The Galarian forms of the legendary birds Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres were first introduced in Pokemon Sword and Shield’s Crown Tundra DLC. These regional variant Pokemon have since made their way to Pokemon GO via five-star raids, but many trainers are finding them difficult to catch despite using Golden Razz Berries and excellent curveball throws.
Low Base Capture Rates
Like most legendary Pokemon, the Galarian birds have very low base catch rates in Pokemon GO raids. Each one has a base catch rate of only 2%, meaning that even with the maximum number of Premier Balls and Golden Razz Berries, they are still not guaranteed catches. This is intentional by Niantic to make legendary Pokemon feel special and challenging to obtain.
For comparison, most non-legendary Pokemon have base catch rates of 40-50% in raids. So the Galarian birds are nearly 20 times harder to catch than normal. Their low catch rates are further compounded by their constant movement and attack animations during raid encounters, making it hard to land excellent curveball throws.
Limited Availability
The Galarian forms of Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres have only been available for very limited periods of time in Pokemon GO. They were first introduced briefly in October 2022 and have since had a handful of re-releases as raid bosses. However, most of the time they are unavailable.
This limited availability means that trainers have very few chances to catch these Pokemon. If you fail to catch them during their short raid appearances, you may have to wait months for them to return. And with their low catch rates, it can take multiple raid attempts to successfully catch each one.
Lack of Candy Bonuses
Normally when legendary Pokemon return to raids, they offer bonus catch candy. This allows trainers who already caught the Pokemon previously to earn extra candies by raiding them again. But so far, the Galarian legendary birds do not offer any catch candy bonuses.
This removes one of the incentives for veteran players to do these raids. And fewer bonus candies also means it’s harder to power up the Galarian birds to use them effectively in battle league or raids after catching them.
No Shiny Versions Yet
One factor that typically boosts interest and raid activity for legendaries in Pokemon GO is the release of their shiny versions. The shiny variants of Pokemon are highly coveted by collectors and completionists.
However, Niantic has not yet released shiny Galarian Articuno, Zapdos, or Moltres. Some speculate they are holding back the shinies to keep interest high during future re-releases. But for now, the lack of shinies removes one of the main incentives to raid these Pokemon repeatedly.
Tough Competition For Raids
The Galarian bird raids have also faced stiff competition from other raid bosses debuting around the same time. For example, the first release of Galarian Zapdos coincided with raids for the ultra-powerful Mega Gyarados and Lugia.
Similarly, Galarian Articuno and Moltres reappeared alongside fan-favorite Pokemon like Regigigas and the return of Mega Raids. With so many desirable raid options, fewer players are focusing their efforts on the difficult-to-catch Galarian birds.
Better Options for PVP and PVE
Compounding the issue further is that the Galarian birds are not top-tier options for Pokemon GO’s player versus player battle league or in raids/gym offense. Their unique movesets are interesting but fail to dethrone the existing top attackers and defenders.
For example, Galarian Zapdos learns the fast move Lock-On, but regular Zapdos with Thunder Shock remains superior. And the icy flying-type Galarian Articuno faces competition from Shadow Mamoswine and Mega Abomasnow as an ice attacker. The Galarian birds are cool collector’s pieces but lack the power to be highly sought after raid investments.
Waiting for a Special Event
History suggests that Niantic will likely tie the Galarian legendary birds to a major event down the road to maximize interest and their revenue potential. Past examples include Zekrom and Reshiram debuting at Pokemon GO Fest and Genesect receiving its special drive forme during the global Team Rocket event.
Something similar will have to happen to make these birds feel suitably epic to match their lore and rarity. Until then, they seem purposefully held back and difficult to justify splurging premium raid passes on currently.
Possible Solutions
To summarize, the main factors making the Galarian birds so challenging to catch include:
- Extremely low base catch rates
- Sporadic limited availability in raids
- No bonus candy incentives
- No shiny versions yet
- Tough competition from other raids
- Not top-tier PVP or PVE options currently
Here are some possible solutions Niantic could implement to improve the situation:
Boost Their Base Catch Rates
Even slightly increasing the Galarian birds’ base catch rates from 2% to 3-5% would make a noticeable difference in catch difficulty over time while still requiring dedication to catch.
Release Their Shiny Versions
Unlocking their shiny forms would motivate players to do these raids repeatedly despite the low catch rates.
Give Candy Bonuses
Offering even +1 or +2 bonus candy per raid would help players power up the ones they manage to catch.
Feature Them In Events
Tie the birds to special in-game events, research, bonuses, and perks to spotlight them for a limited time.
Make Them More Meta Relevant
Improve their moves or stats to make them more viable options for raids, PvP, and gyms to increase demand.
Sell Special Raid Passes
Introduce 1-2 premium raid passes per month that guarantee players will catch the Pokemon at the end to let players pay to guarantee their catch.
Conclusion
In the end, the Galarian legendary birds clearly suffer from the double-edged sword of intentionally low catch rates combined with limited availability windows. This creates a feast or famine situation where they are very difficult to obtain during their brief raid appearances. Then disappear for long stretches of time afterwards.
Implementing some of the proposed solutions could go a long way towards making them feel more rewarding to chase for the average Pokemon GO player. Otherwise, be prepared to raid relentlessly during their short-term releases and expect to use plenty of Golden Razz Berries if you hope to catch these elusive Pokemon!
