Poké Radar
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 and Generation VI that is used to seek out wild Pokémon hiding in tall grass. Its most notable use is to increase the probability of encountering the normally extremely rare Shiny Pokémon.
In the games
In all games so far, the Poké Radar is obtained after receiving the National Pokédex.
It can only be used in tall grass, while on foot. When used, a tune will begin to play, and up to four patches of grass will shake briefly. Upon entering one of these patches of grass, a battle with a wild Pokémon will begin immediately, even if the player is using a Repel. Depending on the game, different patches may shake in a different way, corresponding to rarer species of wild Pokémon. However, all games feature a very rare and distinct type of shaking grass that glows white twice; such a grass patch will always contain a Shiny Pokémon. Roaming Pokémon cannot be encountered while using the Poké Radar.[citation needed]
Like the Vs. Seeker, the Radar's battery must be charged after use by walking around. It takes 50 steps to fully charge the Poké Radar.
If the wild Pokémon is knocked out or captured in a Poké Ball, a chain will begin; this is the principle mechanic of the Poké Radar and crucial to increasing the probability of encountering a Shiny Pokémon. When a chain is in progress, the Poké Radar will automatically activate again at the end of the battle, causing up to four more grass patches to shake. Depending on various circumstances, one of these patches may be more likely to contain the same species of Pokémon as the one just encountered; defeating or catching such a Pokémon will continue to increase the chain by 1. If a wild Pokémon of a different species is encountered, or if a battle ends without defeating or capturing the wild Pokémon, or if a wild Pokémon is encountered outside of the Poké Radar, then the chain will break and the Poké Radar will not activate again at the end of the battle. A chain can also automatically break if the player uses the Bicycle or Roller Skates, or if the player scrolls all shaking grass patches off-screen by moving too far away from them.
Activating the Poké Radar manually in the middle of a chain will not break the chain, and will simply generate up to four new patches of shaking grass, replacing the old ones. This action is known as "resetting" the Radar. It is commonly used when none of the four patches is deemed likely to continue the chain; this determination varies between games.
As the chain length increases, the probability of finding a Shiny patch also increases, up to a certain maximum. After reaching this maximum, the player no longer needs to attempt to increase the chain, and can simply recharge and reset the Radar over and over until a Shiny patch appears.
Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum
The Poké Radar is obtained from Professor Rowan in his lab immediately after receiving the National Pokédex from Professor Oak; however, he will not explain how it works very thoroughly. In Pokémon Platinum, once the player receives an Eevee from Bebe in Hearthome City[citation needed], the player character of the opposite gender of the player (Dawn or Lucas) will give a more practical demonstration on Route 202.
In these games only, the player can encounter certain Pokémon with the Poké Radar that would not be normally found on that route; these Pokémon are often not native to the Sinnoh regional Pokédex. For example, the Poké Radar is the only way to encounter a Nidoran♀ on Route 201.
When the Poké Radar is used, the game will select four random squares 1, 2, 3, and 4 steps away from the player. If these squares contain a patch of grass, that patch will shake. If fewer than four patches of grass are seen shaking, then the randomly selected square did not contain a patch of grass. If zero patches of grass are selected, the game will display the message "The grassy patch remained silent..." and the chain will automatically break.
The farthest patch (the one 4 steps away) is the most likely to continue a chain. The formation of grass patches indicates the likelihood of continuing a chain.
If a swarm ends while a chain is in progress, or a Pokémon otherwise ceases to become available, then that Pokémon will continue to be available until the chain is broken.
The probability of encountering a Shiny Pokémon becomes maximized at a chain length of 40, at approximately 1/200. This is a substantial increase from the usual probability of 1/8192. Since up to four patches of grass appear each time the Poké Radar is used, and each has an independent 1/200 chance, the overall probability of finding at least one Shiny patch for each reset of the Poké Radar is about 1/50. It is possible, although very unlikely, for multiple Shiny patches to appear on one reset. Entering a Shiny patch will never break a chain.
One of the many functions of the Pokétch is to display the current chain and the three best chains made so far.
Shiny Probability
Based on the formula depicted at right, the probability of encountering a Shiny Pokémon can be approximated as 1/8000 for a chain of 1, 1/7800 for a chain of 2, 1/7600 for a chain of 3, and so on up to 1/200 for a chain of 40. Note that it takes a while for a chain to start paying off - the probability does not exceed that of the Masuda method until a chain length of 33. After that point, the probabilities start to increase very strongly, with a chain of 40 having double the probability (1/200) compared to a chain of 39 (1/400).
As all Pokémon games prior to Generation V perform calculations strictly with integers, there exist some roundoff errors in the probability determination (as noted by the ceiling function in the formula). A game-accurate list of probabilities for each chain is as follows:
| Chain length | Shiny Probability |
|---|---|
| 0* | 8/65536 (1/8192)* |
| 1 | 9/65536 (~1/7282) |
| 2 | 9/65536 (~1/7282) |
| 3 | 9/65536 (~1/7282) |
| 4 | 9/65536 (~1/7282) |
| 5 | 10/65536 (~1/6554) |
| 6 | 10/65536 (~1/6554) |
| 7 | 10/65536 (~1/6554) |
| 8 | 10/65536 (~1/6554) |
| 9 | 11/65536 (~1/5958) |
| 10 | 11/65536 (~1/5958) |
| 11 | 11/65536 (~1/5958) |
| 12 | 12/65536 (~1/5461) |
| 13 | 12/65536 (~1/5461) |
| 14 | 13/65536 (~1/5041) |
| 15 | 13/65536 (~1/5041) |
| 16 | 14/65536 (~1/4681) |
| 17 | 14/65536 (~1/4681) |
| 18 | 15/65536 (~1/4369) |
| 19 | 15/65536 (~1/4369) |
| 20 | 16/65536 (1/4096) |
| 21 | 17/65536 (~1/3855) |
| 22 | 18/65536 (~1/3641) |
| 23 | 19/65536 (~1/3449) |
| 24 | 20/65536 (~1/3277) |
| 25 | 21/65536 (~1/3121) |
| 26 | 22/65536 (~1/2979) |
| 27 | 24/65536 (~1/2731) |
| 28 | 26/65536 (~1/2521) |
| 29 | 28/65536 (~1/2341) |
| 30 | 30/65536 (~1/2185) |
| 31 | 33/65536 (~1/1986) |
| 32 | 37/65536 (~1/1771) |
| 33 | 41/65536 (~1/1598) |
| 34 | 47/65536 (~1/1394) |
| 35 | 55/65536 (~1/1192) |
| 36 | 66/65536 (~1/993) |
| 37 | 82/65536 (~1/799) |
| 38 | 110/65536 (~1/596) |
| 39 | 164/65536 (~1/400) |
| 40+ | 328/65536 (~1/200) |
*A Shiny patch cannot appear on a chain length of 0, but all non-Shiny patches still have the usual 1/8192 chance of encountering a Shiny Pokémon.
List of Radar-exclusive Pokémon
In HeartGold and SoulSilver
- Main article: Pokéwalker
The Poké Radar is not normally obtainable in the main game; however, a primitive version of the Poké Radar exists on the bundled Pokéwalker.
The Pokéwalker's Poké Radar costs 10 Watts to use, and is the only way to encounter any wild Pokémon at all on the device. Similar to Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, these Pokémon are often difficult or impossible to otherwise find in the main game.
When used, four patches of grass will appear on-screen, one of which will randomly display a '!' symbol for a short period of time. If the player successfully selects that grass patch before the '!' disappears, then either a battle with a wild Pokémon will begin or there will be a delay and another random grass patch will display a second '!'. Again, if the player successfully selects the '!' patch before it disappears, a battle may begin or a third patch may display '!!'. Yet again, if the player successfully selects the '!!' patch, a battle may begin or a fourth patch may display '!!!'; the fourth patch will always start a battle should the player reach that point. Patches with greater numbers of exclamation points indicate rarer wild Pokémon; the mechanics and precise timing required may be considered a primitive form of chaining.
In X and Y
After being absent in Generation V, the Poké Radar returns in Pokémon X and Y. It is received by the player once he or she has defeated the Elite Four, by talking to the scientist on the top right of the second floor of Professor Sycamore's Lab.
As in Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, the Poké Radar cannot be used while using the Bicycle or Roller skates. It also cannot be used in the Friend Safari. However, it can be used in flower beds the same way as in tall grass.
Unlike in Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, there are no Pokémon species exclusive to the Radar. All wild Pokémon encountered will be the same as those encountered normally in the area.
Once per day, the player can speak to the scientist who gave the Poké Radar, and he will assign a species of Pokémon for the player to study. If the player successfully makes a chain of that Pokémon and returns, the scientist will reward the player with an item.
Chains and other specific mechanics are believed to be very similar to that of Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, but more exact details are currently unknown.
Flavor text
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In the TCG
The following is a list of cards named Poké Radar.
| Related cards Cards listed with a blue background are only legal to use in the current Expanded format. Cards listed with a green background are legal to use in both the current Standard and Expanded formats. | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Card | Type | English Expansion |
Rarity | # | Japanese Expansion |
Rarity | # |
| Poké Radar | T | Legends Awakened | 
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133/146 | Cry from the Mysterious |
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In other languages
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See also
On Bulbagarden forums
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This item article is part of Project ItemDex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on all items. |