Mass outbreak
Mass Outbreaks (Japanese: 大量発生 mass outbreak), also known as swarms, is a feature that allows the player to catch Pokémon that are usually rare in their games. Mass Outbreaks became available starting in Generation II.
Generation II
Mass Outbreaks originated in Generation II. The player could register certain trainers with the phone feature of the PokéGear, after which they would occasionally call the player to give advice of a Pokémon outbreak and its location.
Pokémon Gold and Silver
| Pokémon | Location | Notifier | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Marill | Mt. Mortar | Hiker Parry |
|
Yanma | Route 35 | Bug Catcher Arnie |
|
Dunsparce | Dark Cave | Hiker Anthony |
|
Snubbull | Route 38 | Schoolboy Chad |
|
Qwilfish | Route 32* | Fisherman Ralph |
|
Remoraid | Route 44* | Fisherman Wilton |
Generation III
In Generation III this method allowed the player to catch Pokémon that would not be caught normally. This was possible due to the Record Mixing feature of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire. The outbreaks were advised by televisions in houses, where the Pokémon and its location was told.
Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald
| Pokémon | Location | Level | Game | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Lotad | Route 114* | 13 | R | S | E | |||
|
Seedot | Route 117* | 13 | R | S | E | |||
|
Surskit | Routes 102 and 114* | 15 | R | S | E | |||
|
Skitty | Route 116 | 15 | R | S | E | |||
Generation IV
Mass Outbreaks were largely expanded in Generation IV. By also using the Poké Radar and Dual-slot mode in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, players can get all Pokémon excluding Tangela, Tropius, the starters, and legendaries of previous generations, while Tangela, Tropius and two Legendary Trios can be regularly acquired in Pokémon Platinum.
Many of the Pokémon obtained through Mass Outbreaks are outside of the Sinnoh Pokédex, and are usually exclusive to other regions. Once the player attains the National Pokédex, every day in a particular location, a "swarm of Pokémon" appears. By this term it is meant that the probability of finding the given Pokémon grows from 0% to 40%, making this very easy. Outbreaks last only one day and are random events. However, the player can obtain information about the current outbreak by talking to, depending on their own gender, Dawn's or Lucas's sister in Sandgem Town, or seeing the news report on a TV in Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum or by listening to Professor Oak's Pokémon Talk on the Pokégear radio in HeartGold and SoulSilver.
Due to higher catching rates for Pokémon that appear during outbreaks, they make longer and better chains when using Poké Radar.
The species of an outbreaks seems to be determined using a formula, because it is not chosen randomly when the player starts the game that day. It is also possible that the species is determined the day before, though there is no additional evidence to support this. If the DS clock is changed or a different DS is used, then the game will detect this and will not change the species swarming until 12:00 AM.
When players all join the same group, they will all experience the same outbreak on any given day.
Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum
Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver
| Pokémon | Location | Levels | Game | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Chansey | Route 13 | 23 | HG | SS | ||||
|
Ditto | Route 47 | 34 | HG | SS | ||||
|
|
Marill | Mt. Mortar | 15 | HG | SS | ||||
|
|
Yanma | Route 35 | 12 | HG | SS | ||||
|
|
Dunsparce | Dark Cave | 2-3 | HG | SS | ||||
|
|
Snubbull | Route 38 | 16 | HG | SS | ||||
|
|
Qwilfish | Route 32 | 40 | HG | SS | ||||
|
|
Remoraid | Route 44 | 20 | HG | SS | ||||
|
Poochyena | Route 1 | 2 | HG | SS | ||||
|
Wingull | Vermilion City* | 35 | HG | SS | ||||
|
Ralts | Route 34 | 10-11 | HG | SS | ||||
|
Sableye | Route 9 | 13-15 | HG | SS | ||||
|
Mawile | Route 9 | 13-15 | HG | SS | ||||
|
Gulpin | Route 3 | 5 | HG | SS | ||||
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Swablu | Route 45 | 23 | HG | SS | ||||
|
Whiscash | Violet City | 40 | HG | SS | ||||
|
Baltoy | Route 3 | 5 | HG | SS | ||||
|
Clamperl | Route 19 | 35 | HG | SS | ||||
|
Relicanth | Route 12* | 40 | HG | SS | ||||
|
Luvdisc | Route 27* | 20 | HG | SS | ||||
|
Kricketot | Viridian Forest | 3 | HG | SS | ||||
|
Buneary | Route 25 | 8-10 | HG | SS | ||||