The Old Chateau is an old mansion in Pokémon BDSP's Eterna Forest area, but trainers who are afraid of ghosts should stay far away.
The Old Chateau is one the spookiest areas that trainers can explore in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl. This haunted mansion returns from the original Diamond & Pearl with updated graphics and audio to bring old scares to a new generation of Pokémon trainers. There’s more than just Ghost-Type Pokémon roaming the hallways of this mysterious manor, but players will find plenty of Ghastlys here as well should they dare to enter.
Trainers will be able to enter the Old Chateau once they get the Hidden Move Cut from Cynthia and defeat Gardenia, which allows them to use Cut outside of battle. The Old Chateau is located on the edge of the Eterna Forest, just north of the entrance to Route 205. Gardenia can be found standing beside two trees that can be cut here, and, despite the fact that she insists she isn’t afraid, she refuses to go in and leaves the player to investigate alone as she heads back to the Eterna City Gym.
There are a number of items that players can pick up in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl's Old Chateau, as well as a ton of Ghastlys for players looking to add this Ghost-Type Pokémon to their team. However, the mansion is also home to several ghosts that will randomly appear in certain areas while players are exploring, paintings with eyes that follow players around, and a mysterious television with an “oddly malevolent feel.” In addition, trainers will be able to find the super-rare Pokémon Rotom in the Old Chateau, which makes this haunted house well worth the visit.
All Items In Pokémon BDSP’s Old Chateau
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl’s Old Chateau has several items players can find as they explore the area. Of all the items found here, the TM90 Substitute is the one that makes this haunting trip worthwhile. Substitute allows a Pokémon to create a decoy of itself with 25% of its maximum HP. This decoy will take damage for the Pokémon until it breaks and protects it from status effects, which makes this a great defensive move. However, there are only a few Pokémon who are able to learn this move through leveling, which makes this a good TM to snag.
Other items players can find in the Old Chateau, and their locations, appear below:
- Ether - Outside the Old Chateau between a gap in the fence on the right side.
- Antidote - Hidden in a trash can in the top right corner of the kitchen downstairs.
- Dread Plate - In the bedroom at the left end of the hallway upstairs.
- TM90 Substitute - In the bedroom at the right end of the hallway upstairs.
- Old Gateau - In the room just up the stairs to the left of the entrance.
- Secret Key - Obtained automatically by beating or catching Rotom.
The Secret Key can be used in the Galactic Eterna Building in Eterna City after players have cleared this area to unlock the Rotom Room, which unlocks the ability to change Rotom’s form in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl.
All Ghosts In Pokémon BDSP’s Old Chateau
The creepiest part of the Old Chateau in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl are the ghosts that actually haunt the mansion, which players can encounter while exploring. There’s a little girl and an old butler that still roam the halls and will float off-screen when spotted. They can’t be found in the locations they seem to be going and instead vanish completely. The little girl can be seen when players enter the second bedroom from the right upstairs, and the butler can be seen when players enter the Dining Area.
In addition to the ghosts of the Old Chateau, there is also a painting in the bedroom where players encounter the little girl with glowing red eyes that disappear when the player gets too close. However, while the painting’s eyes can be seen at any time of day, the ghosts will only appear at night, so players will have to explore the mansion after the sun goes down to catch a glimpse of them. Perhaps the scariest part of the Old Chateau is the fact that Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl never explain these hauntings or the backstory of the mansion, leaving players to wonder what could have happened to these lost spirits, and to the house itself.
How To Catch Rotom In Pokémon BDSP’s Old Chateau
While Rotom isn’t a Legendary or Mythical Pokémon, it is one-of-a-kind in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, giving trainers only one chance to add this Pokémon to their PokéDex. Once players have completed their Sinnoh Dex and obtained the National Dex from Professor Oak, Rotom can be encountered in the Old Chateau at night. Rotom was introduced to the Pokémon franchise in the original Diamond & Pearl games, and the remakes faithfully recreate this special encounter in the Old Chateau. This Pokémon is one of the most unique in the franchise as it’s able to change its form and type by haunting various machines.
In the second bedroom from the left on the second floor of the Old Chateau, there’s a TV that’s broadcasting static and giving off a dark vibe. Interacting with this TV will start the encounter with a level 15 Rotom, giving trainers one shot to catch this rare Pokémon. If Rotom faints, trainers won’t get a second chance, so it’s a good idea to manually save the game before entering the encounter and turn off the autosave function in the settings menu.
Rotom is an Electric/Ghost-type Pokémon, giving it resistance to Flying-, Electric-, Poison-, Bug-, and Steel-type Pokémon and weakness to Dark- and Ghost-types. It’s also immune to Normal-, Ground-, and Fighting-type moves, which unfortunately makes the Normal-type move False Swipe ineffective. Since this encounter can only take place at night, trainers should be sure to bring plenty of Dusk Balls, which are more effective than Ultra Balls when used at night or in caves.
Once players catch or defeat Rotom, they’ll automatically obtain the Old Chateau’s Secret Key, which can be used in the Galactic Eterna Building to unlock the Rotom Room. The Rotom Room is on the first floor to the left of the three bookshelves against the back wall. Here, trainers will find several appliances that they can use to change Rotom into five different forms, including Heat Rotom, Fan Rotom, Frost Rotom, Wash Rotom, and Mow Rotom. Rotom’s type changes with each one of these forms, making it one of the most versatile gimmick Pokémon in the game. However, these forms aren’t evolutions, and Rotom only has one entry in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl's PokéDex.
Next: The Best Competitive Ice-Type Pokémon In Diamond & Pearl
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl are available on Nintendo Switch.
