Catching the Roaming Legends: A Comprehensive Guide to Raikou, Entei, and Suicune in Pokémon Gold and Silver

The Legendary Beasts, Raikou, Entei, and Suicune, are some of the most elusive and challenging Pokémon to catch in Pokémon Gold and Silver. Unlike stationary legendaries, these three roam the vast Kanto and Johto regions, making them a true test of patience and skill. This guide will provide you with detailed instructions, strategies, and tips to track down and capture these powerful Pokémon for your team. Prepare yourself for a long and arduous journey, but with the right approach, you too can add these magnificent creatures to your Pokédex.

Understanding the Roaming Mechanic

Before we dive into the hunt, it’s crucial to understand how the roaming legendary mechanic works in Gold and Silver. Here’s a breakdown:

• Random Encounters: The Legendary Beasts do not have a fixed location. Instead, they randomly appear in any of the wild grass, caves, or other locations that have wild Pokémon encounters in Johto and Kanto (after the first time you encounter them in Burnt Tower).
• Changing Locations: After every successful battle in the game, these Pokémon move to a different route. This means that you need to change routes to try and encounter them, but the more you move the more they move too.
• Escaping Battles: If you encounter them and they use ‘Roar’ or you run away, they will disappear. So, you will have to look for them again.
• Level Scaling: Their level remains constant after the initial encounter, making them consistently challenging throughout the game, it does not scale with your level. They start at level 40 when first encountered.
• Stat Preservation: If you damage them in an encounter and then they flee or you flee, the damage they sustained is preserved when you find them in a new location. Likewise, any status ailments inflicted on them will also be there on the next encounter. This is very important.

Preparation is Key

Before you start your hunt, make sure you are properly equipped. Here’s what you’ll need:

• A Good Team: You’ll need a team of high-level Pokémon (around level 40-50) with a good mix of offense and defense. Having a Pokemon with moves that prevent the fleeing of Pokémon (like Mean Look, or Arena Trap) is extremely useful.
• Master Ball: The Master Ball is the easiest way to catch them and you only have one (or can clone it with a glitch). You can choose which beast you use it on.
• Fast Pokemon: Having a Pokémon with high Speed stat and moves like Mean Look can prevent the Pokémon from fleeing.
• Status Inducers: Moves that can paralyze or put the Pokémon to sleep (e.g. Thunder Wave, Sleep Powder) are invaluable for catching the roaming beasts.
• False Swipe/Hold Back: A Pokémon with the move False Swipe or Hold Back is essential to bring their HP down to 1 without knocking them out. This increases the chances of catching the beasts.
• Plenty of Poké Balls: Stock up on various types of Poké Balls (Ultra Balls are preferred, along with Timer Balls, Dusk Balls, and Net Balls), as you will be needing them.
• Repel: Use Repels in areas you’re not searching, to reduce random encounters.
• The Pokédex: It’s not required, but if you have caught a Pokemon and then encounter a beast, if you are in a location that normally has encounters, the Pokedex map will update if the legendary is on your current location. It will also update on nearby routes. This is crucial to keep track of where it moves.

The Initial Encounter: The Burnt Tower

The first step is to encounter the Legendary Beasts at the Burnt Tower in Ecruteak City. This is part of the main storyline, so you won’t miss it. Here’s how it goes:

1. Visit Ecruteak City: Arrive in Ecruteak City and heal your Pokémon.
2. Head to the Burnt Tower: Go to the Burnt Tower in the north of the city.
3. Fall to the Basement: You will have to battle a rival before falling down to the basement of the tower by falling through a hole in the floor.
4. Witness the Revival: You will then witness the three Legendary Beasts reviving after the burning of the tower, and they will run away to roam the land.

Once you’ve done this, the chase begins.

Tracking the Roaming Beasts

Tracking roaming Legendaries is the most challenging part of the process. Here’s a detailed guide on how to do it:

1. Start in a Central Location: I recommend a centralized location. Violet City is a good place to start, or any location with access to a few different routes.
2. Check your Pokedex: Go into your Pokedex, and navigate to Raikou, Entei or Suicune. If there is a location listed, go to that location. If it does not list a location, you can do a process of elimination.
3. The Process of Elimination: Go to the surrounding routes. Move a total of four times through them. Each time you move to a different location, the legendaries will move to a new location as well.
4. Look at your Pokedex: After the fourth time you moved locations, go back and check your pokedex. If the legendaries are listed on the routes you were just on, you are on the right path.
5. Use Repels Strategically: When not looking for a specific Legendary, use Repels to avoid random encounters with normal Pokémon. This will help you save time and focus on tracking.
6. Check the Map: Some players like to check the map regularly, but it is not the most reliable source of information. Using the Pokedex is more reliable for location tracking.
7. Persist: This process will take time and patience. It can take a while to locate your desired legendary.

The Battle and Capture

Once you encounter the beast, the next step is to battle it and catch it. This can be tricky since you will not have much time to react. Here are some general tips:

• Use a Fast Pokémon First: Immediately switch to a Pokémon with high Speed and Mean Look. Use Mean Look as soon as possible. The Pokemon must have a higher speed than the legendary or it will have the opportunity to run away.
• Apply Status Effects: Once the Pokémon is trapped, use a move like Thunder Wave to paralyze it or Sleep Powder to put it to sleep, increasing your chances of catching it.
• False Swipe/Hold Back: Use False Swipe or Hold Back to bring the beast’s HP down to 1. This step is crucial to maximize your chances of catching it.
• Throw Poké Balls: Start throwing your preferred Poké Balls (Ultra Balls are a good start). If they don’t work, you can try Timer Balls (after a few turns) or Dusk Balls (if you’re battling at night or in a cave).
• Don’t Knock Out the Legendary: If it’s too difficult to capture the Legendary Beast, you can faint or run away and restart from step one. Remember to keep track of the damage done to the Pokémon to make it easier next time.
• Be Patient: Capturing these legendary Pokemon may take more than one try. Do not get discouraged if you fail on the first encounter. Try to repeat the process again as fast as you can.

Specific Strategies for Each Legendary Beast

While the general strategy remains the same, each Legendary Beast has its own quirks. Here are some things to consider when hunting each of them:

Raikou (Electric-type)

• Weaknesses: Raikou is weak to Ground-type moves. Be careful when using them so you don’t knock it out accidentally.
• Resistances: It resists Electric, Flying, and Steel-type moves. Avoid using these attacks during the capture process.
• Notable Moves: Raikou knows Thunder, Rain Dance, and Bite.

Entei (Fire-type)

• Weaknesses: Entei is weak to Water, Ground, and Rock-type moves. Use caution with these moves to not knock it out.
• Resistances: It resists Fire, Grass, Bug, Steel, and Ice-type moves. Avoid using these types during the capture.
• Notable Moves: Entei knows Fire Blast, Fire Spin, and Roar.

Suicune (Water-type)

• Weaknesses: Suicune is weak to Electric and Grass-type moves. Be careful not to knock it out by accident using these moves.
• Resistances: It resists Water, Fire, Ice, and Steel-type moves. Do not use these moves during the capture.
• Notable Moves: Suicune knows Surf, Aurora Beam, and Rain Dance.

Advanced Techniques and Tips

• The Master Ball: If you have a Master Ball, using it is a foolproof way to catch a legendary Pokémon. Using it on a roaming beast is very useful as it eliminates a lot of difficulty with the capture.
• The Cloning Glitch: If you are very dedicated, and want more than one of these Pokémon, it is possible to clone your master ball in Pokémon Gold and Silver using a cloning glitch. It will take a bit of time and some careful menu movements, but it’s possible to use on all three legends.
• Level Grinding: You might need to do some additional level grinding of your Pokémon to make sure they can survive the legendary battles, especially if you try to battle them more than once.
• Use the Clock: If you are hunting the legendary beasts in the wild, it can help to change the in-game clock so that you hunt at night. Some locations that have rare encounters will only appear at certain times of day.

Conclusion

Catching Raikou, Entei, and Suicune in Pokémon Gold and Silver is a challenging but rewarding task that will test your skills as a trainer. With patience, preparation, and the strategies outlined in this guide, you can track down and capture these elusive Legendary Beasts. Remember to stay persistent, use the right tools, and most importantly, have fun exploring the world of Pokémon. Happy hunting!