Pokémon BDSP speedrun record is now under 24 min. Jump over a ledge to enter the Pokémon League [UPDATE]

Publication date of the original Japanese article: 2021-12-01 19:01 (JST)
Translated by. Ryuki Ishii

[UPDATE 2021/12/02 17:04 JST]
Pokémon BDSP “Menu Storage” bug used in speedruns has been fixed. It was a crucial part of the current Any% speedrun routes. (related article)

[Update 2021/12/02 11:02 JST]
Werster already broke the world record by nearly 6 minutes. The new record is now 17 minutes and 17 seconds (Any%).

[Original Text]
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl (Pokémon BDSP) speedrun record (Any%) is now under 24 minutes. It was around 50 minutes just a few days ago, but now it’s reduced by half.

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are remakes of 2006’s Pokémon Diamond and Pearl for the Nintendo DS. The games are receiving praise for faithfully recreating the originals, but there have also been reports of numerous bugs. The presence of bugs can ruin the experience for normal players, but that’s not necessarily the case for speedrunners.

Speedrunners have been taking full advantage of bugs ever since the release of the games on November 19. The Any% speedrun record went sub 60 in about a week, with speedrunner Werster finishing the game in 50 minutes and 36 seconds. Soon afterward, PulseEffects followed suit with 49 minutes and 41 seconds record time (related article, in Japanese).

Their records didn’t last long, as Japanese speedrunner Carolio went sub 30 just a few days later. Carolio set a record of 25 minutes and 45 seconds on November 30 using the English version of Pokémon Shining Pearl. Carolio predicted at the time that “someone else will break the record by the end of the day.” While not on the same exact day, Werster did break the record soon later on December 1.

Werster’s new record is 23 minutes and 13 seconds. As with previous speedruns, Cynthia fight was skipped using the Repel item and a technique called Menu Storage which leaves the menu screen open while playing. Werster likely optimized the controls further since I can barely see Werster’s character now.

New routes are seemingly being found almost every day. “Been a blast working together with some legends in the community, had so much more fun with this game than I expected,” said Werster in the description of the video above. Werster also noted that it’s possible to reach “22 mins with optimized menuing,” but predicts “the next barrier (20 mins) might be very tough to get it.” Breaking the 20 minutes mark would require “a new type of skip for E4 stuff to save a significant amount of time.”

Currently, speedrunners are using Poké Dolls, which are normally used to escape fights with a wild Pokémon, to skip the Elite Four. Maybe the community will come up with a less humiliating way of skipping them in the near future.

A Reddit thread about Werster’s new record is receiving a lot of responses. Content creator EZScape commented that the main contributor to Werster’s new record is the use of “Ledgitate” technique. According to EZScape’s analysis, Werster “stores the height you get from jumping over a ledge which allows you to get OOB regardless and then stores the interaction of the GWS lady. When he’s near the Pokemon League he releases it and she pushes through the barrier.”

*OOB = Out of Bounds
*interaction of the GWS lady” = A conversation event at Global Wonder Station where the protagonist is forced to move

Werster also changed the item used to perform the Ledgitate glitch from the Explorer Kit to an Old Rod, which shaved some time off.

If you’re interested in learning more about Pokémon BDSP speedrun, take a look at the contents published by the speedrunners. Werster has posted videos on YouTube explaining how some of the bugs work, and made a “Pokemon Shining Pearl any% FAQ” which includes an explanation about the Ledgitate glitch mentioned above. Carolio also shares their RTA chart online (in Japanese).

speedrun.com’s Pokémon BDSP Any% category recently opened in late November, and Carolio’s record (25:45) is at the top, as of this writing. I’m sure Werster’s new world record will be listed there soon.