Pokemon BDSP update stops trades of duplication glitch clones

Steven Rondina Published 22/02/2022

Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl’s duplication and cloning bugs threatened to kill any value for shiny Pokemon, but developers have found a way to protect against it with a new update.

In the new update for Pokemon BDSP, the developers began laying the foundation for exporting Pokemon out of Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl and importing Pokemon into them using Pokemon HOME. Included in that is a coding string for a “PokeDupeChecker” that is specifically designed to scan for Pokemon cloned using duplication and cloning glitches. The result is that cloned Pokemon will not be able to get traded or moved out of a player’s copy of Pokemon BDSP.

The “PokeDupeChecker” comes after multiple game-altering cloning bugs were discovered by Pokemon BDSP players. Players were able to duplicate Pokemon using the game’s buggy menus. This worked by effectively using one set of menus to move a group of Pokemon from one box into another, then using a different set of menus to keep them in place.

With shiny versions of every legendary Pokemon from the first four generations available in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, clones threatened to flood online trading with previously rare Pokemon. This change won’t completely stop this from happening, but will mitigate it to at least some degree.

Pokemon HOME updates arrive alongside cloned Pokemon changes for Brilliant Diamond, Shining Pearl

Locking up duplication glitch clones weren’t the only notable changes that arrived in Pokemon BDSP. Alongside this was framework for importing Pokemon from Pokemon Legends: Arceus.

The origin symbol from Pokemon was discovered by data miners, confirming that Pokemon from Legends: Arceus can be exported out of the game. Though this was discovered in Pokemon BDSP, it’s likely that this means Legends: Arceus Pokemon will be exportable to other titles in the future, and possibly Sword and Shield as well. 

What’s uncertain is how Poke Balls will work in this. Pokemon Legends: Arceus introduced a number of new Poke Balls and reimagined items like the Heavy Ball. At present, those are set to be replaced with the unused “Strange Ball” which was previously used with bugged or invalid Poke Ball IDs.

Though the foundation has been laid for a Pokemon HOME update for Legends: Arceus, Brilliant Diamond, and Shining Pearl, those games are not yet compatible with the service. That may change in the near future.

Steven Rondina

About Steven Rondina

Steven Rondina is a true lifelong gamer. His earliest memories are of playing video games, and he has continued playing them throughout his life with no plans to stop any time soon. Steven’s favorite franchises in gaming include Pokemon, Dark Souls, and Counter-Strike. He has previously published with Bleacher Report and other gaming outlets.

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