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As players explore the Sinnoh region in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl they can find plenty of items scattered throughout the roads ahead. While some items are more helpful than others, one of the luckiest finds players can encounter is a Rare Candy.
Rare Candies have been a staple in the Pokemon series since the first generation with them returning for Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. These sweets automatically raise Pokemon to their next level, helping players balance their team out and give their favorites a special boost.
Fitting with its name, Rare Candies are quite hard to find. They cannot be normally purchased in stores with players more likely to find them out on their journey. If players want to purchase them, they can be bought in the post game's Battle Tower for 20 BP each.
Updated on March 24, 2022 by Renri Seong: As the Pokemon franchise continues to release mainline games and remakes, quality-of-life features have been added to the gameplay to make it easier for gamers. One example is the permanent Exp. Share, which many fans found to make leveling too easy. Another was the addition of different-sized Rare Candies in Sword and Shield, which could potentially elevate a Pokemon's level by multiple levels instead of just one. Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl doesn't have the XL Exp. Candy or L Exp. Candy, and returns to traditional roots by making Rare Candies the only level-raising item in BDSP. Like their name, Rare Candies are extremely rare, hidden all around Sinnoh. However, trainers are able to get more Rare Candies by buying them from the Battle Tower, or by having a certain Pokemon in their party. The following guide has been updated to add a new method of getting Rare Candies in Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl.
Visible Rare Candy Locations
The following Rare Candies can be visually seen in the overworld like any other item or are given by an NPC. These Rare Candies are:
Location | Directions |
Mt. Coronet A | Enter the mountain through the east Route 211 entrance. Go north and use Strength on the boulder in the way. To the left should be three breakable rocks that need Rock Smash. The path they block leads to a Rare Candy. |
Wayward Cave | Enter the cave and use Rock Smash on the first rock to the left. Go north and use Rock Smash again on the next rock. Go north again then west to find another rock to smash. After breaking it, keep going west then go south. Break the next rock and go west then south again. The Rare Candy is past the two trainers ahead. |
Eterna City | Go through the south exit out of the city and talk to the researcher inside the exit building. He will give players a Rare Candy if they have enough Pokemon registered in their Pokedex. |
Route 218 | Leave Jubilife City through its west exit. Go onto the dock where a trainer is standing and use Surf on the water. Hug the northern rocks and head right until able to go back onto land. There will be a Rare Candy there. |
Grand Underground A | Enter the Grand Underground while on Iron Island. Enter the Spacious Cave and find a Rare Candy in the northeast corner. |
Grand Underground B | Enter the Grand Underground while at Ramanas Park. Enter the Spacious Cave there and find a Rare Candy by the north wall. |
Solaceon Ruins | After entering the ruins, take the following stairways: upper right, lower left, upper right, upper left, upper left, and lower left. This will lead players to a room containing multiple items including a Rare Candy. |
Route 214 | Enter the route from Veilstone City and use Surf to cross the pond to the right. Across the water is a Rare Candy. |
Go down the stairs in order to get to the areas that require Surf. Use the water to go around the psychic trainer and keep heading toward the south wall. Players will eventually find another set of stairs that lead to a Rare Candy. | |
Route 224 | Exit Victory Road and take the left path through the trees. Surf on the water once past the rock in the water and head east. There is a Rare Candy resting on a small chunk of land. |
Route 225 A | Enter the route through its south entrance. Head north until reaching two small trees on the right that can be cut down. A Rare Candy is behind them under the bridge. |
Route 230 | On the large island covered in tall grass there is a breakable rock on the east end. Past this rock is a Rare Candy. |
Stark Mountain | In the main chamber, go down the main stairs, head west, then go down those stairs. Take the west stairs up, go south, then take the next set of west stairs down. Go around the outer rim of the hole starting upward. Keep down this path until reaching two Ace Trainers. Past them is a staircase leading to a Rare Candy. |
Invisible Rare Candy Locations
The following Rare Candies are invisible in the overworld and require either the Dowsing Machine app on the Poketch to find, or clicking on the exact location. These Rare Candies are:
Location | Directions |
Mt. Coronet B | Take the same path as the visible Rare Candy, but go north past the breakable rocks and continue down the path. The next room with require Defog to see, which will reveal the Underground Lake. Hug the left wall until reaching the north wall. At the wall there will be a hidden Rare Candy inside the rock in between the normal rock and breakable rock. |
Mt. Coronet C | On the snowy peaks of Mt. Coronet, there is a lone rock surrounded by tall grass near climbable cliffs. A Rare Candy is inside this rock. |
Mt. Coronet D | Continuing from the previous Rare Candy, take the south climbable wall down and enter the cave to the right. Take the east climbable wall then the next one to the north. Break the first breakable rock in the way then break the one off to the right. Interact with the normal rock to the right of the now broken rock to get a Rare Candy. |
Valor Lakefront | Enter the resort area and use Rock Climb to go down the cliff on the southeast part of the resort. Use Rock Climb again on the cliff to the right, then use Rock Climb twice more on the two cliffs north. There is a Rare Candy at the end of the dead end. |
Route 207 | Exit through Oreburgh City's north exit onto Route 207. Take the bike slope up and climb up the mountains until reaching the hiker by the bridge. The Rare Candy is on the left-most tile on the rock the hiker is on. |
Galactic Veilstone Building | Enter the building and go up the stairs. Take the lone teleporter in the room with the stools. Go up the stairs. Go down the hall and take the center teleporter. Go to the left until the crates are reached. The invisible Rare Candy is the left-most tile below the second crate. |
Great Marsh | Enter the Great Marsh and take the train to "Area 1." After getting off, keep going west until finding the northwest corner of the map. The Rare Candy is on this tile. |
Route 212 | Leave Pastoria City through its western exit and immediately head north into the mud. A Rare Candy is in the leftmost part of the mud puddle's northwest protrusion. |
Victory Road B | Located on the second floor of Victory Road on the south end of the map. It can be found in the middle of three boulders that require Strength to move. |
Victory Road C | In the room requiring Defog to see, get past the series of boulders with Strength in order to keep heading north. Past two trainers there will be a pool of water. Surf on the water and keep heading east. There is a Rare Candy within the rocks on the pool's right. |
Route 225 B | In front of the house on the route there is a small patch of tall grass. In the curve of the grass patch there is a Rare Candy. |
Route 228 | In between the route sign and the bike slope on the cliff side there is an invisible Rare Candy. It is around two tiles above the bike slope. |
Getting Rare Candy in BDSP with Pickup
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The addition of Abilities in the Pokemon world has been both a bane and boon for gameplay. Some Abilities can work outside of battle, while others are strictly battle-exclusive. One Ability that only works outside of battle is Pickup. A Pokemon with this Ability might pick up an item as long as it isn't holding an item. To check and see if the Pokemon with Pickup is holding an item, go into the Party and see if there's an item icon by its name.
Zigzagoon and its evolution, Linoone, are Normal-type Pokemon that may have the Pickup Ability. If a Zigzagoon in the party is already holding an item, then Pickup won't work. It should also be noted that a Pokemon will only Pickup one item at a time.
Some of the Pokemon with Pickup in BDSP can't be caught until trainers have the National Dex. The following Pokemon are the only ones with Pickup in BDSP:
Pokemon | Dex |
|---|---|
Pachirisu | Sinnoh |
Munchlax | Sinnoh |
Aipom | Sinnoh |
Ambipom | Sinnoh |
Meowth | National |
Teddiursa | National |
Phanpy | National |
Zigzagoon | National |
Linoon | National |
To take this even further, the items that a Pokemon picks up are determined by the Pokemon's level. Pokemon won't start picking up Rare Candies until they reach level 11, and even then, the chance of picking up a Rare Candy is 1%. Once they're level 51, the percentage is raised to 4%.
Once a Pokemon is level 71-80 and 91-100, it has a 5% chance of picking up a Rare Candy. Remember that there are several other items that Pokemon with Pickup have a chance of holding. Chances are a Pokemon will be picking up Hyper Potions (30%) more than Rare Candies by the time they reach level 71.
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Pokemon Shining Pearl are available on Nintendo Switch.
