Hardest Mythical Pokemon To Catch In Franchise History

As someone who’s been through the thick and thin of Pokémon gaming since the days of the Game Boy Color, I can tell you that catching Darkrai was always the holy grail for many trainers like myself. Back in Gen 4, getting my hands on this elusive Pokémon felt like winning the lottery – it was rare, exclusive, and seemed almost impossible to obtain without attending an event or knowing someone who did.

Currently, it’s quite straightforward to find Mythical Pokemon in the gaming series, whether you’re enjoying a primary Pokemon game on the Nintendo Switch or exploring with Pokemon Go. However, prior to Generation 6, Mythical Pokemon were seldom widely distributed outside of particular, restricted event distributions, which included some location-specific events. This made them extremely hard to obtain unless you were fortunate (or skilled at hacking the Pokemon into your game).

It’s great news that mythical Pokémon aren’t as hard to come by these days due to online global distributions and more frequent appearances in user-friendly games. However, just because they are more accessible doesn’t make them any simpler to capture! This article will delve into the most challenging mythical Pokémon to catch across various games, including early generation classics and some recent releases on the Nintendo Switch.

7 Celebi

Still Difficult To Obtain, Even Now

Hardest Mythical Pokemon To Catch In Franchise History

Limited to specific in-person events in the 2000s
Became more widely available through online events starting from Pokemon X and Y
Easier to get in Pokemon Go than in most main-series titles

In simpler terms, Celebi was a mythical Pokémon that was scarcely available until recently, as it was extremely hard to obtain prior to that. Even in its initial Generation 2 titles, most players couldn’t acquire it without participating in exclusive time- and location-limited events, owning the remastered version of Pokémon Crystal, or having access to a specific Japanese bonus disc for Pokémon Colosseum along with a compatible console. However, thanks to Pokémon Go, Celebi has become more accessible. Now, you can find it relatively easily in Pokémon Go, but capturing Celebi in full console games remains challenging.

While Celebi first became common within online distributions back in 2016 for X and Y, even these distributions weren’t fully global events, and Celebi was only available to those in Europe and America. Even when it comes to online distributions now, the last time Celebi was obtainable in an event was in a 2022 event for Sword and Shield. That means Celebi is unobtainable in the last two main-series games, Pokemon Legends: Arceus and Scarlet and Violet. Alongside this, the only way Celebi can be transferred into certain main-series console games through Pokemon Home from Go is if players somehow already have a Celebi in those games, defeating the point of transferring Celebi in the first place. All in all, Celebi is one difficult Pokemon to get your hands on, even today.

6 Jirachi

Easy To Get — As Long As You Have Other Games, That Is

Hardest Mythical Pokemon To Catch In Franchise History

Initially released in Gen 3’s Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire
Only available at first through two GameCube spin-off games
Now available in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl — as long as you also have Sword or Shield

Jirachi, a Pokemon from Generation 3, has been notoriously hard to obtain until recently. Originally, it was only accessible for players who either owned the US-exclusive Bonus Disc of Pokemon Colosseum or had a European copy of an obscure GameCube game called Pokemon Channel. To get Jirachi via these methods, players needed not only the specific game but also to complete it entirely. Additionally, there were occasional events where you could get Jirachi, some more common and others extremely rare. However, from 2018 to 2022, there were no distribution events for Jirachi at all.

Regrettably, in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, Jirachi is only accessible if players have previously purchased another game. Specifically, players can obtain a special event Jirachi in these games when they have save data from Sword and Shield on their system. Unlike before, it’s not necessary to finish the entire previous game first for this instance.

5 Manaphy

Ever Played Pokemon Ranger?

Originally only accessible through Pokemon Ranger
Occasionally appeared in location-limited, exclusive online events
Thankfully, it is much easier to obtain today thanks to Pokemon Legends: Arceus

Back in the day, getting a Manaphy in Pokemon Diamond and Pearl was quite a daunting task if you weren’t living in Japan, America, or South Korea, where it could be obtained through location-based events. The only other way to get a Manaphy was by owning any of the Pokemon Ranger games and completing them entirely to receive a Manaphy egg. This egg could then be transferred to Diamond or Pearl. It’s still possible now, but with a catch – only the first Pokemon Ranger game allows for such transfers, and each copy of Ranger can only produce one Manaphy, even if you reset your game after transferring the first one.

In subsequent video games, Manaphy became more accessible due to online events starting from Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. However, these events remained quite rare. It wasn’t until the launch of Pokemon: Legend Arceus that Manaphy was made easily obtainable within a main-series game. In this game, you can find Manaphy (and its evolution Phione, which was previously only accessible through breeding in earlier games) as part of a specific quest. This quest allows you to fight and capture multiple elusive Pokemon like Manaphy all at once.

4 Mew

May As Well Be Hiding Under A Truck

Possibly the first Pokemon GameFreak used to test in-person distributions in the 90s
Available mostly through in-person events for two decades
Players had to download a WiiWare game called My Pokemon Ranch to get it during Gen 4

Mew wasn’t widely accessible until quite recently, and even now, its availability is surprisingly contingent on having played specific side games. One such game was an unusual WiiWare title called ‘My Pokemon Ranch,’ designed for owners of Pokemon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum. In the 90s, obtaining it was particularly challenging — in fact, its initial distribution event was limited to a minuscule number of Japanese players via an experimental method. The rarity of Mew contributed to the proliferation of rumors regarding how to acquire it.

Acquiring Mew, a rare Pokemon, became slightly more accessible with the advent of Hoenn and the Faraway Island event, although this was restricted to Japan and Taiwan. However, in 2007, Mew was distributed globally for brief periods in certain regions. The availability significantly improved in the 2010s due to games like Pokemon Go and increased online distributions in the main series of games. Currently, Mew can be caught in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl if the player has save data from Pokemon Let’s Go: Eevee or Pikachu.

3 Magearna

Better Get Catching ‘Em All

Regular Magearna is at least easier than most others on this list to catch
Can be caught in Alola thanks to a special QR code
Original Color Magearna is easily one of the most difficult Pokemon to get in Pokemon history

Most players find Magearna, a Pokemon introduced in the Alola region of Pokemon Sun and Moon, somewhat obscure and easily overlooked. Being a Mythical creature, it could initially be obtained using a region-specific QR code that had to be scanned with a 3DS camera. Although the Wi-Fi functions on the 3DS have ceased, these QR codes can still be found and used to capture Magearna. To this day, it remains quite rare for trainers to include Magearna in their Pokedex because it has only been distributed once.

However, for hardcore Pokedex completionists, Magearna is something like the final boss of Pokemon catching. Magearna has a special ‘Original Color’ form that can only be received once every single Pokemon up to Eternatus is registered on Pokemon Home. Its special form only changes in color, with its coloration changing to resemble that of a Pokeball. Filling the Dex up to Eternatus is a difficult enough task as it is, as players will need to have access to event-exclusive Mythical Pokemon from years prior. That being said, this task used to be even harder — originally, players needed to have an entire living Dex saved in Pokemon Home before Original Color Magearna was unlocked!

2 Darkrai

This Nightmare Pokemon Is Also A Nightmare To Catch

Originally available in Gen 4, but only through a limited event
Now more readily available, including as a special Pokemon in Pokemon Legends: Arceus
Has one of the lowest catch rates of any Pokemon

Darkrai was originally obtainable through Pokemon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum games. In the Platinum version, players were able to capture it by visiting Newmoon Island via a special Wi-Fi item called the Member Card, which was part of a specific event. However, the Member Card wasn’t officially distributed outside of the Platinum game, making the event unavailable in Diamond and Pearl without the use of cheats. In those games, the only way to obtain Darkrai was through an in-person distribution event tied to a movie.

In the Gen 4 games, the creature Darkrai could only be obtained by attending real-life events or receiving physical codes. This was the case until the release of Pokemon Legends: Arceus, where Darkrai made its debut in a main series game without needing to participate in any distribution event. Essentially, for over a decade, it was extremely difficult to catch Darkrai. Similarly, just like other mythical Pokemon discussed here, this special appearance is once again contingent on having save data from Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.

Additionally, it’s worth noting that Darkrai is quite elusive among Pokémon, with a relatively low probability of just 1.6% for being captured in the games.

1 Generation 6 Mythicals

Only One Has Had A Recent Distribution

Kalos’ Mythicals were initially only distributed in events
Only Volcanion had a recent event during 2022 in Sword and Shield
Diancie hasn’t had an online distribution since 2015

In modern times, where numerous Mythical and Legendary Pokémon are readily accessible, Kalos’ three Mythical Pokémon remain among the scarcest. Originally, they were distributed exclusively during limited, regional events. Although online distribution events have made once-rare Pokémon more attainable, only Volcanion, which was given out in 2022’s Sword and Shield games, has had a relatively recent event. Hoopa did receive special distribution events in Sun and Moon, but Diancie hasn’t had an event for almost a decade, since Generation 7’s Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. This also means that it’s no longer possible to trade Diancie out of X and Y games because Pokemon Bank and the 3DS’s Wi-Fi features have been discontinued.

These three Pokemon you see are accessible in Pokemon Go, enabling trading from Go to Home and then into a primary game. Catching them in the main series games, though, is an entirely different experience compared to catching them in Go. The upcoming release of Pokemon Legends: Z-A, which we’re all eagerly waiting for, might bring these three back for the first time in a long while. Fingers crossed!

2024-08-13 07:04