Broken escalator glitch

Miscellaneous glitches of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, Pokémon Platinum, and Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver

Exclusive to Diamond and Pearl:
Battle Barry every day | Broken escalator glitch (Japanese only) | Choice Banded Pursuit glitch (Japanese only) | Choice Banded U-Turn glitch (Japanese only) | Dress up Hiker glitch | Egg determination glitch | Fake Tower Tycoon glitch | Honey/Sweet Scent shop glitch | Mute Route 214 glitch | Mute Sendoff Spring glitch | Protect oversight

Exclusive to Platinum:
Ace Trainer battle loop (Japanese only) | Giratina Origin Forme glitch | Trapping Ability flee glitch

Exclusive to HeartGold and SoulSilver:
Boulder push glitch | Water stream glitch | Floating walking Pokémon glitch (poison variation, menu variation) | Sequence breaking

In various or all entries:
Acid Rain glitch (Platinum/HeartGold/SoulSilver) | Grass glitch (Diamond/Pearl/Platinum) | Global Trade System glitches | Incorrect sprite for the Defog HM (Diamond/Pearl/Platinum) | Pal Park daily limit oversight | Pal Park nickname glitch | Route 224 tile oversight (Diamond/Pearl/Platinum) | VS Recorder audio glitch

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Bulbapedia also has an article about Broken escalator glitch.

The Broken escalator glitch is a miscellaneous glitch only existing in the older builds of the Japanese versions of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. It is notable in the sense that it is one of only a few glitches officially acknowledged by Nintendo.

In the older builds of the Japanese versions of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl if the player was to enter and leave the Union Room from the second floor of the Pokémon League the next time the player uses an escalator to go to the second floor of any Pokémon center he or she will find himself inside of the 'void' and unable to escape.

In these games, when a player exits the Union Room from the second floor of the Pokémon League, the next time the player uses an escalator to emerge on the second floor of any Pokémon center he or she will appear outside of the normal map area (i.e. the 'void'). As a result, the Broken escalator glitch is potentially dangerous in the sense that when the player saves the game he or she will never be able to return to the normal area of the map without any guidance or previous experience of the structure of the game layer corresponding to the overworld.

How to avoid the glitch (after returning from the Union Room)

This method is officially acknowledged by Nintendo. This method will not work if the player has already saved his or her game in the void.

1. Turn the game off and then back on again.
2. The player sohuld go to the Contest Hall in Hearthome City.
3. The player should speak with the leftmost attendant, however he or she does not need to participate in a Super Contest.
4. After saving the game and restarting, the next escalator will operate as normal.

External links

1. [1] - The broken escalator glitch, mentioned by Nintendo of Japan.