Pokémon BDSP: How To Find (& Catch) Bagon

One of the Pokémon that players can get in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl is Bagon, a Dragon-type and the pre-evolved form of Salamence. Bagon and its evolved forms were originally introduced in Pokémon Ruby and Pokémon Sapphire, and Salamance quickly became a staple Pokémon to use in many competitive and casual teams. Bagon is once more available for trainers to capture in the Sinnoh region, but it happens to be one of the many exclusive Pokémon in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.

Bagon’s final evolved form, Salamence, is a Dragon and Flying-type Pokémon that has an identical stat total to that of Dragonite. While the two may be the same type of Pokémon, Salamence has a much higher maximum Speed stat than Dragonite, at the cost of Defense and Special Defense stats. Additionally, Salamence has a higher Special Attack stat than Dragonite, but the two share nearly identical HP and Attack stats with less than five points of difference. For players who are looking for a highly competitive alternative to Garchomp, another speedy Dragon-type, Salamence is an excellent choice to include when building the best competitive team in Pokémon BDSP.

Bagon can only be found in Pokémon Shining Pearl, which means any Brilliant Diamond owners will have to request a trade in order to add Bagon to their team. Using the online Global Room in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond is the easiest method to find a Bagon, other than owning a second Switch and a copy of Shining Pearl. The Global Room is a section of the Union Room in the Pokémon Center that allows trainers to trade Pokémon with other trainers from around the world. Bagon can only be obtained in Shining Pearl after the National Dex has been unlocked, so a great gesture would be to locate and catch Larvitar in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond to trade for Bagon. Larvitar can also only be obtained after receiving the National Dex and is the Brilliant Diamond exclusive equivalent to Bagon.

How To Find & Catch Bagon In Pokémon Shining Pearl

In the wild, Bagon can be found on Route 212 where the fog is thick outside of Celestic Town. By using the Poké Radar, players can find Bagon, and Shiny Bagon, with relative ease. Bagon is unobtainable without the Poké Radar and can be found at a level relative to that of other wild Pokémon in the area.

Fortunately, quality-of-life upgrades to Pokémon BDSP allow trainers to find Bagon in the Grand Underground as well. Bagon can be found in the Stargleam Cavern, Spacious Cave, and Dazzling Cave after obtaining the National Dex in Pokémon Shining Pearl. Players will need to place plenty of dragon statues in a secret base to increase the chances of finding Bagon in any of these three caves. Bagon can also be found above level 50 in the Grand Underground, and players can also find its immediate evolved form, Shelgon. Bagon normally begins evolving into Shelgon at level 30, and Shelgon into Salamence at level 50, making searching the Grand Underground the easiest method for grabbing all three of these Dragon-types in Pokémon Shining Pearl.

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are available now for the Nintendo Switch.

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