Time and the clock

Platinum Emerald has its own clock. It runs only while you play, so no cartridge clock is needed, and by default one game day passes in 60 minutes of play: a game hour every two and a half minutes.

Seeing the time

Open the start menu: the day and time show in the top left, for example WED 14:32. A new game starts on Monday at 10:00, and a save from an earlier release goes on from its own day.

Times of day

All four regions use the DS games' hours:

• Morning: 4:00 to 9:59
• Day: 10:00 to 16:59
• Evening: 17:00 to 19:59
• Night: 20:00 to 3:59

Changing the clock

In OPTION, the CLOCK row sets how fast the clock runs: press LEFT or RIGHT to pick

• 60 MIN DAY: a game day in 60 minutes of play (the default)
• 30 MIN DAY: a game day in 30 minutes
• REAL CLOCK: the real time, from the cartridge's clock. On a cartridge or emulator without one, the clock keeps the 60-minute day.

Press A on CLOCK to set the day and time: LEFT and RIGHT pick the weekday, hour or minute, UP and DOWN change it, A sets the clock and B leaves it as it was. Setting it forward runs the days in between, as if you had waited. Setting it back loses nothing: daily events and berry growth simply wait until the clock catches up.

What depends on the time

• Wild Pokemon: many places in Sinnoh and Johto have different Pokemon in the morning, during the day, in the evening and at night (67 places in this guide show the times; a time with no table of its own uses the morning one). Hoenn and Kanto areas have the same Pokemon all day, as in Emerald and FireRed.
• Evolutions that need a time of day:
  • Eevee into Espeon: Level up, with high friendship, not at night
  • Eevee into Umbreon: Level up, with high friendship, at night
  • Gligar into Gliscor: Level up, at night, holding Razor Fang
  • Sneasel into Weavile: Level up, at night, holding Razor Claw
  • Budew into Roselia: Level up, with high friendship, not at night
  • Chingling into Chimecho: Level up, with high friendship, at night
  • Happiny into Chansey: Level up, not at night, holding Oval Stone
  • Riolu into Lucario: Level up, with high friendship, not at night
• Berries grow with the clock.
• Daily events change at midnight: the swarms, the Great Marsh and Trophy Garden daily Pokemon, and the other once-a-day events of the four games. Honey trees are ready 6 to 24 game hours after you slather them.
• Weekly events follow the day of the week, such as the Bug-Catching Contest's Pokemon after the National Pokedex and the four games' weekday visitors. The Bug-Catching Contest is on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

The screen's light changes with the time of day too.