What’s New in HeartGold and SoulSilver: The Pokéwalker

February 24, 2010 | 3 Comments

One of the newest and more innovating features of HeartGold and SoulSilver is the Pokéwalker. It is a pedometer that you take with you where ever you go. A pokémon can be wirelessly transferred from your game to the Pokéwalker via an infrared receiver in the game cartridge so it will work with the original Nintendo DS, DS Lite, DSi, or DSi XL . There it will gain friendship and experience levels as you walk. There are also chances to find items and catch wild pokémon.
The Pokéwalker measures your progress in watts. Every 20 steps will earn you one watt. These watts can be spent on using the dowsing application or the poké radar. There are several different courses that become available and these courses have different wild pokémon and different items available to find.
There six wild pokémon obtainable in each course. They are divided into three groups, A, B or C. The more steps you accumulate, the greater the likelihood of seeing the rarer pokémon from group A. It costs 10 watts each time you use the poké radar. When you use it in a grassy patch a ! will appear. One ! means that the wild pokémon is from group C. If it flashes ! on a second patch, then it may be from group B or C. Two !! means it is from group A or B and three !!! means it is from group A.
When you encounter a wild pokémon, both have four bars of health. The player has an option to Attack, Evade or Catch while the wild pokémon may Attack, Evade or Flee. The lower the health of the wild pokémon, the easier it is to catch. A normal attack will deplete one bar from the opposing pokémon. A critical hit will deplete two of its health bars.
If both pokémon attack, then both take damage. If one attacks and the other evades then only the evading pokémon will deliver the damage. If both pokémon evade, then they have a stare down and neither takes damage. If the wild pokémon attempts to flee, he will be successful if you evade or fail at a catch. If your pokémon loses all its health bars then the battle is over and you will lose 10 additional watts. Your Pokéwalker may hold up to three wild pokémon at a time. Any catches after that and you must release one.
The dowsing application costs three watts each time you use it. You have two chances to find an item from a row of six horizontal patches of grass. If you guess incorrectly the first time you will get a clue whether the item is near (one patch away) or far (two or more patches away). You may also only store three items, after that one must be released.
You can also receive items by connecting to another player’s pokéwalker through its infrared signal. The item you receive will come from the other player’s course and you may receive one per day, with ten being the maximum items that you can get from another player.

When you return home to your DS, you can send any pokémon and items to your HeartGold or SoulSilver game along with any unused watts and a Pokéwalker Journal will record your progress. Once per day, everyday at midnight the step count resets itself and you will need to rebuild your steps back up to meet that certain pokémon or find rarer items. As the watts accumulate, new courses will be unlocked.
There are 27 different courses some are unlocked by accumulating watts, through nintendo events or by having special event pokémon. Some courses are only available after receiving a National Pokédex. While type advantage won’t help you in the battling wild pokémon on the Pokéwalker, there are some advantages to the type of pokémon that you carry with you. Having the right typing makes rarer pokémon easier to find when using the Pokéradar. An advantageous type will lower the required step count for each wild pokémon by 25%

Here are the courses available before you get your National Pokédex. Refreshing Field and Noisy Forest courses will be available at the start of the game. While meeting required steps make these pokémon and items available, the higher step count items and pokémon are still hard to find. Keep in mind that these are measured in steps, not watts so don’t worry that using your watts will detract from you meeting a rarer pokémon or item.

For Refreshing Field the advantageous types are Bug, Flying and Fire. The pokémon available here are:
Group C: Sentret and Pidgey

Group B: Nidoran♀ and Nidoran♂ (500+ steps)

Group A: Duduo (2000+ Steps) and Kangaskhan (3000+ steps)

The items available are:
Potion
Oran Berry (300+ Steps)
Paralyze Heal (500+ Steps)
Cheri Berry (600+ Steps)
Awakening (700+ Steps)
Chesto Berry (800+ Steps)
Ice Heal (900+ Steps)
Burn Heal (1000+ Steps)
Full Heal (2000+ Steps)
Revive (2500+ Steps)

For Noisy Forest the advantageous types are Fire, Ice and Flying and the pokemon available are:
Group C: Oddish and Spearow

Group B: Venonat (700+ steps) and Paras (700+ Steps)
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Group A: Bellsprout (3000+ Steps) and Wobbuffet (4000+ Steps)

The items are:
Cheri Berry
Tinymushrooom (200+ Steps)
Pecha Berry (500+ Steps)
Big Mushroom (700+ Steps)
Energy Powder (800+ Steps)
Energy Root (900+ Steps)
Ether (1000+ Steps)
Green Shard (2000+ Steps)
Revive (2500+ Steps)
Net Ball (5000+ Steps)

Rugged Road is unlocked after banking 50 watts and the advantageous types there are Water, Fighting and Ground and the pokemon available are:
Group C: Geodude and Hoothoot

Group B: Ponyta (1000+ steps) and Machop (1000+ Steps)
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Group A: Onix (5000+ Steps) and Magby (5000+ Steps)

The items are:
Repel
Escape Rope (100+ Steps)
Antidote (500+ Steps)
Burn Heal (800+ Steps)
Super Repel (1000+ Steps)
Full Heal (1500+ Steps)
Star Piece (2000+ Steps)
Red Shard (3000+ Steps)
Hard Stone (5000+ Steps)
PP Up (7000+ Steps)

Beautiful Beach is unlocked after banking 150 watts and the advantageous types there are Grass, Electric and Dragon and the pokemon available are:
Group C: Wooper and Sunkern

Group B: Slowpoke (1000+ steps) and Poliwag (1500+ Steps)
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Group A: Psyduck (4000+ Steps) and Staryu (5000+ Steps)

The items are:
Fresh Water
Rawst Berry (500+ Steps)
Soda Pop (800+ Steps)
Aspear Berry (1000+ Steps)
Full Heal (1500+ Steps)
Leppa Berry (1800+ Steps)
Heart Scale (2000+ Steps)
Blue Shard (3000+ Steps)
Big Pearl (4000+ Steps)
Dive Ball (5000+ Steps)

Suburban Area is unlocked after banking 500 watts and the advantageous types there are Fighting, Normal and Psychic and the pokemon available are:
Group C: Rattata and Hoothoot

Group B: Murkrow (1000+ steps) and Magnemite (level 8)( 1000+ Steps)
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Group A: Magnemite (level 11) (4000+ Steps) and Elekid (5000+ Steps)

The items are:
Potion
X Attack (100+ Steps)
X Defend (250+ Steps)
X Speed (500+ Steps)
X Accuracy (750+ Steps)
Dire Hit (1000+ Steps)
X Special (1250+ Steps)
X Sp. Def (1500+ Steps)
Guard Spec (2000+ Steps)
PP Up (5000+ Steps)

Dim Cave is unlocked after banking 1000 watts and the advantageous types there are Water, Dark and Rock and the pokemon available are:
Group C: Machop and Zubat

Group B: Onix (1000+ steps) and Gastly (level 10)(1000+ Steps)

Group A: Gastly (level 15) (5000+ Steps) and Smoochum (5000+ Steps)

The items are:
Sitrus Berry
Ether (700+ Steps)
Hyper Potion (1000+ Steps)
Max Ether (1500+ Steps)
Max Potion (2000+ Steps)
Persim Berry (2500+ Steps)
Elixir (3500+ Steps)
Yellow Shard (4500+ Steps)
Silverpowder (5000+ Steps)
TM 18- Rain Dance (6000+ Steps)

Blue Lake is unlocked after banking 2000 watts and the advantageous types there are Grass, Electric and Dragon and the pokemon available are:
Group C: Goldeen and Tentacool

Group B: Krabby (500+ steps) and Shellder (500+ Steps)

Group A: Poliwag (4000+ Steps) and Dratini (5000+ Steps)

The items are:
Fresh Water
Leppa Berry (700+ Steps)
Pearl (500+ Steps)
Sitrus Berry (1000+ Steps)
Stardust (2000+ Steps)
Star Piece (2500+ Steps)
Lum Berry (3000+ Steps)
Dive Ball (3500+ Steps)
Net Ball (4000+ Steps)
TM 11- Sunny Day (5000+ Steps)

Town Outskirts is unlocked after banking 3000 watts and the advantageous types there are Fighting, Ghost and Normal and the pokemon available are:
Group C: Furret and Rattata

Group B: Koffing (1500+ steps) and Grimer (1500+ Steps)

Group A: Voltorb (3000+ Steps) and Abra (5000+ Steps)

The items are:
Pokéball
Dire Hit (100+ Steps)
x Accuracy (500+ Steps)
Great Ball (750+ Steps)
X Attack (1000+ Steps)
Lum Berry (1500+ Steps)
Ultra Ball (2000+ Steps)
X Sp. Def (2500+ Steps)
Guard Spec (3000+ Steps)
TM 37- Sandstorm (5000+ Steps)

The Beyond The Sea course is unlocked after completing an trade on the GTS for a foreign pokémon and the advantageous types there are Grass, Electric and Dragon and the pokémon available are:
Group C: Remoriad and Chinchou

Group B: Corsola (2500+ steps) and Horsea (2500+ Steps)

Group A: Octillery holding a Focus Band (5000+ Steps) and Staryu (5000+ Steps)

The items are:
Stardust
Pomeg Berry (1000+ Steps)
Spelon Berry (1500+ Steps)
Pamtre Berry (2000+ Steps)
Kelpsy berry (2500+ Steps)
Kasib Berry (3000+ Steps)
Haban Berry (3500+ Steps)
Colbur Berry (4000+ Steps)
Babiri Berry (4500+ Steps)
Chilan Berry (5000+ Steps)

The Night’s Sky Edge course is unlocked after trading the GameStop Jirachi or the Japenese Nintendo Zone Jirachi to your HeartGold or SoulSilver game. The advantageous types there are Water, Fighting and Ground and the pokemon available are:
Group C: Onix and Geodude

Group B: Hoothoot (2500+ steps) and Zubat (2500+ Steps)

Group A: Jigglypuff (5000+ Steps) and Clefairy (5000+ Steps)

The items are:
Stardust
Pearl (1000+ Steps)
Blue Shard (1500+ Steps)
Red Shard (2000+ Steps)
Yellow Shard (2500+ Steps)
Green Shard (3000+ Steps)
Star Piece (3500+ Steps)
Rare Bone (4000+ Steps)
Moonstone (5000+ Steps)
TM – Psychic (10000+ Steps)

Expect new courses to available for download from the WiFi soon after the release of HeartGold and SoulSilver on March 14, 2010 in the US and March 25/26 in Australia and the UK. We will provide information on them as they are released as Japan has already unlocked a Yellow Forest course filled with Pikachus with special moves.

Posted by Deneves | Filed Under Tips 

Let’s Get Ready to Ruuumble!

December 18, 2009 | 3 Comments

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Pokémon Rumble had been released and is available to download on WiiWare in the US and Europe for play on the Wii gaming system. The game is a departure from the pokémon games we are used to playing as the pokémon don’t level up. The story behind the game is that you are given a toy pokémon, a Rattata, and the goal is to enter the Royal Rumble Battle and be that last pokémon standing at the end. The Rattata you receive isn’t going to be strong enough to do much against the other more powerful pokemon so you must run the gauntlet in the other areas and as you defeat wild pokémon. Most will turn into coins as you defeat them, but some will topple over and you can recruit them to join your party. At the end of each area is a boss pokémon that will tougher than any in that area. You can switch pokémon throughout the journey, but once three of your pokémon have fainted, the round ends. Even if you don’t successfully defeat the boss pokémon, you still keep all the money and pokémon that you befriended along the way.
Each pokémon has up to two attacks rated in strength from one to five stars. Secondary effects are very important in this game as there are no limits to how many times you can use your moves and Attack boosts, Defense drops or status changes can swing a battles direction. While there are type differences in attacks there are no immunities or 4x effective attacks, so earthquake will damage Flying pokémon and Ghost attacks will damage Normal types. The moves your pokémon have can vary between most level up moves that that pokémon can learn. It takes a little while to get accustom to each attack as they vary in striking distance and range.
The gameplay is relatively simple, your two attacks are buttons 1 and 2 and you use the + to move your pokémon throughout the game. You must constantly change the pokémon that you are playing with to upgrade to higher level toys as the ones you play with will not grow stronger or evolve. Your Attack and Defense are rated for each pokémon (there are no Special Attack/Attack or Special Defense/Defense differences) from one to five. Your pokémon has a visible health bar that shows how much energy it has left and as you damage wild pokémon their health bars will be visible to you. The gameplay has the look of the X-men games for the Gamecube and, while it can be challenging playing solo, it is much more fun playing with a partner. As many as four can play and at the end of the round you get a breakdown of who defeated the most wild pokémon.
Once you have pokemon that you feel are strong enough to win the Royal Rumble, you can enter the contest. If you win, you can advance to the next level of play. You start at level C and progress to level B and A and the last level is level S. In each progressive level, the pokémon are stronger.

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Normal mode consists only of the pokémon from the Kanto region and all but Mew and Mewtwo can be battled there. Once you win the Royal Rumble in S level the game may seem over, but you unlock the Advanced mode where all the new pokémon from Sinnoh can be battled. The last Royal Rumble in advanced mode is very tough as you must defeat Palkia, Diagla and Giratina who tag team against you and if that isn’t tough enough, Mewtwo shows up at the end of the battle. Once you win that Royal Rumble you unlock a EX mode that allows you battle a mixture of pokémon from Normal and Advanced mode at higher levels.

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During your battles pokémon with certain special traits can be found:
Type Guard: there is a type guard for all 17 types that prevents these from taking as much damage in battle from these type moves
Brawny: Has a higher HP by 50%
Punchy: Has a higher Attack by 50%
Hardy: Has a higher Defense by 50%
Speedy: Can move around faster
Snappy: It can use its moves quickly
Techie: Moves with fewer *s become stronger
Scrappy: Has a higher critical-hit rate by 50%
Gutsy: Has a very high critical-hit rate
Feisty: Moves sweep foes to a further distance
Mighty: It does not get swept away as much
Steady: Is not affected by any Status Changes
Perky: It recovers quickly from a Status Change
Healthy: Slowly restores HP, 1% per second
Lucky: gets three coins instead of one for defeating pokémon
Rally: Other players’ Pokémon get stronger during Multiplayer mode
These pokémon generally have a TM or HM move in their attack and when toppled over will have stars circling them. All their text will be in purple.
There are also Shiny pokémon that can be found throughout the game. They are rare and their names will be in blue.

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The terminal has seven buildings at the bottom. The one with the red roof allows you to recruit new pokémon, either by using coins, tickets or secret passwords. The higher the level you are at, the higher the pokémon will be that you will receive. For a list of passwords, check out our forum for Pokemon Rumble.
The building with the blue roof allows you to release some the pokémon that you have recruited and you will receive coins. When possible, five of the same pokémon will net you a ticket for the next evolution of that species. Five of the highest evolution will net you a ticket for its first pre-evolution. Some legendaries are only available through releasing a certain combination of pokémon receive their ticket.
The lottery-like looking wheel allows you to teach a move to the pokémon that you are playing in exchange for coins that you picked up. These will randomly selected from the egg moves, TMs and HMs that it may learn. The higher the level you are in the game, the more powerful the moves are that are available.
The Wii remote on the bottom left allows you to transport your pokemon to another Wii and the building next to it allows other players to join the game.
The kiosk in the bottom right gives you playing info, while the crown next to that allows you to see the collection of pokémon that you have met.

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Trying to complete the pokédex is a challenge as certain pokémon are rare and difficult to find much less recruit. Don’t worry too much about completing the pokédex early in the game as you will have an opportunity later in the game to meet them at higher levels and you can always return to the previous levels with your more powerful pokémon to find the ones you missed or use recruit tickets for some of the rarer pre-evolutions.
For a limited time you can download a free demo from WiiWare. If you like it you can download the game for $15. While the game may not be challenging for experienced gamers, it should provide hours of fun for multi-players or those who want to complete the pokédex. The game is rated for players 10 and up.

Posted by Deneves | Filed Under Tips 

Arceus and the Plates

November 13, 2009 | 1 Comment

As many pokémon fans know, the new Arceus being given away in Australia and at Toys-R-Us in the US and Puerto Rico unlocks a special event in the upcoming HeartGold and SoulSilver games and brings Cynthia to Johto and gives gamers a chance to receive Palkia, Dialga or Giratina with a special move at level 1. Many may forget that unlocking events by having event pokemon in your party started in Platinum and if you take your new Arceus to the Oreburgh Mine you will meet a traveler who will give you a brief history of the plates and hand over a Flame Plate to you. If you travel to the Canalave City Library you can meet up with him again and he will will fill you in on some pokemon history relating to Arceus and the plates and he will leave a book in the Canalave Library that details all the inscriptions that have been found on the plates since Diamond & Pearl.
Arceus has the unique ability of Multitype that allows it to become the type of whatever plate that it holds. While the Flame Plate can be found in Stark Mountain, it requires you to have the national dex which makes it the last of the plates accessible through game play. Since Arceus has now become available to so many pokémon fans, I thought it might be a good time to review where all the plates can be found:

Draco Plate: Right behind the Dragon Statue in Eterna City

Insect Plate: Outside the Old Chateau to the right and against the wall of the cliff

Dread Plate: Upstairs in the room on the left of the Old Chateau

Spooky Plate: In Amity Square in Hearthome City

Mind Plate: In the last floor of the Solaceon Ruins

Fist Plate: On Route 215 behind the black belt trainer that is behind a small tree that needs to be cut

Toxic Plate: In the Great Marsh of Pastoria in the Northeast section. Against the northern tree wall in Diamond and Pearl and in the bog in Platinum.

Earth Plate: Oreburgh Gate which is the cave between Jubilife City and Oreburgh. You need Rock Smash and Strength to get back there and then Surf to the far west side of cave.

Splash Plate: On Route 219 in the Southwest corner before turning into Route 220.

Iron Plate: In a small pit in the caves of Iron Island in the far southeastern corner of the third floor.

Icicle Plate: On route 217. Show the hiker in the house his lost HM Rock Climb and he will reward you with the Icicle Plate.

Zap Plate: in front of the lighthouse in Sunyshore City on the right, use Dowsing Machine

Meadow Plate: On Route 210, you need use HM Waterfall to get to it. It is against the wall beneath the bridge above the first waterfall.

Stone Plate: in the cave on Mt. Coronet, use Waterfall to access the room and it is in the rock. In Platinum, the Adamant Orb and Lustrous Orb can also be found in this room.

Sky Plate: in front of the pokemon league on the left, use Dowsing Machine

Flame Plate: on the left hand side in Stark Mountain

One plate of each type can also be found in the Underground. While any pokémon can hold these and get a 20% boost in power from those type of moves, Arceus can use them to change its typing and the typing of its signature move Judgment. Try them out, if only to see the different colors that Arceus can change in to.

Posted by Deneves | Filed Under Tips 

What’s New in Platinum: Oak’s Letter

October 16, 2009 | Leave a Comment

Platinum owners can now travel to Flower Paradise and battle the Gratitude Pokémon, Shaymin by obtaining a Oak’s Letter over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection from now until November 8th, 2009. This letter asks you meet Dr. Oak on Route 224.

If you have received the Member’s Card, the Secret Key to unlock the Rotom forms or received mystery gifts from Pokémon Battle Revolution then you are ready to go. Just click on MYSTERY GIFT on the opening screen, then RECEIVE GIFT, then GET VIA NINTENDO WFC and it will load the Wonder Card on to your game
If you have yet to receive a mystery gift, go to the 3rd floor in Jubilife TV. Talk to the man next to a lady and type in “everyone happy” as a response to his first question and type in “wi-fi connection” to the next question. Save your game and when you restart it the MYSTERY GIFT option box will appear below NEW GAME on the opening screen.
Once you have downloaded the Wonder Card, Oak’s Letter can be picked up from the green dressed delivery man in any Poke Mart. Even if you haven’t beaten the elite four yet you still can receive Oak’s Letter, but to battle Shaymin you must have defeated the Elite Four and obtained the National Dex from Professor Rowan.

The easiest way to access Route 224 is to come down from the Pokémon League to Victory Road as Route 224 can be only reached be going though the caves heading east out of Victory Road. If you have traveled to route 224 previously, you will need to use HMs of Surf, Waterfall, Rock Climb and Defog to navigate this cave. If this is your first time through, Marley will help you battle and heal your pokémon as you go, but you will also need Strength and Rock Smash.
Dr. Oak is waiting for you at the end of Route 224 by the big white rock. Just before you reach there, Marley will join you and Dr. Oak will ask you who you would like to thank. After typing in what you are thankful for, the Seabreak Path will appear and allow you to walk up a long flowery stretch to the Flower Paradise island in the Northeast of Sinnoh.

Shaymin will be waiting for you at the end and will be at level 30 and have the following moves:
Growth
Magical Leaf
Leech Seed
Synthesis
If Shaymini faints, don’t worry, just walk back onto the Seabreak Path and return to Flower Paradise and Shaymin will once again be waiting for you. You can battle it as many times as you like (or flee if you find yourself outmatched) until you capture it.

You can only capture Shaymin once so I recommend bringing a pokémon with the ability of synchronize with the nature you prefer. Shaymin in its Sky forme has its best base stats in Special Attack and Speed so Modest or Timid are usually considered the best natures. In its land form, Shaymin can be a very good defensive and support pokémon and a Bold nature will boost its defense stat.
Unlike most legends that have a very low catch rate, Shaymin has an average one of 45 and can be caught relatively easily compared to other legends. I was catch one at full HP with a Quick Ball. I do recommend that you bring a pokémon with the move Taunt to limit Shaymin from recovering HP and boosting its Special Attack. I do not recommend trying to inflict it with a status as it isn’t necessary and it holds a Lum Berry.

Posted by Deneves | Filed Under Tips 

What’s New in Platinum: The Regis

September 20, 2009 | 1 Comment

In Diamond and Pearl, Regigigas can be captured in Snowpoint Temple by having Regice, Regirock and Registeel in your party. Now in Platinum it is somewhat reversed. By having the level 100 event Regigigas given away in the US at Toys-R-Us in March 8 to 21, 2009 and this summer throughout Europe and Korea or the Japanese Movie Regigigas in your party you have an opportunity in Platinum to capture the other three Regis in Sinnoh.

The first Regi that you have a chance to catch is Registeel. He is in a room connected to the last area deep in the Iron Ruins on Iron Island. He is at level 30 and has the following moves:<

  • Stomp (Normal, Power 65, Acc 100)
  • Metal Claw (Steel, STAB, Power 50, Acc 95)
  • Curse - Raises Attack and Defense while lowering its Speed
  • Superpower (Fighting, Power 120, Acc 100) but lowers Attack and Defense

The next one is Regice who can be found in the Iceberg Ruins at the end of the Mount Coronet caves leading to route 216. He too is at level 30 and has these moves:

  • Stomp (Normal, Power 65, Acc 100)
  • Icy Wind (Ice, STAB, Power 55, Acc 95) lowers opponent’s speed
  • Curse - Raises Attack and Defense while lowering its Speed
  • Superpower (Fighting, Power 120, Acc 100) but lowers Attack and Defense

The final one is Regirock who can be found in the Rock Peak Ruins in the Sandstorm area of Route 228. Like the others he is at level 30 and has these moves:

  • Stomp (Normal, Power 65, Acc 100)
  • Rock Throw (Rock, STAB, Power 50, Acc 90)
  • Curse - Raises Attack and Defense while lowering its Speed
  • Superpower (Fighting, Power 120, Acc 100) but lowers Attack and Defense

The Regis all have strong defenses and Registeel and Regirock resist False Swipe so it takes a some work to get them down to 1 HP. Bring a False Swiper and a status inducer (Sleep or Paralysis) to help catch them. Don’t bother trying to lower their stats as they all have the ability of Clear Body that prevent opponents from lowering them. I always have a synchronizer in the lead spot and I recommend adding to their strong Special Defense. I suggest Careful for Regirock and Registeel and Calm for Regice. The level 100 Regigigas is too strong to help much in lowering their HP and a Ghost type can resist two of their three attacks. Be careful of the defense lowering effects of Superpower as a physical attack will do more damage than had previously done and if you aren’t using False Swipe you may accidentally faint them. Luckily all these are found in caves so bring your Dusk Balls as they are the most effective.

Once you have gathered all three you can go to Snowpoint Temple and capture your own Regigigas. Only in Platinum instead of facing a level 70 monster, the Regigigas is only level one. As you can imagine, False Swipe is essential but because catching pokémon is affected by percent of depleted HP, lowering it from 13 to 1 does not have the same beneficial effect as it does a level 70 Regigigas that can sport up to 256 in HP. Because of this it is important to bring a status inducer and plenty of Dusk Balls.

Posted by Deneves | Filed Under Tips 

What’s New in Platinum: New Moon Island

August 5, 2009 | 5 Comments

Platinum owners can now travel to New Moon Island and battle the Pitch-Black pokémon, Darkrai by obtaining a Member Card over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection from now until September 13th, 2009. This card allows you access into the Harbor Inn in Canalave City. The Harbor Inn is in the northeast corner of town and before the Member Card is active, the door is locked and the sign is too faded to read.

If you have received the Secret Key to unlock the Rotom forms or received mystery gifts from Pokémon Battle Revolution then you are ready to go. Just click on MYSTERY GIFT on the opening screen, then RECEIVE GIFT, then GET VIA NINTENDO WFC and it will load the Wonder Card on to your game
If you have yet to receive a mystery gift, go to the 3rd floor in Jubilife TV. Talk to the man next to a lady and type in “everyone happy” as a response to his first question and type in “wi-fi connection” to the next question. Save your game and when you restart it the MYSTERY GIFT option box will appear below NEW GAME on the opening screen.
Once you have downloaded the Wonder Card, the Member Card can be picked up from the green dressed delivery man in any Poke Mart. Even if you haven’t beaten the elite four yet you still can receive the Member Card, but to battle Darkrai you must finish a few things. First you need to have obtained the National Dex from Professor Rowan. Then you need to visit the son of Sailor Eldritch in Canalave City and retrieve the Lunar Wing from Fullmoon Island.
When you read the sign at the Harbor Inn it will now say “A Roost For Restless Sailors,” and “Enjoy sweet dreams in our sumptuous beds.” Once you enter the inn you be whisked off to bed and will find yourself on New Moon Island, follow the path to find Darkrai waiting for you.

Darkrai will be at level 50 and have the following moves:
Hypnosis
Faint Attack
Nightmare
Double Team
If Darkrai faints, don’t worry, the Sailor Eldritch can now take you to New Moon Island and Darkrai will be waiting for you there. You can battle him as many times as you like(or flee if you find yourself outmatched) until you capture him.

You can only capture Darkrai once so I recommend bringing a pokemon with the ability of synchronize with the nature you prefer. Darkrai has good stats all around, but its best base stats are in Special Attack and Speed so Modest or Timid are usually considered the best natures. Here are some moves to consider when putting together a team to capture Darkrai.
False Swipe - despite its looks Darkrai is a Dark type, not a Ghost, so False Swipe will work to lower it to 1 HP.
Thunder Wave – Sleep and Paralysis help to make pokemon easier to catch and while Sleep is more effective, it is only temporary while Paralysis will stay with it for the rest of the battle. Magnezone and Magneton will resist Faint Attack while dealing out the Thunder Wave.
Taunt – Darkrai has only one attack and Taunt will force it to use Faint Attack. Darkrai’s ability is Bad Dreams which causes you to lose 1/8 of your HP on every turn that you are asleep and its Nightmare attack will further drain away ¼ of your HP. Taunt will prevent it from putting you to sleep with Hypnosis and from using Double Team.
Haze – Double Team not only raises its evasiveness, but makes it harder to catch. Haze wipes away all stat changes.
Aromatherapy - Hypnosis can spell doom to even the highest level pokemon as Bad Dreams and Nightmare will quickly drain away your HP. So even if you quickly lower Darkrai’s HP, it can still cripple you before you can catch it. Switch out your pokemon as they fall asleep and switch in an Aromatherapist to wake up you whole team. Chesto berries can be a handy hold item especially for your aromatherapist as you want to make sure it doesn’t fall asleep before it wakes up its teammates.
Vital Spirit and Insomnia are helpful abilities to avoid Darkrai’s Bad Dreams and Nightmares and, as scary as it might seem, I recommend you battle Darkrai at night (after 8 PM) as Dusk Balls are the most effective ball against this tough catch.

Posted by Deneves | Filed Under Tips 

A Pokemon of a Different Color

May 23, 2009 | 11 Comments

Red Gyarados

Ever since we all saw that first red Gyarados in our adventures in Johto, different colored, or shiny, pokemon have been a rare find, and heavily sought after. The chances of randomly finding a shiny pokemon in the wild, through fishing, or normal encounters is a staggering 1 in 8192. This means that through the normal course of a game, you probably won’t come across one at all!

During the days of Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, but luckily the game developers felt that we, the players, deserved a couple different avenues to make shinies a little easier to come by.

The most common method today to get a shiny is though chaining, using the Poke-Radar. There is still skill involved, which I personally have had very limited luck with.

The other way to make things a bit easier is using what has been coined ‘The Masuda Method’. The Masuda method is a way to have a little better luck in obtaining a shiny under the right circumstances.

It was revealed through a blog post by Junichi Masuda, who is a director on the board of Game Freak inc, that it is advantageous to use the GTS. He pointed out several different benefits. You can read the full blog post here.

One line in particular is important here, “rare colored Pokemon’s Egg can be found little easier.” This meant that by utilizing the GTS, it would be easier to hatch a shiny egg. Well, this didn’t exactly give the entire picture, but it was intriguing news nonetheless! After months of research (by someone else, mind you) it was discovered that this meant there was an interesting interaction with pokemon from different languages. So those that were able to tear apart the game’s code and figure out what was going on, were able to determine that taking 2 compatible parents (for instance, one American male Charmander, and one Japanese female Charmander) and depositing them into the daycare had a dramatic impact on the chances of finding a shiny.

The odds went from 1 in 8192 to 1 in only 2050, that is almost four times easier than a normal encounter!

Here is a video showing a hatching of a shiny charmander using this method on my platinum cartridge!

A few notes that may help answer some of your questions – thanks go to several members of the pokefarm public that helped to dig up this info!!

  1. This will work with any breedable pokemon.
  2. This will work using a foreign Ditto and another breedable pokemon from your own game.
  3. If you save after picking up the egg, you can soft reset for better IV’s.
  4. IV’s are the only properties of the egg that is set upon hatch, rather than on picking it up from the old man. (i.e. Nature, Ability)
  5. Natures will not pass from the parents when they are of different languages, so an Everstone will have no effect when held by the mother in this case.
  6. This method works in Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum.
  7. In order to check it’s IV’s without saving you’ll have to either have many Rare Candies (about 30-40 to narrow it down very well) or to get a rougher idea, visit our PokeFarm forums for tools to help you on finding out more.

I believe that covers all the main questions that have been asked lately. If you have any questions that aren’t covered here, make sure to check the Diamond/Pearl/Platinum Question and Answer section and ask away!

See you on the Farm!

Whitdjinn

Whitdjinn is one of the original farmers from when we still used HMTK.com as the base site to distribute Pokemon.

Posted by HMTKSteve | Filed Under Tips 

What’s New in Pokémon Platinum: Pastoria City

May 11, 2009 | 3 Comments

At first glance, Pastoria City looks the same in Platinum as it does in Diamond and Pearl. If you look a little deeper you will find a few new surprises in the land of the Croagunk Festival.

Matchup Checker

The first new thing that you may see after the giant Croagunk billboard is before you enter the Pastoria Great Marsh a cowgirl will offer you a new Pokétech application if you catch five or more pokemon in the Safari Game. The new application is number 23, the matchup checker, that allows you to see how compatible the first two pokemon in your party will be at breeding. Press the heart between the two pokemon avatars and if they are compatible, then the hearts above will light up. One heart being the least likely to produce eggs, three hearts for the most likely. If the pokemon aren’t compatible, the Luvdiscs will turn away from each other and face the opposite direction.

The Safari Game

The Safari Game itself offers pokémon that were unavailable in Diamond and Pearl. Tropius and Tangela can be found commonly in the Great Marsh along with Yanma who was previously only available after you received your national dex. While Drapion and Toxicroak are no longer found in the Great Marsh until you have obtained your national dex, Skopuri and Croagunk are still found there.

Free Shards

As you enter the Great Marsh, to the east of the trams is a man that will offer you a colored shard. The shard color varies and he will offer you one every day and you can use them at any of the move tutors including the one just west of Pastoria City. Shard pieces can also be found in pokéballs throughout the marsh.

The graphics have improved in this area and bogs that were previously covered in swamp grass now have grass lining the outer rims of the bogs where wild pokémon reside and different shades are visible in the dark bogs to show the deeper areas that are hard to walk through.

The Toxic Plate

If you are searching for the Toxic plate that was hidden near the trees in Diamond and Pearl, you will have to get muddy to find it in Platinum. Use your dowsing application in the northeast section of the Great Marsh. While most objects on the dowsing application show as a big dot on your screen, the dot for the Toxic Plate is so small that if you are in the line with it, it will not be visible.

Macho Brace

To get the Macho Brace you won’t need to show the three forms of Burmy as you did in Diamond and Pearl. Instead the men in the house north of Pastoria City’s pokémon mart will ask to see a male and female Combee.

Coupoundeyes

If you like to collect items like I do, the Great Marsh gives you an opportunity to capture a pokémon with the ability of Compoundeyes. If the pokémon in the first position of your party has this ability, then wild pokemon are more likely to be holding items. This holds true even if that pokemon has fainted. Yanma not only can have that ability, but also can be holding a Wide Lens that boosts the holders accuracy by 10%.

Posted by Deneves | Filed Under Tips 

What’s New in Pokémon Platinum: Move Tutors

April 2, 2009 | 16 Comments

Probably the most anticipated change in Platinum is the return of move tutors. There are three move tutors in Sinnoh that will teach moves that are not TMs to pokémon capable of learning them. The move tutors will need colored shards in exchange for their services.

In Diamond and Pearl, the colored shard pieces were only found in the Underground and their only use were that 10 pieces of the same color could be exchanged for a weather TM at the house in rainy area west of Pastoria. Not only are the shard pieces still found in the Underground, but they are also scattered in pokéballs throughout Sinnoh in the Platinum version.

Platinum Move Tutor

Pastoria Swamp Move Tutor
The first move tutor you will come across is in the that same house west of Pastoria in the swamps. On the wall in the back of the house is a list of tutored moves and the number of shards that it takes to learn the move. Here are the moves taught by the first move tutor:

Dive – 4 Blue Shards, 2 Yellow Shards, 2 Red Shards
Fury Cutter - 8 Blue Shards
Icy Wind - 6 Blue Shards, 2 Green Shards
Thunderpunch – 6 Blue Shards, 2 Red Shards
Firepunch – 6 Blue Shards, 2 Red Shards
Ice Punch - 6 Blue Shards, 2 Red Shards
Ominous Wind - 6 Blue Shards, 2 Green Shards
Air Cutter - 4 Blue Shards, 2 Green Shards, 2 Red Shards
Zen Headbutt - 4 Blue Shards, 4 Yellow Shards
Vacuum Wave - 4 Blue Shards, 2 Green Shards, 2 Red Shards
Trick - 4 Blue Shards, 4 Yellow Shards
Knock Off – 4 Blue Shards, 4 Red Shards
Sucker Punch – 6 Blue Shards, 2 Yellow Shards

Platinum Move Tutor

Snowpoint City Move Tutor
The second move tutor is found in Snowpoint City. He resides in the house in the northeast corner where the man teaches you the trendy phrases. Here are the moves that he can tutor:

Uproar – 6 Yellow Shards, 2 Green Shards
Spite – 8 Yellow Shards
Last Resort – 8 Green Shards
Synthesis – 2 Yellow Shards, 6 Green Shards
Magnet Rise – 4 Yellow Shards, 2 Green Shards, 2 Blue Shards
Swift – 2 Yellow Shards, 4 Green Shards, 2 Blue Shards
Snore – 4 Yellow Shards, 2 Green Shards, 2 Red Shards
Helping Hand – 4 Yellow Shards, 2 Green Shards, 2 Red Shards

Platinum Move Tutor

Survival Area Move Tutor
The last move tutor is found up the rocky path just east of the pokécenter in the Survival Area. In Diamond and Pearl, the man apologizes for not having anything to offer you, but in Platinum he can teach you these moves:

Mud-Slap – 4 Red Shards, 4 Blue Shards
Twister – 6 Red Shards, 2 Green Shards
Superpower – 8 Red Shards
Seed Bomb - 4 Red Shards, 4 Green Shards
Iron Head – 6 Red Shards, 2 Yellow Shards
Aqua Tail - 6 Red Shards, 2 Green Shards
 Endeavor - 4 Red Shards, 4 Yellow Shards
Outrage – 6 Red Shards, 2 Yellow Shards
Ancient Power – 6 Red Shards, 2 Green Shards
Gastro Acid – 4 Red Shards, 2 Yellow Shards, 2 Green Shards
Signal Beam – 2 Red Shards, 2 Blue Shards, 2 Yellow Shards, 2 Green Shards
Earth Power – 6 Red Shards, 2 Green Shards
Gunk Shot - 4 Red Shards, 2 Blue Shards, 2 Green Shards
Rollout - 4 Red Shards, 2 Blue Shards, 2 Green Shards
Iron Defense – 4 Red Shards, 2 Blue Shards, 2 Yellow Shards
Bounce - 4 Red Shards, 2 Green Shards, 2 Yellow Shards
Heat Wave – 4 Red Shards, 2 Blue Shards, 2 Green Shards

Platinum Move Tutor

One more tip. If you use your dowsing application of your pokétech, you will come across star pieces hidden in the caves and they are more than just a tie-in to team Galaxy. In previous games, the only use for star pieces was to sell them, but once you are able to use Surf outside of battle, you can make your way to Fuego Ironworks and Mr. Fuego with exchange shard pieces for those star pieces.

This article was written by Deneves, the Cobble Gym Leader on the forum.

Posted by Deneves | Filed Under Tips 

What’s New in Pokémon Platinum: Maid Battles

March 26, 2009 | 4 Comments

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As most of you know, Pokémon Platinum hit the stores in the U.S. on March 22 and while the basic gameplay is the same as Diamond and Pearl, there are some improvements.

One change that you will notice is when you reach Mr. Backlot’s Mansion on Route 212. The left wing of the mansion that was closed off in Diamond and Pearl is now guarded by a group of battling maids. They will challenge you to the “5-Maid Knockout Exact-Turn Attack Challenge”. Each will bring one Clefairy to battle you, with the first one starting at level 25 and each successive one being a higher level.

If you think that battling Clefairies is a piece of cake, think again. These ones will baffle you with moves that cause confusion and paralysis and immobilize you with their cute charms, not to mention their use of the moves Endure and Encore.

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Once you have defeated them in the exact number of target turns, your reward is that you get to battle Lady Celeste or Master Liam and their Blissey.

Their Blisseys are level 35 and have different move sets, but both like to Fling a rare candy at challengers. While battling with your Amulet coin will net you 11,200 in pokédollars, the real Trick is to switch in a pokémon that can swipe away that rare candy before the Blissey flings it at you.

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Don’t be discouraged if it takes a while to get through this, but the good news is that you can challenge the maids the next day for another shot at that rare treat.

This article was written by Deneves, the Cobble Gym Leader on the forum.

Posted by Deneves | Filed Under Tips 

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