Turnback Cave (Japanese: 戻りの洞窟Returning Cave) is a cave which is home to the Legendary PokémonGiratina. In Sinnoh, it is located at the north-central region of Sendoff Spring, which itself may be accessed through the Spring Path. The cave can only be entered after entering the Hall of Fame. In Hisui, it is located in the center of a tall mountain crater in the Spring Path, which lies at the northwestern corner of the Cobalt Coastlands. Due to the slope of the crater, Turnback Cave is primarily accessible via Ride Pokémon.
Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, Brilliant Diamond, and Shining Pearl
Rooms and pillars
A pillar
Turnback Cave is a maze-like cave filled with dense fog. The cave has a fixed starting point—the entrance room—and a fixed terminal room—Giratina's room. The rooms between those points are random every time the player goes through a door, and the room generated will be in one of two types of layouts: a room with a single pillar in the center, or a room with an odd pattern of rocks that may obstruct other entrances. The type of room expected to generate will persist even after loading a save.
To reach Giratina's room, the player must find three pillar rooms; the room immediately after the third pillar room found is guaranteed to be Giratina's room. If the player passes through a total of 30 rooms before arriving at Giratina's room, the next door that is entered will return the player to the entrance room, where another attempt can be made. If a saved game is loaded in an intermediate room, the door the player originally entered by will not be remembered, meaning no door will lead to the entrance unless 30 rooms have already been entered. Exiting a room through the door from which it was entered returns the player to the entrance room, with the exception of the third pillar room or the door from the entrance room leading to Sendoff Spring.
In the entrance room, the inscription on the wall on the central pedestal reads:
...Past three pillars...to the sleeping... ...before 30 is surpassed...
The inscription at the base of the pillars in the pillar rooms between the entrance room and Giratina's room feature two numbers. The first denotes which pillar room the player is in, while the second denotes how many total rooms the player has traversed (including the current room) since leaving the entrance room.
Giratina's Room
Giratina's room has four entrances like other rooms in the cave, and from each a set of stairs descends to a central pedestal upon which Giratina will stand (or an item if Giratina has already been caught). In Pokémon Platinum, Giratina will only be present if the player did not catch it in the Distortion World. If Giratina has been caught, there will be a portal to the Distortion World where the player can obtain the Griseous Orb. If Giratina is not present, there will be an item, which reappears upon each subsequent visit to the room. Exiting any one of the doors from this room will return the player back to the entrance room.
Turnback Cave is a small yet spacious rounded cavern that is empty, with stone pillars lining the wall. Giratina will appear in the cave after accepting Request 91: "On The Trail of Giratina" from Professor Laventon.
A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here.
A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here.
Between second and third pillars
Only five of the six possible rooms have wild encounters; the second of the possible rooms between these pillars never has wild encounters.
A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here.
A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here.
A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here.
A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here.
Special encounters
Pokémon Diamond and Pearl
A Giratina appears here on the first visit. If run from, it respawns upon leaving the area.
Altered Forme Giratina at Turnback Cave in Platinum
An Altered Forme Giratina appears here after entering the Hall of Fame if it was defeated or run from in the Distortion World. If it is defeated or run from, it respawns after entering the Hall of Fame again.
Giratina can be caught in its Origin Forme during Request 91: "On the Trail of Giratina", which becomes available after completion of Mission 26: "Seeking the Remaining Plates". It is coded to never be Shiny. If defeated, it respawns after the player exits and reenters the cave.
Turnback Cave appeared in Enter the Distortion World!. After managing to make Kaisei spill out how to get to the Distortion World, Charon traveled to the cave and entered Giratina's realm through it with Kaisei, followed by Hareta, Koya, and Jun.
Trivia
Turnback Cave is similar to certain locations in Kanto and Hoenn:
Turnback Cave and the Distortion World may draw some inspiration from the Japanese underworld, Yomi. Giratina itself can be seen as a parallel to the kami Izanami.
Turnback Cave shares its music with that of the Old Chateau. However, in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, the version of the track used in Turnback Cave and the surrounding areas is noticeably lacking certain soundfonts. Interestingly, this variation is not recognized as a separate track in the game's audio files and the normal variation of the track is used in Pokémon Platinum, suggesting the difference between the versions was unintentional.
