Free Manaphy For Pokemon Brilliant Diamond And Shining Pearl Available At Launch

Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl release for Nintendo Switch on November 19, and The Pokemon Company is giving away a special gift for early adopters. Everyone who purchases a copy of either version before February 21, 2022 can claim a free egg containing the Mythical Pokemon Manaphy in their game.

The egg will be distributed via the Mystery Gift function, which unlocks approximately two hours into the adventure, The Pokemon Company estimates. After you've claimed the egg, keep it in your party and it will eventually hatch into Manaphy after you've walked enough steps. You'll need to have an internet connection in order to claim the Manaphy egg, but a Nintendo Switch Online subscription is not required.

What's unique about Manaphy is that it can produce a different Pokemon. If you leave Manaphy and a Ditto together at the nursery in Solaceon Town, you'll be able to obtain a special egg that hatches into another rare Pokemon called Phione. Neither Manaphy nor Phione can be caught in the wild, making this the only way to obtain them.

Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are remakes of the original Diamond and Pearl versions for the DS. While the pair stay largely true to the original titles, they also introduce some new features, including trainer customization and Pokemon Hideaways. The latter are new areas in the Sinnoh Grand Underground where certain kinds of Pokemon can be found. You can learn more about the titles in our Pokemon Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl preorder guide.

Those aren't the only Pokemon games on the way to Switch. Pokemon Legends: Arceus is coming to the console on January 28, and it has its own early purchase bonus. Players who pick up the game before May 9, 2022 will be able to claim a Hisuian Growlithe Kimono Set for their trainer. As before, the freebie will be distributed via Mystery Gift, which unlocks roughly two hours into the quest. Additionally, The Pokemon Company has confirmed it will roll out Pokemon Home support for Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl and Pokemon Legends in 2022.