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Roaming Pokémon

Perriechu

i make this look easy tik-tik boom like gasoline-y
4,079
Posts
14
Years
Since Gen II we've had the burden pleasure of having roaming Pokémon, not just any Pokémon roam, though; only a specific few, that are legends might I add, roam throughout the regions, they are; Suicune, Entei, Raikou (Gen II, III and IV), Latios and Latias (Gen III and IV), Moltres, Articuno, Zapdos, Cresselia and Mesprit (Gen IV) and Tornadus and Thundurus (Gen V)

So, did you like the feature of roaming Pokémon? Do you want it brought back in Gen VI? What would you change about them? Would you perhaps make it so paralysis and sleep would make them stay in the battle until they wake up? What was your favourite method of capturing them?

As for me; I didn't really enjoy the feature, mainly because a lot of the time I forgot about them and just randomly they'd pop up and I'd have no way of capturing it and then I'd go after it and spend hours on it. :( I personally wouldn't want it brought back in Gen VI mainly because I just didn't like it, lol; I'm glad it never appeared in BW2; however if it did come back I'd like it so the legends who were roaming had a slightly higher capture rate because running around for hours on end trying to catch it whilst only having a small chance is really annoying and time consuming tbh.

Favourite method was to go into the grass where they were, once I'd eventually caught up that is, use a repel and encounter them and then beat them until they're red and paralyzed.

Bonus Question: Do you think GF should have paid more attention to the two glitches that appeared in Gen III's dog (and Lati) roamers? For those that don't know there are two glitches; one that affects the roamers in RS and FRLG this glitch makes it so the roamers will have extremely low IV's and the other is purely for FRLG where if the player encounters Entei or Raikou they can Roar to flee; if they do they will disappear from the game forever. Emerald is unaffected by any of this.

*Suicune doesn't roam as such in some of the games, you simply go to different places where he is and then eventually he'll show up at a spot and stay there.
 

Miau

If I fits...
812
Posts
11
Years
  • Age 33
  • Seen Oct 31, 2022
I only went after and caught Thundurus in White a while back. I was really annoyed that it was able to flee while asleep, what the..? On the plus side, it's a good thing that at least it kept the damage, so at first I just hit and let it flee, then when it's HP was low enough, I tried putting it to sleep, which obviously didn't work. In the end, I used Ariados with Spider Web to keep it from fleeing, and in the end caught, I can't really remember the details though.

I don't know, I thought it was fun? But then again, that's my only experience with a roaming Pokemon.
 

FSNW5yiFrXVXqv

Guest
0
Posts
Ah, a pointless memorable sidestory:
Spoiler:


Anyway, no. I never really liked it. However, it was still undeniably pretty awesome to randomly encounter that legendary pokemon. I always get that feeling that I was really lucky to even see them. Wish same could be said for Genesect, Meloetta and the rest. I wouldn't really mind if they were roaming. Remove the sweet scent/repel trick to make it a bit more thrilling experience.
 

Thergox

Average Hatter
105
Posts
10
Years
  • Seen Jul 17, 2014
Well, I always found it really easy to trick the game into landing the legendary right where I wanted it -- I would sit at the border between two different places (Usually two routes) and check my Pokedex. It would tell me where the legendary currently was. I would then flit between the two places, passing the border until the legendary was in one of the areas.

I sort of found out the fact that the legendaries move to another location every time you move to a new area by complete accident -- I think it might even have had something to do with Gen IV's Poketch, which made things beyond convenient when hunting for those cursed roamers. I was more than shocked to find out that the Gen V roamers still followed the same rule.

So, in my opinion, I really have no problem with it. It gives Pokemon a new variable, since not every Pokemon just sits waiting for you at the end of every cave. It's sometimes exciting to run across this rare beast when you aren't even looking for it, but I can certainly understand the pain for those who spend so much time looking around for them.
 

Altair1

Willpower
578
Posts
11
Years
I actually enjoy tracking down and capturing roamers. I'd use the method the above poster mentioned. In fact, I'd wish there were MORE roaming legendary Pokemon! Platinum as I recall, has had the most.

The marking map app was extremely convenient in Platinum, it's a shame I had to keep opening the Pokegear to track Entei, Raikou, Latias and Latios...
I hope it returns in X & Y, however hopefully with a marking map app of some sort instead of checking up the Pokedex/gear all the time.
 
284
Posts
10
Years
Ugh it sucks. What a waste of time. I'd rather just have an intense, hour-long, battle. Plus you never get a good chance to listen to the battle themes of the roamers.
 

PlatinumDude

Nyeh?
12,964
Posts
13
Years
Tbh, roamers are annoying to track down and catch because of all the time and effort to do so, especially if you're going for a specific nature and IVs.
 

Kikaito plush

Angeline plushxKikaito plush
5,557
Posts
14
Years
ah the most annoying part of the game the roamers pokemon, anytime you would get to the route they were in they would move. if you ask me it is not the best addition to the game and I would not cry if it when away,
 
22
Posts
10
Years
Honestly, I never really cared for Roaming Pokemon too much so wouldn't have a meltdown if they weren't included in Generation VI, but I would welcome them as a post-game challenge. If they were included, it'd have to be simpler IMO to track, like in DPPt, rather than opening the Pokedex/Pokegear every time you change location, or having to check the gates in Gen V.

P.S I never caught those pesky Roaming Dogs, Raikou and Entei, in any Pokemon game I own.
 

Shrew

is a Shrew
838
Posts
10
Years
Roaming legendaries are the most difficult to capture, and thus, I feel really achieved after catching them. I think the concept of roaming legendaries is cool, but I feel like it's becoming a forced tradition.

Like, what was up with Mesprit and Cresselia roaming, yet Azelf and Uxie not? Also, I don't get why the Regi's would be running around sinnoh's map like crazy. Unlike wildcats/dogs, golems imply lack of mobility.
 

KorpiklaaniVodka

KID BUU PAWAA
3,318
Posts
10
Years
Cresselia and Moltres were really annoying to catch in Platinum. In HeartGold I met Raikou right after defeating Morty, but you need to be extremely lucky to catch it at full health, so of course I couldn't get it so early...
 

Starlight Sprite

Resident Moon Fairy
213
Posts
10
Years
I have mixed feelings about it. Roaming Pokemon are a pain for sure, but they provide a unique challenge to track down. Still I was very happy on Crystal when Suicune (my favorite legendary) could be battled normally. However, tracking down roamers can be fun, and always rewarding.

I think it would be cool to have this in future games: I could also see it implemented in a place like the Safari Zone (on a smaller scale) as a means of tracking down rare Pokemon in a time limit.
 
5,283
Posts
14
Years
  • Age 29
  • Seen yesterday
So, did you like the feature of roaming Pokémon?

Yeah. It initially irritated me when I couldnt' get Latios (had used my Master Ball) but now I find it fun - as long as I have a Wobbuffet, as a lot of roamers fly so Dugtrio is useless.

Do you want it brought back in Gen VI?

Probs not going to play Gen VI (still haven't bought B2W2), but I don't not want it, if that makes any sense. But it would be a nice gimmick to set them apart if there weren't any roamers in X & Y (although I think they'll be unique enough anyway).

What would you change about them?

The IV glitch - I can't get a good Latios because of it.

Would you perhaps make it so paralysis and sleep would make them stay in the battle until they wake up?

Yeah that'd be cool.

What was your favourite method of capturing them?

Weaken them through numerous encounters, stock up on poké balls, stick Wobbuffett at the front of my party and go crazy :)

Bonus Question: Do you think GF should have paid more attention to the two glitches that appeared in Gen III's dog (and Lati) roamers? For those that don't know there are two glitches; one that affects the roamers in RS and FRLG this glitch makes it so the roamers will have extremely low IV's and the other is purely for FRLG where if the player encounters Entei or Raikou they can Roar to flee; if they do they will disappear from the game forever. Emerald is unaffected by any of this.

The IV glitch is irritating, but I don't see how they could've fixed it. Many pokémon players such as myself at the time, didn't know or care about it.
Didn't know about the Roar one, suspected it though. That should've been fixed. At least you can catch Lati@s.
 
4,181
Posts
10
Years
I've never really bothered to look for roamers, it's not really worth catching unless you're going for filling your Pokedex. The IV glitch with Gen III roamers doesn't make matters better, either.
 

Andrew

Ah Yeah 아예
270
Posts
10
Years
So, did you like the feature of roaming Pokémon?
Absolutely not. Catching roamers always seemed like such a chore to me. It was more annoying than fun, so I never bothered except with Latias/Latios in SoulSilver because I really like the Eon pokémon. With the others, if I find it, I'll either throw any ball I have and hope for the best or just attack it.

Do you want it brought back in Gen VI?
I'm indifferent about it. If it's back, cool for the people who like. Unless the roamers are really cool, I won't bother trying to catch them.

What would you change about them? Would you perhaps make it so paralysis and sleep would make them stay in the battle until they wake up?
That's most likely what I would do. I don't understand how a paralyzed/sleeping pokémon can flee from a fight. If I could paralyze them or put them to sleep it wouldn't be as bad. I really don't feel like going out and catching a pokémon that can trap one in a fight, so if I could use moves I already have I would enjoy it a lot more.

What was your favorite method of capturing them?
Throw a ball and hope for the best? :P
 
102
Posts
10
Years
  • Seen Nov 13, 2013
I know this isn't answering your questions, but when I was a small lad I found Raikou at the route down from the lake of rage. So my Haunter put it to sleep but it still ran away. I was very angry.
 

SaniOKh

Too old for this stuff
592
Posts
17
Years
So, did you like the feature of roaming Pokémon?

No, I absolutely hate this feature. The combination of, well, roaming, and ending the battle ASAP by roaring or running away really irritates me. I am one of the crazy people who try to complete the National Dex, so it's not something I can just shrug off.

Do you want it brought back in Gen VI?

No.

What would you change about them?

If I had a choice, I would at least remove the roaming Pokémon's ability to run away or Roar, finding them once is painful enough as it is, I hate having to do that over and over again.

Or, as an alternative, the game should make available as many Master Balls as there are roaming Pokémon.

But, IMHO, Black 2/White 2 already did the best possible thing to the roaming Pokémon: they removed them.

Would you perhaps make it so paralysis and sleep would make them stay in the battle until they wake up?

As I said, I would make them completely unable to escape on their own no matter the status.

What was your favourite method of capturing them?

Throwing the Master Ball.

Bonus Question: Do you think GF should have paid more attention to the two glitches that appeared in Gen III's dog (and Lati) roamers? For those that don't know there are two glitches; one that affects the roamers in RS and FRLG this glitch makes it so the roamers will have extremely low IV's and the other is purely for FRLG where if the player encounters Entei or Raikou they can Roar to flee; if they do they will disappear from the game forever. Emerald is unaffected by any of this.

I never cared about EV/IV as I don't fight online, and by the time I catch the roaming legendaries, my Pokémon are already very strong. I only catch the roaming legendaries to complete the Pokédex.

The Roar glitch is a bummer for sure, but if you don't care about completing National Pokédex or have Pokémon Colosseum (where you can catch Raikou, Entei and Suicune in one playthrough) it's not critical. Also, using the Master Ball to catch the roamer renders this point moot.
 
31
Posts
10
Years
Roaming Pokemon make my blood pressure soar. I spent ages working on catching Latias in Sapphire, got it's HP down to 2 or 3, and literally dozens of times, it popped out of the pokeball regardless. I never did catch it, and I haven't gone out of my way to catch a roaming Pokemon since. I'm not the biggest fan of catching legendary pokemon anyway, but Latias is one of my favorite pokemon, so I made an exception.

I would make it so that you get at least four or five turns before it flees, instead of only one turn. And agreed, if it's asleep or paralyzed, it should be locked into battle before it can flee. I wouldn't care if they were in the next generation of games, but unless I'm desperate for something to do, I'm not going to bother with them.
 

Noir

Sir Lucious Left Foot
119
Posts
11
Years
The novetly of roaming Pokemon got old fast when I had to search and catch 5 of them all at once on Platinum v.v I would just knock them out so I didn't have to worry about the images on the Poketch screen haha
 

atomtanned

Delinquent
151
Posts
11
Years
  • Seen Oct 17, 2022
Hate, hate, HATE roaming Pokemon. I also like to complete the National Dex in each game and the roaming ones make it so hard to do that.

If they are in Gen VI, I'd like it to be easier to find them at least. Maybe something like a special tracking device? I don't know, I kind of hope they aren't in X/Y at all.
 
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