
To see the diamond dust effect, players don't need to have beat Candice at the Snowpoint City Gym in Diamond and Pearl, they just need to travel to the snowy area located to the very north on the map. Snowpoint City is the seventh Gym, however, so it might take players a while to get to this point if they have only started playing one of the remakes recently. Once players reach the area, they will be immediately greeted with the special, sparkling effect. It will last until 11:59 PM on January 12 in honor of Masuda, and then stop when January 13 is reached in a player's local time zone.
January 12 not only holds this Snowpoint City Easter Egg, but also features a +10 encounter rate, and reduced egg hatch speed. The enhanced encounter rate occurs fairly regularly in the Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl remakes, but a reduced hatch speed is a rarer occurrence that players should aim to take advantage of while enjoying the diamond dust. It's worth noting that the special effect for Masuda's birthday, enhanced encounter rate, and reduced hatch speed will occur every year on January 12, not just in 2022.
Pokemon Fans have been showing their love on Twitter for the diamond dust at Snowpoint City, and for Junichi Masuda himself. Masuda has responded to this positivity by retweeting fans discovering the effect, fan art, and by writing his own Twitter message thanking everyone for the birthday wishes, and saying he is "very very happy!".
The Easter egg for Masuda is a fun way to celebrate his legacy while giving players of the Diamond and Pearl remakes a unique way to explore Snowpoint City today, and in the future--just like it was for players of the original games fourteen years ago.
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are out now for Nintendo Switch.