Pal Park Retire glitch

The Pal Park Retire glitch is a glitch performable in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl that allows the player to run a script in a map under unexpected circumstances.

Overview

This is a subglitch of the void glitch and is most notable for allowing the player to battle and catch Arceus without an event or any external device. The glitch was first documented by user Cryo on January 10, 2017.

To perform the glitch, the player must first perform the void glitch and travel to Pal Park in the void. Upon entering the Pal Park map, the game will run a script that starts the Catching Show, replacing the player's Bag and Save menu options with the Retire option. The game is programmed to undo this change only when the Catching Show is complete or the player retires. However, as the player is still in the void, they can proceed to exit the Pal Park map and continue traversing the void without losing the Retire option. At this point, traveling to any map other than Pal Park and selecting Retire from the menu will cause the game to run the fourth script that normally loads in that area (by load order, not game data order). In Pal Park, this would be the usual Retire script.

If the player leaves the Pal Park map and traverses the void to the Hall of Origin, the fourth script that normally loads in this area is the script that would usually run when the player steps onto the glass platform at the top of the Hall of Origin. Therefore, selecting Retire from the menu while in the Hall of Origin will trigger the exclamation point over the player's head, followed by Arceus's cry, the player automatically stepping forward, and the battle with Arceus commencing.

To safely exit the void after performing this glitch, the player should return to the Pal Park map and select Retire from the menu normally, which will warp the player back to the lobby of the real Pal Park building area.

The aforementioned script is not responsible for checking if the player has already caught Arceus, as this responsibility belongs to the script that usually runs when the player uses the Azure Flute. In addition, it does not require the player to ever interact with or even see the Arceus sprite. As a result, the above procedure to catch Arceus can be repeated an unlimited number of times.

References

Glitches in the Pokémon games Multiple generations Transform glitches • Glitch Trainers • Cloning glitches • Error messages • Arbitrary code execution Generation I Glitches • Battle glitches • Overworld glitches -- • 0 ERROR • Broken hidden items • Cable Club escape glitch • Dual-type damage misinformation Experience underflow glitch • Fight Safari Zone Pokémon trick • Glitch City • Item duplication glitch • Item underflow Mew glitch • Old man glitch • Pewter Gym skip glitch • Pokémon merge glitch • Rhydon glitch • Rival twins glitch Select glitches (dokokashira door glitch, second type glitch) • Super Glitch Time Capsule exploit • Walking through walls • ZZAZZ glitch Generation II Glitches • Battle glitches Bug-Catching Contest glitch • Celebi Egg glitch • Coin Case glitches • Experience underflow glitch Glitch dimension • Glitch Egg • Teru-sama • Time Capsule exploit • Trainer House glitches • GS Ball mail glitch Generation III Glitches • Battle glitches • Overworld glitches Berry glitch • Dive glitch • Pomeg glitch • Glitzer Popping Generation IV Glitches • Battle glitches • Overworld glitches Acid rain • GTS glitches • Pomeg glitch • Rage glitch Surf glitch • Tweaking • Pal Park Retire glitch Generation V Glitches • Battle glitches • Overworld glitches Charge Beam additional effect chance glitch • Charge move replacement glitch • Choice item lock glitch Frozen Zoroark glitch • Sky Drop glitch Generation VI Glitches • Battle glitches • Overworld glitches Charge Beam additional effect chance glitch • Charge move replacement glitch • Choice item lock glitch Lumiose City save glitch • Symbiosis Eject Button glitch • Toxic sure-hit glitch Generation VII Glitches • Battle glitches • Overworld glitches Charge Beam additional effect chance glitch • Charge move replacement glitch • Choice item lock glitch Toxic sure-hit glitch • Rollout storage glitch Generation VIII Glitches Charge Beam additional effect chance glitch • Charge move replacement glitch • Choice item lock glitch Toxic sure-hit glitch • Rollout storage glitch • Party item offset glitch Generation IX Glitches Glitch effects Game freeze • Glitch battle • Glitch song Gen I only: Glitch screen • TMTRAINER effect • Inverted sprite Gen II only: Glitch dimension Lists Glitches (GO • Mystery Dungeon • TCG GB • Spin-off) Glitch Pokémon (Gen I • Gen II • Gen III • Gen IV • Gen V • Gen VI • Gen VII • Gen VIII) Glitch moves (Gen I) • Glitch types (Gen I • Gen II)

This article is part of Project GlitchDex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on glitches in the Pokémon games.