How To Get Soft Sands in Pokémon Platinum

Soft Sand on the ground in Mt. Coronet (Pokémon Platinum)
All Soft Sand Locations
# Location Repeatable?
1 Mt. Coronet— Behind some movable and breakable boulders on the western edge of floor B1F No
2 Held item (5% chance) by these wild Pokémon:

  • Diglett (Route 228)
  • Dugtrio (Route 228)
Yes

The earliest and quickest method of obtaining a Soft Sand is by picking it up inside Mt. Coronet. This method requires Pokémon that can use Strength and Rock Smash. Defog is also recommended, but not strictly necessary.

Or you can get multiple Soft Sands by stealing them as held items from wild Diglett and Dugtrio on Route 228. However, this method is only available in the post-game after beating the Elite Four and the Champion in the Pokémon League.

Soft Sand Locations

Location #1: Mt. Coronet (Step-by-Step)

Soft Sand’s primary location on the Town Map / Pokémon Platinum
Soft Sand’s primary location on the Town Map.

You’ll find one Soft Sand inside Mt. Coronet, and it’s visible on the ground as a Poké Ball item.

Before attempting to find it, make sure you have Pokémon in your party that know the Hidden Moves Rock Smash and Strength—you’ll need both. Having Defog is also recommended, but not necessary.

Mt. Coronet also has several entrances. The one that provides the shortest distance to the Soft Sand’s location is the cave to the west of Celestic Town, on Route 211.

To reach it, Fly to Celestic Town’s Pokémon Center and head westward.

Heading west from Celestic Town’s Pokémon Center / Pokémon Platinum
Heading west from Celestic Town’s Pokémon Center.

Follow the path along, then turn up when you reach the small house in the southwest corner of town.

Turning to the north by the southwestern house / Pokémon Platinum
Turning to the north by the southwestern house.

Take the next left turn onto Route 211.

Heading west onto Route 211 / Pokémon Platinum
Heading west onto Route 211.

Continue traveling westward here. The elevated path up the stairs will keep you out of the tall grass if you want to avoid wild battles.

Heading west on the upstairs path / Pokémon Platinum
Heading west on the upstairs path.

Wind through all the rocks and trainers to reach the western cave entrance, and enter Mt. Coronet.

Entering Mt. Coronet / Pokémon Platinum
Entering Mt. Coronet.

Once inside the cave, take the first hallway to the north, which is blocked by a round boulder.

Taking the northern hallway immediately upon entering Mt. Coronet / Pokémon Platinum
Taking the northern hallway immediately upon entering Mt. Coronet.

Use Strength to move the boulder several tiles to the north.

Using Strength to push the boulder up the hallway / Pokémon Platinum
Using Strength to push the boulder up the hallway.

When you can walk around the boulder, head northward to the staircase.

Traveling northward past the boulder / Pokémon Platinum
Traveling northward past the boulder.

Descend the staircase, and then turn left at the end of the hall.

Taking a left at the corner down the stairs / Pokémon Platinum
Taking a left at the corner down the stairs.

Head all the way to the west in this hallway and then go down the stairs to the next floor.

Taking the stairs to reach the next level of Mt. Coronet / Pokémon Platinum
Taking the stairs to reach the next level of Mt. Coronet.

The next floor will be inundated with fog. If you brought a Pokémon that knows Defog, this will make finding your way around much easier.

Using Defog to improve the cave’s visibility / Pokémon Platinum
Using Defog to improve the cave’s visibility.

But either way, from the bottom of the stairs you’ll want to head north. Ignore the first staircase to your right.

Heading north from the stairs / Pokémon Platinum
Heading north from the stairs.

Descend the second staircase to your right, then continue north along the narrow cliff path.

Taking the second staircase and continuing northward / Pokémon Platinum
Taking the second staircase and continuing northward.

Use Rock Smash on the rock obstacle that you’ll run into that’s barring your path.

Using Rock Smash to pass / Pokémon Platinum
Using Rock Smash to pass.

Then use Strength again to push the rounded boulder up further north.

Pushing another boulder out of the way with Strength / Pokémon Platinum
Pushing another boulder out of the way with Strength.

Once you can move forward just circle around the rocks as you continue to the north, and you will find a Soft Sand on the ground at the very end of this passageway.

Obtaining the Soft Sand in Mt. Coronet / Pokémon Platinum
Obtaining the Soft Sand.

Location #2: Route 228 (Repeatable)

The Town Map location where wild Diglett/Dugtrio will appear / Pokémon Platinum
The Town Map location where wild Diglett/Dugtrio will appear.

Wild Diglett and Dugtrio can be found on Route 228, just northwest of the Battle Zone’s Resort Area. Each of them have a 5% chance of carrying a Soft Sand when you encounter one in the wild.

You can take these held items from wild Pokémon by catching the Pokémon, or by using a move like Thief, Covet, or Trick to steal it.

This method is repeatable infinitely, but note that you can only do this in the post-game of Platinum.

Attempting to take a Soft Sand from a Dugtrio on Route 228 / Pokémon Platinum
Attempting to take a Soft Sand from a Dugtrio on Route 228.

Soft Sand Details and Uses

In-game description of Soft Sand / Pokémon Platinum
In-game description of Soft Sand.

The Soft Sand is a Held Item that boosts the power of Ground-type moves by 20%.

Soft Sand is a decent item for Ground types, if a little underwhelming.

An item like the Life Orb (which provides a 30% boost to attacks of all types) or the Choice Band/Choice Specs (which give a 50% boost to the holder’s Attack and Special Attack stats, respectively) are stronger alternatives.

However, those other items all come with drawbacks – whereas the Soft Sand has no strings attached to it.

It’s hard to complain about augmenting the much-feared Earthquake’s base power from 100 to 120, at no cost to the user.

It should also at least be mentioned that two Ground-type Pokémon—Cubone and Marowak—have a much better item available to them: the Thick Club. That item doubles the Attack stat of the holder, but it only works for Cubone or Marowak.

If you plan on having either of those Pokémon in your team, a Thick Club is much more effective than Soft Sand.

Miscellaneous Info about Soft Sand

  • In Generation IV, Soft Sand’s move-boosting effect is twice as strong as it was in previous Generations.
  • An Earth Plate can be used as an alternative to a Soft Sand, since both have the exact same effect.
  • If flung by a Pokémon using Fling, the move will have a base power of 10.
  • Each Soft Sand can be sold for only 50 PokéDollars.

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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