It’s been three months since the launch of Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, but the games still haven’t added Wonder Trading. The remakes of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl released on November 19, 2021 and have received three patches since, plus a day one patch prior to its official release. The games’ most recent update, Version 1.2.0, released on February 22, but still hasn’t incorporated Wonder Trading.
Most of Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl’s patches have focused on bug fixes big and small, and the 1.2.0 update is no exception. But the newest update also includes updates to online play, including Colosseum Mode, which leads one to hope that Wonder Trading - and other online features of the Global Wonder Station - will be on their way soon. But without any sort of concrete announcement, the future of Wonder Trading in both Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl is uncertain.
The Global Wonder Station, or GWS, is in Jubilife City but as of yet inaccessible. It takes the place of the Global Trade Station, or GTS, that was in the original Diamond and Pearl games. There’s a lot to suggest that the GWS will give players access to Wonder Trading, such as the building’s name - which includes the name for “Wonder” Trading in every language - and the fact that the original GTS’s functions have been consolidated into Pokémon Home. Home includes not only the global trading that the GTS is named after and brought into the series, but it also allows players to Wonder Trade up to three Pokémon at a time (or up to 10 at a time with a Plan). But Pokémon BDSP currently aren’t Home compatible, so it looks like Wonder Trading may be added along with Home connectivity. Still, it’s been three months since Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl’s launch, and the lack of updates in this area have been peculiar.
What Is Wonder Trading (& Why Pokémon BDSP Should Have It)
Wonder Trading was first added to the Pokémon series in X and Y as part of the games’ myriad connectivity features. During a Wonder Trade, players select a Pokémon to trade, and then get matched up with another player randomly to exchange Pokémon. What players get is entirely random, meaning some exchanges will result in common Pokémon like Caterpie or Pidgey.
But Wonder Trading is also a great way to empty PC boxes after breeding BDSP Pokémon for IVs. Because the process for getting perfect IVs on a Pokémon usually takes many tries, players’ PC boxes tend to fill up fast with hatched Pokémon along the way. Many of these players use Wonder Trading to send these Pokémon off to other players. They usually already have some perfect IVs - and perhaps even Egg Moves, Hidden Ability, and a special Poké Ball - which makes them really nice surprises to receive on Wonder Trade that make up for the less ideal exchanges.
The games following X and Y include Wonder Trading in some form, too, from Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire’s own PSS to Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon’s Festival Plaza. Sword and Shield’s Surprise Trading, accessed through the Y-Comm, functions in the same way as Wonder Trading, and Pokémon Home includes the Wonder Box to Wonder Trade numerous Pokémon at once. But by not having access to in-game or Home-based Wonder Trading, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl players are missing out on not only a fun, unique way to trade Pokémon, but for same players, perhaps even a special way to play the game.
Players have taken advantage of Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl’s glitches to speedrun the games at breakneck paces, and the games’ return to simplicity make them fun choices to do challenge runs for, including the classic Nuzlocke challenge. Wonderlockes are a type of Nuzlocke challenge where players follow the hardcore Nuzlocke rulesets while also Wonder Trading their caught Pokémon and using whatever they receive on their team. Players who like to do unique challenge runs when they play Pokémon games, like Nuzlockes or solo challenges, will have one less option at their disposal despite Wonder Trading becoming a series staple since X and Y.
When Pokémon BDSP Might Add Wonder Trading
There’s currently no concrete information about when Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl could add Wonder Trading, although it’s likely to come alongside Pokémon Home connectivity. It was originally announced that Home connectivity would arrive sometime in 2022, but no further details have been given. Fans predict February might have been the month for Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl to finally receive the update to connect to Home - and, subsequently, open up the GWS and Wonder Trading - but the month is nearly over and no such update or announcement has arrived.
Fans know February to be the month of Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl’s patches have released with numerous weeks between them.
If Wonder Trade, the GWS, and Pokémon Home connectivity were to arrive soon, it’s a bit surprising as to why the 1.2.0 patch released on February 22 rather than waiting to include all these features together. Still, Wonder Trade - and the GWS in general - shouldn’t have to be coupled to Home connectivity in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. Fans have greatly enjoyed Wonder Trading - despite all the Weedle and Rattata - since its introduction into the series, and it should be treated as its own kind of trading separate from Home, just as Sword and Shield implemented it. Ideally, Wonder Trading will arrive in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl soon, and perhaps even earlier than Pokémon BDSP and Home implementation; but with how seamlessly it fits into the series’ idea of whimsy and connectivity, Wonder Trading itself really should be included as a launch feature in future Pokémon titles.
