Poké Radar

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The Poké Radar (Japanese: ポケモントレーサー Pokémon Tracer, ポケトレ Poké Trace for short) is a key item in Generation IV that is used to seek out wild Pokémon hiding in tall grass.

Artwork from the TCG

In Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum

After the player has seen every Pokémon in the Sinnoh Pokédex, they will be able to meet Professor Oak in Professor Rowan's lab in Sandgem Town. After Oak upgrades the Pokédex to the National model, Rowan will give the player the Poké Radar but will not explain it very thoroughly. In Pokémon Platinum the opposite-gender rival, Dawn or Lucas, do however - when spoken to they give a practical demonstration on Route 202 if the player has received an Eevee from Bebe in Hearthome City. When the Poké Radar chain has reached 40, (as seen on Pokétch App 20#) the player can reset the chain and a patch of grass may sparkle. Once the player starts a battle in that patch of grass, the Pokémon will be Shiny.

It can only be used in the standard tall grass, while on foot, at which point a tune will begin to play, and one or more patches of the long grass may begin to move. Patches that shake more violently than others are often rarer Pokémon; some Pokémon can only be found using the Poké Radar. When a player walks into one of these moving patches, a battle with a wild Pokémon will instantly begin. Roaming Pokémon cannot be encountered while using the Poké Radar. Like the Vs. Seeker, the Radar's battery must be charged after use by walking around. It takes fifty steps to fully charge the Poké Radar. It is possible for the Poké Radar to find no wild Pokémon, in which case the message "The grassy patch remained silent..." will be displayed.

File:PokéRadarShinyProbability.png
The formula for the probability of finding a Shiny Pokémon. Nc is the number of Pokémon in the chain, up to 40. The chances are calculated so that any Pokémon caught past a chain of 40 has a 1 in 200 probability of being Shiny.

If the Pokémon that is found is knocked out or captured in a Poké Ball, a chain will begin. These chains consist of multiple members of the same Pokémon species encountered one after another. The only catch is this: a player must not encounter any Pokémon just by walking through non-wiggling grass, only by walking into the grass that shakes. Therefore, it is recommended that Repel is used in order to ensure this and achieve a higher chain. Entering the patch of shaking grass that is the farthest away from the previous patch of grass increases the chances of meeting the same kind of Pokémon consecutively. Long chains increase the chance of finding a Shiny Pokémon, which is indicated by the patch of grass glowing white twice rather than shaking. Though rare, it is possible to encounter a Shiny Pokémon in a regular shaking patch. If, in the middle of a chain, a Pokémon ceases to become available (such as a swarming Pokémon), that Pokémon will continue to be available until the chain is broken.

One of the many functions of the Pokétch is to display the current chain and the three best chains made so far.

List of Radar-exclusive Pokémon

# Icon Name Area Game
029   Nidoran♀ Route 201 D P Pt
030   Nidorina Route 221, Valor Lakefront D P Pt
032   Nidoran♂ Route 201 D P Pt
033   Nidorino Route 221, Valor Lakefront D P Pt
048   Venonat Route 229 D P Pt
049   Venomoth Route 229 D P Pt
056   Mankey Route 225 and 226 D P Pt
057   Primeape Route 225 and 226 D P Pt
079   Slowpoke Route 205 (North) D P Pt
088   Grimer Route 212 D P Pt
128   Tauros Route 209 and 210 (Diamond and Pearl)
Route 210 (Platinum)
D P Pt
132   Ditto Route 218 D P Pt*
161   Sentret Route 202 D P Pt
175   Togepi Route 230 D P Pt
179   Mareep Valley Windworks D P Pt
180   Flaaffy Route 222 D P Pt
187   Hoppip Route 205 (Diamond)
Route 205 (South), Fuego Ironworks (Pearl)
Route 205 (South) (Platinum)
D P Pt
188   Skiploom Route 205 (North) (Diamond)
Fuego Ironworks (Pearl)
D P Pt
191   Sunkern Route 204 (North) D P Pt
202   Wobbuffet Lake Verity, Lake Valor, Lake Acuity (Diamond and Pearl) D P Pt
229   Houndoom Route 214 and Route 215 D P Pt*
234   Stantler Route 207 D P Pt
235   Smeargle Route 212 D P Pt
236   Tyrogue Route 208 and Route 211 (Diamond and Pearl)
Route 211 (Platinum)
D P Pt
241   Miltank Route 209 and Route 210 (Diamond and Pearl)
Route 210 (Platinum)
D P Pt
246   Larvitar Route 207 D P Pt
261   Poochyena Route 214 D P Pt
262   Mightyena Route 214 and 215 D P Pt
277   Swellow Route 213 D P Pt
280   Ralts Route 203 and 204 D P Pt*
281   Kirlia Route 203 and 204 (Diamond and Pearl)
Route 209 (Platinum)
D P Pt
290   Nincada Eterna Forest D P Pt
294   Loudred Mt. Coronet D P Pt
304   Aron Fuego Ironworks D P Pt
324   Torkoal Route 227 and Stark Mountain D P Pt
328   Trapinch Route 228 D P Pt
329   Vibrava Route 228 D P Pt
333   Swablu Route 211 D P Pt*
343   Baltoy Route 206 D P Pt
352   Kecleon Route 210 D P Pt
355   Duskull Route 224 D P Pt*
356   Dusclops Route 224 D P Pt*
361   Snorunt Route 216 and 217, Acuity Lakefront D P Pt*
371   Bagon Route 210 D P Pt

In HeartGold and SoulSilver

Main article: Pokéwalker

On the Pokéwalker that is bundled with Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver Versions there is a primitive version of the Poké Radar, which costs 10 Watts to use. In this Poké Radar, there are four patches of grass, one of which will display a '!' which indicates the presence of a wild Pokémon (or a '!!' or '!!!' depending on the Pokémon's rarity). As with chaining in the main series games, chaining is also possible in the Pokéwalker, but it is dependent on timing and the amount of steps taken. If the player waits a while after a '!' appears and click it, there is a chance that he/she may get another '!' patch, over-riding the previous one. If the player continues this trend he/she will get a '!!' patch , and then a '!!!' patch after that. The timing needed to wait seems to vary between the rarity of the Pokémon, with rarer Pokémon needing less time.

In the TCG

The following is a list of cards named Poké Radar.

Name Type Rarity Set Set no.
Poké Radar T   Legends Awakened 133/146

See also

On Bulbagarden forums


  This item article is part of Project ItemDex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on all items.