How To Get Protectors in Pokémon Platinum

All Protector Locations
#	Location	Repeatable?
1	Iron Island — Inside a Poké Ball at the western edge of floor B2F.	No
2	Route 228 — Inside a Poké Ball in a dirt pit to the east of the northern gate.	No

The earliest available Protector that you can get in Pokémon Platinum is located on Iron Island’s second basement floor. No HMs are required to get it, but you must take a ship from Canalave City in order to reach the island.

Alternatively you can also find a Protector on Route 228, but these are the only 2 ways to get a Protector in the game.

Getting Protectors

Location 1: Iron Island

The first Protector is found on Iron Island. This island lies far north of Canalave City and requires taking a ship to reach.

It is full of Rock- and Steel-type Pokémon of levels mostly in the low-30s.

To locate Canalave City’s harbor, first cross the drawbridge to the west of the Canalave Pokémon Center.

Heading west over Canalave City’s drawbridge.

Once you pass the Canalave Gym, turn south.

Turning south at the Canalave City Gym.

Pass the houses and turn right after you pass Sailor Eldritch’s house.

Speak with Sailor Eldritch at the dock and request a ride to Iron Island.

Sailor Eldritch offering to take you to Iron Island.

Once you arrive at Iron Island, head up the staircase to the east.

Climbing the first staircase on Iron Island.

Pass the blue-roofed house here, and take the northern staircase further up the mountain.

Passing the house and heading upstairs.

Head through the entrance to Iron Island’s cave at the top of the staircase.

Climbing the stairs to enter Iron Island’s cave.

Once you’re inside, take the staircase to the left.

Heading down the left staircase.

Head down and look for a staircase in the southern part of this room that leads up to a rocky landing.

Move along the elevated terrain here until you see a Poké Ball item at the end of the elevated path.

Winding around the path to reach a Protector.

Pick up the Poké Ball item to add the Protector to your Bag.

Obtaining a Protector on Iron Island.

Location 2: Route 228 (Step-by-Step)

A second Protector can be found on Route 228. This is located the north of the Resort Area in the Battle Zone.

Start by Flying to the Resort Area and crossing the bridge to the north (just right of the Pokecenter).

Heading northward across the Resort Area’s bridge.

On the other side of the lake, continue northward to leave the Resort Area and enter Route 229.

Leaving the Resort Area and heading onto Route 229.

Where the trail splits at the Resort Area/Route 229 sign, head northward through the tall grass.

Passing the Ace Trainers on Route 229.

Veer left toward the gap in the trees (this is opposite the path with taller grass).

Heading northwest to reach Route 228.

Follow the path along until a sandstorm flares up when Route 229 becomes Route 228.

At this point just hug the eastern wall and maintain the course going northward through the narrow canyons.

Heading northward through the sandstorm.

Continue heading north, ignoring muddy slopes and other distractions.

Heading northward through the winding path.

Continue northward through the sandstorm and you’ll pass two Ace Trainers.

Continuing north between the two Ace Trainers.

Keep going north until you can start heading northwest through some tall grass.

Traveling through the northwestern grassland.

Pass by another Ace Trainer guarding the short canyon to the north.

Passing through the short canyon to the northwest.

Approach the northernmost wall here, then turn right and head down the muddy slope.

You should see an item on the ground just past this slope.

Circling around and sliding down the muddy slope.

Grab the Poké Ball from the pit to add another Protector to your Bag.

Obtaining the second Protector on Route 228.

Protector Details and Uses

In-game description of the Protector.

The Protector has just one single purpose:

To evolve Rhydon into Rhyperior via trade.

Giving Rhydon a Protector before trading it to another player.

Confirming Rhydon’s held item.

After you give Rhydon the Protector to hold, you can trade it to another player and it will evolve into Rhyperior. Then you can trade back to get your new souped-up evolution.

Pokédex description of the newly-evolved Rhyperior.

Is Rhyperior Worth Using?

This is a straightforward upgrade.

Rhydon’s excellent Attack, Defense, and HP stats get respectable increases from evolving into Rhyperior, as do its Special Attack and Special Defense (although they’re still relatively useless).

Not much changes about Rhydon’s role in battle after it evolves.

Rhyperior is a tank by the simplest definition of the word:

Slow-moving and limited, but capable of dealing terrifying strikes and absorbing tons of damage.

Rhyperior’s Ground/Rock typing further raises its offensive potential, allowing it to always have at least one STAB move that the target Pokémon can’t resist. It can unleash an Earthquake or a Rock Blast like very few Pokémon can.

And it’s also bulky enough to make an adept Stealth Rock setter.

However, its typing also gives it six weaknesses – two of which are double-weaknesses that inflict 4x the damage.

But this is where Rhyperior’s Solid Rock Ability comes in handy:

Solid Rock decreases the damage of super-effective moves by 25%, helping to mitigate one of Rhyperior’s most painful drawbacks.

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Chris Haygood

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Chris is an American freelance writer and lifelong gamer. RPGs have been his genre of choice ever since he got Pokémon Blue in 1867, but if he finds a good rhythm game, he will prioritize playing it over both eating and breathing.

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