In the beginning, Arceus created three cosmic rulers. Dialga took dominion over time and showed up on the box for Pokemon Diamond. Palkia was responsible for space and popped up on the box for Pokemon Pearl. Giratina was told to control antimatter and — years after Diamond and Pearl — took its rightful place on the box for Pokemon Platinum.

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Along came Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl. Dialga and Palkia still have their spots on software cases, but poor Giratina is back to boxlessness. (That's not a word.) But don't feel too bad about it. Giratina is one of the strongest Pokemon in Sinnoh and a fantastic addition to any team.

Catching Giratina is a big deal in Pokemon BDSP. It marks the player's triumph over all three of Arceus' creations. The fight itself can punish unprepared players, with Giratina having access to some severe damage-dealers that will tear through under-leveled parties like paper.

Let our guide be your companion as we detail where to find this awe-inspiring legendary and how to catch it.

How to Unlock Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl's Post-Game Areas

If you've played Pokemon before, you'll know that the true titans of each regional Pokedex don't tend to make themselves known until after you've defeated the Elite Four. Indeed, Giratina cannot be caught until after you've become Sinnoh League Champion.

That's not the only stipulation. You also need to have seen all 151 Pokemon in the Sinnoh Dex, which prompts Professor Rowan to hand you a National Dex.

For the most part, seeing every Sinnoh Pokemon is easy. So long as you're battling trainers and putzing about a bit wherever wild Pokemon roam, you should get a good look at just about everyone over the course of the main story. To view the box legendary that your version lacks, head to Celestic Town after becoming the champion and speak with Cynthia's grandmother. She'll show you a picture of either Dialga or Palkia, respectively.

Now that those prerequisites are met, fly to Snowpoint City and speak with the sailor by the dock. He offers to bring you to a separate piece of land to Sinnoh's northeast. This sizable area is home to numerous individual sections, including Turnback Cave. Turnback Cave's where we'll find ourselves a Giratina.

Encountering Giratina in Turnback Cave

To reach Turnback Cave, head to Spring Path, which is on the eastern perimeter of Route 214. Follow it until it turns into Sendoff Spring. There's a climbable wall here. Ascend it and you will have reached Turnback Cave.

This is a strange place. Turnback Cave's layout is impossible to explain conventionally because its rooms are randomly generated upon every entry. You may encounter low visibility conditions, in which case you'll want to boot up Defog from your handy-dandy Poketch to clear the way.

One thing we can tell you is that regardless of the version of Turnback Cave you wind up with, you are going to discover three pillars, each in its own room. You'll know you're in business when you've found the third pillar. And by "in business," we mean you're about to come face-to-face with the most vicious legendary in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl.

How to Catch Giratina

We'll break this up into two sections: how to prepare for the encounter and the best ways to successfully catch your quarry.

Preparation

1. Bring Dusk Balls. Bring as many Dusk Balls as you can. If that means 100 Dusk Balls, then so be it.
2. Grab a few Timer Balls, too.
3. Make sure you have a Quick Ball.
4. Stock up on Full Restores and Revives/Max Revives. You're probably going to need them.
5. Shoot for your party to be at least around level 65. Ideally, you'll want to be somewhere in the 70s.
6. Giratina is Ghost/Dragon-type. This means its weaknesses include Ghost, Dragon, Dark, Fairy, and Ice.
7. Bring someone who knows Ice Beam. Bring someone else who knows False Swipe. If you can, have someone tag along who can lull Giratina into the Sleep status.

Battle

1. Start the fight by tossing a Quick Ball at Giratina on the very first turn. Quick Balls are useless after this, but there's always a slim chance you end the battle before it can begin, capturing Giratina immediately.
2. Chip away at Giratina's HP with super-effective attacks, taking care not to unleash anything too strong. This probably won't be a problem at first, but once its HP is in the yellow (and especially red) zone, cool it with the big guns and consider swapping to False Swipe.
3. In the meantime, status effects like Sleep, Paralyze, and Frozen will help. A Pokemon that's suffering from a harmful debuff is easier to catch.
4. On the other hand, refrain from using Poison or Burn. Too soon and to our sorrow do we sometimes nuke the Pokemon we're hoping to enlist — damage-over-time status effects inflicted on an enemy Pokemon will last for the entire battle, meaning Giratina is going to keep losing HP until it drops.
5. Chuck Dusk Ball after Dusk Ball whenever you've got the chance...
6. ...and if it feels like the fight's been dragging on forever, consider switching to Timer Balls, which work in the opposite manner from Quick Balls by gaining in catching power the longer a battle wears on.

When the dust settles and Giratina is yours, be sure to celebrate the old-fashioned way: by sending it out against some unsuspecting Youngster's Rattata or Bug Catcher's Caterpie.

Next: Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Complete Guide And Walkthrough