Catching the Legendary Dogs – Raikou, Entei, and Suicune – in Pokémon SoulSilver and HeartGold is a challenging but rewarding endeavor. These roaming Pokémon are notoriously difficult to track and capture, requiring patience, strategy, and a thorough understanding of the game’s mechanics. This comprehensive guide provides detailed steps and instructions to help you successfully add these powerful Pokémon to your team.
**Understanding the Legendary Beasts**
Before diving into the catching process, it’s crucial to understand the unique characteristics of Raikou, Entei, and Suicune in these games:
* **Roaming Nature:** After their initial encounter, these Pokémon roam throughout the Kanto region. Their location changes each time you enter a new route, making them unpredictable and requiring careful tracking.
* **Shared Location:** All three Legendary Dogs share the same location at any given time. This means if you find one, the others are likely nearby.
* **Fleeing Behavior:** They always attempt to flee on the first turn of battle, making it difficult to inflict status conditions or lower their health.
* **Movepool:** Their movepools consist of attacks that don’t inflict direct damage, like Roar, making trapping methods essential.
* **Stats and Types:**
* **Raikou (Electric):** High Speed and Special Attack. Resists Electric, Flying, and Steel. Weak to Ground.
* **Entei (Fire):** High Attack and HP. Resists Bug, Fire, Grass, Ice, Steel, and Fairy. Weak to Ground, Rock, and Water.
* **Suicune (Water):** High Defense and Special Defense. Resists Water, Fire, Ice, and Steel. Weak to Electric and Grass.
**Prerequisites**
Before embarking on the Legendary Dog hunt, ensure you have the following:
* **Defeated the Elite Four and Champion:** This is necessary to unlock the post-game content and access the Kanto region.
* **National Pokédex:** Obtained from Professor Oak in Pallet Town after defeating the Elite Four.
* **Key Items:**
* **Pokétch Apps:** The “Marking Map” app is essential for tracking the Legendary Dogs’ locations.
* **Repels:** Essential to prevent encounters with weaker Pokémon and increase your chances of encountering the Legendary Dogs.
* **Quick Balls:** These have a higher catch rate at the beginning of the battle, giving you an early advantage.
* **Mean Look or Block:** These moves prevent the Legendary Dogs from fleeing.
* **False Swipe or Hold Back:** These moves allow you to reduce the Legendary Dogs’ HP to 1 without knocking them out.
* **Status-Inflicting Moves:** Sleep and Paralysis are the most effective status conditions for increasing catch rates.
* **Strong Pokémon:** A team of level 50+ Pokémon is recommended to withstand their attacks and efficiently weaken them.
* **Timer Balls and Ultra Balls:** For use after turn 10.
* **Patience:** Capturing these Pokémon requires persistence and a willingness to dedicate time to the hunt.
**Step-by-Step Guide to Catching the Legendary Dogs**
**1. Triggering the Roaming Pokémon**
* After obtaining the National Pokédex from Professor Oak, visit the Burned Tower in Ecruteak City. Head to the basement and interact with the three Pokémon to trigger a cutscene. This event will cause Raikou, Entei, and Suicune to flee and begin roaming the Kanto region.
**2. Tracking the Legendary Dogs**
* **Utilizing the Marking Map Pokétch App:** The Marking Map is your most valuable tool for tracking the Legendary Dogs. It displays the locations of roaming Pokémon on the map of Kanto. After triggering the event in the Burned Tower, open your Pokétch and select the Marking Map app.
* **Understanding the Map:** The Marking Map shows your current location and the locations of any roaming Pokémon. The Pokémon will move to a different route each time you enter a new area.
* **Strategic Route Changing:** To efficiently track the Legendary Dogs, use a specific route that allows you to quickly change areas. A popular method involves using the gate between two routes.
**3. The Route Switching Method**
This method involves using a specific location where you can easily switch between two routes to force the Legendary Dogs to move. Here’s how it works:
* **Choose a Gate:** Select a gate that connects two adjacent routes. Examples include:
* Route 34 and Route 35
* Route 38 and Route 39
* **Enter and Exit:** Stand inside the gate and repeatedly enter and exit the route. Each time you enter a new route, the Legendary Dogs’ locations will change.
* **Monitor the Marking Map:** Constantly check the Marking Map after each route change to see if a Legendary Dog has moved to your current route. Be persistent.
**4. Preparing for the Encounter**
* **Using Repels:** Before searching for the Legendary Dogs on a route, use a Repel to prevent encounters with weaker Pokémon. This will increase your chances of encountering the desired Legendary Dog.
* **Positioning Yourself:** Once you see a Legendary Dog on your route in the Marking Map, carefully navigate to a patch of grass or a cave entrance where you can encounter Pokémon.
* **Saving Your Game:** Before initiating the encounter, save your game. This will allow you to restart if you accidentally knock out the Legendary Dog or run out of Poké Balls.
**5. The Battle Strategy**
The key to capturing the Legendary Dogs is to prevent them from fleeing and to weaken them without knocking them out. Here’s a step-by-step battle strategy:
* **Turn 1: Prevent Fleeing:**
* **Using Mean Look or Block:** If your lead Pokémon knows Mean Look or Block, use it immediately to prevent the Legendary Dog from fleeing. These moves last for the duration of the battle. If you don’t have a Pokémon that learns these moves naturally, consider breeding a Pokémon that can learn it via TM or move tutor.
* **Using a Pokémon with the Ability Arena Trap or Shadow Tag:** A Pokémon with the ability Arena Trap or Shadow Tag will prevent the Legendary Dog from fleeing as long as that Pokemon is active in battle.
* **Quick Ball Strategy:** If you don’t have a way to prevent fleeing, use a Quick Ball on the first turn. Quick Balls have a high catch rate at the beginning of the battle, so you might get lucky.
* **Turn 2 and Beyond: Status and Weakening:**
* **Inflict a Status Condition:** After preventing the Legendary Dog from fleeing, inflict a status condition such as Sleep or Paralysis. These status conditions significantly increase the catch rate. Sleep is generally more effective, but Paralysis is easier to inflict consistently.
* **Weaken the Legendary Dog:** Use moves like False Swipe or Hold Back to reduce the Legendary Dog’s HP to 1 without knocking it out. These moves guarantee that the opponent will be left with at least 1 HP.
* **Monitor Your Pokémon’s HP:** Be careful not to let your Pokémon faint. Heal as needed using Potions or other healing items.
* **Throwing Poké Balls:**
* **Ultra Balls:** After weakening the Legendary Dog and inflicting a status condition, start throwing Ultra Balls. These are the most reliable Poké Balls for catching strong Pokémon.
* **Timer Balls:** If the battle lasts for more than 10 turns, Timer Balls become more effective than Ultra Balls. Use them to increase your chances of success.
* **Patience and Persistence:** Capturing the Legendary Dogs can take many attempts. Don’t get discouraged if you fail to catch them on the first try. Keep throwing Poké Balls until you succeed.
**Specific Strategies for Each Legendary Dog**
While the general strategy remains the same, there are a few specific considerations for each Legendary Dog:
**Raikou (Electric)**
* **Type Effectiveness:** Raikou is weak to Ground-type moves. However, be careful not to knock it out with a powerful Ground-type attack.
* **Recommended Pokémon:**
* **Crobat:** Fast and can learn Mean Look.
* **Smeargle:** Can learn any move, including Mean Look, False Swipe, and status-inflicting moves like Spore or Thunder Wave.
* **Marowak:** Ground type Pokemon that can take Electric type moves and potentially inflict damage with False Swipe
* **Location Tracking:** Pay close attention to the Marking Map, as Raikou’s high speed makes it difficult to pinpoint.
**Entei (Fire)**
* **Type Effectiveness:** Entei is weak to Water, Rock, and Ground-type moves. Again, be cautious not to knock it out.
* **Recommended Pokémon:**
* **Crobat:** Fast and can learn Mean Look.
* **Smeargle:** Can learn any move, including Mean Look, False Swipe, and status-inflicting moves like Spore or Thunder Wave.
* **Azumarill:** Huge Power Ability Pokemon that can take Fire type moves and potentially inflict damage with False Swipe
* **Location Tracking:** Entei’s fiery nature can make it slightly easier to spot against the Kanto landscape on the Marking Map.
**Suicune (Water)**
* **Unique Encounter:** Unlike Raikou and Entei, Suicune has two predetermined encounters. The first is at the Burned Tower, where it flees. The second and final encounter is at Route 25, at the end of Cape Brink. Suicune will not flee from battle at Route 25, meaning Mean Look and other trap-related moves aren’t needed.
* **Type Effectiveness:** Suicune is weak to Electric and Grass-type moves. Exercise caution.
* **Recommended Pokémon:**
* **Pokémon with status-inflicting moves:** Paralysis and Sleep are your best bet.
* **Pokémon with False Swipe or Hold Back:** Essential for weakening Suicune.
* **Battle Strategy:** Since Suicune doesn’t flee, focus on inflicting a status condition and weakening it before throwing Poké Balls. Start with Ultra Balls and switch to Timer Balls if the battle lasts long enough.
**Tips and Tricks for Success**
* **Patience is Key:** Don’t get discouraged if you don’t catch the Legendary Dogs immediately. It can take multiple attempts and a significant amount of time.
* **Strategic Use of Repels:** Repels are crucial for preventing unwanted encounters. Always keep a supply on hand.
* **Save Frequently:** Save your game before each encounter to avoid losing progress if you accidentally knock out the Legendary Dog.
* **Experiment with Different Poké Balls:** Don’t be afraid to try different types of Poké Balls, such as Quick Balls and Timer Balls, to increase your chances of success.
* **Breed for the Right Moves:** If you’re having trouble finding a Pokémon with the right moves, consider breeding. Breeding can allow you to create a Pokémon with the desired moves and abilities.
* **Take Breaks:** If you’re feeling frustrated, take a break and come back to the hunt later. A fresh perspective can often make a difference.
* **Smeargle as the Ultimate Capture Pokemon:** Smeargle is arguably the best capture Pokemon as it can learn any move through the move Sketch. It can be used to learn moves like Mean Look, Spore, False Swipe, and others that inflict status to make catching these Pokemon substantially easier.
**Alternative Strategies**
* **Wobbuffet Strategy:** Wobbuffet is a unique Pokemon that can learn the move Shadow Tag and has a high HP stat making it a useful Pokemon to stall for turns. Since it cannot learn False Swipe you’ll want to switch to a Pokemon with False Swipe to lower the legendary to low HP before using Ultra or Timer balls.
* **Using Encore to Lock Roar:** The Legendary dogs all know Roar which will force the player to switch Pokemon. If you use the move Encore on Roar, the Legendary dogs will continue to attempt to use Roar but fail wasting their turns. This works best if your Pokemon has a high speed stat and can inflict a status condition.
**Conclusion**
Catching the Legendary Dogs in Pokémon SoulSilver and HeartGold is a challenging but ultimately rewarding experience. By following this comprehensive guide, understanding the Legendary Dogs’ behavior, and employing strategic battle tactics, you can successfully add these powerful Pokémon to your team and complete your Pokédex. Remember to be patient, persistent, and have fun on your Legendary Dog hunt! Good luck, trainers!