With the Los Angeles Sinnoh Tour this weekend, and the Global Sinnoh Tour looming at the end of the month, the time has come for trainers to make their choice, Diamond or Pearl?
The new Special Research Road to Sinnoh asks us to make a choice, Diamond or Pearl, and which choice you make will have an impact on not only your Sinnoh Tour experience, but also potentially your future gameplay experience as a whole.
Trainers participating in Sinnoh Tour Global will have the opportunity to encounter Origin Forme Dialga and Palkia that know their Signature Attacks. The version of the event you choose will affect your chances! We don’t yet know how common the special attacks will be on Dialga and Palkia, and they could be quite rare, so keep this in mind when choosing your version.
- Trainers who choose Diamond Version will encounter an Origin Forme Dialga that knows Roar of Time.
- Trainers who choose Pearl Version will encounter an Origin Forme Palkia that knows Spacial Rend.
First up, let’s take a look at what each Adventure Effect Attack actually does. It is important to note that at the time of writing, the attacks will not be learnable via Elite TM.
For full information on Origin Forme Dialga, Palkia, and their new Signature Attacks, along with Adventure Effects, check out our guide here.
Roar of Time – Diamond Version
Make every second count! Trainers, check out how to alter time with Roar of Time’s Adventure Effect in #PokemonGO pic.twitter.com/pqX6L9K9Em
— Pokémon GO (@PokemonGoApp) February 7, 2024
Roar of Time is a Dragon type Charged Attack that is available on Origin Forme Dialga encountered from tier five raids:
- Trainer Battles: 150 Power
- Raid Battles: 160 Power
Trainers will be able to activate the Adventure Effect caused by Roar of Time by using 5,000 Stardust and 5 Dialga Candy from the Pokémon Summary screen.
Trainers who choose the Diamond badge can look forward to the following bonuses:
- Encounter an Origin Forme Dialga that knows its signature attack, Roar of Time
- The Adventure Effect for Roar of Time will last twice as long
- Dialga Candy awarded in Pokémon GO Tour: Sinnoh – Global Special Research
Roar of Time Information:
- It will disrupt time, and pause the timers of Incense, Daily Adventure Incense, Lucky Eggs and Star Pieces for 6 minutes.
- You can extend the timer for Roar of Time’s Adventure Effect in increments of 6 minutes by using more Stardust and Dialga Candy. The timer can be extended up to two hours in one dialogue, you can tap use again to add additional time, for up to 24 hours in total. What this means is that while you can spend the candy and dust to make the effect last for 24 hours you can only buy a maximum of 2 hours at one time.
- Pausing the timer on your Incense, Lucky Egg or Star Piece for an hour will set you back 50,000 Stardust and 50 Dialga Candy.
- Whilst the adventure Effect is active you will still gain the benefits of your Incense, Daily Adventure Incense, Lucky Eggs and Star Pieces – the timer will simply be paused allowing you to enjoy these bonuses for longer.
- Once Roar of Time ends the countdown on your Incense, Daily Adventure Incense, Lucky Eggs and Star Pieces will resume from the time that they were paused.
- Roar of Time cannot be used in conjunction with any other Adventure Effects.
Spacial Rend – Pearl Version
Trainers, here’s a breakdown on how to distort space and expand your adventures with Spacial Rend’s Adventure Effect in #PokemonGO pic.twitter.com/3CyScPSjgg
— Pokémon GO (@PokemonGoApp) February 6, 2024
Spacial Rend is a Dragon type Charged Attack that is available on Origin Forme Palkia encountered from tier five raids.
- Trainer Battles: 95 Power
- Raid Battles: 160 Power
Trainers will be able to activate the Adventure Effect caused by Spacial Rend by using 5,000 Stardust and 5 Palkia Candy from the Pokémon Summary screen.
Trainers who choose the Pearl badge can look forward to the following bonuses:
- Encounter an Origin Forme Palkia that knows its signature attack, Spacial Rend
- The Adventure Effect for Spacial Rend will last twice as long
- Palkia Candy awarded in Pokémon GO Tour: Sinnoh – Global Special Research
Spacial Rend Information:
- It will disrupt space, and for 10 minutes you will be able to encounter wild Pokémon at an increased distance.
- Your spawn radius will be increased to 90 metres and you’ll be able to catch any Pokémon within an 80m radius (which is the equivalent of the biggest circle that shows in-game around your avatar).
- You can extend the timer for Spacial Rend’s Adventure Effect in increments of 10 minutes by using more Stardust and Palkia Candy. The timer can be extended up to two hours in one dialogue, and you can tap use again to add additional time, for up to 24 hours in total. What this means is that while you can spend the candy and dust to make the effect last for 24 hours you can only buy a maximum of 2 hours at one time.
- Increasing your spawn radius for an hour will set you back 30,000 Stardust and 30 Palkia Candy.
- Once Spacial Rend ends the timer will resume the encounter radius will return to normal.
- Spacial Rend cannot be used in conjunction with any other Adventure Effects.
Which Should I Pick?
Now the tricky question, is which version, and therefore exclusive move, should you pick. Both Adventure Effects have their merits, and which will work better for you will vary.
Why Pick Roar of Time?
There are specific situations in which Roar of Time is the optimal choice depending on your gameplay:
- Do you like to do your Daily Adventure Incense every day in the hopes of getting your hands on one of the elusive Galarian Legendary Birds? Roar of Time will give you an extra 6 minutes with a single use, and can be extended further if you have the resources, making that hunt much more viable. If this is important to you, Roar of Time should be your pick, with Diamond version.
- Are you an XP grinder? There are plenty of trainers who love to grind XP, even once they have hit level 50, setting personal goals to hit higher and higher XP numbers. If you are an XP whale, Roar of Time will give you 6 minutes extra on your Lucky Egg with one use, making that XP grind even longer!
- Spotlight Hour – If you are planning to grind out a Catch XP, or Evolve XP Spotlight Hour, Roar of Time is the way to go if you are limited on Lucky Eggs. You can extend your Lucky Egg without having to use any cash.
You’ll notice I don’t list Stardust grinding here, even though Roar of Time can pause Star Pieces in the same way it can Lucky Eggs. That’s because with it costing 5k to even activate Roar of Time, it isn’t worthwhile to use to grind. You’d need to earn 5k stardust in 6 minutes to break even, but that doesn’t take into account the stardust you would have caught during those 6 minutes even without Roar of Time activated!
If Daily Adventure Incense, or XP grinding is your thing, pick Diamond.
Why Pick Spacial Rend?
There are specific situations in which Spacial Rend is the optimal choice depending on your gameplay:
- If you are a more rural trainer, disabled trainer, or someone who is often stuck playing from a set location, Spacial Rend will increase the distance at which you can catch Pokémon, making your home spot a more viable place to hunt from. Rural trainers often find their spawns can be few and far between, expanding your radius may give you more opportunity to hunt Pokémon.
- Spotlight Hour – with only an hour to hunt, having a bigger radius to explore means more opportunities to encounter the featured Pokémon, ideal for the shiny hunter!
- Community Day – are you often stuck working during Community Day, or having other commitments? Are you stuck sneaking gameplay during breaks and shorter moments? Expanding your radius makes that shorter playtime more optimised, with Spacial Rend giving you a great assist.
- Event Grinding – if you aim to grind events and shiny hunt in anyway, Spacial Rend is the way to go. How many spawns do you think you just miss out on because they are just at the edge of your spawn radius? No more with Spacial Rend! Your grind becomes more efficient because you can see the larger radius, and your local cluster spawns will be even better. Imagine using this during GO Fest, when the spawns are coming thick and fast, and seeing even more Pokémon as you adventure along!
Choosing Spacial Rend, and therefore Pearl, is preferable for most event grinders, rural trainers, disabled trainers, and those who might have to be stuck in one place during an event. Of the two Adventure Effects, I believe this has the most practical use. Remember when Niantic accidentally increased the spawn radius before and how much difference is made to your spawns? Spacial Rend is going to give you that back.
Conclusion
In conclusion, while both Adventure Effects have their niches, arguably Spacial Rend, and therefore Pearl, has more practical application and usability, whereas Roar of Time, Diamond version, almost feels dedicated to the Daily Adventure Incense. We hope that the special moves won’t be too rare, and that trainers will manage to get themselves both Dialga and Palkia with their special moves, but just in case, consider your own personal gameplay and make a decision wisely.
Which do you plan to choose?
