Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl will have a special early adopter bonus, as players will be able to receive a Manaphy Egg before February 21, 2022. Manaphy are Water-type Mythical Pokémon, as distinct from Legendary Pokémon. They have a unique trait that allows them to breed with Ditto, in order to create a Pokémon named Phione.
The Pokémon games generally favor early adopter bonuses over significant pre-order bonuses. These can drastically change how people play the game. Pokémon Sword & Shield had the Gigantamax Meowth, which made it incredibly easy to make money, while Pokémon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire had a Shiny Beldum, which are usually tricky to find in the Hoenn region. The Fire-type Pokémon in the Kalos region had to compete with a Torchic early adopter bonus, which came with a Blazikenite stone, making an already overpowered Pokémon even stronger.
The official Pokémon website has revealed that the early adopter bonus for Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl will be a Manaphy Egg. The player needs the Mystery Gift function to download this Pokémon, which takes around two hours to unlock. Once they have unlocked breeding and found a Ditto, they can hatch a Phione egg. It was also revealed that people who buy the Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Double Pack, or the digital version of either game, will receive twelve Quick Balls. The people who buy the digital or retail Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Double Pack will receive 200 Poké Balls. The remakes are available for preorder now, so excited fans can reserve a copy and get these bonuses early.
The reason Manaphy was chosen for this promotion (outside of it being a Mythical Pokémon from the Sinnoh region) is that there was also a special Manaphy Egg giveaway in Pokémon Diamond & Pearl. People who completed Pokémon Ranger unlocked the ability to send a Manaphy Egg to one of the Gen IV Pokémon games. Manaphy was also the focus of Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea movie, suggesting that Game Freak had high regard for this Pokémon during the Pokémon Diamond & Pearl era.
Manaphy is a powerful Pokémon, as befitting its Mythical status. Its Hydration ability lets it heal status effects when it's raining, making it an extremely difficult Pokémon to incapacitate. The Sinnoh region is notorious for having one of the strongest Elite Four and Champion combos in the series, and the addition of a mighty Mythical Pokémon might be the edge that players need to take down Cynthia.
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl will be available for Nintendo Switch on November 19, 2021.
Source: Pokémon