The Great Marsh: Sinnoh's Safari Zone and Its Pokémon of the Day

The Great Marsh is Sinnoh's Safari Zone. The star attraction of Pastoria City, it's home to Pokémon you'll rarely come across anywhere else in the region — provided you accept its rules: no battling, limited time, and nothing but bait and Safari Balls.

Contents

• Pastoria City's Star Attraction
• The Safari Zone Rules
• The Pokémon of the Marsh
• What the National Pokédex Changes
• Platinum and the Remakes
• The Great Marsh at a Glance
• Frequently Asked Questions

Pastoria City's Star Attraction

The Great Marsh lies at the gates of Pastoria City, the city where Crasher Wake runs the Gym, in the south of Sinnoh. You can explore it in Diamond and Pearl, in Platinum and in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, where it keeps its role as a sanctuary for rare species.

The marsh is split into six areas, served by a tram line that runs through its middle. This layout isn't just for visitors' convenience: it also lets you pinpoint, from the observatory, the area where the Pokémon of the day is hiding.

The Safari Zone Rules

The principle is the same as in the Safari Zones of previous generations: you can't send your own Pokémon into battle. The Trainer only has a limited amount of time, Safari Balls and bait to influence the Pokémon they encounter.

The goal is simple: catch as many species as possible before time runs out. With a limited supply of Safari Balls, every throw counts, especially against a species you might not get the chance to see again the next day.

The Pokémon of the Marsh

Some of the wildlife shows up every day, in every area: Quagsire, Wooper, Marill and Bibarel in the tall grass, Whiscash and Gyarados at the end of a fishing rod. At nightfall, Hoothoot and Noctowl replace some of the daytime species.

The real draw of the place is the daily Pokémon. Each day, a single species from a rotating list appears, night included: Croagunk, Skorupi and Carnivine are among the most sought-after.

To find out the species of the day, you have to pay 100 Pokémon Dollars and look over the marsh through the observatory's binoculars, which also reveal its area. The most impatient players could even reshuffle the draw by trading information with other players in the Union Room.

What the National Pokédex Changes

Once you have the National Pokédex, the rotation expands: Kangaskhan, Paras, Exeggcute, Gulpin, Shroomish, Drapion and Toxicroak join the list of daily Pokémon. Only one species a day in Diamond and Pearl, whereas Platinum sometimes lets several appear at once.

One last secret required extra hardware: with a Pokémon FireRed cartridge inserted into the Nintendo DS's GBA slot, Arbok joins the marsh's everyday wildlife.

🐸 Team Croagunk or Team Toxicroak? Our Pokémon plushies bring a marsh resident home, no Safari Ball needed.

Platinum and the Remakes

Platinum overhauls the marsh from top to bottom. Even before the National Pokédex, Yanma, Tangela and Tropius take the place of Roselia, Staravia and Golduck, and the scenery looks noticeably different.

The 2021 remakes, on the other hand, go back to the Diamond and Pearl lists, daily Pokémon included: a Brilliant Diamond or Shining Pearl player finds the marsh just as 2007 players knew it.

On screen, the Great Marsh is the setting for episode DP082 of season 11, with a title that couldn't be more explicit: "Cream of the Croagunk Crop!", which aired in France on April 1, 2009.

The Great Marsh at a Glance

Frequently Asked Questions

• Where is the Great Marsh?
  In Pastoria City, in the Sinnoh region. You can visit it in Diamond, Pearl and Platinum, as well as in the Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl remakes.
• Can you battle in the Great Marsh?
  No. As in every Safari Zone, you can't send out your Pokémon: you catch only with Safari Balls, helped along by bait.
• How do you find out which daily Pokémon is present?
  By paying 100 Pokémon Dollars to use the observatory's binoculars, which show the species of the day and the area where it can be found.
• Can you catch Toxicroak in the Great Marsh?
  Yes, once you have the National Pokédex: it then joins the list of daily Pokémon, which only appear on certain days.
• What changes in Pokémon Platinum?
  Yanma, Tangela and Tropius replace Roselia, Staravia and Golduck there even before the National Pokédex, and the marsh's scenery is heavily reworked.

In short

The Great Marsh carried on the Safari Zone tradition in Sinnoh: catching without battling, an element of chance with the Pokémon of the day, and a handful of species you had to come here to find. Platinum and the remakes offered two different takes on it, without changing its spirit.