How does the Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Pokémon Shining Pearl Tower Master Ribbon Actually Work?

Evening maniacs, it's been a hot minute but I thought I'd quickly post this as none of the FAQs, Reddit posts or even Bulbapedia or Serebii.net are really clear on how it works or are frustratingly vague or just plain ol' wrong. I've just earned the Tower Master Ribbon on my original Pokémon Diamond Rampardos in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond, a mere five years after the game's release as part of this stupid mission. Now let's get into it step by step.

If You Can, Get This Ribbon In Sword or Shield

The Tower Master Ribbon was introduced in the Generation 8 switch games and is not the same as any of the tower ribbons you can earn in any of the previous games, including the original Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl which offered six different battle tower ribbons based on the mode. The Tower Master Ribbon is far easier to get in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield by beating Leon in a Master Rank match and repeat battles against him will earn new copies of this ribbon. The only reason to go for it in BD/SP is if you don't own Sword and Shield or most likely because you are trying to obtain it on one of the Pokémon in the first 493 of the National Pokédex that didn't make the Dexit cut. Pokémon from 493 onwards can't be moved into BD/SP so if it's not in the Sword Shield dex or BD/SP then unfortunately it can't get this ribbon (although note that some Pokémon species which get a new evolution in later games can earn this ribbon before they evolve, so if you love, for example Wyrdeer, Farigiraf or even Hisuian Typhlosion, hold off evolving it, wash it through the BD/SP Battle Tower and then evolve it in the later game). 

How to Get the Tower Master Ribbon

Fair warning, this is a real slog and the second hardest thing to achieve in these games*. In order to earn this ribbon, first you need to unlock the Master rank challenge in either Singles or Doubles. To do this, you need to get a continuous win streak of 49 or more and beat the Tower Tycoon in the 49th battle (you'll also face him at 21 battles) in the Battle Tower. If you lose one battle you have to start your streak over again. You can check your current streak by checking the PC next to the second nurse lady in the Battle Tower. You can check your all time record in the same place as well as on the back of your trainer card. Just beating this tower is no mean feat and you can find plenty of guides out there for team builds. Finally beating Palmer at battle 49 gets you nearer to the Tower Master Ribbon but sadly, you cannot earn the ribbon in the standard tier. 

To Be A Master

Once you beat battle 49 without losing, you will unlock both the Single and Double Master Class. You don't have to get the 49 streak in both the regular tier types to unlock masters. Although the trainers you will fight in Master Class are more challenging, later battles you will regularly be facing legendary Pokémon, thankfully Master Class works slightly differently in that there are Ranks numbered from 1 to 10. Although you can get demoted from a rank, it is slightly more forgiving than one loss and you have to start the challenge all over again and/or hurl your Switch across the room. I'm not quite sure how the ranks work. In some ranks I could lose in a battle room and didn't lose a rank immediately if I recall correctly but for higher ranks it did seem like one loss busted you down a rank. Like the normal tier, you will face seven trainers in a row. If you beat all seven trainers, you will move up to the next rank. If you lose against any of these, you have to exit out of the room and start another 7 battle challenge at your rank and may go down a rank. So if you are rank one, you beat the first room of seven trainers and you will go up to rank 2 and so on. 

You will need to make your way up to rank 10 and then the seventh battle in the Rank 10 room will be Tower Tycoon Palmer (or Tower Tycoon Palmer and his son, your rival, in Double Master Class). Every member on your tower team- three in singles, four in doubles will receive the ribbon, even if they didn't appear on the field in the final fight. To earn the ribbon on more Pokémon, you need to beat another seven battle room in a row at Rank 10. Basically, beating Palmer at Rank 10 is how you earn this medal. The downsides: if you lose you'll be busted down to rank 9, meaning you'll have to fight another 14 battles to get a shot at the Tower Tycoon. Up until battle five of a seven battle set you can take a break after each battle and change out your team. The nurse attending you will heal up your team after every win and will give you the option to continue, take a break or quit. If you take a break you can go and change out your team and items etc. and then come back. However, you can't change your team after battle four ("until you battle the fifth Trainer, you can take a break during the challenge to step out of the Battle Room and reselect your Pokémon") and if you quit out at this stage, you will also likely lose a rank. I got to the seventh battle of rank 10, chose to quit and was instantly demoted to Rank 9. You do not need to win every battle in every rank in one continuous streak to get this medal. On my run I lost a number of times getting to rank 10, for example my highest streak was 41 wins in a row. I earned the medal on a 14 win streak.   

   

The best strategy for earning this ribbon with your favourite Pokémon, if your favourite is not especially strong is to build a strong team for the Tower and then swap in your target Pokémon in at the last possible moment and hope you can cheese it with the rest of your team carrying the deadwood. I'm not 100% sure if you can swap it in before battle five in Master Rank 10 so I did the last set of seven battles with the one I wanted to get the ribbon on. This is also why I chose to get this ribbon through the master double battle tower as that way three of your strong Pokémon can carry the fourth. In singles, your target Pokémon makes up a third of your team so a bit riskier if you end up having to put them on the field. Alternatively, you could try putting more than one Pokémon you want the ribbon on through the last seven battles but, and I can't stress this enough, these trainers have difficult teams by the end you regularly see the legendary birds, the legendary dogs, cresselia, heatran and the regis and often more than one in a team. I think a loss at rank 10 always busts you down to rank 9 so you then have to slog through another 14 battles again (seven to get back to rank 10 and then seven in rank 10 to face Palmer) so it might be more efficient in the long run to have your stronger team carry one Pokémon at a time just in case a weather condition, ability quirk, crit or unexpected priority move messes up your strategy. 

I hope this helps some folk out there, I couldn't find the precise conditions of how you get this ribbon and how you get repeat ribbons on the rest of your team in the BDSP Battle Tower so I hope it is a bit clearer. If you do find this post and still have a question or clarification then do ask and I'll see if I can answer or road test it. I've got at least a dozen of my subviable favourites/legacies and high ribbon count Pokémon to put through the Tower so I'll be hitting it at rank 10 and rank 9 often enough in the future. 

In the meantime, here's my OG Rampardos now as 'ribbon complete' as I can currently get it up to Pokémon Scarlet/Violet (I missed quite a few ribbons back in the day but wanted to stick with my original guy for sentimental reasons rather than run a new one from the old games all the way through). Fun fact you can earn a special certificate in BDSP for bringing Pokémon from the OG Diamond and Pearl into the game as an extra fun thing if you're a vintage player. 

* The hardest thing to do in these games is to earn a black trainer card which requires, amongst some other easier requirements, a 100 win streak in the Battle Tower. Honestly, I know Nintendo kinda cringingly still puts out press pretending that bragging rights is a thing but I think this is one area where it is absolutely warranted.