On this guide for Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, we will be teaching you all the Pokémon you can encounter and items you can find in the Eterna Forest.
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl – Eterna Forest Location
The Eterna Forest is located in the Sinnoh region in the Pokémon world. You may already be familiar with this forest if you’ve played the older games or watched the anime. This forest lies in Route 205 and its best known for being a home towards many bug and grass type Pokémon.
This forest once again makes a return in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. And you’re going to have to travel Route 205 if you want to get to Eterna City, which means going through the Eterna Forest.
Map of Eterna Forest
Eterna Forest Objectives (Walkthrough)
The moment you step inside the Eterna Forest, there’s a few things you want to do to be able to pass. Here’s a walkthrough of what you have to do in the Eterna Forest.
Talk to the Girl by the Entrance
This girl introduces herself as Cheryl and is afraid to go through the forest alone. She’ll tag along with you. In the Eterna Forest, every battle is a team battle so having Cheryl as a partner will be quite useful.
Pass to the Grass on the Right and Head North
There will be several rival trainers in your way. Quite a handful of them have Pokémon that can inflict poison on yours. We highly recommend stocking up on Antidote before heading in.
Head Towards the East and then South
There will be a Paralyz Heal you can gather on the way, along with a Great Ball towards the south of the grass.
Move Far To the East
There is Potion by the trees you can get.
You Have to Keep Moving Until You Reach The End of the Grass
The entrance to the second part of Route 205 is in the northeast of the forest.
Move Through a Narrow Path Between the Trees
You’ve officially gone through the Eterna Forest and well on your way to Eterna City.
All Pokémon in Eterna Forest
The Eterna Forest is a thick dense forest; the kind of habitat preferred by bug and grass type Pokémon so expect to find a lot of them here. Here are all the Pokémon you can encounter and catch in the Eterna Forest.
We’ve separated them by what you can encounter in the tall grass and cave, to Pokémon you can encounter via swarm or Poké Radar for you convenience.
Pokémon in the Tall Grass and Caves
These type of Pokémon hide in the tall grass and caves. You’ll encounter plenty of them in the Eterna Forest.
Pokémon | Morning | Day | Night |
 Beautifly | Very Rare | Very Rare | Very Rare |
 Budew | Uncommon | Uncommon | Rare |
 Buneary | Rare | Rare | Rare |
 Cascoon | Uncommon | Uncommon | Uncommon |
 Dustox | Very rare | Very rare | Very rare |
 Murkow | None | None | Uncommon |
 Silcoon | Uncommon | Uncommon | Uncommon |
 Wurmple | Common | Common | Uncommon |
Pokémon Encounter Through Swarm
There’s only really one Pokémon you can encounter in the Eterna Forest via Swarm. You’d have to unlock the National Dex first though.
Pokémon | Chance of Encounter |
 Slakoth | Common |
Pokémon Encounter Through Poké Radar
Poké Radar typically detect Pokémon who aren’t native to the Sinnoh region. There’s only one type of Pokémon residing in Eterna forest you can find using this method.
Pokémon | Chance of Encounter |
 Nincada | Uncommon |
All Items In Eterna Forest
Eterna Forest has five types of items you can find by wandering around. Here’s all of them and what they do:
- Antidotes – cures your Pokémon from poison.
- Great Balls – has a higher chance of capturing Pokémon than a regular Pokéball.
- Potions – heals a good amount of HP for your Pokémon.
- Paralyz Heals – cures your Pokémon from paralysis.
- Honey – can be used to attract wild Pokémon.
Rival Trainers in Eterna Forest
There are several rival trainers you’ll encounter in the Eterna Forest in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. Though no one in particular stands out to be a tough challenge.
Since you’ll be with Cheryl on your journey through Route 205, battles in Eterna Forest first time around will be team battles. Most of the trainers here use either bug, or psychic type Pokémon against you.
Here’s every trainer you’ll battle in the Eterna Forest:
Lass Briana and Bug Catcher Jack
This duo will use bug, flying, and electric type Pokémon.
- Pokémon: Lvl 9 Wurmple, Lvl 11 Silcoon, Lvl 13 Beautifly, Lvl 14 Pachirisu
- Notable Moves: Poison Sting
- Notable Abilities: Shield Dust
- Reward: ₽432
Psychics Lindsey and Elijah
Like the name suggests, this duo will use psychic type Pokémon.
- Pokémon: Lvl 15 Abra, Lvl 15, Abra
- Notable Moves: Energy Ball
- Notable Abilities: Synchronize
- Reward: ₽960
Bug Catchers Philip and Donald
This duo will use exclusively bug type Pokémon with a few of them knowing poison moves.
- Pokémon: Lvl 9 Wurmple, Lvl 11 Cascoon, Lvl 13 Dustox, Lvl 12 Burmy, Lvl 12 Kricketune
- Notable Moves: Poison Sting (Wurmple), Fury Cutter (Kricketune)
- Notable Abilities: Swarm (Kricketune)
- Reward: ₽400
Psychic Cody and Rachael
This duo will use psychic type Pokémon against you with elements of water and fighting. Probably the toughest of all the trainers in the area.
- Pokémon: Lvl 15 Meditite, Lvl 15 Psyduck
- Notable Moves: Low Kick (Meditite), Fury Swipes (Psyduck)
- Notable Abilities: Pure Power (Meditite)
- Reward: ₽960
Tips and Strategies For Eterna Forest
When entering the Eterna Forest in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, here are tips and tricks we can give you to thrive on this part of your journey.
Take Advantage While Cheryl is with You
Your partner will heal your Pokémon every after battle. This means you get to save up on Potions and Antidotes for later. Once Cheryl leaves your company shortly after you exit the Eterna Forest you can no longer have this benefit.
Once Cheryl leaves, you also will now start encountering 1v1 battles against wild Pokémon so if you’re taking advantage of double hunting you need Cheryl with you.
Find and Catch Murkow
Murkow can be pretty challenging to catch. This dark type flying Pokémon can only be encountered during nighttime. And even then, Murkow is a pretty uncommon find.
It is in your best interest to catch Murkow as it can evolve into a powerful Honchkrow when you expose it to the Dusk Stone. Later in the game when you enter Team Rocket’s headquarters in Veilstone City you’ll encounter the Dusk Stone needed to evolve Murkow. Make sure to keep it at your side when you enter the headquarters.
Grinding XP in Eterna Forest
Eterna Forest is pretty early into the game. This makes it one of the better grind spots for new trainers to level up their Pokémon. We recommend this during your journey with Cheryl as she heals your Pokémon completely after each fight. This saves you the trip to the Poké Center and using your healing items.
You can level up beyond Lvl 20 to prepare battling against Gardenia in the following Gym.
Make Battles Quicker Using Multi-Target Moves
Since the battles in Eterna Forest are team battles, it’s a good idea to have Pokémon on your team that know multi-target moves that attack the opposing team. This will help make battles quicker.
If you chose Pipup as you starter Pokémon at the beginning of the game, chances are you’ve already learned Bubble which is a multi-target move.
Enter the Old Chateau
After beating Gardenia in Eterna City, consider coming back to the Eterna Forest after you’ve learned HM Cut. You can only acquire HM Cut after this battle. So you won’t be able to enter the Old Chateau in your first trip. The Old Chateau is located just near the exit of the Eterna Forest.
Ghastly can be encountered inside the Old Chateau. It’s a ghost type Pokémon that is everywhere in this area.
After you’ve finished the game, you should also come back to the Old Chateau during nighttime. One of the post-game content is an encounter with a Lvl 15 Rotom which is an electric type Pokémon living in one of the televisions inside the chateau.
We cannot stress enough that you should catch this Pokémon the first chance you get, as it will be the only time you encounter a Rotom in the game.