Catching Pokemon in the wild should be fairly familiar to returning players of the series, however there have been some small tweaks to the gameplay formula in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. Whether it’s regular Pokemon or the super-sized Alphas, there are certain universal strategies that you need to bear in mind.
This Pokémon Legends: Z-A guide is all about how to correctly approach wild Pokemon in order to successfully catch them every time.
Stealth Captures
The first step is the approach, which can garner a variety of reactions from wild Pokemon. Most will flee, while some others will do the opposite and rush you instead. Your ideal strategy is to always employ stealth when stalking wild Pokemon regardless of temperament. Begin by pushing in on the left thumbstick in order to crouch. Next, leverage your environment if possible, as you sneak up towards the target. Tall grass and other cover objects do have an impact on detection. The visibility of your own Pokemon to the target Pokemon is irrelevant: only your trainer needs to evade detection.
Once in range, zoom in with the ZL button which deploys a reticle. Observe the stack of arrows to the right of the reticle: more of them in green is ideal and maximizes your chances of success. You will note that this occurs when the target is facing away from you. After a lock is confirmed, use ZR to deploy the Poke Ball in order to catch the Pokemon. Quick Balls are recommended for stealth captures as they have an inherently enhanced success rate, though other Poke Balls may be more relevant based on creature type and level.
Combat Captures
Some Pokemon just will not go down easy, and battling them is the only way to guarantee a successful capture. This will be mostly true of wild Pokemon that have a tendency to rush you. Deploy your own Pokemon to start a fight.
At this point, you will have to whittle down the health of the wild Pokemon in order to guarantee a capture. Once dazed, as indicated by the rotating halo of stars above them, you will have a brief interlude where you must capture them before they simply disappear entirely, so be quick.
Canari Plushes
In addition to the variety of specialist Poke Balls, you can also get a hold of five distinct Canari Plushes. These items can be found in the Shop Inventory of the Colorful Screw Exchange at Racine Construction. These Plushes have different use case scenarios as mentioned in their description blurbs.
Prioritize the Blue Canari Plush which increases the success rate of wild Pokemon captures, in exchange for three Colorful Screws.
Not only can all five Canari Plushes be equipped simultaneously, they can also be upgraded for improved effects. A fully upgraded Blue Canari Plush will require a total of sixteen Colorful Screws.
That is everything you need to know about successfully capturing all kinds of Pokemon in Pokémon Legends: Z-A.
