Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl finally lets you trade mons with strangers

Pokemon Brilliant Diamond
(Image credit: Nintendo)

Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl players can now use the Global Wonder Station to trade Pokemon with strangers, almost four months after release.

As shared by VGC, thanks to a recent Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl update (Ver. 1.3.0), players can now trade Pokemon online with strangers via the previously closed-off Global Wonder Station located in Jubilife City.

Prior to the update, players who attempted to enter the GWS were confronted with an NPC who said something along the lines of: "The Global Wonder Station isn’t ready yet." Now though, players are able to trade Pokemon with other trainers from all over the world, so long as both parties have an active Nintendo Switch Online membership. 

That isn’t to say that it was completely impossible to get into the GWS before the 1.3.0 update though, as you were able to pull off a menu glitch to get inside. Like you’d expect though, you still weren’t able to trade Pokemon this way as the servers were yet to be implemented into the game. You could, however, still trade via a link code - similar to Animal Crossing: New Horizons' Dodo Codes.

If you head to Jubilife City now though, you are not only able to confidently walk past the NPC that previously blocked your way, but you're also able to gain access to another NPC who stands on the other side of the GWS and offers to tell you your fortune.

Once inside the GWS, players can choose a point from the map to select a player to trade with, but if there’s nobody at the point you've chosen who is looking to trade, it will instead link you with somebody random. 

This isn’t the only thing added to Pokemon Diamond and Shining Pearl in the 1.3.0 update, as Pokemon Legends Arceus sends two 'mons to Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. It’s not quite as simple as going out and looking for them though as the two Pokemon in question - Arceus and Darkrai - can only be caught if a number of requirements are met. 

Just can’t wait for the next game in the Pokemon series? Take a look at our Pokemon Scarlet and Violet guide to find out everything you need to know about Gen 9. 

Hope Bellingham
News Writer

After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at GamesRadar+ before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training.  My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I'm also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.