Swarms in BDSP: How to Catch Swarm Pokémon in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl

Swarm Pokemon is a mechanic that has appeared in many major mainline games for quite some time. They are Pokemon that do not typically appear in areas but suddenly do in droves. These are daily events that rotate and can be followed quite easily. Here is how you can catch Swarm Pokemon in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.

How to catch Swarm Pokemon in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl

You won’t be able to catch Swarm Pokemon until you have obtained the National Dex. Chances are, you’ll get it after beating the Elite Four for the first time too. As you have completed the prerequisites, make your way to Sandgem Town and talk to Dawn or Lucas. They will be standing in front of Professor Rowan’s lab.

They’ll tell you to talk to their little sister about something. After that, go to their house and talk to their sister. She’ll mention something about a swarm of Pokemon out at a certain location. Upon reaching the location, you’ll notice the aforementioned Pokemon roaming about in the area.

The following are Pokemon that are known to be part of these Swarm rotations:

• Pidgey – Route 229
• Magnemite – Fuego Ironworks
• Farfetch’d – Route 221
• Doduo – Route 201
• Drowzee – Route 215
• Krabby – Route 226
• Voltorb – Route 218
• Cubone – Route 203
• Lickitung – Lake Valor
• Natu – Route 224
• Dunsparce – Route 208
• Snubbull – Route 209
• Swinub – Route 217
• Corsola – Route 230
• Delibird – Route 216
• Phanpy – Route 207
• Smoochum – Lake Acuity
• Zigzagoon – Route 202
• Surskit – Lake Verity
• Slakoth – Eterna Forest
• Makuhita – Route 225
• Nosepass – Route 206
• Skitty – Route 222
• Electrike – Valley Windworks
• Spoink – Route 214
• Spinda – Route 227
• Absol – Route 213
• Beldum – Route 228

A few things to note are that only one Pokemon will be swarming in a particular area per day. This is a daily occurrence and there is no particular order in which they spawn. Secondly, you do not have to keep visiting Dawn or Lucas’ sister to get an update on which Pokemon is currently swarming a particular area.

You’ll get notifications when you bring up your menu by pressing X on your controller. It’ll tell you something along the lines of “a swarm of/ a lot of (Pokemon name) have been spotted at (location)!”

Finally, with the addition of the Grand Underground and its extensive list of wild Pokemon, you can catch a majority of these Swarm Pokemon there. The Pokemon down there will unlock at different key points in your initial journey to beating the Elite Four.

Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are out now exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.