Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl: How to change the time and date

In this Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Pokémon Shining Pearl guide, we’ll show you how to change the date and time. This guide will walk you through the simple steps of manipulating these settings and explain why you might want to tweak them.

How to change the time and date

Changing the time and date can be useful in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl for several reasons. For instance, some Pokémon special evolutions can only take place during the daytime or nighttime. You can either wait for the real-world time and date to change to evolve these creatures or change the time yourself.

Not only that, but some rare Pokémon like Drifloon can only be caught on Fridays. Instead of waiting a week, you can swap the settings on your Switch to catch them whenever you want.

Here’s how to change the time and date settings on your Switch:

1. Press the Home button to enter the Switch’s menu
2. Navigate to System Settings
3. Scroll all the way down to System
4. Select Date and Time
5. Turn off the option to Synchronize Clock via Internet

From here, select Date and Time to alter your Switch’s internal clock. Once you exit this menu, your Switch’s internal time will be set to whatever time and date you chose. When you load back into Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, the game world will reflect whatever time and date you set.

Here is when Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl transitions between morning, daytime, and nighttime:

• Morning — 4:00 a.m. to 9:59 a.m.
• Daytime — 10:00 a.m to 7:59 p.m.
• Nighttime — 8:00 p.m. to 3:59 a.m.

As time passes in the game, so does the in-game sun. You can see shadows being cast from buildings at different angles as the day moves on. When the game switches between morning, daytime, and nighttime, you’ll notice other changes like street lights turning on and off depending on the time of day.