How to Capture the Legendary Dogs in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen

Reviewed by Ishrak

Last Updated: November 29, 2024 Fact Checked

The Legendary Dogs, sometimes called the Beasts or Legendary Cats, are unique and powerful Pokémon that only appear late in the game. If you are playing FireRed or LeafGreen, your quest is not complete without finding your Legendary Dog, but this is not as easy as it seems. Not only are the dogs tough to capture, they also move around randomly instead of staying in one place. That said, a few quick tricks can reveal them in no time.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Unleashing the Dogs into the World

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1
Know that your specific Legendary Dog will only appear after certain conditions are met. In order to keep you from running into the dogs when you are too weak to fight them, the Legendary Dogs will not enter the game until you have progressed to the end of the game. You will only be able to capture one dog per game, and that depends on the Pokémon you started with:
- Squirtle starters can capture lightning dog Raikou.
- Bulbasaur starters can capture fire dog Entei.
- Charmander starters can capture water dog Suicune.^{[1]
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Beat the Elite Four. The final bosses of the game, the Elite Four, must be conquered in order to reveal the Legendary Dogs. You can only fight the Elite Four after collecting every gym badge.
- You will need several Pokémon around Level 50 to beat the Elite Four, and these Pokémon should be strong enough to capture the dogs too.
- The Elite 4 covers a wide variety of Pokémon, and each of the 4 trainers has a specialty you need to counter:
  - Lorelei uses Ice and Water Pokémon. Counter with Fire, Fighting, Grass, and Electric Pokémon.
  - Bruno uses Fighting and Rock Pokémon. Counter with Flying, Psychic, Fighting, Steel, Grass, and Water Pokémon.
  - Agatha uses Poison Pokémon. Counter with Psychic and Ground Pokémon.
  - Lance uses Dragon Pokémon. Counter with Electric, Dragon, and Ice Pokémon.
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3
Earn your national Pokédex by catching 60 types of Pokémon. After you have caught or trained 60 unique Pokémon, Professor Oak will grant you the National Pokédex.
- You must return to Professor Oak's house at the beginning of the game to get your national Pokédex.^{[2]
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You must complete the adventure in the Sevii Islands that unlocks after beating the Elite Four. During this you will defeat Team Rocket. At the end of the adventure, you will receive the Ruby and the Sapphire which you must bring to Celio in order for him to complete his trading machine that allows you to trade between different regions. (Such as Hoenn.) Once you have activated the trading machine with Celio and the Elite Four are beaten you will be able to find the dogs.
Unlike other Legendary Pokémon, the dogs do not appear in one set place and wait for you to find them. Every single time you enter a building, start a battle, or change regions the dog's location on the map will change, making them incredibly difficult to find. There are, however, some tricks to reveal them.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Finding the Legendary Dogs

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1
Test the high grasses around Kanto. The dogs are found by walking through the high grass, just like any other Pokémon. Find a route with a lot of grass and weak Pokémon, such as Pewter City, Route 2, or Route 7, and start walking randomly through the small shrubs.^{[3]
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- You can also ride the bike to move around faster.
2
Purchase 10-20 Max Repels. Repels keep weak Pokémon from attacking you, but the Legendary Dogs will ignore it. This means that the only Pokémon you will encounter, if you encounter anything, is a Legendary Dog.
- Max Repels work for roughly 250 paces before you need to use a new one.^{[4]
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Chose a Pokémon level 49 or lower as your starter. Go to your "Team" and set it so that your first Pokémon is lower than level 50. All of the dogs are level 50, and Max Repel scares away any Pokémon with a level even with or lower than your starter.^{[5]
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- Your best bet is to set a Level 49 Pokémon first. This way you will only find Pokémon level 50 and up, which only includes the dogs.
Remember, the dogs move randomly each time you change regions. You can test the same patch of grass for hours, but if you do not ever change regions that the dog will stay where it is.
The easiest place to do this is in the house on Route 2 above Vermillion City. After you've checked the grass out front for 10-20 seconds, walk into the house and then leave immediately. This will force the dog to pick a new location, which is hopefully your little field of grass.^{[6]
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Keep checking the grass with your Max Repel on until the dog appears. This may take some time, as the dog's location is chosen randomly. Remember, however, that the dog can move anywhere. You will need to be patient to get your chance.
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Use your Pokédex to find the dogs again if you miss your chance. Once you see a Legendary Dog for the first time your Pokédex will automatically update the location of the dog after that. This makes it much easier to find it again if you cannot capture it the first time. Open your Pokédex, scroll down to the dog, and check the "Area" section to find it.^{[7]
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- If you accidentally KO the dog it will not appear again later in the game.
- Remember, however, that as soon as you try to go to the dog's current location it will move. Check your Pokédex every time you enter a new area to see if it is in the same place as you.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Capturing the Dogs

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1
Know that the Legendary Dogs are some of the hardest Pokémon to catch. While powerful, the dogs will not be hard to defeat with a team of 6 Pokémon. The dogs, however, do not want to be caught, and will try to run from your the moment you encounter them. This makes them slippery and difficult to get a hold of permanently.
- Any damage you do to a dog will last. If you run into them once and bring them to half health before they run, they will still be at half health the next time you see them.^{[8]
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Make sure you get to attack first by upping your Pokémon's speed. If you do not get the first turn the dog will likely run away before you do anything. To prevent this, make sure your opening Pokémon has enough speed to attack first. You can attach "Quick Claw" to ensure that your Pokémon attacks first as well. The go first, your speed rating needs to be higher than the dog's:
- Suicune has a speed rating of 85.
- Entei has a speed rating of 100.
- Raikou has a speed rating of 115.^{[9]
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Use blocking attacks to immediately prevent the dog from escaping. Some Pokémon, such as Wobbuffet, have an ability named "Shadow Tag" that prevents a Pokémon from escaping at any time. Other Pokémon can use abilities like Mean Look, Block, and Arena Trap that keep the dog in place as long as the Pokémon is still in battle.
- Attacks like Wrap and Fire Spin do damage over a few turns and will keep Pokémon from running. They will last for 3-5 turns before needing to be re-applied.^{[10]
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Put the dog to sleep, freeze it, or paralyze it to make it easier to catch. These effects are often difficult to land, but when successful they will keep the dog from fleeing and make your capture balls more effective. Try moves like:
- Sleep
- Spore
- Paralyze
- Poison.
5
Try to prevent the dog from using Roar. This obnoxious attack shared by Entei and Raikou forces you to run away from the battle and the dog to disappear. While there is not a lot you can do to avoid it, putting the dog to sleep or paralyzing it will prevent it from using Roar against you.
- The attack "Taunt" will negate the effects of Roar, but you need to use it your first turn to be effective.^{[11]
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Weaken the dog until it has less than 10% of its health left. If you kill the dog you will be unable to capture it ever again. Use quick, effective moves like False Swipe and Night Shade to get their health down without causing massive damage.^{[12]
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- Don't ever gamble with a big attack -- if they run before you capture them they will reappear with the exact same health they left with. This means you can take your time.
7
Use as many Ultra Balls as you can to capture the Pokémon. Every time a ball misses the Pokémon becomes a little easier to capture, so don't be disheartened if the first few fail. You can put the animal back to sleep or paralyze it to make capturing even easier.
- You will likely need 50 or more Ultra Balls to succeed. You would rather have them, after all, than run out of them when you need them.
- Timer Balls, which gain power the longer the battle goes on, reach their peak performance after 25 turns. Use your Ultra Balls to weaken the Pokémon, then launch your Timer Balls later in the battle to use them effectively.
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Alternatively, use your Master Ball on the very first turn. Using the Master Ball is the simplest way to catch a difficult Pokémon because it is impossible to miss. Once you've met the dog, forget about trapping it or lowering its health -- immediately throw the Master Ball. This is a guaranteed method of catching your legendary dog.
- Remember, however, that you only get one Master Ball in the game. That said, this is one of the perfect places to use it.

Community Q&A

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Question

Can I use the saved game trick if I accidentally kill one of the legendary dogs?

Community Answer

Yes, you can this method. It's called soft resetting and is perfect for catching those legendaries.

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Why is my National Dex not showing the legendary dogs?

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You have to encounter them once to save their location on the National Pokedex.

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What do I do if I find all 60 different Pokemon before beating the elite four?

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Just try to beat the elite 4. If you do it, the names of the creators will appear on screen. Simply wait until the credits are done. When the game restarts, chose your active file to load, and Professor Oak will come to you and ask if you want to do another quest for him. Choose to accept the journey, and you and your rival obtain the upgrade for the pokedex, the National Dex.

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Tips

If you chose Squirtle, you will meet Raikou. If you chose Charmander, you will meet Suicune, and if you chose Bulbasaur you will meet Entei. Keep this in mind when you pick your legendary catching team.

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Make sure you have as many Ultra Balls you can carry/afford.

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Paralysis, Sleep and Poison moves make Pokémon easier to catch.

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Tips from our Readers

The advice in this section is based on the lived experiences of wikiHow readers like you. If you have a helpful tip you’d like to share on wikiHow, please submit it in the field below.

Instead of walking or riding a bike, you can stay on the same grass tile and turn left/right or up/down on the spot rapidly. It'll trick the game into not counting it as steps for Repels, but you'll still encounter things as normal.
As soon as you meet Entei or Raikou, do not use trapping moves or it will roar and you'll never see it again.
I highly recommend Masterball for any Legendary Dog!

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Warnings

Saving while you and the Pokémon are in the same route will not work. As soon as you start up your game again, the Pokémon will be located elsewhere.

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Try not to poison or burn the dog, as it could faint from its wounds.

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Save the game before battling the legendary dog just in case it faints or uses Roar during battle.

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