From the Übers introduced in Diamond and Pearl to just the plain old legendary trio, it’s all covered here, hopefully to help people who want to catch legendaries for use in battle.
Sections in this guide:
Part I : Preparations
Part II: Obtaining the Legendaries
Part III: Legendary Stats
Part I : Preparations
Capture Rate
Each legendary is assigned a numerical catch rate, as are all wild Pokémon. Essentially, the higher the Catch Rate, the higher the chance to capture. The Catch Rate is plugged into a formula, which determines whether the Pokémon will be captured or not. While the actual in-game formula is quite complex, Community Member X-Act has made a formula that produces nearly exact results. Note to always round down should you get a decimal.
(( 1 + ( MaxHP * 3 - CurHP * 2 ) * CatchRate * BallRate * Status ) / ( MaxHP * 3 )) / 256
Ball Rates :
Dusk Ball (In darkness) = 4
Net Ball (Against a Water type) = 3
Ultra Ball = 2
Timer ball begins at 1 and increases every 10 turns, with a cap of 4. Quick Balls begin at 4, and decrease every 5 turns with a low of 1. Neither of these Balls exceed the rate of the Dusk Ball, and are somewhat more circumstantial.
Status :
Freeze : 10
Sleep : 10
Paralysis : 5
Burn : 5
Poison : 5
None : 1
Freeze and Sleep are tied for first, but there are no reliable Freezing moves at this point in time. So, Sleep is our best bet, and significantly higher than Paralysis. Paralysis is, as mentioned, much lower, and not worth it. A legendary should never be Burned or Poisoned, as they both essentially start a death clock with steady HP lowering.
The catch rates of the legendaries are 3, except for Manaphy, who is obtained in an Egg, Dialga and Palkia, who are 30, and Shaymin, which is 45.
Let's say we try and catch a Level 5 Max HP Magikarp with a Dusk Ball. Magikarp’s Catch Rate is 255.
((1 + ((18*3 - 18*2) * 255 * 4 * 1)) / (18*3)) / 256
= ((1 + (18 * 255 * 4 * 1)) / 54) / 256
= ((1 + 18360) / 54) / 256
= (18361 / 54) / 256
= 340 / 256
= 1.328125
Any decimal numbers were not shown, and simply rounded down.
If the number is over 1, you will catch the Pokémon no matter what. So, provided you use a Dusk Ball, you would have a 100% chance to catch that Magikarp. However, due to varying IVs, you do not know the Max HP of the legendaries, and you certainly have no way of determining the Current HP. The formula is here for reference nonetheless, and a little bit of insight on why certain Balls or Status effects are used.
Ball Capsules
Just like you wouldn’t go into the woods without proper equipment, you can’t expect to catch the all-mighty legendary Pokémon (or Regigigas for that matter) without being prepared. That means you’ll need enough Balls. Preferably of the Dusk variety. These can be picked up at most any PokéMart, and you will be able to have some before you fight your first legendary. You’d probably want to have at least 50 Dusk Balls on you for each legendary, and there are 11 legendaries that are obtainable per game cartridge that are caught in PokéBalls (this includes Darkrai, Shaymin, and Arceus). That is 550 (For those of you who can’t be bothered to pay attention in Maths Class), and you’ll probably want to have at least 50 Ultra or Timer Balls in reserve.
Granted, it wouldn’t be most cost effective to go out and buy 600 PokéBalls at once, so it is best to only carry around 100 Dusk Balls and 50 Ultra Balls at one time. This is great if say, Uxie is caught on the first Dusk Ball Thrown, whereas Azelf takes 65. If you haven’t beaten the Elite Four yet, and you are in the forced battle with either Dialga or Palkia, 60 Ultra/Dusk Balls will do fine; they have the second highest catch rate for legendaries caught, and Ultra Balls could be your primary weapon if you don’t want to wait for night. Shaymin can also be caught with Ultra Balls if need be. Timer Balls are a viable option if you are not battling in a cave, and if you wait long enough, which you typically shouldn't have to. Palkia has the added advantage of being easy to catch with Net Balls if you so choose. For the legendaries, bar Dialga/Palkia and the "runners" Mesprit and Cresselia, as well as the ones obtained in events, you can use Dusk Balls without worry; they are all conveniently located in caves, which boost Dusk Ball effectiveness. For the other legendaries, you’ll have to wait until after 20:00 on your DS clock for the Dusk Balls to work to their full potential. Or, you could always clone a whole bunch of Master Balls via the GTS glitch or Pokémon Emerald. But true Pokémon masters use real Balls.
The Synchronizer
After you got yourself some Balls, you’ll want to get a Synchronizer. "But wait," you may say! "I remember from Emerald, Synchronize doesn’t work on legendaries!" Well, GameFreak has changed this, and when you have a Pokémon with the Synchronize in the first slot of your party, all wild Pokémon have a 50% chance of inheriting the nature of that Pokémon. That’s great, so you can have an increased chance of getting the nature you want. Which by the way, is something you’ll have to decide on your own; it is a trainer’s personal preference on what nature to use. Try reading the Stark Mountain forum for ideas.
Now, where will you find these Pokémon that Synchronize? Well, the list of all Pokémon that can have this trait is as follows:
#063 Abra (#20 in Sinnoh), #064 Kadabra (#21 in Sinnoh) , #065 Alakazam (#22 in Sinnoh), #150 Mew, #177 Natu, #178 Xatu, #196 Espeon, #197 Umbreon, #280 Ralts, #281 Kirlia, and #282 Gardevoir
If you’re trying to catch Dialga or Palkia, you can pretty much limit that to Abra, Kadabra, or Alakazam. Unless you trade with somebody else who already has them, you cannot get the rest of the listed Pokémon before you beat the Elite 4 and obtain the National Pokédex. Abra and Kadabra can be found on Routes 203 (Abra only) and 215, but keep in mind, they might not have the nature you want, or even have the Synchronize ability. It’s a pain for this little pre-National Dex portion of time, so the best you can do is probably convince someone to trade you for pretty much free, or breed/catch an Abra/Kadabra/Alakazam with the nature you want for Dialga or Palkia.
After the National Pokédex (which is when it’s the best time to capture the rest of the legendaries, as your box legend will already be caught), it is considerably easier to get Synchronizers. You can soft reset at the Game Corner Prize Shop in FireRed/Leafgreen for Abras, or transfer over Synchronizers you had in the previous generation for catching Dittos in Emerald. You can also capture Natu, Ralts, and Kirlia in the wild, but it’s not as time efficient as the aforementioned methods.
The Catcher
So that’s all fine and good. Get your Synchronizer, and if you are planning on transferring over unlimited Master Balls from your previous generation games, feel free to read the little blurb about Manaphy and be on your way to the next section. If not, you’ll probably need a good capturing Pokémon. What makes a good capturing Pokémon? A Pokémon that can learn both a reliable sleep move (70 Accuracy and up) and False Swipe (a TM found in the Veilstone Department Store that keeps the wild Pokémon at 1 HP if it would have fainted). True, Dialga, Heatran, and Giratina all laugh at the thought of the move, and the rest of the legendaries aren’t going to be crippled by it, it’s still great to get the HP of the legend’s as low as possible before throwing your Balls. A list of Pokémon that meet the above criteria is as follows:
#046 Paras, #047 Parasect, #151 Mew*, and #475 Gallade*
Parasect is probably the easiest to obtain, but you must get it up to a very high level, with an Attack boosting nature. Mew is, of course, an event Pokémon, and it only learns Hypnosis via Pokémon XD, and Gallade can only learn Hypnosis while it is Ralts or Kirlia, and False Swipe only once it is evolved into Gallade. However, Gallade also learns Mean Look as an Egg Move, so it can be used to trap the runners as well. In conclusion, Gallade is probably the best, it’s just a bit of a pain to get Ralts/Kirlia a high level to get Hypnosis, and even more of a pain to get a male one in the first place. Mind, your catcher should be of a high level anyway, hopefully level 50 (but not higher) if you are using it to catch Mesprit and Cresselia, and 80+ otherwise. If you do end up using Parasect , make sure you obtain it in Diamond or Pearl, so it has the ability Poison Heal, rather than Effect Spore, which could ruin a battle. If you’re aiming to catch Dialga or Palkia, you cannot get both False Swipe and a good high-leveled sleeping move on one Pokémon without trading, so your best bet is to get a Pokémon with Hypnosis, and whittle down it’s health a little. Luckily they are easier to catch anyway. A list of Pokémon who learn Hypnosis in Sinnoh naturally would be:
#069 Gastly, #070 Haunter, #071 Gengar, #088 Bronzor, #089 Bronzong, #106 Hoothoot, # 107 Noctowl, and #108 Spiritomb (Sinnoh Pokédex Numbers)
Out of this bunch, the best would arguably be Haunter/Gengar, as it is a good Pokémon that would be worth raising to help you in-game anyway. Gastly can be found in the Lost Tower near Solaceon Town.
Other Items and Pokémon
Take another stop at a PokéMart; you’ll want to buy a few Revives and Hyper/Super Potions/Full Restores if you’re far enough in the game. Revives are also found in the Underground fairly easily, along with their more powerful variant, Max Revives. These are mainly for keeping your main capture Pokémon alive, as well as your others as well. About 30 Super Repels are almost mandatory too (these are actually more cost effective than Max Repels). 5 or so Escape Ropes are great if you’re lazy (and almost necessary for after Heatran....) You should always bring a team of 3 high-levelled Pokémon (the other two are HM slaves, but levelling them up is great) with your Synchronizer in the lead. The only exceptions are when you are catching Mesprit or Cresselia. In this case, you could use Wobbuffet in your first slot in order to trap them, or use Mean Look Gallade (this is reccomended, as Gallade is an excellent catcher as well).
If you are going to capture Regigigas, you will need to bring along #377 Regirock, #378 Regice, and #378 Registeel, otherwise it will not enter battle with you. When going to catch Giratina, remember to bring a Pokémon with Defog. Also, if you are going to obtain Manaphy, you will need two Nintendo DS or DS Lite (or a combination of the two) systems, one with a copy of your game, and one with a completed Pokémon Ranger that has not yet given out a Manaphy. If you don’t own two systems, try borrowing one from a friend, as the actual act of transferring Manaphy doesn’t take too long. Just be sure to beat Pokémon Ranger in advance. You will also need a junk Pokémon you don’t mind releasing. Always bring your HM slaves as well.
One last optional Pokémon that you may wish to take with you is the "two under" Pokémon. This is a Pokémon that has a Speed stat two points below the maximum of the legendary you’re trying to catch. This is mainly only for the Pokémon you really need to have a Pokémon reach a certain speed. It isn’t the wisest choice to bring one of these along for every legendary however; the "two under" Pokémon can be a pain to get, but it will be worth it if you don’t have Master Balls. The idea is to switch your Synchronizer to the "two under", then have the latter use an attack. If the legendary goes first, switch to the capture Pokémon and continue the battle. If not, reset. This "two under" should either be of a high level or be holding a Focus Sash (which can be obtained from the man in the house west of the Pal Park the third time you show him a Pokémon). Refer to Part III to see what the maximum Speed stats of the legendaries would be.
If you have gathered all the supplies you need to catch those big bad legends, you are ready to tackle the first one : Dialga in Diamond, and Palkia in Pearl. So then, let’s move onto the next Part : Obtaining the Legendaries!
Sections in this guide:
Part I : Preparations
Part II: Obtaining the Legendaries
Part III: Legendary Stats
Part I : Preparations
Capture Rate
Each legendary is assigned a numerical catch rate, as are all wild Pokémon. Essentially, the higher the Catch Rate, the higher the chance to capture. The Catch Rate is plugged into a formula, which determines whether the Pokémon will be captured or not. While the actual in-game formula is quite complex, Community Member X-Act has made a formula that produces nearly exact results. Note to always round down should you get a decimal.
(( 1 + ( MaxHP * 3 - CurHP * 2 ) * CatchRate * BallRate * Status ) / ( MaxHP * 3 )) / 256
Ball Rates :
Dusk Ball (In darkness) = 4
Net Ball (Against a Water type) = 3
Ultra Ball = 2
Timer ball begins at 1 and increases every 10 turns, with a cap of 4. Quick Balls begin at 4, and decrease every 5 turns with a low of 1. Neither of these Balls exceed the rate of the Dusk Ball, and are somewhat more circumstantial.
Status :
Freeze : 10
Sleep : 10
Paralysis : 5
Burn : 5
Poison : 5
None : 1
Freeze and Sleep are tied for first, but there are no reliable Freezing moves at this point in time. So, Sleep is our best bet, and significantly higher than Paralysis. Paralysis is, as mentioned, much lower, and not worth it. A legendary should never be Burned or Poisoned, as they both essentially start a death clock with steady HP lowering.
The catch rates of the legendaries are 3, except for Manaphy, who is obtained in an Egg, Dialga and Palkia, who are 30, and Shaymin, which is 45.
Let's say we try and catch a Level 5 Max HP Magikarp with a Dusk Ball. Magikarp’s Catch Rate is 255.
((1 + ((18*3 - 18*2) * 255 * 4 * 1)) / (18*3)) / 256
= ((1 + (18 * 255 * 4 * 1)) / 54) / 256
= ((1 + 18360) / 54) / 256
= (18361 / 54) / 256
= 340 / 256
= 1.328125
Any decimal numbers were not shown, and simply rounded down.
If the number is over 1, you will catch the Pokémon no matter what. So, provided you use a Dusk Ball, you would have a 100% chance to catch that Magikarp. However, due to varying IVs, you do not know the Max HP of the legendaries, and you certainly have no way of determining the Current HP. The formula is here for reference nonetheless, and a little bit of insight on why certain Balls or Status effects are used.
Ball Capsules
Just like you wouldn’t go into the woods without proper equipment, you can’t expect to catch the all-mighty legendary Pokémon (or Regigigas for that matter) without being prepared. That means you’ll need enough Balls. Preferably of the Dusk variety. These can be picked up at most any PokéMart, and you will be able to have some before you fight your first legendary. You’d probably want to have at least 50 Dusk Balls on you for each legendary, and there are 11 legendaries that are obtainable per game cartridge that are caught in PokéBalls (this includes Darkrai, Shaymin, and Arceus). That is 550 (For those of you who can’t be bothered to pay attention in Maths Class), and you’ll probably want to have at least 50 Ultra or Timer Balls in reserve.
Granted, it wouldn’t be most cost effective to go out and buy 600 PokéBalls at once, so it is best to only carry around 100 Dusk Balls and 50 Ultra Balls at one time. This is great if say, Uxie is caught on the first Dusk Ball Thrown, whereas Azelf takes 65. If you haven’t beaten the Elite Four yet, and you are in the forced battle with either Dialga or Palkia, 60 Ultra/Dusk Balls will do fine; they have the second highest catch rate for legendaries caught, and Ultra Balls could be your primary weapon if you don’t want to wait for night. Shaymin can also be caught with Ultra Balls if need be. Timer Balls are a viable option if you are not battling in a cave, and if you wait long enough, which you typically shouldn't have to. Palkia has the added advantage of being easy to catch with Net Balls if you so choose. For the legendaries, bar Dialga/Palkia and the "runners" Mesprit and Cresselia, as well as the ones obtained in events, you can use Dusk Balls without worry; they are all conveniently located in caves, which boost Dusk Ball effectiveness. For the other legendaries, you’ll have to wait until after 20:00 on your DS clock for the Dusk Balls to work to their full potential. Or, you could always clone a whole bunch of Master Balls via the GTS glitch or Pokémon Emerald. But true Pokémon masters use real Balls.
The Synchronizer
After you got yourself some Balls, you’ll want to get a Synchronizer. "But wait," you may say! "I remember from Emerald, Synchronize doesn’t work on legendaries!" Well, GameFreak has changed this, and when you have a Pokémon with the Synchronize in the first slot of your party, all wild Pokémon have a 50% chance of inheriting the nature of that Pokémon. That’s great, so you can have an increased chance of getting the nature you want. Which by the way, is something you’ll have to decide on your own; it is a trainer’s personal preference on what nature to use. Try reading the Stark Mountain forum for ideas.
Now, where will you find these Pokémon that Synchronize? Well, the list of all Pokémon that can have this trait is as follows:
#063 Abra (#20 in Sinnoh), #064 Kadabra (#21 in Sinnoh) , #065 Alakazam (#22 in Sinnoh), #150 Mew, #177 Natu, #178 Xatu, #196 Espeon, #197 Umbreon, #280 Ralts, #281 Kirlia, and #282 Gardevoir
If you’re trying to catch Dialga or Palkia, you can pretty much limit that to Abra, Kadabra, or Alakazam. Unless you trade with somebody else who already has them, you cannot get the rest of the listed Pokémon before you beat the Elite 4 and obtain the National Pokédex. Abra and Kadabra can be found on Routes 203 (Abra only) and 215, but keep in mind, they might not have the nature you want, or even have the Synchronize ability. It’s a pain for this little pre-National Dex portion of time, so the best you can do is probably convince someone to trade you for pretty much free, or breed/catch an Abra/Kadabra/Alakazam with the nature you want for Dialga or Palkia.
After the National Pokédex (which is when it’s the best time to capture the rest of the legendaries, as your box legend will already be caught), it is considerably easier to get Synchronizers. You can soft reset at the Game Corner Prize Shop in FireRed/Leafgreen for Abras, or transfer over Synchronizers you had in the previous generation for catching Dittos in Emerald. You can also capture Natu, Ralts, and Kirlia in the wild, but it’s not as time efficient as the aforementioned methods.
The Catcher
So that’s all fine and good. Get your Synchronizer, and if you are planning on transferring over unlimited Master Balls from your previous generation games, feel free to read the little blurb about Manaphy and be on your way to the next section. If not, you’ll probably need a good capturing Pokémon. What makes a good capturing Pokémon? A Pokémon that can learn both a reliable sleep move (70 Accuracy and up) and False Swipe (a TM found in the Veilstone Department Store that keeps the wild Pokémon at 1 HP if it would have fainted). True, Dialga, Heatran, and Giratina all laugh at the thought of the move, and the rest of the legendaries aren’t going to be crippled by it, it’s still great to get the HP of the legend’s as low as possible before throwing your Balls. A list of Pokémon that meet the above criteria is as follows:
#046 Paras, #047 Parasect, #151 Mew*, and #475 Gallade*
Parasect is probably the easiest to obtain, but you must get it up to a very high level, with an Attack boosting nature. Mew is, of course, an event Pokémon, and it only learns Hypnosis via Pokémon XD, and Gallade can only learn Hypnosis while it is Ralts or Kirlia, and False Swipe only once it is evolved into Gallade. However, Gallade also learns Mean Look as an Egg Move, so it can be used to trap the runners as well. In conclusion, Gallade is probably the best, it’s just a bit of a pain to get Ralts/Kirlia a high level to get Hypnosis, and even more of a pain to get a male one in the first place. Mind, your catcher should be of a high level anyway, hopefully level 50 (but not higher) if you are using it to catch Mesprit and Cresselia, and 80+ otherwise. If you do end up using Parasect , make sure you obtain it in Diamond or Pearl, so it has the ability Poison Heal, rather than Effect Spore, which could ruin a battle. If you’re aiming to catch Dialga or Palkia, you cannot get both False Swipe and a good high-leveled sleeping move on one Pokémon without trading, so your best bet is to get a Pokémon with Hypnosis, and whittle down it’s health a little. Luckily they are easier to catch anyway. A list of Pokémon who learn Hypnosis in Sinnoh naturally would be:
#069 Gastly, #070 Haunter, #071 Gengar, #088 Bronzor, #089 Bronzong, #106 Hoothoot, # 107 Noctowl, and #108 Spiritomb (Sinnoh Pokédex Numbers)
Out of this bunch, the best would arguably be Haunter/Gengar, as it is a good Pokémon that would be worth raising to help you in-game anyway. Gastly can be found in the Lost Tower near Solaceon Town.
Other Items and Pokémon
Take another stop at a PokéMart; you’ll want to buy a few Revives and Hyper/Super Potions/Full Restores if you’re far enough in the game. Revives are also found in the Underground fairly easily, along with their more powerful variant, Max Revives. These are mainly for keeping your main capture Pokémon alive, as well as your others as well. About 30 Super Repels are almost mandatory too (these are actually more cost effective than Max Repels). 5 or so Escape Ropes are great if you’re lazy (and almost necessary for after Heatran....) You should always bring a team of 3 high-levelled Pokémon (the other two are HM slaves, but levelling them up is great) with your Synchronizer in the lead. The only exceptions are when you are catching Mesprit or Cresselia. In this case, you could use Wobbuffet in your first slot in order to trap them, or use Mean Look Gallade (this is reccomended, as Gallade is an excellent catcher as well).
If you are going to capture Regigigas, you will need to bring along #377 Regirock, #378 Regice, and #378 Registeel, otherwise it will not enter battle with you. When going to catch Giratina, remember to bring a Pokémon with Defog. Also, if you are going to obtain Manaphy, you will need two Nintendo DS or DS Lite (or a combination of the two) systems, one with a copy of your game, and one with a completed Pokémon Ranger that has not yet given out a Manaphy. If you don’t own two systems, try borrowing one from a friend, as the actual act of transferring Manaphy doesn’t take too long. Just be sure to beat Pokémon Ranger in advance. You will also need a junk Pokémon you don’t mind releasing. Always bring your HM slaves as well.
One last optional Pokémon that you may wish to take with you is the "two under" Pokémon. This is a Pokémon that has a Speed stat two points below the maximum of the legendary you’re trying to catch. This is mainly only for the Pokémon you really need to have a Pokémon reach a certain speed. It isn’t the wisest choice to bring one of these along for every legendary however; the "two under" Pokémon can be a pain to get, but it will be worth it if you don’t have Master Balls. The idea is to switch your Synchronizer to the "two under", then have the latter use an attack. If the legendary goes first, switch to the capture Pokémon and continue the battle. If not, reset. This "two under" should either be of a high level or be holding a Focus Sash (which can be obtained from the man in the house west of the Pal Park the third time you show him a Pokémon). Refer to Part III to see what the maximum Speed stats of the legendaries would be.
If you have gathered all the supplies you need to catch those big bad legends, you are ready to tackle the first one : Dialga in Diamond, and Palkia in Pearl. So then, let’s move onto the next Part : Obtaining the Legendaries!
