Ever felt torn choosing between Turtwig, Chimchar, and Piplup? Now trainers can add all three Sinnoh starters to their collection in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl—even without trading. Getting the trio has been made substantially easier in the fourth gen remakes, and you'll no longer have to make multiple save files just to trade and obtain the starters. Here's a guide on where to find all the starter Pokémon in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl.

Catching all the starters in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl

Take note that getting all three starters will only be possible in the post-game. So you will first have to beat the main game and become the Sinnoh Champion, defeating the Elite Four and Cynthia. Afterwards, make sure that your Sinnoh Pokédex is complete with all 150 Pokémon recorded in the Dex.

After you complete the Sinnoh Dex, you can get it upgraded to the National Pokédex by visiting Professor Rowan in Sandgem Town. Once you have unlocked the expanded Dex, use the Explorer Kit to head over to the Grand Underground.

The Grand Underground is the important location in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl where you can encounter Piplup, Turtwig, and Chimchar as wild Pokémon in the game. It consists of underground caverns, with different parts making up the network.

All three starters actually spawn across the entire Grand Underground, but there are also specific locations where you can more easily encounter these Pokémon. That said, be prepared to spend some time in the area as the encounter rates aren't very high to begin with. But the time spent should be well worth it to get the Fire-type, Grass-type, and Water-type starters all on board your roster.

How to get Turtwig in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl

  1. Once you have the National Dex equipped, travel to either Twinleaf Town or Jubilife City. There, activate your Explorer Kit so you can access the Grand Underground.
  2. On the map for the Grand Underground, you'll see the Fountain Spring Cave Hideaway, marked by a square that is split into green and blue parts.
  3. Enter the hideaway and look for Turtwig. The Grass-type starter should appear as a wild Pokémon roaming in the overworld, so if you don't spot it, don't waste your time trying to trigger an encounter. Instead, exit the room and allow it to reload.
  4. Run in and out of the Hideaway until you see Turtwig appear. Luckily, Turtwig can be found in numerous rooms in Grand Underground, though Spring Cave in particular is a good bet for your best chances at encountering the starter Pokémon.
  5. Once Turtwig spawns, just walk over to the starter and trigger the battle scene so you can catch it.

How to get Piplup in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl

  1. Piplup spawns in several rooms in Grand Underground. In particular, trainers should look for Hideaways that have the water theme (blue colors).
  2. Go over to Jubilife City, Twinleaf Town or Sandgem Town, then use the Explorer Kit to drop down into the Grand Underground.
  3. Since the Fountain Spring Cave Hideaway is split into grass and water themes, you can encounter Piplup in the same area where you find Turtwig.
  4. In addition, the Grand Underground also has a number of water-only rooms in the Southwest areas of Sinnoh like Sandgem. Again, just look for the blue squares on the map once you head underground.
  5. Whichever Hideaway you choose, enter, exit, and re-enter until you spot Piplup in the overworld. Then trigger the encounter/battle scene by heading over to the Water-type once it spawns in the room.

How to get Chimchar in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl

  1. For Chimchar, you'll have to access a post-game exclusive location called the Fight Area, to the northeast region of Sinnoh. Head over there once you've defeated Cynthia and gotten your National Dex.
  2. By using the Explorer Kit, you can then access the Grand Underground caverns. Walk north until you enter the Lava Hideaway, which is marked as a red square on the map.
  3. The Lava Hideaway fits the Fire-type starter, so you might have a harder time trying to look for Turtwig or Piplup here. And vice versa, Chimchar may not appear in the Spring Cave (though a slim chance is still possible either way).
  4. Now enter this room and look for Chimchar. Keep going in and out over and over again until the starter Pokémon spawns, then you can walk up to it to engage in battle and catch Chimchar.

Remember, the key to finding all three starters is actually leaving then re-entering the room, thus allowing the location and encounters to reset instead of running around in circles in the same Hideaway. This will also save you time since you just need to look at what Pokémon are already visible in the overworld instead of triggering several battles then running away.

So that's how you can get all three Sinnoh starter Pokémon in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl. But if you want to get them during the main game, you'll have to go back to the age-old trading mechanic just like the original Diamond/Pearl/Platinum titles.