How to Get Ampharos in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl

It took me ages to figure out how Mareep and Flaaffy, two Pokémon that very clearly resemble sheep, evolve into the weird skinny-looking lightbulb creature that is Ampharos. I thought someone was messing with me the first time I saw it. But the answer was obvious: Ampharos is a sheared sheep. Weird distinction, but an important one. Speaking of important distinctions, here’s how to get Ampharos in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.

The members of the Mareep line, including Mareep, Flaaffy, and Ampharos, are not Sinnoh-native Pokémon. As such, you can’t even attempt to get your hands on them until you’ve unlocked the National Dex by registering all 150 Pokémon in Sinnoh Dex. Once you’ve unlocked the National Dex, non-Sinnoh Pokémon will begin appearing in the wild if you search with the PokéRadar, and they can also be encountered in particular Pokémon Hideaways in the Grand Underground. However, Ampharos can’t be encountered as is; the only way to get one is to evolve one, so we’re going to have to start from the bottom here.

How to Get Ampharos in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl

Both Mareep and Flaaffy begin spawning in the wild around Sinnoh and the Grand Underground once you’ve unlocked the National Dex. The fastest way to get an Ampharos would be to evolve one from a Flaaffy, but if you want to do things properly, you should start from a Mareep, so for completion’s sake, we’ll tell you where to find both.

Mareep can be encountered in the following Grand Underground Hideaways once the National Dex is unlocked:

• Whiteout Cave
• Grassland Cave
• Sunlit Cavern

You can also encounter Mareep at the Valley Windworks by searching with the PokéRadar. If you’re training the Mareep, it’ll evolve into Flaaffy starting at level 15.

If you just want to skip straight to Flaaffy, you can encounter it in the same Grand Underground Hideaways as Mareep, albeit at a slightly lower spawn rate. You can also encounter Flaaffy in the tall grass of Route 222 by searching with the PokéRadar. Once you’ve got your Flaaffy, just train it up to level 30, and it’ll evolve into Ampharos.

That’s how you get Ampharos in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. It’s a good Electric type, so if you want to make it competitive, train it up properly from a Mareep!