Roaming Pokémon
Aroaming Pokémon[1] (Japanese:移動してるポケモンmigrating Pokémon) is awildLegendary Pokémon that, instead of remaining in one place as a special event, runs around the region it appears in, seemingly at random. Roaming Pokémon appeared in everycore series game from GenerationsII toVI exceptPokémon Black 2 and White 2 andPokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.
They have also been referred to aswandering Pokémon,[2]migrating Pokémon,[2] andrunaways.[2] Their movement has been described in several ways: one or more of these Pokémon were said to "roam",[3][4] "migrate",[2] "wander",[5][6] "race around",[7] "move around",[8] "wander around",[9] "blow around",[7] or "fly around".[4]
Mechanics
 | This section is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it. Reason: When are IVs, natures, and personality determined? Double-check whether roaming Pokémon in Generation III will attempt to flee if they are able to after the first turn |
In addition to changingroutes (something that happens every time theplayer moves to a new area), roaming Pokémon will also attempt to flee from battle.
Generation II
When encountering a roaming Pokémon for the first time, their HP andDVs are initialized. Those stats remain static once generated. This means that Shiny Pokémon will remain Shiny, and any damage that has been inflicted to them will remain across battles. However, theirPP andstatus conditions are reset each time they flee.
In addition to moving around each time the player changes map, all currently roaming Pokémon will also move after each battle with a 1/16 chance (always, if the player just encountered a roaming Pokémon, not merely the one they have just encountered).
There is a 1/8N chance that a roaming Pokémon will move to a completely random map other than the one the player is on, where N is the amount of possible connections to where the roaming Pokémon is at the moment. Otherwise, a roaming Pokémon will move to an adjacent route. A roaming Pokémon will never move pastOlivine, meaning that if it is currently onRoute 39, it will always move toRoute 38.
Each time the player steps intall grass that is currently in the same area as a roaming Pokémon, and the game attempts to generate a wild Pokémon, the player has a 25/256 (or roughly 10%) chance of randomly encountering it.
A roaming Pokémon will flee on any turn it is able to, immediately before it would use its move; if it is unable to flee, it will instead use its prepared move. Since the roaming Pokémon in Generation II all know moves with different priorities, depending on the move they are prepared to use, the player's Pokémon may sometimes act before it flees and sometimes not.
The player can stop a roaming Pokémon from fleeing by usingtrapping moves (such asMean Look orWrap).Sleep andfreeze also prevent the Pokémon from fleeing.
If a roaming Pokémon is defeated, it will not reappear under any conditions.
Generation III
The chance of encountering a roaming Pokémon is now 25%, given that a wild encounter has successfully been generated in tall grass or water in the same area as a roaming Pokémon. Roaming Pokémon are affected byRepels but notAbilities that affect appearance of wild Pokémon.
From Generation III onward, if a roaming Pokémon is afflicted by anon-volatile status condition, it will retain those effects in subsequent encounters.
If a roaming Pokémon is not already trapped, each turn it will attempt to flee at an effectivepriority of 0 instead of using a move. If it becomes trapped in the battle during the turn, it will attempt to flee but fail. If it is already trapped at the start of a turn, it will use a move instead of attempting to flee.
A roaming Pokémon can become trapped if it is hit by atrapping move before it is able to act.Trapping Abilities (such asShadow Tag) can only prevent the Pokémon from attempting to flee if in place at the start of the turn; if a Pokémon with a trapping Ability is switched in, its Ability will not prevent the roaming Pokémon from fleeing on that turn if it is able. Status conditions do not prevent a roaming Pokémon from fleeing.
Due to a glitch in Western versions ofFireRed, LeafGreen, andEmerald, if a roaming Pokemon ends the battle by usingRoar orWhirlwind, the game considers it to have been defeated and it will permanently stop appearing. However, asRaikou,Entei,Suicune,Latias andLatios cannot learn Whirlwind while only Raikou and Entei have Roar in their moveset when found as roaming Pokémon, under normal gameplay this bug only affects players of FireRed and LeafGreen who choseBulbasaur orSquirtle as theirfirst partner Pokémon.
Generation IV
If a roaming Pokémon is not already trapped, each turn it will attempt to flee instead of using a move. InPokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, with the exception ofLatios andLatias, if it is the first turn of the battle, it will attempt to flee at an effectivepriority of -7. If it becomes trapped (either by atrapping move orAbility) before it is able to act, it will attempt to flee but fail.
Starting inPlatinum, if the player defeats a roaming Pokémon, it will reappear when the player next enters theHall of Fame, but the player must retrigger its roaming. For example, if the player defeatsMesprit and then enters the Hall of Fame, Mesprit will only begin roaming again once the player visitsVerity Cavern.
Roaming Pokémon are no longer considered to be defeated if the battle ends due toRoar orWhirlwind.
In Diamond, Pearl, orPlatinum, IVs, nature, and personality are determined when interacting with the stationary Pokémon for the first time, causing them to roam.
InPokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, IVs, nature, and personality are determined after meeting them in theBurned Tower (Entei and Raikou), or after leaving thePokémon Fan Club and talking to Steven (Latias and Latios). For any roamer defeated in battle, initiating the Champion battle in the Pokémon League will generate new values.
Generation V
If the player defeats a roaming Pokémon, it will reappear when the player next enters theHall of Fame.
Generation VI
A roaming Pokémon will flee unconditionally after the player sends out their Pokémon. Not even trapping abilities (although onlyShadow Tag works on the legendary birds) will prevent it from fleeing. It will become stationary in a specific area after the player encounters it 11 times.
If a roaming Pokémon is defeated, it will reappear in its stationary position the next time the player enters the Hall of Fame.
Pokémon Sword and Shield
Unlike in previous games, roaming Pokémon no longer flee once encountered. They appear in the overworld and must be caught up to in order to be encountered.
Tracking
In Generations II, III, and VI, players can use theirPokédex to check the current location of a roaming Pokémon (after they have seen it). In Generation IV, thePokétch'sMarking MapDPPt application and thePokégear's map cardHGSS serve this purpose. In Generation V, the player can track their locations using the notifications ofstormy weather on electric bulletin boards ingates.
List of roaming Pokémon
Generation II
TheLegendary beasts are found roamingJohto inPokémon Gold, Silver, andCrystal; however, Suicune is not roaming in Crystal, where it instead can be found at theTin Tower. They can be captured at any point after they are disturbed by the player inEcruteak City'sBurned Tower.
Generation III
Hoenn
TheEon Pokémon can be caught inHoenn after entering theHall of Fame. Only one will roam Hoenn; the other can be obtained onSouthern Island with theEon Ticket. InEmerald, the roaming Pokémon will depend on the color of Pokémon that the player tells theirMom was on the TV; red will result in Latias roaming, while blue will result in Latios roaming. InPokémon Ruby and Sapphire, the roaming Pokémon will have lowindividual values due to theRoaming Pokémon IV bug.
Kanto
One of the threeLegendary beasts will roamKanto inPokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, depending on the type weakness of the player's chosenfirst partner Pokémon (Raikou forSquirtle, Entei forBulbasaur, Suicune forCharmander). It will commence roaming the Kanto mainland after the player defeatsTeam Rocket in theRocket Warehouse onFive Island and delivers theSapphire toCelio. It will have low IVs due to theRoaming Pokémon IV bug, and if it usesRoar toflee, it will disappear permanently due to theroaming Roar bug.
Generation IV
In all Generation IV games, entering a gate does not cause roaming Pokémon to change routes, even if the player's location changes as a result.
Sinnoh
Sinnoh has five roaming Pokémon, each of which is available in the wild after certain events have taken place.Mesprit will roam after the player goes toLake Verity after defeatingTeam Galactic atMt. Coronet,Cresselia will appear after the player helps cureEldritch's son's nightmares, and thelegendary birds will appear inPlatinum only after the player first talks toProfessor Oak inEterna City.
Johto
InPokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, Raikou and Entei will roamJohto after meeting them in theBurned Tower.
Kanto
In Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, after leaving the Vermilion CityPokémon Fan Club house withCopycat's doll, Latios (in SoulSilver) or Latias (in HeartGold) will start roamingKanto.
Generation V
Unova
InPokémon Black and White, after obtaining theLegend Badge, when entering thegate leading toRoute 10, the woman behind the desk will alert the player about the big storm onRoute 7.TornadusB orThundurusW will make the weather more extreme inRoute 7 when entering the route. Heading towards the second house on the route will cause an old lady to come out and pull the player in. She will then recite the story of eitherTornadusB orThundurusW. Upon exiting the house, the player will be approached by the respective Pokémon, which will then fly off and will roam aroundUnova until being caught or defeated. Wherever these Pokémon appear will be subject to weather identified as "stormy" by the bulletin boards ingates. Only these two Pokémon can cause stormy weather (which manifests asrain in-battle), so they can be tracked down using the bulletin boards.
Unlike other generations, the roaming Pokémon's location varies depending on thetime of day. At night, between midnight and morning, the Pokémon can only be encountered inRoutes12,13,14 and15, in the morning it can only be encountered in Routes2,3 and18, during the daytime it can only be encountered in Routes4,5 and16, in the evening it can only be encountered in Routes6,7 and8 and at night before midnight it can only be encountered in Routes9,10 and11.
Bulletin boards can be considered somewhat inferior to the tracking methods of previous generations, as, unlike Generation IV, Tornadus or Thundurus's location changes when the player exits the gate. However, as they simply cycle between three or four routes, one may continuously re-enter and exit the same gate until the route displays stormy weather.
Generation VI
Kalos
InPokémon X and Y, one of the legendary birds roams theKalos region, depending on the chosenfirst partner Pokémon:Articuno if the chosen first partner Pokémon wasChespin,Zapdos if it wasFennekin, andMoltres if it wasFroakie. It will begin to roam after the player has entered theHall of Fame, and it will always be the first wild Pokémon encountered intall grass afterward in one of the possible locations it can appear in.
If the player usesFly, the roaming Pokémon will relocate to a random location. Traveling normally, on the other hand, will only provide a small chance for the roaming Pokémon to change routes, and even then it will move to an adjacent route. Furthermore, entering any of the connecting gates between cities (orVictory Road) may cause the roaming Pokémon to relocate randomly. This appears to be on a timer, however, as immediately pursuing the roaming Pokémon does not seem to cause it to change location.
As the bird will automatically flee upon encounter, it cannot be caught until after it has been encountered an additional 10 times (not counting the first encounter), and has subsequently retreated to theSea Spirit's Den inAzure Bay, where it remains as a stationary Pokémon. However, if the battle in the Sea Spirit's Den is fled from, the bird will begin roaming Kalos again as before.
All three are coded to never beShiny.
Generation VIII
Galar
InPokémon Sword and Shield'sCrown Tundra, theGalarian Forms of the legendary birds appear. Once the player has encountered them at theDyna Tree Hill, they will become roaming Pokémon in the overworld. Articuno roams around the Crown Tundra, Zapdos roams around theWild Area, and Moltres roams around theIsle of Armor. If the player knocks any of the birds out, it respawns instantly.
All three are coded to never beShiny.
Sinnoh
Sinnoh has two roaming Pokémon, each of which is available in the wild after certain events have taken place.Mesprit will roam after the player goes toLake Verity after defeatingTeam Galactic atMount Coronet andCresselia will appear after the player helps cureEldritch's son's nightmares.
In other languages
| Language | Title | |
|---|---|---|
| French | Pokémon mouvant | |
| German | Umherziehende Pokémon | |
| Italian | Pokémon che si spostano da un luogo all'altro | |
| Korean | 이동하는 포켓몬migrating Pokémon | |
| Spanish | Pokémon Errante | |
References
- ↑"Oh! Just a little more until your Pokédex is complete! Make sure you go after theroaming Pokémon and trade with friends to get the ones you're missing!" -Cedric Juniper,Pokémon Black and White
- ↑2.02.12.22.3Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Pokédex, page 412
- ↑"Your meeting with Cresselia both gets you the item you sought and sends Cresselia flying off, and it begins freelyroaming the land." -Celebrate Legendary Pokémon, like Mewtwo, Rayquaza, Eternatus, and More - Pokémon.com
- ↑4.04.1"Once you visit the Burned Tower, Raikou and Entei startroaming the Johto region. [...] Latias or Latios [...] will startflying around the Kanto region, too." -Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver Pokédex, page 191
- ↑"Raikou, Suicune, and Entei split as soon as you find them, and will spend them rest of the gamewandering from Route to Route in Johto." -Official Pokémon Gold and Silver Adventure Guide, page 44
- ↑"Raikou and Entei, however, are in the wind now, and will spend the rest of the gamewandering from Route to Route in Johto." -Official Pokémon Crystal Version Perfect Guide, page 45
- ↑7.07.1Suicune's Pokédex entries
- ↑"Latias and Latiosmove around the map with great regularity, [...]" -Pokémon Emerald: Prima's Official Strategy Guide, page 99
- ↑"They are Raikou, Entei, and Suicune, and they willwander around Johto randomly." -Pokémon Gold and Silver: Official Nintendo Player's Guide, page 39;Pokémon Crystal: Official Nintendo Player's Guide, page 43
Related articles
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