How To Find And Beat Alpha Pokemon In Pokemon Legends: Arceus

Quick Links

Battling and Capturing Alpha Pokemon

Alpha Advantages

All Known Alpha Pokemon Locations

Do Alpha Pokemon Respawn?

You'll know them by their glowing red eyes. You'll see them from afar thanks to their uptick in size. You linger too close, they see you, and surprise; either you've blacked out or you've sent a poor Pokemon to their doom with your sweet trainer's lies.

The purpose of this guide is not to inundate you with bad rhymes, though if that should occur along the way, you're welcome, and we're sorry. The real reason you're here is to find out what to do about these frightening Alpha Pokemon in Pokemon Legends: Arceus, ancient Hisui's colossal curb-stompers. Many have fallen to their might, but you want to be different. You want to harness their power for your own.

Or you just want a little payback after that incident with a raging Bibarel. Whatever the case may be, here's where to find every Alpha — and how to beat them.

Battling and Capturing Alpha Pokemon

Capturing the Alpha Blissey In Pokemon Legends: Arceus

Despite their blatant strength, Alpha Pokemon aren't Noble Pokemon — they're not battled with balms and jumps and dodges. Players encounter Alpha Pokemon on the field, and these encounters largely follow the same format as an ordinary creature. One of the few major differences is the fact that Alpha Pokemon never flee; their disposition is always going to be some degree of aggressive.

Before you even begin to think about fighting an Alpha Pokemon, tap ZL to check its level. From the earliest hours of your Pokemon Legends: Arceus adventure, you will be coming upon Alphas that are dozens of levels higher than your team. Challenging such fierce foes will almost invariably result in your defeat.

Tips for Catching Alphas

If you're planning on catching an Alpha, and you totally should for reasons we'll soon get into, carefully consider your gear. It's unwise to fight Alphas when your goal is to catch them instead. Even if your team has comparable or higher stats, why risk things going awry? There are a few basic staples you should bring along with you whenever possible.

Item	Information
Heavy Ball	These can only be thrown a short distance, but they have a terrific catch rate on unsuspecting Pokemon. If you can use grass for cover and wait for the perfect moment, you stand a decent shot of success.
Smoke Bomb	Often overlooked, Smoke Bombs shroud the player character, preventing Pokemon (including Alphas) from seeing what you're up to. Think of this as temporary "replacement grass" and use it when Alphas are far from cover.
Favorite Food	Here's where completing all those Research Tasks of yours comes in handy. If you're familiar with a species' favorite food, the Alphas share the tastes of their smaller kin, making for an excellent distraction.

Since Alpha Pokemon share their Pokedex page with regular members of their species, the only reason to fight them (rather than catching them) is for the sweet amount of experience points your party will surely enjoy. Just bear in mind, experience points are fairly easy to accrue in Legends: Arceus; also, if you end up overwhelmed and most of your party's knocked out by battle's end, it largely goes to waste.

A popular method of ensuring success in catching is to toss a Heavy Ball and immediately reset if the Alpha pops out of it. The way that save data works in this installment, the unaware Alpha Pokemon will be right in front of you all over again upon loading. (As an aside, you can do this with shiny Pokemon as well. We may or may not have nuked a shiny Zubat once without saving first, to our sincere despair.)

Alpha Advantages

Touring Hisui with a Parasect the size of a tree is fun in its own right, but there are other reasons to catch these monstrosities whenever you can.

Effort Values

Alpha Pokemon have access to a wider range of Effort Level goodness upon catching. Not to be confused with Effort Values from other games in the series — though not far off, being Legends: Arceus' own spin on the idea — Effort Levels dictate the stat increases a Pokemon gains upon leveling up. Pokemon still retain their base stats, so it's unwise to try to use this system to turn a Snorlax into a special sweeper or what-have-you, but pumping up Effort Levels for specific stats will ensure your pals excel at their naturally gifted roles.

You can increase a Pokemon's Effort Levels through Grit items. These include Grit Sand, Grit Gravel, Grit Pebbles, and Grit Rocks. But since Alpha Pokemon are packing nice Effort Level boosts by default, they've got a nice advantage over their peers.

Tutor Moves

Zisu, who lingers over at the arena in Jubilife Village, can teach your Pokemon certain moves for a price. Money can be scarce in Pokemon Legends: Arceus, especially during the early- and mid-game hours. Wouldn't it be nicer to catch an Alpha Pokemon, seeing as there is a chance they will already know one of Zisu's tutor moves?

Legends: Arceus has a somewhat diminished total move pool compared to the more "generation-defining" titles like Sword & Shield. There's still some decent variety, but the cut is noticeable enough to make Zisu's services a must-have... unless you've gotten your gloves on some prime Alphas, that is.

All Known Alpha Pokemon Locations

The following tables contain information on every Alpha Pokemon we've found throughout Hisui, separated by region and listed per regional location. We'll update this if more are found, though if you happen to be reading this a couple of months or more past Arceus: Legends' launch date, odds are golden this has everything.

Obsidian Fieldlands Alpha Pokemon

Species and Level	Location Information
Level 16 Bibarel	Tidewater Dam
Level 40 Rapidash	Horseshoe Plains
Level 40 Luxio	Floaro Gardens
Level 30 Parasect	Nature's Pantry
Level 30 Graveler	Grueling Grove
Level 30 Kricketune	Nature's Pantry
Level 31 Floatzel	Worn Bridge
Level 32 Staravia	Windswept Ruin
Level 40 Lopunny	The Heartwood
Level 33 Magikarp	Oreburrow Tunnel
Level 35 Golbat	Oreburrow Tunnel
Level 42 Scyther	Grandtree Arena
Level 45 Snorlax	Lake Verity
Level 42 Stantler	Deertrack Heights
Level 45 Heracross	Grueling Grove
Level 60 Gyarados	Lake Verity
Level 62 Blissey	Obsidian Falls
Level 60 Alakazam	Sandgem Flats
Level 65 Infernape	Ramanas Island

Crimson Mirelands Alpha Pokemon

Species and Level	Location Information
Level 40 Carnivine	Cottonsedge Praerie
Level 40 Pachirisu	Gapejaw Bog
Level 45 Skuntank	Scarlet Bog
Level 45 Tangrowth	Scarlet Bog
Level 45 Rhyhorn	Solaceon Ruins
Level 41 Ursaring	Ursa's Ring
Level 46 Hippowdon	Sludge Mound
Level 47 Toxicroak	Holm of Trials
Level 48 Haunter	Droning Meadow
Level 50 Onix	Cloudpool Ridge
Level 50 Roserade	Cloudpool Ridge
Level 52 Raichu	Golden Lowlands
Level 50 (Hisuian) Sliggoo	Holm of Trials
Level 55 Ursaring	Gapejaw Bog
Level 52 Lickilicky	Shrouded Ruins
Level 58 Yanmega	Droning Meadow
Level 55 Honchkrow	Cloudpool Ridge
Level 61 Vespiquen	Cottonsedge Praerie
Level 62 Whiscash	Lake Valor
Level 65 Torterra	Holm of Trials

Cobalt Coastlands Alpha Pokemon

Species and Level	Location Information
Level 40 Machoke	Castaway Shore
Level 45 Purugly	Veilstone Cape
Level 45 Drapion	Gingko Landing
Level 50 Tentacruel	Lunker's Lair
Level 50 Golduck	Bathers' Lagoon
Level 50 Ambipom	Hideaway Bay
Level 50 Walrein	Gingko Landing
Level 46 Octillery	Castaway Shore
Level 58 Gyarados	Sand's Reach
Level 56 Mothim	Spring Pass
Level 61 Gastrodon	Seagrass Haven
Level 61 Ninetales	Firespit Island
Level 60 Lumineon	Seagrass Haven
Level 65 Dusknoir	Deadwood Haunt
Level 69 Empoleon	Islespy Shore

Coronet Highlands Alpha Pokemon

Species and Level	Location Information
Level 55 Luxray	Sacred Plaza
Level 55 Mothim	Wayward Wood
Level 55 Bronzong	Clamberclaw Cliffs
Level 56 Gabite	Clamberclaw Cliffs
Level 60 Golem	Bolderoll Ravine
Level 60 Crobat	Wayward Cave
Level 60 Steelix	Celestica Trail
Level 61 Mismagius	Stonetooth Row
Level 62 Clefable	Fabled Spring
Level 69 Electivire	Cloudcap Pass
Level 73 Probopass	Primeval Grotto
Level 74 Rhyperior	Sacred Plaza
Level 70 (Hisuian) Goodra	Ancient Quarry
Level 77 Gliscor	Primeval Grotto

Alabaster Icelands Alpha Pokemon

Species and Level	Location Information
Level 62 Swinub	Avalugg's Legacy
Level 62 Glalie	Bonechill Wastes
Level 65 Piloswine	Avalugg's Legacy
Level 65 Electabuzz	Icebound Falls
Level 61 (Hisuian) Sneasel	Avalugg's Legacy
Level 65 Chimecho	Lake Acuity
Level 68 Mamoswine	Avalugg's Legacy
Level 68 Abomasnow	Avalugg's Legacy
Level 70 Gardevoir	Heart's Crag
Level 70 Gallade	Snowpoint Temple
Level 70 Machamp	Arena's Approach
Level 70 Lucario	Icebound Falls
Level 72 Froslass	Avalanche Slopes
Level 85 Garchomp	Avalanche Slopes

Do Alpha Pokemon Respawn?

The short answer is yes. The longer answer is yes, but it'll take a while.

Alpha Pokemon tend to spawn at a slower rate than the rest of Hisui's inhabitants. This makes a measure of sense, since in other franchises we'd probably be calling them "mark hunts" "or regional sub-bosses" or, you know, whatever. They're the resident big bads of any given area, Noble Pokemon notwithstanding.

So, if you've missed your shot at catching one just swing on by again at a later time and see if they've returned. Alpha Pokemon aren't always around to begin with, which means you may need to familiarize yourself with the routes to their exact locations and check in periodically while you're off fulfilling Research Tasks and Requests nearby. Just keep checking, and soon enough you'll find your red-eyed monster.

Next:Pokemon Legends: Arceus - Complete Guide