As players make their way through Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Pokemon Shining Pear l, they will encounter an NPC that is capable of teaching a Pokemon any move that it may have forgotten. This NPC will not offer his services free-of-charge, though, and fans will need to entice him with a special item. That special item is a Heart Scale, and this guide details all of the ways that Pokemon BDSP players can get one.
Updated on May 24th 2025 by Renri Seong: Pokemon can learn a variety of moves, but they can only remember four at a time. Training your Pokemon requires knowing which moves to keep and which ones to forget. In some cases, trainers may accidentally get rid of a move that they'll wish they kept. If this happens, and you want to remember the move, you're going to need an item called a Heart Scale. Although Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl is a Gen 8 game, it's an extremely faithful remaster of the original Diamond & Pearl. This means you can't remember/forget moves simply by going into a Pokemon's summary page. The following guide has been updated to include images of the exact locations where you can find every Heart Scale in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl.
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl: How to Hatch the Egg from Hearthome Hiker and What's Inside
Pokemon BDSP players will receive a mysterious egg from a Hiker in Hearthome City, and here's how to hatch it and what it contains.
Where to Find Every Heart Scale in BDSP
BDSP Heart Scale Locations
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, there are only two fixed locations where you can find Heart Scales. If you want to get more than two, which you'll likely need, you'll have to do some work. Here's every location/way you can get Heart Scales in BDSP:
Route 212
The first guaranteed Heart Scale can be found on Route 212, which is west from Pastoria City. You'll need to use the Dowsing App to find it. Here's what to do:
- Exit Pastoria City from the south, and take the path leading out to the west.
- Keep going west until you see a house by the lake with a Parasol Lady standing outside. This is the Shard Trader's house, so if you have any Blue, Green, or Red Shards, you can exchange them for TMs. However, you're looking for the Heart Scale, so...
- To the right of the Shard Trader's house is a line of trees and a bog. In the northeast corner of the bog, framed by the line of trees, you can find a Heart Scale.
- Use the Dowsing App in the location pictured above to find it. Alternatively, you can keep tapping the A-button until your character picks it up.
Route 214
Your next Heart Scale is on Route 214, which you may have already collected before the one on Route 212. Like the Route 212 Heart Scale, you'll need the Dowsing App. Here's what to do:
- To get to Route 214, take the south exit from Veilstone City.
- Keep going south, and you'll find a Psychic (trainer). To the left of this Psychic trainer, and to the right of the cliff with the Ruin Maniac's Cave, there's a row of tall glass with a blank patch between the white fence and the cliffside.
- Inspect the blank square among the grass to get the Heart Scale. You can refer to the exact location in the above image.
Grand Underground
Once you've collected the Heart Scales from Route 212 and Route 214, you'll only be able to get Heart Scales from the Grand Underground (pre-National Dex). Inspect areas (A-button) marked with a gold sparkle on your minimap to find loose walls. You can use the R-button to search for loose walls with a radar, making it much easier to find them.
Upon inspecting a loose wall, you'll be launched into a minigame. You have to break the rock/dirt to uncover treasures. At the start of each minigame, you'll be notified of how many items are in the wall. Take note of the giant crack in the top bar on your screen. Each time you strike the wall, that crack will grow. Once it reaches the other end of the screen, you'll be booted from the minigame.
The pickaxe is the better tool for mining. Using the hammer clears away more tiles, but it also makes the crack grow quicker.
Unfortunately, there's no way to guarantee Heart Scales spawning in the walls. You'll just have to keep inspecting walls until you find them.
Luvdisc
Once you have the National Dex and cleared the Elite Four, you can start catching Luvdisc. This is a Pokemon that can only be caught with the Super Rod in the waters on Route 224. Route 224 can be reached through the tunnel that was blocked by the man near the end of Victory Road. The quickest way to reach Route 224 is to enter Victory Road from the Pokemon League building side.
If the man is gone, you can go deeper into the cave. Here, you'll meet Marley if you haven't already. On this floor, you'll want to use Defog to clear up your surroundings. Head northeast and you'll find a way outside. This will take you to Route 224.
Once you're on Route 224, go to the shore and use the Super Rod. The Luvdisc you hook will be around level 28. There's a 50% chance of Luvdisc holding a Heart Scale, which is exceptionally high for wild Pokemon that carry items.
If you're struggling to fish up Luvdisc, then you should have a Pokemon with one of the following Abilities:
|
Pokemon w/ Ability |
|
|---|---|
|
Suction Cups |
|
|
Sticky Hold |
|
|
No Guard |
|
These Abilities prevent Pokemon from fleeing in battle make it easier to hook Pokemon when fishing. Set the Pokemon with Suction Cups/Sticky Hold/No Guard to the front of the party, and then go fishing for Luvdisc on Route 224.
If you don't want to catch every Luvdisc you encounter, then bring out a Pokemon with the Frisk Ability. This will notify you if the wild Luvdisc is holding a Heart Scale. You can also use a move like Thief to steal the Heart Scale without having to catch the Pokemon.
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl: How to Get Lucky Egg
The Lucky Egg is a fantastic item to have for leveling Pokemon in Pokemon Shining Pearl and Pokemon Brilliant Diamond.
Why You Should Get Heart Scales
Where to Find the Move Tutor
Although getting Heart Scales can be time-consuming, having a couple in the Bag can prove beneficial. Pokemon tend to learn stronger moves as they evolve, but sometimes that "strong move" is learned at "level 1."
For example, Gallade learns Night Slash, a Dark-type move, at level 1. However, Ralts doesn't evolve into Kirlia until level 20, who can't evolve into Gallade if it isn't male, and if players don't have a Dawn Stone to use on him. Meaning by the time you get Gallade, he won't be able to learn Night Slash by leveling up because he's well past the level where he's supposed to learn it.
This is where the Heart Scales and the Move Tutor in Pastoria City come in handy. Using Heart Scales at the Move Tutor in BDSP allows you to teach your Pokemon any move it should have already learned. Remember that a Pokemon must have "learned" the move first. So, if Gallade is level 56, then it can't go to the Move Tutor and learn Close Combat, because it learns that move at level 63. Thus, Pokemon need to have their Moves "registered" before you can spend Heart Scales to relearn a high-leveled Move.
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 74 /100 Critics Rec: 53%
- Released
- November 19, 2021
- ESRB
- e
- Developer(s)
- ILCA
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Engine
- Unity
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
- Franchise
- Pokemon
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- RPG
