Talk:Roaming Pokémon

Question...

I dunno if this should be on Raikou's talk page, or even on Bulbapedia at all, but...where are each of the legendary beasts most commonly found? I really need to know, because in emerald when I caught latios, i caught it on route 131, so I was wondering if they visit a particular place often or not. plz help! Zander 09:50, 11 March 2008 (UTC)

The areas they visit are totally random. But one area to another...the two are always adjacent to each other...Optimatum^Talk|♊09:51 11 Mar 2008

Oh yay! But I have another question; in order to get a shiny of the roamers, would I have to keep restarting and beating the game in order for it to be shiny? Zander 09:54, 11 March 2008 (UTC)

I don't know. Wait for TTE's answer. What I AM sure of is that if it is a yes, don't bother. Optimatum^Talk|♊09:58 11 Mar 2008

Is it possible we can find a way to link this page to the actual roaming pokemon and all subsequent pages that apply? 'Roaming' wasn't quite the word I think of when I want such a list as this (that word is 'runner') and as far as I can find, it's only linked to three pages: Mesprit, the Legendary beasts, and Fullmoon Island. At least linking it means disclosing a term-and-article actually exist and isn't just guessing if one does. ArcToraphim 13:56, 17 June 2008 (UTC)

Sevii roamers?

Do the roaming Pokemon listed as "roaming Kanto" also roam the Sevii Islands, or just the Kanto mainland? Kidburla 14:58, 12 July 2008 (UTC)

Just the Kanto mainland. Missingno. Master wants YOU! Join the Order of the Glitch! (my talk page) 22:09, 4 June 2009 (UTC)

IV/PV creation

How are IV's and Personality Values determined? TorchicBlaziken ^{(talk•edits)} 23:54, 18 December 2008 (UTC)

EXTREMELY late, but I'm pretty sure that they're determined when they're "generated". So basically, it's when you trigger the event that causes them to start roaming. Iamjagman (talk) 21:39, 16 December 2012 (UTC)

Runaway Pokémon

Make a related page? It's about those that run away when in the wild. e.g. Growlithe, Snubbull. Those who played Gold, Silver, and Crystal should understand. It's similar to Safari Zone running away, except they could be caught with any Poké Ball. ^ht14 04:54, 5 March 2009 (UTC)

Not a bad idea. Missingno. Master wants YOU! Join the Order of the Glitch! (my talk page) 22:12, 4 June 2009 (UTC)

Perhaps we can just make a list, for efficiency? TailsDM 21:51, 29 August 2010 (UTC)

Encounter rate?

Let's say you're on the same route as a roaming Pokémon. What is the chance of finding it in the wild, as opposed to the route's native Pokémon? I would ask on the forums, but I figure this information would be good in the article. Missingno. Master wants YOU! Join the Order of the Glitch! (my talk page) 22:12, 4 June 2009 (UTC)

I can say for sure it's not 100%. took me 5 battles in firered to get suicune. - unsigned comment from Loumast (talk • contribs)

Suicune in Gen IV

How is it assumed that Suicune is a raoming pokemon in HGSS? If Eusine is actually in the games then the story is just as likely to be close to Crystals story meaning that Suicune could be stationary. So many assumptions on this site... -- D558 05:32, 21 July 2009 (UTC)

Oh yea, looks like I was right! in everyone's Faces! (I say this because people have attacked me when I have assumed that things like Mount Moon/all of kanto wouldn't be a complete areas because these "Remakes" aren't 100% like the originals (Gold/silver) yet people made assumptions that things will be exactly the same here and were proven wrong)-- D558 10:00, 17 December 2009 (UTC)

Tracking

In HGSS, Raikou and Entei are not able to be tracked via the Pokedex as they could in Gen II. Is there some sort of requirement to be able to track them, like battling Suicune first? Drake Clawfang 21:46, 6 April 2010 (UTC)

  Look at the map on your Pokégear, you'll see the Entei and Raiku heads, assuming you've already made them scatter from the Burned Tower. --Kerrick 20:54, 16 April 2010 (UTC)

Shouldn't it be mentioned that you can't use multiple screens in HGSS, since you could in DPPt, but not with your Pokégear in HGSS. Alexjuuhh 16:13, 30 April 2010 (UTC)

Something odd

er...I'm not sure how important this is, but should it be noted that roaming pokemon can be found in bodies of water on the routes they are on I encountered a Raikou while crossing a small body of water, which I found odd --User: Xaigon_Paladin 7:23, 30 May 2010 UTC

I can support this claim. I found and captured my Latias while surfing on the route around Sootopolis. TailsDM 21:43, 29 August 2010 (UTC)

I can confirm this as well. Encountered Mesprit on a tiny little bit of water which I was surfing on because Mesprit was on that route, but it was the only area where wild pokemon can be encountered. Iamjagman (talk) 21:42, 16 December 2012 (UTC)

make lati reappear in hgss?

I just wanted to ask if beating the elite four reset lati@s? I know it resets a lot of roamers, and I just wanted to make sure the same worked for latios before I killed for a good nature. Bobertbojo2 16:14, 11 September 2010 (UTC)

This kind of question is more suited for the forums. --SnorlaxMonster 02:25, 12 September 2010 (UTC)

They DON'T flee and attack on the same turn

In the first paragraph, "If they try to flee and fail, they attack on the same turn" is a little off. In HG/SS at least, they try to flee only on turns where it looks like they can at the start of the turn. If you do something like Mean Look before it can flee, it says it failed to flee, and it does not attack that turn.

Additionally, they will successfully flee even if they're asleep. The next time you see them, they're still asleep. (I'm pretty sure they didn't flee in their sleep in Gen II - I think I remember successfully using sleep instead of Mean Look.)

I don't know whether they'll try to flee again if the Mean Looker is switched out. Didn't think to test that and now I've caught all the roamers in my HG.

To make it clear, a few chains of events that happened to me tonight in HG: (note: I'm using a Lv. 90 Gallade with False Swipe, Mean Look, and Hypnosis)

• met Entei → I use False Swipe → Entei fled
• met Entei → I use Mean Look → Entei couldn't get away (doesn't try to attack me) → I use Hypnosis → (eventually) Entei woke up and Roared
• met Entei → I use Hypnosis → Entei fell asleep → Entei fled
• met Entei (he's still asleep)...

Chupi 06:01, 4 February 2011 (UTC)

I knew something was off with that statement about roaming Pokémon "being able to attack in the same turn that they try to flee". Though the aforementioned log of events from Chupi pertains to Generation IV, I don't recall that happening with any of the Generation III roaming Pokémon that I've encountered/caught, either. In particular, the battles I waged against Entei and Raikou in Pokémon FireRed Version would have been much more difficult if they were allowed to both attempt to flee and attack in one turn, since (from my experience), they are prone to using the move Roar when they cannot escape. I'm removing the statement from the article for now, but this claim about roamers being able to attempt-to-flee-AND-attack in the same turn could possibly use a bit more testing... Fenyx4 22:40, 28 October 2011 (UTC)

It's interesting that in G4 and onwards a Roaming pokemon can still flee while asleep. It's probably safe to say that their attempt to flee is performed before their status check (the sleep/paralysis/frozen messages never occur when they attempt to flee), but I can confirm for sure that their attempt to flee is a +0 priority action -- any increased-priority move (e.g. Quick Attack) will execute before it, otherwise your Speed needs to be faster than theirs (or have a Quick Claw on hand) to get your move in.

All in all, a good capture strategy? Once they're asleep and low on HP, forget about trapping them and just start lobbing Quick Balls (total 8x catch rate). : ) --Stratelier 04:25, 29 February 2012 (UTC)

Actually, fleeing has a -7 priority. --SnorlaxMonster 10:46, 29 February 2012 (UTC)

Battles

If you meet a roaming pokemon repeated times, will it be counted as one battle, or individual battles? I keep on throwing quick balls, they don't work. --Steel Dragon 22:18, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

I think they are individual battles. —darklordtrom 00:12, 7 May 2011 (UTC)

They are indeed individual. The Quick Ball not working on the first throw is like a Dusk Ball not working inside a cave. It's just a matter of luck. R.A. Hunter Blade 00:20, 7 May 2011 (UTC)

I think they are continued because in one of my games (I can't remember which) the Pokemon had a lower hp than normal because I had attacked it in my previous encounter--Teamg9 20:10, 2 February 2012 (UTC)

While they don't recover HP or restore status problems, that shouldn't affect them being individual battles. --SnorlaxMonster 09:54, 3 February 2012 (UTC)

Let's crunch the math.

• • Most legendaries have a base catch rate of 3/255, or 0.4% (per Poké Ball) at full HP.
  • Reduce them to 1 HP, put them asleep, use a Quick Ball at the start of each encounter, you still only have a 9.8% chance (per Ball).
  • Therefore, you'll need an average of 10.625 balls to ensure a catch. Purchase at least a dozen before you start hunting!
  • However, even this cannot guarantee a catch, it's still a matter of luck:
    • Every time you throw a Quick Ball, there's a 90.2% chance they will escape. 9 times out of 10!
    • Which is roughly a 67.3% (roughly 2 of 3) chance per shake. (capture = four shakes) Yes, 2 of 3 times they will just immediately break right out and escape. Get used to seeing it happen.
    • Even after throwing eleven balls (the "average" amount needed), there's a 33.7% (about 1 in 3) chance that they'll still be roaming around free.
    • The good news? A 66.3% chance (2 of 3) that one of those eleven balls will have caught them by now.

So ... in the end you just have to be patient and keep trying. Don't give up, you will catch them eventually. --Stratelier 05:01, 29 February 2012 (UTC)

Flight, movement, etc.

• If the player escapes, will the roaming Pokémon disappear forever?
• Latios (and probably Latias) move to adjacent routes, unlike Cresselia, who seems to teleport randomly all over Sinnoh. Latios/Latias probably also don't appear underwater, and Sinnoh roamers probably don't appear in the water or Battle Park. Should their movement behaviors be mentioned?
• Route boundary's meaning is unclear.
• There must be a rate to encountering a roaming Pokémon.
• Do roaming Pokémon recover Power Points between encounters? Do they keep the item one gives them with Trick or Bestow? ~Enervation 15:16, 29 August 2012 (UTC)

1. No
2. Why wouldn't Sinnoh roamers appear in the water? The Johto ones do (battling Entei on the water is weird).
3. I've clarified it as "leaving the area".
4. It's been a while since I've encountered a roaming Pokémon, but don't they always appear once you encounter a wild Pokémon in an area they are in?
5. Since they don't recover HP between battles I would assume these remain, but it does require testing. --SnorlaxMonster 15:42, 24 November 2012 (UTC)

2. They do. Mesprit has appeared in the water on multiple occasions for me.

4. That's where you're wrong. It would be nice to get a rate, but it's unnecessary, because they don't move routes upon battling (in Sinnoh at least), so you can just keep battling until you get them.

Iamjagman (talk) 21:48, 16 December 2012 (UTC)

Shiny Roaming

I read the Shiny Pokémon Page, it doesn't mention anything of the roaming Pokémon cannot being shiny, so my question: When do I have to Soft reset if the Pokémon is not Shiny? Example: Do I have to Soft reset in Pokémon Heartgold before meeting the beasts in the burned tower, or before first encoutering them in the wild?--Igor (talk) 18:26, 15 October 2012 (UTC)

Before meeting them in the burned tower. Iamjagman (talk) 21:44, 16 December 2012 (UTC)

For Gen III roamers, it is before you hear about them on TV. For Mespirit and Cresselia it is after you see them at Verity Cavern or Full Moon Island. --SnorlaxMonster 02:23, 5 January 2013 (UTC)

I think Suicune might be the exception to the "before burned tower" rule in HG/SS, as I think any personality values are calculated upon seeing it at Cerulean Cape. Schiffy (Speak to me|What I've done) 20:50, 8 July 2013 (UTC)

Apparently, Roaming Pokémon can be Shiny as my girlfriend encountered a Shiny Raikou today. She encountered it again and it still remained Shiny. Poke'fan07 (talk) 18:05, 3 December 2013 (UTC)

Unova roamers.

So, we have few things to check. Is it possible to encounter a roamer in rustling grass or rippling water? Is it also possible in dark grass's double battle, and what would happen? What would happen if someone used Repel trick so that only Tornadus/Thundurus would be encountered, and then someone went initiated a wild double battle with dark grass? Marked +-+-+ (talk) 10:25, 24 November 2012 (UTC)

• I'd assume that roamers can't be encountered in double battles, and that the battle would be forced as a single battle. I'm not 100% sure of it though, so I won't update the page. Bwburke94 (talk) 00:26, 5 January 2013 (UTC)

You can't ensure a wild double battle with dark grass. --SnorlaxMonster 02:23, 5 January 2013 (UTC)

The changing locations phenomenon.

This is something I have noticed constantly concerning HG/SS roamers. I don't know whether this applies to BW, but it's one interesting factor in how and when a Roaming Pokémon changes its current location. A few obvious things that cause a roamer to "jump" include changing routes or flying to a city (even flying to the city you're in, as to force location change). As well, sometimes getting into a battle with something else may cause the roamer to leave the area it's in. One thing I have oddly noticed is something that does not cause them to move, and that is changing locations via a gate. I'm going to use Raikou in HG for example. I could be in Goldenrod City, and Raikou could be on Route 31, right next to Violet City. If I do it right, the only location changes between Goldenrod and Route 31 would be through gates (Goldenrod->35->National Park->36->Violet->31). Executing this method of getting there would cause Raikou to not move at all, and it will be waiting for me at Route 31. I would like someone to at least tell me if they've ever noticed this as well (or for that matter, in Gen V). Schiffy (Speak to me|What I've done) 05:02, 4 July 2013 (UTC)

I noticed it too, this is true in Diamond as well (I think Gen V fixed it however; if you go in and out of a gate, you'll notice the sandstorm appearing and disappearing). Thanks for confirming this was in HGSS for me. As Hearthome is surrounded by 3 gates, I abused this exploit thoroughly by cycling up and down on Solaceon town. If you ask me, this information should be added to the actual page. --Tom0027 (talk) 02:17, 17 April 2016 (UTC)

FireRed/LeafGreen roamer trigger

The article states the the legendary beasts start roaming mainland Kanto in FRLG after defeating Team Rocket on Four Island, but I haven't been able to find any corroborating source for this. A Google search reveals a lot of different opinions on when they start roaming, including after getting the National Pokédex, and after defeating Team Rocket on Five Island. Anecdotally, in LG, I defeated Team Rocket on Four Island and spent 80 Max Repels searching for the roamer and couldn't find it, but after defeating Team Rocket on Five Island, I found it within 20 Max Repels. Of course, this doesn't prove anything, but it made me curious as to whether the trigger stated in the article is correct. --Hatkirby (talk) 17:16, 18 April 2017 (UTC)

Looks like that was a mistake I accidentally introduced. The page's original phrasing was It will commence roaming the Kanto mainland upon Lorelei's return to the Elite Four after Team Rocket is defeated in the Sevii Islands. I tried to clarify that since it was unclear at which point it was referring to, but it seems I changed it to the wrong one. The mention of Lorelei misled me. Sorry about that! Pumpkinking0192 (talk) 17:56, 18 April 2017 (UTC)

IV/personality determination

I know this has been asked already, but the comment that asked this question never got a good answer. So I'll ask again: When are the IVs and personalities of roaming Pokemon determined? Can they change upon defeating the champion? Do the answers to the previous two questions vary across generations? sumwun (talk) 15:24, 3 August 2017 (UTC)

Another question

Can you defeat and revive roaming Pokemon an unlimited number of times by defeating the Pokemon League? Does the answer vary across generations? sumwun (talk, contribs) 00:20, 19 February 2020 (UTC)

In Platinum, if you defeat a roaming Pokémon, it will return to its original position, where the player can visit it to make it start roaming again. Prior to Platinum it would be lost forever. (This is documented on this page and on the rematch page.)

According to this page, entering the Hall of Fame again also causes roaming Pokémon to reappear in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver and Pokémon Black and White, but it's not clear whether you have to specifically trigger their roaming again (I assume that you do not in Black and White, given that you didn't need to trigger them to start roaming in the first place). --SnorlaxMonster 10:15, 19 February 2020 (UTC)

Can a player do this an unlimited number of times in one save file? sumwun (talk, contribs) 14:44, 19 February 2020 (UTC)

I don't see any reason why not. I haven't tested this myself, but the Platinum guidebook certainly seems to indicate as much. --SnorlaxMonster 11:28, 20 February 2020 (UTC)

Okay thanks. Do you know what happens if multiple roaming Pokémon have the same "trigger" (such as the birds in Pt), the player defeats one of them, and then defeats the Pokemon League? Do the other 2 birds continue roaming? Can the player "retrigger" the one defeated bird in Eterna City? sumwun (talk, contribs) 17:26, 21 February 2020 (UTC)

Raikou and Entei in Crystal

So, the page states that Raikou and Entei can be found roaming Johto after being seen at the Burned Tower, but in Crystal, when first entering the Tin (Bell) Tower, there is a short cutscene involving all three of the legendary beasts. The player walks up to them, Raikou and Entei jump through the door, and then Suicune starts a battle. If Raikou and Entei started roaming after being seen at the burned tower (and thus could be caught immediately afterwards) then this cutscene wouldn't make sense unless the game had multiple versions of the cutscene, something I can't seem to find evidence of. What I want to know is this: Do Raikou and Entei start roaming at a different time in Crystal or are there different versions of the Tin (Bell) Tower cutscene?

No. Raikou and entei roam immediately after the initial burned tower sequence, same as gold silver. whether you caught them already or not, raikou and entei will still appear in the tin tower cut scene. -Pokeant (talk) 12:43, 26 August 2020 (UTC)