While most wild Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Brilliant Pearl can be found in tall grass or in caves, some prehistoric monsters can only be obtained in a special way: by reviving them from fossils. These, however, only spawn in the Great Underground, and they can be a bit tricky to get your hands on, so here’s an overview of how to get fossils and where to revive them.
Where to find Pokemon Fossils
There are two fossil Pokémon in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl: Cranidos and Shieldon. The former is a pure rock type and resurrected from the Skull Fossil, while the latter is rock/steel and resurrected from the Armor Fossil.
Unlike other Pokemon games, which usually let you choose between the two fossils at a certain point in the story, which one you receive in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl is determined by which version you play. The Skull Fossil is only found in Brilliant Diamond, while the Armor Fossil is exclusive to Shining Pearl.
The fossils themselves are also a little harder to find than in other Pokemon games. Rather than just receiving one from a certain character, you’ll have to mine the fossils of the Great Underground yourself – a sprawling network of tunnels beneath Sinnoh’s surface. Once you’ve received the Eterna City Underground Man Explorer Kit, you can use it to travel to the Great Underground at will, where you can dig up fossils and other treasures.
After getting the National Dex, you will also be able to find other Pokemon Fossils, such as the Old Amber, in the Great Underground.
How to dig up fossils
Fossils are among the various treasures you can find while mining walls in the Great Underground, so your best chance of getting them is to be persistent and mine often. Press the R button while exploring the Great Underground to use the radar. Once you spot a glowing wall, interact with it to start the mining mini-game.
You will have to play a mining mini-game to dig up fossils and other treasures.
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The minigame itself is a bit reminiscent of Minesweeper. Tapping different parts of the wall with your hammer or pickaxe will clear that section and potentially reveal treasure below. However, each faucet will decrease the structural integrity of the wall, so you will need to carefully consider which parts of the wall to tap into. If you find treasure, you must fully reveal it before the wall collapses to retrieve it.
How to revive fossils
Once you’ve acquired a Pokémon Fossil, bring it to the Oreburg City Mine Museum. Talk to the man at the front desk and he’ll ask if you want to revive the fossil. Turn in the fossil, then the next time you visit the facility, you can claim your Pokemon.
Pokemon Shiny Diamond and Shiny Pearl are now available on Nintendo Switch. Anyone who purchases a copy of either game before February 21 can receive a free manaphy egg via Mystery Gift. Players who have save data for Pokemon Sword/Shield and Let’s Go, Pikachu/Eevee may also receive a free Jirachi and Mew.