Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are Nintendo's newest entries to the Pokemon series, but their release has seen some challenges. Fans have been quick to point out several issues with the titles, ranging from broken animations to game-breaking softlocks. Though the latest update to Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl sought to resolve some major bugs, players have discovered an exploit that allows them to duplicate any Pokemon in their PC box.
Ironically, this new update included a fix for a previous duplication glitch that was discovered shortly after the games' launch in November. Despite Nintendo's attempt to remove it, a similar glitch has already been found, allowing players to achieve the same results. Though the process is rather complex, anyone who has downloaded the update can perform the glitch.
As demonstrated by YouTuber Blaines, the player must stand in front of a Pokemon center to perform the glitch. By hitting the R and A buttons simultaneously, the player can move inside the Pokemon Center and access the Fly menu at the same time. Being careful not to close the Fly menu, the player must then navigate up and down the Pokemon Center's escalators, then leave the building and fly to any location on the map. By opening the PC and moving each Pokemon to an empty box, then exiting the box altogether, the player will have created perfect copies of the selected Pokemon.
Duplicating Pokemon grants the player a significant advantage in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. Even powerful Legendary Pokemon can be cloned with this exploit, despite otherwise being one of a kind. The player can also clone items through this process; any cloned Pokemon will have the same held item as its original counterpart. For instance, by cloning Rare Candies, the player can raise all their Pokemon to the highest level without ever entering battle. Even the Master Ball-an item the player is only given one of-can be duplicated, trivializing the capture of any Pokemon.
Notably, these glitches do not come without some risk. The player can easily cause their game to freeze on the Fly menu, forcing them to restart and lose any saved progress. The games' autosave feature, if not turned off beforehand, can also interfere with the glitch. Though this exploit can prove immensely beneficial, any Pokemon fan wishing to take advantage should prepare accordingly before making the attempt. Until the glitch is patched out, however, players are free to clone all of the rarest Pokemon in their collection.
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are available now for the Nintendo Switch.
