Appendix:Repel trick

The Repel trick allows a player to find the highest-leveled wild Pokémon in an area. To perform it, the player needs several bottles of Repel and a Pokémon at a specific level. This trick works in all core series games in which Repel is available, with the exception of Pokémon Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!.

How to use

To perform the trick, the player simply needs any type of Repel (preferably multiple) and a Pokémon at a specific level at the front of the Party. Specifically, the Pokémon's level must be the same as, or possibly lower than, the highest wild Pokémon level in the area.

This trick is possible because the Repel's effect is to prevent "weak" wild Pokémon from appearing. In this case, "weak" means a Pokémon at a lower level than the first Pokémon in the Party. This means that if wild Pokémon of multiple different levels (a range of levels) appears in an area, which is almost always the case, and the Pokémon at the front of the player's Party has a level in between this range, any wild Pokémon with equal or higher levels will continue to appear while any Pokémon with a lower level will stop appearing.

This trick can be useful for finding a specific Pokémon in an area, or simply for finding a higher-level Pokemon and spend less time leveling it up. It can also be used with Pokémon luring methods, such as the use of a White Flute and the Pokémon March broadcast, to increase the probability of finding a Pokémon.

Perhaps the most common and well-known use of this trick is to find roaming Pokémon and Ultra Beasts, as they are almost always on a (significantly) higher level than all other Pokémon that can appear in that area. It can also be also effective in Nuzlocke Challenges to attempt to make the first encounter a Pokémon of a certain kind that only appears at a certain level.

Examples

Mt. Silver

Pokémon Games Location Levels Rate Arbok G S C Grass 42 0% 20% 0% Golbat G S C Grass 40-44 0% 0% 30% Poliwhirl G S C Grass 42-44 0% 0% 40% Ponyta G S C Grass 42 30% Ponyta G S C Grass 42 0% 30% 0% Rapidash G S C Grass 44 10% Rapidash G S C Grass 44 0% 10% 0% Doduo G S C Grass 41 0% 5% 0% Dodrio G S C Grass 43 0% 5% 0% Tangela G S C Grass 39-41 30% Ursaring G S C Grass 42 20% Donphan G S C Grass 42 20% Sneasel G S C Grass 38-42 0% 0% 10% 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.

At the exterior of Mt. Silver, the Repel trick can be used to find a Rapidash, which otherwise has a relatively low encounter rate of 10% at the most. The player should perform the trick during the Day, put a Level 44 Pokémon in front of their party, and use a Repel. Since the only wild Pokémon that can be encountered at Level 44 (or higher) during the day time are Rapidash, they are certain to find one.

Hoenn Route 111

Pokémon Games Location Levels Rate Sandshrew R S E Deep sand 19-21 35% Trapinch R S E Deep sand 19-21 35% Cacnea R S E Deep sand 19-21 20% Baltoy R S E Deep sand 20-22 10% Baltoy R S E Deep sand 19-21 20% Cacnea R S E Deep sand 20-22 10% 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.

This is a list of wild Pokémon that can appear in the desert area of Route 111. In this case, if the player wants to find the highest-level wild Pokémon possible (a Baltoy in Ruby or Sapphire and a Cacnea in Emerald), they must simply to put a level 22 Pokémon in the front of the party and use a Repel.

Trophy Garden

Pokémon Games Location Levels Rate Pikachu D P Pt Grass 18 10% Pikachu D P Pt Grass 22,24 10% Pichu D P Pt Grass 16 30% 10% 10% Pichu D P Pt Grass 21-22 30% Roselia D P Pt Grass 16-17 30% Roselia D P Pt Grass 22-23 30% Staravia D P Pt Grass 16-17 20% 40% 20% Staravia D P Pt Grass 22-24 20% 30% 10% Kricketune D P Pt Grass 16-17 10% 10% 30% Kricketune D P Pt Grass 22-23 10% 0% 20% Special Pokémon Chansey D P Pt Backlot 16, 18 5% 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.

Another common example is the Trophy Garden. One can use the Repel Trick with level 18 Pokémon with Compoundeyes to have higher chances of finding Chansey holding a Lucky Egg or Pikachu holding a Light Ball. This trick, however, works only in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, as levels of common Pokémon in Pokémon Platinum are higher. In Platinum, a player could use a level 24 Pokémon and only find Pikachu and Staravia.

Johto Route 43

Pokémon Games Location Levels Rate Magikarp HG SS Surfing 5-25, 50 100% 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.

The ponds on Route 43 contain level 50 Magikarp. Encountering a level 50 Magikarp is extremely rare. However, it is impossible to find a Pokémon between levels 26 and 49. Using the Repel trick with a Pokémon between level 26 and 50 will repel every wild Pokémon except the level 50 Magikarp and make the Magikarp much easier to encounter. Manipless speedruns commonly use the Repel trick here to encounter the level 50 Magikarp.

Blush Mountain

Pokémon     Allies     Games     Location     Levels     Rate   Western field of grass Geodude Alolan Form Geodude S M Grass 27-30 30% Geodude Alolan Form Geodude S M Grass 26-29 30% Elekid Elekid Electabuzz Chansey S M Grass 27-30 10% Elekid Elekid Electabuzz Chansey S M Grass 26-29 10% Torkoal Torkoal S M Grass 27-30 10% Torkoal Torkoal S M Grass 26-29 20% Charjabug Charjabug S M Grass 27-30 10% Charjabug Charjabug S M Grass 26-29 10% Mudbray Mudbray S M Grass 27-30 20% Mudbray Mudbray S M Grass 26-29 20% Turtonator Turtonator S M Grass 27-30 10% Togedemaru Togedemaru S M Grass 27-30 10% Togedemaru Togedemaru S M Grass 26-29 10% Exclusively from Island Scan Rhyhorn N/A S M Grass 30 OneSu 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.

This example using Blush Mountain only works in Pokémon Moon specifically. On Sundays, Rhyhorn can be encountered in this area by using Island Scan. In the western field of grass in Moon, the typical wild Pokémon levels range from 26 to 29, while the wild Rhyhorn is always level 30, meaning a player could use the Repel Trick with a level 30 Pokémon to find Rhyhorn more consistently. This could be done to encounter Rhyhorn multiple times after escaping if the player were searching for a Rhyhorn with a specific Ability or a Shiny Rhyhorn. This example does not work in Pokémon Sun, as the typical wild Pokémon levels in this area range from 27 to 30 in that game.

Limitations

• This trick cannot be used to find 'weaker' Pokémon in an area, which may in fact be rarer, such as a Larvitar found inside Mt. Silver.
• It does not work when fishing.
• It does not work when using Sweet Scent or Honey for Pokémon found by triggering a Horde Encounter.
• It does not work in phenomena or ambush encounters.
• It may also be difficult to obtain a Pokémon at a specific Level to do the trick.
• It appears to fail within Pokémon Sun and Moon due to all wild Pokémon having the same level range in their respective locations.