Grand Underground
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| Recommended Level: | {{{reclvl}}} | ||||
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| Map description: | {{{mapdesc}}} | ||||
| Location: | BeneathSinnoh | ||||
| Region: | Sinnoh | ||||
| Generations: | VIII | ||||
![]() Location of Grand Underground inSinnoh. | |||||
| Pokémon world locations | |||||
TheGrand Underground (Japanese:地下大洞窟Grand Underground Cave) is an area inPokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl found beneath the entireSinnohregion. Players can travel to the Grand Underground using anExplorer Kit, given to the player by theUnderground Man inEterna City.
It takes the place of theUnderground fromPokémon Diamond, Pearl, andPlatinum.
Changes from Diamond and Pearl

- The map is still split into six disjoint areas like the original Underground, but the sizes and locations of the six areas do not match those of the original Underground.
- Areas now include Pokémon Hideaways, and each area now corresponds to a different aesthetic environment.
- The digging minigame returns following closely to its original incarnation with the exception of digging up Pokémon statues, which come from Stone Boxes.
- If the player runs out of digging spots, more will appear once the player enters and exits a Hideaway.
- As of theversion 1.1.0 update, after the Sinnoh Pokédex is completed,Mysterious Shard S andMysterious Shard L will start appearing in the underground for use inRamanas Park.
- Secret Bases return and are created using aDigger Drill as before.
- Bases can only be decorated with statues and pedestals to place them on.
- The flag stealing mechanic has been removed.
- Goods andTraps, with the sole exception of the Digger Drill, have been removed.
- Spheres no longer have a numerical size and are instead categorized as Small or Large. They can no longer be buried either.
- Instead of goods or traps, merchants (who appear asHikers) in the Grand Underground can exchange treasures and for spheres. Spheres can now be exchanged for pedestals, items, and TMs.
- Some Hikers found in the Grand Underground allow the player to rest, acting as aPokémon Center.
- The radar is now triggered by pressing [R] and searches the area around the player's location.
- The Grand Underground supports online communication, compared to the original games which only supported local communication.
- Steps taken in the Grand Underground count towardsEgg distance as well as the step counter app.
- Diglett andDugtrio will occasionally pop out and leave pink sparkles that give 1 and 3 points respectively, and accumulating 40 of these points causes"something good to happen". This results in a variety of special effects lasting for a period of 4 minutes, which begins and ends when a whistle is heard:
- The odds to encounter aShiny Pokémon in Hideaways is raised from 1/4096 to 1/2048.
- All Stone Boxes found while digging will be Gorgeous Stone Boxes.
- The progress gauge and bonus period is shared between all players connected to the same instance of the Grand Underground. If all connected players leave the Grand Underground, this gauge resets to zero.
Zones
The Grand Underground is organized into six zones, with each zone containing Pokémon Hideaways.
| North-western | East and West | North-eastern |
|---|---|---|
| South-western | Central | South-eastern |
Pokémon Hideaways
Pokémon Hideaways (Japanese:ポケモンの隠れ家Pokémon Hideaway) are new places wherewild Pokémon can be encountered. Unlike the main overworld, these areas featuresymbol encounters. Each of the six areas contain at least one large Hideaway (known as Caverns), and multiple, smaller Hideaways (known as Caves) scattered throughout the map. Various hideaways - particularly larger areas - include items for Trainers to discover.
After the player fulfills the following objectives during their adventure, another group of Pokémon are added to the pool of possible encounters, with some requiringSurf in order to access:
- ObtainingTM96 (Strength)
- ObtainingTM97 (Defog)
- Earning theIcicle Badge
- ObtainingTM99 (Waterfall)
- Obtaining theNational Pokédex
With each additional badge earned by the player, the levels of wild Pokémon are increased.
| Progression | Level Ranges |
|---|---|
| 1 Badge | 16-20 |
| 2 Badges | 25-29 |
| 3 Badges | 29-33 |
| 4 Badges | 33-37 |
| 5 Badges | 36-40 |
| 6 Badges | 39-43 |
| 7 Badges | 42-46 |
| 8 Badges | 50-55 |
| Elite Four defeated | 58-63 |
Additionally, all Pokémon in the Hideaways will have at least oneEgg Move if applicable, unlocking some Egg Moves that would otherwise be unobtainable, e.g.Aura Sphere forSquirtle.
Item appearances
When mining, there is a chance for an item to be found in a bulging wall. Some items have requirements to appear, such as Mysterious Shards, only found after obtaining the National Pokedex and fossils of Pokémon not native to Sinnoh, which can only be found after defeating or capturingDialgaBD orPalkiaSP.
Pokémon Statues
Much like Spheres and Fossils, Stone Boxes associated with each Pokémontype can be found by digging. There are two kinds, the commonly seenPretty Stone Boxes and the rarerGorgeous Stone Boxes, which give the playerStandard Statues andColor Statues respectively.
When placed in a player's Secret Base, the chance of seeing a Pokémon of the corresponding type in Hideaways increases. Only the type with the greatest number of statues of the corresponding type will have a boosted effect, which is indicated by the color of the orb placed next to the entrance of the player's base. This "Statue Effect" is increased for every statue of that type that is placed in the player's Secret Base. If the Pokémon has two types, the primary type of the Pokémon has a greater effect than its secondary type in determining which type has a boosted effect. Hence, if only one statue of a dual-typed Pokémon is placed, the boosted type will correspond to the Pokémon's primary type. Furthermore, larger statues of any type provide a greater effect. A maximum of 18 statues can be placed at one time.
Catching aLegendary Pokémon inRamanas Park will reward the player with a statue of that Pokémon for their Secret Base. These Statues cannot be found normally whilst digging underground.
A player's chance of finding a Gorgeous Stone Box can be temporarily increased for four minutes by collecting 40Diglett that can be found scattered throughout the Grand Underground. Each Diglett counts as one towards the tally, while encountering aDugtrio counts as three. This count is reset when the player leaves the Grand Underground.
List of Stone Boxes
| Stone Box | Normal | Fighting | Flying | Poison | Ground | Rock | Bug | Ghost | Steel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pretty | |||||||||
| Gorgeous | |||||||||
| Stone Box | Fire | Water | Grass | Electric | Psychic | Ice | Dragon | Dark | Fairy |
| Pretty | |||||||||
| Gorgeous |
Secret Base

Similar toPokémon Diamond, Pearl, andPlatinum, the player is able to create aSecret Base within the Grand Underground using aDigger Drill. However, unlike the previous games, the Secret Base can only be decorated with statues and pedestals to place them on. The size of a Secret Base can be expanded by exchanging spheres with one of the merchants in the Grand Underground. Like in the original, a player can only have a single base at a time.
List of pedestals
Statues can be placed on pedestals. These pedestals can be exchanged from merchants in the Grand Underground. Certain pedestals can also be purchased at theVeilstone Department Store, and also received from theUnderground Man as a reward for completing certain tasks.
| Size | Square Pedestal | Round Pedestal | Sturdy Pedestal | Clear Pedestal | Spin Pedestal | Spinback Pedestal | Dawn Pedestal | Night Pedestal | Diamond Pedestal | Pearl Pedestal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XS | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| S | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| M | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| L | ||||||||||
| XL |
Merchants
Spheres can be used to exchange for pedestals and various items, such asTMs. There are three types of merchants in the Grand Underground:
- Small sphere merchants allow the player to purchase additionalDigger Drills, small or medium pedestals, and TMs which change daily.
- Large sphere merchants who offer large or extra large pedestals, and a different set of TMs.
- An item exchange merchant, who will give spheres in exchange for items that can be dug out. Additionally, he can also be paid to expand the player'sSecret Base.
Small sphere merchant
| Item | Cost | Days available |
|---|---|---|
| Digger Drill | Always, after receiving a Digger Drill from theUnderground Man | |
| Red Sphere L | One random choice each day | |
| Green Sphere L | ||
| Blue Sphere L | ||
| Prism Sphere L | ||
| Pale Sphere L | ||
| Square Pedestal XS | Monday, Friday, Sunday | |
| Square Pedestal S | Monday, Sunday | |
| Square Pedestal M | Monday, Saturday, Sunday | |
| Sturdy Pedestal XS | Wednesday, Friday, Sunday | |
| Sturdy Pedestal S | Wednesday, Sunday | |
| Sturdy Pedestal M | Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday | |
| Round Pedestal XS | Tuesday, Friday, Sunday | |
| Round Pedestal M | Tuesday, Saturday, Sunday | |
| Clear Pedestal XS | Thursday, Friday, Sunday | |
| Clear Pedestal S | Thursday, Sunday | |
| Clear Pedestal M | Thursday, Saturday, Sunday | |
| Spin Pedestal XS | Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday | |
| Spinback Pedestal XS | Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday | |
| TM01 | Random selection of TMs each day | |
| TM03 | ||
| TM04 | ||
| TM06 | ||
| TM08 | ||
| TM09 | ||
| TM12 | ||
| TM23 | ||
| TM34 | ||
| TM41 | ||
| TM45 | ||
| TM46 | ||
| TM47 | ||
| TM48 | ||
| TM49 | ||
| TM55 | ||
| TM56 | ||
| TM57 | ||
| TM60 | ||
| TM61 | ||
| TM62 | ||
| TM63 | ||
| TM65 | ||
| TM66 | ||
| TM67 | ||
| TM69 | ||
| TM72 | ||
| TM73 | ||
| TM76 | ||
| TM77 | ||
| TM81 | ||
| TM82 | ||
| TM85 | ||
| TM86 | ||
| TM87 | ||
| TM88 | ||
| TM91 | ||
| TM92 | ||
| TM93 | ||
| TM94 | ||
| TM96 | ||
| TM97 | ||
| TM98 | ||
| TM100 |
Large sphere merchant
| Item | Cost | Days available |
|---|---|---|
| Red Sphere S×40 | One random choice each day | |
| Green Sphere S×40 | ||
| Blue Sphere S×40 | ||
| Prism Sphere S×40 | ||
| Pale Sphere S×40 | ||
| Square Pedestal L | Monday, Friday, Sunday | |
| Square Pedestal XL | Monday, Saturday, Sunday | |
| Sturdy Pedestal L | Wednesday, Friday, Sunday | |
| Sturdy Pedestal XL | Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday | |
| Round Pedestal L | Tuesday, Friday, Sunday | |
| Round Pedestal XL | Tuesday, Saturday, Sunday | |
| Clear Pedestal L | Thursday, Friday, Sunday | |
| Clear Pedestal XL | Thursday, Saturday, Sunday | |
| Spin Pedestal M | Monday, Wednesday, Sunday | |
| Spin Pedestal L | Monday, Wednesday, Sunday | |
| Spin Pedestal XL | Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday | |
| Spinback Pedestal M | Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday | |
| Spinback Pedestal L | Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday | |
| Spinback Pedestal XL | Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday | |
| Night Pedestal L | Tuesday, Sunday | |
| Night Pedestal XL | Thursday, Sunday | |
| Dawn Pedestal L | Monday, Sunday | |
| Dawn Pedestal XL | Wednesday, Sunday | |
| Diamond Pedestal L | Monday, Friday, Sunday | |
| Diamond Pedestal XL | Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday | |
| Pearl Pedestal L | Tuesday, Friday, Sunday | |
| Pearl Pedestal XL | Thursday, Saturday, Sunday | |
| TM02 | Random selection of TMs each day | |
| TM05 | ||
| TM19 | ||
| TM26 | ||
| TM30 | ||
| TM31 | ||
| TM36 | ||
| TM39 | ||
| TM40 | ||
| TM42 | ||
| TM43 | ||
| TM50 | ||
| TM51 | ||
| TM53 | ||
| TM59 | ||
| TM64 | ||
| TM71 | ||
| TM78 | ||
| TM79 | ||
| TM80 | ||
| TM84 | ||
| TM95 | ||
| TM99 |
Secret base expansion
| Number of spheres required | Expansion |
|---|---|
| Increases size of Secret Base to 14×8 tiles | |
| Increases size of Secret Base to 14×10 tiles |
Artwork
| Key artwork ofLucas andDawn in the Grand Underground from Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl |
Trivia
- Despite the change in its layout, the Grand Underground maintainsrotational symmetry, similar to theUnderground.
In other languages
| Language | Title | |
|---|---|---|
| Chinese | Cantonese | 地下大洞窟Deihhah Daaihduhngfāt |
| Mandarin | 地下大洞窟Dìxià Dàdòngkū | |
| French | Grands Souterrains | |
| German | Untergrundhöhlen | |
| Italian | Grandi Sotterranei | |
| Korean | 지하대동굴Jiha Daedonggul | |
| Russian | Великое подземельеVelikoye podzemel'ye | |
| Spanish | Grutas del Subsuelo | |
Pokémon Hideaway
| Language | Title | |
|---|---|---|
| Chinese | Cantonese | 寶可夢秘巢Pokémon Beichàauh |
| Mandarin | 寶可夢秘巢 / 宝可梦秘巢Pokémon Mìcháo | |
| French | Cachette de Pokémon | |
| German | Pokémon-Unterschlupf | |
| Italian | Rifugio di Pokémon | |
| Korean | 포켓몬 은신처Pokémon Eunsincheo | |
| Russian | Укрытие ПокемоновUkrytiye Pokémonov | |
| Spanish | Guarida Pokémon | |
Related articles
| Grand Underground Hideaways inPokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl |
|---|
| Caves |
| Caverns |
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| This article is part ofProject Locations, aBulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on every location in the Pokémon world. |

