How To Get Sun Stones in Pokémon Platinum (All Methods)

Sun Stone Acquisition Methods
#	Method	Repeatable?
1	Valor Lakefront—In a wall at the top of a series of terraces to the east of the Hotel Grand Lake (requires Surf and Rock Climb) (hidden)	No
2	Mt. Coronet—On a rock on Mt. Coronet’s fourth floor (requires Rock Smash, Rock Climb, Strength, and Surf) (hidden)	No
3	The Underground—Potential treasure found in the mining minigame	Yes
4	Held item (5% chance) found on the following wild Pokémon: Solrock (Lake Verity, Lake Acuity, Lake Valor, Mt. Coronet, Sendoff Spring, Turnback Cave) (on a DS console with Pokémon Ruby in the GBA slot only)	Yes

The easiest way to get a Sun Stone is by picking one up at the Valor Lakefront. But since this specific location requires Rock Climb, this Sun Stone won’t be available until close to the end of the game.

You can alternatively get Sun Stones much earlier by searching for them in the Underground, but this can take a massive amount of time to produce any results.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acquiring Sun Stones
Sun Stone Details and Uses
- Bellossom
- Sunflora

Acquiring Sun Stones

Method 1: Valor Lakefront (Step-by-Step)

The easiest Sun Stone you’ll get in Platinum is found at the Valor Lakefront. You’ll find it on a terrace directly east of the Hotel Grand Lake.

You will need Pokémon that can use Surf and Rock Climb outside of battle in order to find this Sun Stone. So you’ll first have to beat Leader Candice in Snowpoint City and receive the Icicle Badge from her.

With the prerequisites out of the way, start by Flying to Pastoria City and heading east from the Pokémon Center.

Heading east from Pastoria’s Pokémon Center.

Continue east and pass through the gate to Route 213.

Exiting Pastoria City via the northeastern gate.

Keep going east after emerging on the other side.

Continuing east on Route 213.

When the path curves to the south, follow it onto the beach.

Heading south toward the coast.

Once you hit the ocean, turn eastward again and follow the coastline.

Heading eastward toward the Hotel Grand Lake.

As you move east, the beach will become a narrow sandbar. When it widens again, head north.

Moving east along the narrow sandbar on Route 213.

Take a right turn before you reach the staircase.

Making a right turn at the staircase.

Use Surf at the very right-hand side of the beach and then head northeast, passing the boulders in the ocean.

Using Surf and heading northeast.

Disembark at the small beachfront to the north.

Then use Rock Climb to scale the terraces here.

Stepping back on land and using Rock Climb on the rocky walls.

Climb all the way to the top terrace, where there will be a hidden item lodged in the wall.

Climbing up the rocky walls of the terraces.

Face the wall and press A to obtain the Sun Stone.

Discovering a Sun Stone at Valor Lakefront.

Method 2: Mt. Coronet (Step-by-Step)

There is another Sun Stone hidden on a rock deep within Mt. Coronet. Like the Sun Stone at the Valor Lakefront (Method 1), you will only have access to this one after receiving the Icicle Badge.

You will also need Pokémon with the following Hidden Moves:

This will be an arduous journey, so you might also want to bring healing items, Max Repels, and Escape Ropes just in case.

The entrance to Mt. Coronet that you want to use is northeast of Oreburgh City. So Fly to the Oreburgh Pokémon Center and head north along the main road.

Heading north on the main street from Oreburgh City’s Pokémon Center.

Take the stairs at the northern entrance to leave the city for Route 207.

Leaving Oreburgh through the northern entrance to enter Route 207.

Go down the small staircase leading to a pit, where there is a muddy slope in the middle of the north wall.

Ride your Bicycle in fourth gear to make it up the slope.

Riding the Bicycle in fourth gear to climb the muddy slope.

Take an immediate right into the canyon by the Honey Tree.

Turning east toward Mt. Coronet.

Travel all the way to the east until you come to Mt. Coronet’s entrance. Head inside.

Entering the mouth of Mt. Coronet.

Once you’re inside, use Surf to cross the small lake to the north.

Using Surf on the small pool of water by the entrance.

On the other side, walk over to the rocky wall and use Rock Climb to scale it, ignoring the ledge to the south. Then head upstairs.

Using Rock Climb to reach the stairs to the next floor.

In this next area, go north and take the left turn, ignoring the staircase.

Turning left on the next floor and passing the stairs.

Turn south when you’re able and use Strength on the boulder in your path to push it southward.

Shoving the boulder out of the way.

Push the boulder until you can head up the nearby staircase and travel north along the elevated terrain.

Climbing the stairs and heading north.

Cross the bridge at the end.

Then descend the nearby staircase, pass under the bridge you just crossed, and climb the two staircases to the north.

Crossing the bridge and circling under it.

Cross another bridge going towards the east, then circle around down some staircases to pass under the bridge.

This will bring you to the northern wall near another set of stairs – climb the stairs here in the northwest corner.

Crossing the bridge and looping back underneath it.

Exit the area through the hole behind the cave painting that Team Galactic broke.

Entering the hole behind the broken cave painting.

Ascend the two staircases in the next chamber.

Going up the stairs in the small cave chamber.

Now just head up the large staircase to the north.

Heading up the northern staircase.

After that, turn left.

Making a left at the top of the stairs.

Turn southward and then travel down the hallway and exit the cave.

Leaving the cave through the south exit.

Outside, head east along either path.

Exiting the cave and taking either path east.

Then turn northward and follow the path all the way up.

Turning north with the path.

You’ll want to use Rock Climb on the rocky wall at the end of the path (just climb 1 rocky wall and ignore the 2nd rock climb spot).

Then take a left and climb the staircase leading to a patch of grass.

Climbing the rocky wall and heading up the western stairs.

Move south through the tall grass, then circle back around to the north to enter the next cave again.

Winding around the path to enter the cave.

Inside the cave, use Rock Climb on the next rocky wall.

Using Rock Climb inside the cave.

Now against the wall to your north is a breakable rock sitting in front of a unbreakable one.

Use Rock Smash to break the front rock so you can access the one behind it.

Using Rock Smash on the breakable rock to the north.

Examine the unbreakable rock to pick up another Sun Stone.

Acquiring the hidden Sun Stone in Mt. Coronet.

Method 3: The Underground (Repeatable)

You can get Sun Stones much sooner in the game if you commit to searching in the Underground for one.

However, this is a highly unreliable method. And it can take several hours of playing the mining minigame to produce results.

But if you need one earlier in the game, this is probably your best option.

To start searching for Sun Stones, dig down to the Underground by using the Explorer Kit. You will receive this from the Underground Man in Eterna City.

Using the Explorer Kit from the Key Items list.

When you have control of your character, head for one of the glittering areas shown on the map.

Glittering areas showing the existence of treasures.

Tap the touch screen to sense hidden treasures lodged inside bulging walls. These spots will sparkle when your sensor passes over them.

Tapping the touch screen to find bulging walls.

Walk up to one of these spots and Press A.

Inspecting the sparkling point.

Digging into bulging walls will begin a minigame.

Alternate between your hammer and your pickaxe to dig as many treasures out of the wall as possible before the wall comes crashing down from the repeated banging.

The hammer breaks more rocks and dirt per hit, but causes the minigame to end quicker.
The pickaxe is weaker, but more precise and less damaging to the wall.

Starting the mining minigame.

Every time you mine a new spot in the Underground, there is only a 20% chance that a non-sphere item will be hidden beneath the rocks and dirt.

There are close to 50 different non-sphere item types that can be uncovered. Because the odds of finding a Sun Stone in a single minigame are pretty low, you can expect to spend a while searching for one.

Uncovering a Sun Stone in the Sinnoh Underground.

Remember to send your items aboveground by selecting them in the Treasures sub-menu.

Opening the Treasures menu to send found items back up.

Method 4: Held Item on Wild Solrock (Repeatable)

Another repeatable way to farm Sun Stones is by taking them from wild Solrock.

There’s a catch to this though:

You will only find wild Solrock by playing the game on a DS or DS Lite console with Pokémon Ruby in the GBA slot.

With Ruby in the GBA slot, you’ll be able to find wild Solrock at:

Any of Sinnoh’s major lakes
Mt. Coronet
Sendoff Spring
And Turnback Cave

This method can also take a while. Solrock has only an 8% encounter rate, and a mere 5% chance of holding a Sun Stone.

However, you can greatly speed up the process of farming Sun Stones by building a designated item farming team.

These special teams use Pokémon with the Abilities Frisk and Compoundeyes to both increase the odds of finding items and identify any items being held.

Finding a wild Solrock in Mt. Coronet.

If you’re using an item-farming team, the Compoundeyes Ability will raise the odds of a Solrock having a Sun Stone from 5% to 20%.

Frisk will also alert you to any items the foe is holding, saving you from wasting time on guesswork.

Identifying the wild Solrock’s held item using the Frisk Ability.

After discovering a Solrock with a Sun Stone, either use a stealing move (like Thief or Trick) or catch the Solrock to obtain the item.

Stealing the Sun Stone using Trick.

Then just end the battle however you prefer—you will keep the Sun Stone even if you flee.

Sun Stone Details and Uses

The in-game description of the Sun Stone.

In Pokémon Platinum, the Sun Stone is used to evolve the following two Pokémon species:

Sun Stone Evolutions
Species	Evolutionary Form
Gloom	Bellossom
Sunkern	Sunflora

To use a Sun Stone, simply select “Use” from the Bag and choose a Pokémon to use it on.

Using a Sun Stone to evolve a Pokémon.

Bellossom

You can use a Sun Stone on Gloom to make it evolve into Bellossom.

A newly-evolved Bellossom.

Bellossom is one of two possible evolutions of Gloom, the other being Vileplume (via the Leaf Stone).

Both Bellossom and Vileplume are nearly identical in stats, Ability, and movepool.

The biggest difference between them is that Vileplume has a marginally higher Special Attack stat, while Bellossom’s Special Defense is slightly superior.

To help make Bellossom more viable in battle, you’ll want to put its Chlorophyll Ability to work. Chlorophyll will double Bellossom’s miserable agility to a base stat of 100 in harsh sunlight, which still isn’t astounding, but at least allows it to be competitive.

If you can factor Sunny Day into Bellossom’s strategy, Bellossom can be a hard hitter that’s quick on its feet; otherwise Venusaur or Roserade would be a better option.

Sunflora

You can use the Sun Stone on Sunkern to make it evolve into Sunflora.

The newly-evolved Sunflora.

There’s no getting around it:

Sunflora is terrible.

It has a base Speed stat of 30, rendering it as slow as Snorlax and Steelix. And the rest of its stats don’t fare much better.

In fact, its only decent stat is its Special Attack – which still isn’t high enough to justify how crippling the rest of its stats are.

Even with the Chlorophyll Ability it’s too slow to be competitive.

Generation IV introduced Sunflora to another Ability: Solar Power, which increases the user’s Special Attack by 50% in harsh sunlight. This was possibly added in an attempt to even its odds in battle.

However, Solar Power subtracts ⅛ of Sunflora’s health at the end of every turn that harsh sunlight lasts. It’s almost like Sunflora was set up specifically to fail.

You should get Sunflora for the Pokédex entry, but trying to use it in battle is an exercise in futility.

BACK TO THE MAIN GAME Pokémon Platinum Full Strategy Guide

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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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