Fateful encounter

This Meowth was met in a fateful encounter in Sword and Shield.

A fateful encounter (Japanese: 運命的な出会い fateful encounter) is a flag attached to certain event Pokémon and some wild Mythical Pokémon that indicates they were met in a special manner. In Generation III, Pokémon with this flag usually have "fateful encounter" set for their location text, while in Generation IV and on, "fateful encounter" is written after the location to describe the method. Some Pokémon, however, may have the fateful encounter flag set but display a different met location. Games released prior to Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen did not have this flag programmed into the game; while they may display "obtained in a fateful encounter" in the summary, they still do not have the flag.

From Pokémon Platinum onward, the presence of this flag has been used to trigger special events in some games if the player has a certain Pokémon with the "fateful encounter" flag in the party.

Non-distribution fateful encounter Pokémon

In Generation III, this flag is set for Mew and Deoxys caught on Birth Island and Faraway Island. These Pokémon disobey the player regardless of the Badges the player owns, unless the Pokémon has the fateful encounter flag set.

Any Pokémon obtained in Pokémon XD will have the fateful encounter flag set.

In Pokémon Platinum, the Shaymin caught in the Flower Paradise will be set as a fateful encounter. In Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, the Shaymin in Flower Paradise (only accessible using glitches or cheating) will not be a fateful encounter, so they cannot be used to obtain the Gracidea, nor can they be transferred to future games.

List of in-game events activated by fateful encounter Pokémon

• Shaymin
  • Pokémon Platinum - In the Floaroma Town Pokémon Center, players can receive a Gracidea from a woman.
  • Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver - In the Goldenrod City Flower Shop, players can again receive a Gracidea from a woman.
  • Pokémon Black and White - In the Lacunosa Town Pokémon Center, players can receive a Gracidea from a woman.
  • Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 - In the Striaton City Pokémon Center, players can receive a Gracidea from a woman.

• Regigigas
  • Pokémon Platinum - Activates the appearance of Rock Peak, Iceberg, and Iron Ruins where the other legendary titans can be captured.

• Shiny Pichu
  • Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver - Activates an event in Ilex Forest involving an encounter with the Spiky-eared Pichu.

• Arceus
  • Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver - When selected as partner Pokémon, the player will be able to teleport from the Ruins of Alph to the Sinjoh Ruins far to the north. This allows the player to obtain a level 1 Dialga, Palkia or Giratina (depending on the player's choice), holding its respective orb.

• Celebi
  • Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver - Activates an event with an encounter and battle with Giovanni in the Tohjo Falls after being taken back in time with Celebi.
  • Pokémon Black and White - Allows the player to obtain a Zorua in Castelia City.

• Shiny Legendary beasts
  • Pokémon Black and White - Activates a battle with a wild Zoroark in Lostlorn Forest.

Trivia

• Despite promotional material for events distributing Jirachi implying that the fateful encounter flag was required in order to unlock the Night Sky's Edge Pokéwalker route, all Jirachi are capable of unlocking the route regardless of whether they were met in a fateful encounter.
• In Pokémon Platinum, if the player has an Arceus, a Hiker will give a Flame Plate to the player in Oreburgh Mine and a book to the Canalave Library containing inscriptions of all the plates. While some people initially believed that this event required the Arceus to be met in a fateful encounter, this is not the case.
• An Arceus caught from the Hall of Origin may also be used to activate the Sinjoh Ruins event. One of each type of Arceus (fateful encounter and Hall of Origin) can be used in one game, in any order, to activate the event two times at most.
• In Pokémon Sword and Shield, any Shiny Pokémon with the fateful encounter flag will appear with square sparkles, regardless of its personality value.

In other languages

Language Title Chinese Cantonese 命中注定般的相遇 Mihngjung jyudihng-būndīk sēungyuh Mandarin 命中注定般的相遇 Mìngzhòng zhùdìng-bānde xiāngyù French Force du destin (V - VII) Rencontré par hasard (IV) Évenèment spécial (III) German Schicksalhafte Begegnung Italian Evento speciale (V - VII) Occasione speciale (III, IV) Korean 운명적인 만남 Unmyeongjeogin mannam Spanish Cosa del destino (V - VII) Encuentro fatídico (IV) Obtenido de forma curiosa (III)

See also

• List of Nintendo event Pokémon with in-game effects

This game mechanics article is part of Project Games, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon games.