Pokemon Save Structure
Pokémon in the games Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum are stored in a 136 byte or 236 byte structures. All unencrypted values are stored in little-endian format. The game encrypts the data when it is stored in the save file. Party Pokémon have additional values to hold current battle stats and conditions. The information below describes the Pokémon data format.
Checksum
The checksum serves two purposes:
- It validates the data after decryption, and
- It serves as the encryption key for the data.
The checksum is calculated in three steps:
- Split the unencrypted data from offsets 0x08 to 0x87 into two-byte words,
- Take the sum of the words, and
- Truncate the sum to 16 bits.
Block Shuffling
The 128 bytes of Pokémon data are split into four 32-byte blocks for shuffling. The blocks are shuffled according to a shift value derived from the personality value. Given the personality value pv, the expression yielding the shift value is:
- ((pv & 0x3E000) >> 0xD) % 24
The right shifting (>> 0xD) is equivalent to a division of 8192.
To shuffle the blocks, take the four blocks of unencrypted data, A, B, C, and D. The blocks shall be rearranged in the encrypted data according to the Block Order column of the following table. (To unshuffle, use the Inverse column.)
| Shift Value (decimal) | Block Order | Inverse |
|---|---|---|
| 00 | ABCD | ABCD |
| 01 | ABDC | ABDC |
| 02 | ACBD | ACBD |
| 03 | ACDB | ADBC |
| 04 | ADBC | ACDB |
| 05 | ADCB | ADCB |
| 06 | BACD | BACD |
| 07 | BADC | BADC |
| 08 | BCAD | CABD |
| 09 | BCDA | DABC |
| 10 | BDAC | CADB |
| 11 | BDCA | DACB |
| 12 | CABD | BCAD |
| 13 | CADB | BDAC |
| 14 | CBAD | CBAD |
| 15 | CBDA | DBAC |
| 16 | CDAB | CDAB |
| 17 | CDBA | DCAB |
| 18 | DABC | BCDA |
| 19 | DACB | BDCA |
| 20 | DBAC | CBDA |
| 21 | DBCA | DBCA |
| 22 | DCAB | CDBA |
| 23 | DCBA | DCBA |
Encryption
The encryption uses the pseudorandom number generator (PRNG), a linear congruential generator. Elements of the PRNG can be described with the recursive function:
- X[n+1] = (0x41C64E6D * X[n] + 0x6073)
To decrypt the data, given a function rand() which returns the upper 16 bits of consecutive results of the above given function:
- Seed the PRNG with the checksum (let X[n] be the checksum).
- Sequentially, for each 2-byte word Y from 0x08 to 0x87, apply the transformation: unencryptedByte = Y xor rand()
- Unshuffle the blocks using the block shuffling algorithm above.
To encrypt the data:
- Shuffle the blocks using the block shuffling algorithm above.
- Seed the PRNG with the checksum (let X[n] be the checksum),
- Sequentially, for each 2-byte word Y from 0x08 to 0x87, apply the transformation: unencryptedByte = Y xor rand()
Unencrypted bytes
| Offset | Contents |
|---|---|
| 0x00-0x03 | Personality value (Also known as the PID) |
| 0x04-0x05 | Temporary Variable (Unused) |
| 0x06-0x07 | Checksum |
Encrypted bytes
Block A
| Offset | Contents |
|---|---|
| 0x08-0x09 | National Pokédex ID |
| 0x0A-0x0B | Held Item |
| 0x0C-0x0D | OT ID |
| 0x0E-0x0F | OT Secret ID |
| 0x10-0x13 | Experience points |
| 0x14 | Friendship (Steps to Hatch if an egg) |
| 0x15 | Ability |
| 0x16 | Markings |
| 0x17 | Original Language |
| 0x18 | HP Effort Value |
| 0x19 | Attack Effort Value |
| 0x1A | Defense Effort Value |
| 0x1B | Speed Effort Value |
| 0x1C | SP Attack Effort Value |
| 0x1D | SP Defense Effort Value |
| 0x1E | Cool Contest Value |
| 0x1F | Beauty Contest Value |
| 0x20 | Cute Contest Value |
| 0x21 | Smart Contest Value |
| 0x22 | Tough Contest Value |
| 0x23 | Sheen Contest Value |
| 0x24-0x25 | Sinnoh Ribbon Set 1 |
| 0x26-0x27 | Sinnoh Ribbon Set 2 |
Block B
| Offset | Contents |
|---|---|
| 0x28-0x29 | Move 1 ID |
| 0x2A-0x2B | Move 2 ID |
| 0x2C-0x2D | Move 3 ID |
| 0x2E-0x2F | Move 4 ID |
| 0x30 | Move 1 Current PP |
| 0x31 | Move 2 Current PP |
| 0x32 | Move 3 Current PP |
| 0x33 | Move 4 Current PP |
| 0x34-0x37 | Move PP Ups |
| 0x38-0x3B | Bits 0-29 - Individual Values HP ( [0-31] << 0 ) |
| 0x3C-0x3D | Hoenn Ribbon Set 1 |
| 0x3E-0x3F | Hoenn Ribbon Set 2 |
| 0x40 | Bit 0 - Fateful Encounter Flag Bit 1 - Female Bit 2 - Genderless Bit 3-7 - Alternate Forms |
| 0x41 | Shiny Leaves (HGSS) Bit 5 - Leaf Crown Bits 0–4 - Leaves A–E (bit 0 is leftmost) |
| 0x42-0x43 | Unused |
| 0x44-0x45 | Egg Location (Platinum) |
| 0x46-0x47 | Met at Location (Platinum) |
Block C
| Offset | Contents |
|---|---|
| 0x48-0x5D | Nickname |
| 0x5E | Unused |
| 0x5F | Origin Game |
| 0x60-0x61 | Sinnoh Ribbon Set 3 |
| 0x62-0x63 | Sinnoh Ribbon Set 4 |
| 0x64-0x67 | Unused |
Block D
| Offset | Contents |
|---|---|
| 0x68-0x77 | OT Name |
| 0x78-0x7A | Date Egg Received |
| 0x7B-0x7D | Date Met |
| 0x7E-0x7F | Egg Location (Diamond/Pearl) |
| 0x80-0x81 | Met At Location (Diamond/Pearl) |
| 0x82 | Pokérus |
| 0x83 | Poké Ball |
| 0x84 | Bit 0-6 - Met At Level Bit 7 - Female OT Gender |
| 0x85 | Encounter Type |
| 0x86 | HGSS Poké Ball |
| 0x87 | Unused |
Battle Stats
The battle stats are encrypted in the same manner, however the seed is not the checksum, it is the PID, and the bytes are not shuffled.
Encrypted Bytes
| Offset | Contents |
|---|---|
| 0x88 | Bits 0-2 - Asleep (0-7 rounds) Bit 3 - Poisoned Bit 4 - Burned Bit 5 - Frozen Bit 6 - Paralyzed Bit 7 - Toxic |
| 0x89 | Unknown - Flags - Max Value 0xF0 |
| 0x8A-0x8B | Unknown |
| 0x8C | Level |
| 0x8D | Capsule Index (Seals) |
| 0x8E-0x8F | Current HP |
| 0x90-0x91 | Max HP |
| 0x92-0x93 | Attack |
| 0x94-0x95 | Defense |
| 0x96-0x97 | Speed |
| 0x98-0x99 | Special Attack |
| 0x9A-0x9B | Special Defense |
| 0x9C-0xD3 | Unknown - Contains Trash Data |
| 0xD4-0xEB | Seal Coordinates |
Original Language
| Value | Language |
|---|---|
| 0x1 | 日本語 (Japan) |
| 0x2 | English (US/UK/AU) |
| 0x3 | Français (France/Québec) |
| 0x4 | Italiano (Italy) |
| 0x5 | Deutsch (Germany) |
| 0x7 | Español (Spain/Latin Americas) |
| 0x8 | 한국어 (South Korea) |
Markings
| Bit | Marking |
|---|---|
| 0x01 | Circle |
| 0x02 | Triangle |
| 0x04 | Square |
| 0x08 | Heart |
| 0x10 | Star |
| 0x20 | Diamond |
Alternate Forms
Alternate forms are stored at offset 0x40 of the Pokemon structure. Each form follows the pattern of index << 3 where index starts at zero for the main form.
Unown's Forms
| Bit | Form | Bit | Form | Bit | Form | Bit | Form |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0x00 | A | 0x38 | H | 0x70 | O | 0xA8 | V |
| 0x08 | B | 0x40 | I | 0x78 | P | 0xB0 | W |
| 0x10 | C | 0x48 | J | 0x80 | Q | 0xB8 | X |
| 0x18 | D | 0x50 | K | 0x88 | R | 0xC0 | Y |
| 0x20 | E | 0x58 | L | 0x90 | S | 0xC8 | Z |
| 0x28 | F | 0x60 | M | 0x98 | T | 0xD0 | ! |
| 0x30 | G | 0x68 | N | 0xA0 | U | 0xD8 | ? |
Deoxy's Forms
| Bit | Form |
|---|---|
| 0x00 | Normal |
| 0x08 | Attack |
| 0x10 | Defense |
| 0x18 | Speed |
Burmy's & Wormadam's Forms
| Bit | Form |
|---|---|
| 0x00 | Plant |
| 0x08 | Sandy |
| 0x10 | Trash |
Shellos' & Gastrodon's Forms
| Bit | Form |
|---|---|
| 0x00 | West |
| 0x08 | East |
Rotom's Forms
Rotom's alternate forms will only be displayed in Pokemon Platinum. Rotom may be traded between Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum without losing the alternate form.
| Bit | Form |
|---|---|
| 0x00 | Normal |
| 0x08 | Heat |
| 0x10 | Wash |
| 0x18 | Frost |
| 0x20 | Fan |
| 0x28 | Cut |
Giratina's Forms
Giratina's Origin form will only be displayed in Pokemon Platinum.
| Bit | Form |
|---|---|
| 0x00 | Altered |
| 0x08 | Origin |
Shaymin's Forms
Shaymin's Sky form will only be displayed in Pokemon Platinum.
| Bit | Form |
|---|---|
| 0x00 | Land |
| 0x08 | Sky |
Arceus' Forms
| Bit | Form | Bit | Form | Bit | Form |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0x00 | Normal | 0x30 | Insect | 0x60 | Zap |
| 0x08 | Fist | 0x38 | Spooky | 0x68 | Mind |
| 0x10 | Sky | 0x40 | Iron | 0x70 | Icicle |
| 0x18 | Toxic | 0x48 | Flame | 0x78 | Draco |
| 0x20 | Earth | 0x50 | Splash | 0x80 | Dread |
| 0x28 | Stone | 0x58 | Meadow | 0x4C | Curse |
Encounter Types
| Value | Country |
|---|---|
| 0x0 | Pal Park, Egg, Hatched, Special Event |
| 0x2 | Tall Grass |
| 0x4 | Dialga/Palkia In-Game Event |
| 0x5 | Cave, Hall of Origin |
| 0x7 | Surfing, Fishing |
| 0x9 | Building |
| 0xA | Great Marsh (Safari Zone) |
| 0xC | Starter, Fossil, Gift (Eevee) |
Ribbons
Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum store the ribbon information as bitfields in 1-byte words. Given below are the bytewise representation of the ribbon bitfields.
Sinnoh Ribbon Set 1
| Bit | Ribbon |
|---|---|
| 0x24 & 0x01 | Sinnoh Champ Ribbon |
| 0x24 & 0x02 | Ability Ribbon |
| 0x24 & 0x04 | Great Ability Ribbon |
| 0x24 & 0x08 | Double Ability Ribbon |
| 0x24 & 0x10 | Multi Ability Ribbon |
| 0x24 & 0x20 | Pair Ability Ribbon |
| 0x24 & 0x40 | World Ability Ribbon |
| 0x24 & 0x80 | Alert Ribbon |
| 0x25 & 0x01 | Shock Ribbon |
| 0x25 & 0x02 | Downcast Ribbon |
| 0x25 & 0x04 | Careless Ribbon |
| 0x25 & 0x08 | Relax Ribbon |
| 0x25 & 0x10 | Snooze Ribbon |
| 0x25 & 0x20 | Smile Ribbon |
| 0x25 & 0x40 | Gorgeous Ribbon |
| 0x25 & 0x80 | Royal Ribbon |
Sinnoh Ribbon Set 2
| Bit | Ribbon |
|---|---|
| 0x26 & 0x01 | Gorgeous Royal Ribbon |
| 0x26 & 0x02 | Footprint Ribbon |
| 0x26 & 0x04 | Record Ribbon |
| 0x26 & 0x08 | History Ribbon |
| 0x26 & 0x10 | Legend Ribbon |
| 0x26 & 0x20 | Red Ribbon |
| 0x26 & 0x40 | Green Ribbon |
| 0x26 & 0x80 | Blue Ribbon |
| 0x27 & 0x01 | Festival Ribbon |
| 0x27 & 0x02 | Carnival Ribbon |
| 0x27 & 0x04 | Classic Ribbon |
| 0x27 & 0x08 | Premier Ribbon |
Sinnoh Ribbon Set 3
| Bit | Ribbon |
|---|---|
| 0x60 & 0x01 | Cool Ribbon |
| 0x60 & 0x02 | Cool Ribbon Great |
| 0x60 & 0x04 | Cool Ribbon Ultra |
| 0x60 & 0x08 | Cool Ribbon Master |
| 0x60 & 0x10 | Beauty Ribbon |
| 0x60 & 0x20 | Beauty Ribbon Great |
| 0x60 & 0x40 | Beauty Ribbon Ultra |
| 0x60 & 0x80 | Beauty Ribbon Master |
| 0x61 & 0x01 | Cute Ribbon |
| 0x61 & 0x02 | Cute Ribbon Great |
| 0x61 & 0x04 | Cute Ribbon Ultra |
| 0x61 & 0x08 | Cute Ribbon Master |
| 0x61 & 0x10 | Smart Ribbon |
| 0x61 & 0x20 | Smart Ribbon Great |
| 0x61 & 0x40 | Smart Ribbon Ultra |
| 0x61 & 0x80 | Smart Ribbon Master |
Sinnoh Ribbon Set 4
| Bit | Ribbon |
|---|---|
| 0x62 & 0x01 | Tough Ribbon |
| 0x62 & 0x02 | Tough Ribbon Great |
| 0x62 & 0x04 | Tough Ribbon Ultra |
| 0x62 & 0x08 | Tough Ribbon Master |
Hoenn Ribbon Set 1
| Bit | Ribbon |
|---|---|
| 0x3C & 0x01 | Cool Ribbon |
| 0x3C & 0x02 | Cool Ribbon Super |
| 0x3C & 0x04 | Cool Ribbon Hyper |
| 0x3C & 0x08 | Cool Ribbon Master |
| 0x3C & 0x10 | Beauty Ribbon |
| 0x3C & 0x20 | Beauty Ribbon Super |
| 0x3C & 0x40 | Beauty Ribbon Hyper |
| 0x3C & 0x80 | Beauty Ribbon Master |
| 0x3D & 0x01 | Cute Ribbon |
| 0x3D & 0x02 | Cute Ribbon Super |
| 0x3D & 0x04 | Cute Ribbon Hyper |
| 0x3D & 0x08 | Cute Ribbon Master |
| 0x3D & 0x10 | Smart Ribbon |
| 0x3D & 0x20 | Smart Ribbon Super |
| 0x3D & 0x40 | Smart Ribbon Hyper |
| 0x3D & 0x80 | Smart Ribbon Master |
Hoenn Ribbon Set 2
| Bit | Ribbon |
|---|---|
| 0x3E & 0x01 | Tough Ribbon |
| 0x3E & 0x02 | Tough Ribbon Super |
| 0x3E & 0x04 | Tough Ribbon Hyper |
| 0x3E & 0x08 | Tough Ribbon Master |
| 0x3E & 0x10 | Champion Ribbon |
| 0x3E & 0x20 | Winning Ribbon |
| 0x3E & 0x40 | Victory Ribbon |
| 0x3E & 0x80 | Artist Ribbon |
| 0x3F & 0x01 | Effort Ribbon |
| 0x3F & 0x02 | Marine Ribbon |
| 0x3F & 0x04 | Land Ribbon |
| 0x3F & 0x08 | Sky Ribbon |
| 0x3F & 0x10 | Country Ribbon |
| 0x3F & 0x20 | National Ribbon |
| 0x3F & 0x40 | Earth Ribbon |
| 0x3F & 0x80 | World Ribbon |
Save File Location
The party Pokémon are stored in the save file beginning at offset 0x00098 for the first small block, and 0x40098 for the second small block.
In the first small save block, the first Daycare Pokémon is located at 0x0141C, and the second is located at 0x01508. In the second small block, the first Daycare Pokémon is located at 0x4141C, and the second is located at 0x41508.
In the first small save block, the Pal Park Pokémon are stored beginning at 0x0BA28. In the second small save block, the Pal Park Pokémon are stored beginning at 0x4BA28.
Each party, Daycare, and Pal Park Pokémon is 236 bytes in size.
The PC storage Pokémon are stored in the save file from Box 1 to Box 18. The offset starts at 0x0C104 for the first big block and 0x4C104 for the second big block. Each PC stored Pokémon is 136 bytes in size.