How to find and catch Heatran in Pokemon BDSP

Heatran is one of the hardest hitters in all of Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, and it’s a Pokemon worth building a team around. But how do you catch it?

The fire-steel type is one of the many legendaries that players can get in Pokemon BDSP, but catching it isn’t as simple as catching other Pokemon. There are a number of different hoops players need to jump through in order to catch Heatran, and it’s an arduous journey to reach it.

Players can only access Heatran once they defeat Cynthia and become the Sinnoh champion. From there, they have to traverse a new area of the map that’s designed to challenge the player’s party and ability to navigate the world. The challenge of the area is ultimately worth enduring in order to catch Heatran.

How to get Heatran in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl

Heatran can be found and caught inside Stark Mountain in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.

Stark Mountain can be found at the end of Route 227 in the furthest northeastern corner of the entire Sinnoh region. In order to reach Stark Mountain, players need to traverse a maze of climbable mountains, Surf through a tricky area, then do a number of tricks on their bike. These challenges aren’t actually difficult, but they do require a bit more precision in players’ movements than they normally would need to bother with in Pokemon games.

Once the player enters Stark Mountain, there’s a puzzle that requires the use of Strength. There is a rare instance of a player needing to push a boulder down a cliff on a ramp at its start, but past that it’s standard fare that isn’t particularly challenging.

After progressing through this, the player is greeted by Buck, who will follow the player for a time and help them in wild encounters and some double trainer battles. At the end of Stark Mountain, a cutscene will play and Buck will leave the player and head into a room where he will claim the Magma Stone. 

Buck then heads home to the Survival Area. Speak with Buck in his home, which is directly to the left of the Pokemon Center, and he will then give the player the Magma Stone. Return to the room where Buck found the item and Heatran will be awaiting the player for a battle.

Can you get Heatran before the Elite Four?

Heatran can only be encountered after defeating the Elite Four. 

In Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, Heatran is a legendary Pokemon that can only be found in an area that’s inaccessible until after defeating Cynthia to become champion. The only legendaries that players can capture in the games before defeating Cynthia are Dialga, Mesprit, Azelf, and Uxie. Players can also obtain mythical Pokemon Mew and Jirachi if they have saves from Pokemon Sword, Shield, Let’s Go Eevee, or Let’s Go Pikachu.