Roaming Pokémon

A roaming Pokémon (Japanese: 移動してるポケモン migrating Pokémon) is a Legendary Pokémon that, instead of remaining in one place as a special event, run around the region they appear in, seemingly at random. Roaming Pokémon have appeared in every core series game since Generation II except Black 2 and White 2 and Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.

Mechanics

In addition to their changing of routes (something that happens every time the player moves to a new area), they will also, on the first turn of battle, attempt to flee. The only way to prevent this is to either use a trapping move such as Mean Look or Wrap, or send out a Pokémon with a trapping Ability such as Shadow Tag or Arena Trap (several roaming Pokémon are Flying-type or have the Ability Levitate, rendering Arena Trap ineffective against them).

If the roaming Pokémon is damaged or afflicted by a non-volatile status condition, it will retain this when it is next encountered. Status conditions that prevent the Pokémon from using moves, like sleep, paralysis, and infatuation, only prevent the Pokémon from fleeing in Generation II.

In Generations II and V, roaming Pokémon fleeing has a priority of -7. In Generations III and IV, it has a priority of 0. In Generation VI, they flee directly after the player sends out a Pokémon.

Starting from Platinum, if the player defeats the roaming Pokémon, it will re-spawn once the player beats the Elite Four again. However, the trigger that caused them to start roaming must be reactivated. For example, for Mesprit to roam again, the player must visit Verity Cavern again.

Tracking

In Generations II, III and VI, players can use their Pokédex to check the ever-changing location of their target after they have seen the target. In Generation IV, the Pokétch's Marking Map^DPPt application and the Pokégear's map card^HGSS serve this purpose, relieving the player from having to change through a multitude of screens, as was the case in other generations. In Generation V, the player can track their locations using the notifications of stormy weather on electric bulletin boards in gates.

List of roaming Pokémon

Generation II

These Pokémon are found roaming Johto in Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal; however, Suicune is found at the Tin Tower in Crystal, and will not be found roaming in the wild. They can be captured at any point after they are disturbed by the player in Ecruteak City's Brass Tower.

Unlike in later generations, when a roaming Pokémon is asleep, it will not flee until it wakes up again.

Pokémon	Games						Location	Levels	Rate
Raikou	G		S		C		Grass	40	Event
Entei	G		S		C		Grass	40	Event
Suicune	G		S		C		Grass	40	Event
A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here.

Generation III

Hoenn

The Eon Pokémon can be caught in Hoenn after defeating the Elite Four for the first time. Only one will roam Hoenn; the other can be obtained on Southern Island with the Eon Ticket. In Emerald, the roaming Pokémon will depend on the color of Pokémon that the player tells their Mom was on the TV; red will result in Latias roaming, while blue will result in Latios roaming. In Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, the roaming Pokémon will have low individual values due to the Roaming Pokémon IV bug.

Pokémon	Games						Location	Levels	Rate
Latias	R		S		E		Grass	40	Event
Latios	R		S		E		Grass	40	Event
Surfing
Latias	R		S		E		Surfing	40	Event
Latios	R		S		E		Surfing	40	Event
A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here.

Kanto

These Pokémon are only present in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen. Only one of the three legendary beasts will appear dependent on the type weakness of the player's chosen starter Pokémon (Raikou for Squirtle, Entei for Bulbasaur, Suicune for Charmander). The legendary beast will commence roaming the Kanto mainland upon Lorelei's return to the Elite Four after Team Rocket is defeated in the Sevii Islands. They will have low IVs due to the Roaming Pokémon IV bug and if they use Roar to flee, they will disappear permanently due to the roaming Roar bug.

Pokémon	Games						Location	Levels	Rate
Raikou	FR			LG			Grass	50	Event
Entei	FR			LG			Grass	50	Event
Suicune	FR			LG			Grass	50	Event
A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here.

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 to Lake Verity after defeating Team Galactic at Mt. Coronet, Cresselia will appear after the player helps cure Eldritch's son's nightmares, and the legendary birds will appear in Platinum after the player first talks to Professor Oak in Eterna City.

Pokémon	Games						Location	Levels	Rate
Articuno	D		P		Pt		Grass	60	Event
Zapdos	D		P		Pt		Grass	60	Event
Moltres	D		P		Pt		Grass	60	Event
Mesprit	D		P		Pt		Grass	50	Event
Cresselia	D		P		Pt		Grass	50	Event
A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here.

Johto and Kanto

In Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, Raikou and Entei will roam Johto after meeting them in the Burned Tower, and after leaving the Vermilion City Pokémon Fan Club house with Copycat's doll, Latios or Latias will roam Kanto.

Pokémon	Games						Location	Levels	Rate
Raikou	HG			SS			Grass	40	Event
Entei	HG			SS			Grass	40	Event
Latias	HG			SS			Grass	35	Event
Latios	HG			SS			Grass	35	Event
A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here.

Generation V

In Pokémon Black and White, after obtaining the Legend Badge, when entering the gate leading to Route 10, the woman behind the desk will alert the player about the big storm on Route 7. Tornadus^B or Thundurus^W will make the weather more extreme in Route 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 either Tornadus^B or Thundurus^W. Upon exiting the house, the player will be approached by the respective Pokémon, which will then fly off and will roam around Unova until being caught or defeated. Wherever these Pokémon appear will be subject to weather identified as "stormy" by the bulletin boards in gates. Only these two Pokémon can cause stormy weather (which is effectively rain in-battle), so they can be tracked down using the bulletin boards.

Unlike other generations, the roaming Pokémon's location varies depending on the time of day. At night, between midnight and morning, the Pokémon can only be encountered in Routes 12, 13, 14 and 15, in the morning it can only be encountered in Routes 2, 3 and 18, during the daytime it can only be encountered in Routes 4, 5 and 16, in the evening it can only be encountered in Routes 6, 7 and 8 and at night before midnight it can only be encountered in Routes 9, 10 and 11.

Bulletin boards are 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.

Pokémon	Games						Location	Levels	Rate
Tornadus	B			W			Grass	40	Event
Thundurus	B			W			Grass	40	Event
A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here.

Generation VI

In Pokémon X and Y, the Legendary birds roam the Kalos region after defeating the Pokémon League. Afterwards, the next wild Pokémon encountered in the grass will always be the respective bird. Only one of the three birds will appear and the one that does depends upon which Kalos starter Pokémon the player picked. If the player chooses Chespin, Articuno will appear, Zapdos will appear to those who chose Fennekin, and Moltres will appear to those that went with Froakie. Unlike previous roaming Pokémon, the birds will automatically flee seconds upon encounter before the player gets a chance to act (Abilities such as Shadow Tag will not prevent this). They flee even before events that happen immediately at the start of the battle, such as Intimidate or the Air Balloon message. After encountering them 10 times (11 if the mandatory first encounter after beating the Elite Four counts), they will retreat to the Sea Spirit's Den in Azure Bay and remain there as stationary Legendary Pokémon.

If the player uses Fly, 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 (or Victory 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.

The roaming Pokémon can be tracked using the Pokédex. One strategy for quickly locating the legendary birds is to fly to Lumiose City (due to its central location there are many routes that can be entered quickly) and continue flying to Lumiose City (despite already being there) until the bird moves to a nearby location.

Pokémon	Games						Location	Levels	Rate
Articuno	X			Y			Grass	70	Event
Zapdos	X			Y			Grass	70	Event
Moltres	X			Y			Grass	70	Event
A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here.

In other languages

Language Title French Pokémon qui se déplacent German Umherziehende Pokémon Italian Pokémon che si spostano da un luogo all'altro Korean 이동하는 포켓몬 migrating Pokémon

Game locations of Legendary and Mythical Pokémon

Kanto Seafoam Islands • Power Plant • Victory Road • Cerulean Cave Route 10 • Route 25 • Pewter City • Roaming Pokémon Sevii Islands Mt. Ember • Navel Rock • Birth Island Johto Ilex Forest • Bell Tower • Whirl Islands • Mt. Silver Cave Burned Tower • Embedded Tower • Roaming Pokémon Hoenn Desert Ruins • Island Cave • Ancient Tomb • Cave of Origin • Marine Cave Terra Cave • Sky Pillar • Southern Island • Sea Mauville • Scorched Slab Pathless Plain • Nameless Cavern • Fabled Cave • Gnarled Den Trackless Forest • Crescent Isle • Sky • Roaming Pokémon Sinnoh Acuity Cavern • Valor Cavern • Spear Pillar • Turnback Cave Rock Peak Ruins • Iceberg Ruins • Iron Ruins • Snowpoint Temple Stark Mountain • Newmoon Island • Flower Paradise • Hall of Origin Ramanas Park • Floaroma Town • Roaming Pokémon Unova Guidance Chamber • Trial Chamber • Rumination Field • N's Castle • Abundant Shrine Giant Chasm • Dragonspiral Tower • Liberty Garden • Route 11 • Route 13 • Route 22 Route 23 • Celestial Tower • Nacrene City • Underground Ruins • Twist Mountain Dreamyard • Marvelous Bridge • Reversal Mountain • Coastal Biome • Roaming Pokémon Kalos Sea Spirit's Den • Team Flare Secret HQ • Terminus Cave Unknown Dungeon • Roaming Pokémon Alola Route 16 • Altar of the Sunne • Altar of the Moone • Mount Lanakila • Mahalo Trail Ruins of Conflict • Ruins of Life • Ruins of Abundance • Ruins of Hope Aether Paradise • Ancient Poni Path • Lake of the Sunne • Lake of the Moone Ten Carat Hill • Resolution Cave Galar Tower summit • Battle Tower • Master Dojo • Crown Shrine • Max Lair Rock Peak Ruins • Iceberg Ruins • Iron Ruins • Split-Decision Ruins • Giant's Bed Frigid Sea • Lakeside Cave • Ballimere Lake • Freezington • Roaming Pokémon Hisui Seaside Hollow • Temple of Sinnoh • Acuity Cavern • Valor Cavern • Verity Cavern Lava Dome Sanctum • Moonview Arena • Snowpoint Temple • Turnback Cave • Bonechill Wastes Cobalt Coastlands • Ramanas Island • Scarlet Bog • Coronet Highlands • Floaro Gardens Paldea Grasswither Shrine • Icerend Shrine • Groundblight Shrine • Firescourge Shrine Poco Path • Area Zero • Area Zero Underdepths • Glaseado Mountain South Province (Area One) • Asado Desert • West Province (Area One) • East Province (Area Three) Casseroya Lake • North Paldean Sea • South Province (Area Four) • North Province (Area Two) Alfornada Cavern • Great Crater of Paldea • Tagtree Thicket • East Province (Area One) South Province (Area Five) • Dalizapa Passage • Pokémon League • Socarrat Trail Kitakami Paradise Barrens • Wistful Fields • Oni Mountain • Dreaded Den • Loyalty Plaza Other Faraway Island • Distortion World • Sinjoh Ruins • Ultra Space Wilds

This game mechanic article is part of Project Games, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon games.