This article was co-authored by Madeleine Flamiano. Madeleine Flamiano is a Role-playing Game Enthusiast based in Berkeley, California. She has over 20 years of gaming experience and is an avid gamer in all parts of her life—she's especially fond of tabletop board games and the world of Pokémon. Pokémon Crystal Version is her favorite game in the franchise. Some of her greatest feats were evolving Eevee to a Level 99 Umbreon and collecting every legendary bird Pokémon. Her professional path started at NaNoWriMo, where she scripted a summer-long world-building series and hosted its Virtual Write-Ins. She has written seven books for DDCO Publishing, which specializes in LitRPG and is operated by New York Times Bestseller JA Cipriano. She has ranked in the Top 100 list for Dark Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery, and Fantasy Romance. She was voted by her peers as "The Perfectionist" on Roleplay Adventures, a SERP for forum roleplaying. Madeleine graduated from Mills College with a B.A. in English with a concentration in Literature and a Minor in Philosophy.
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In Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, the three legendary birds are Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. Find Articuno, the ice-type bird, deep within the Seafoam Islands off of Route 20. Catch Zapdos, the electric bird, at the Power Plant downriver from the Rock Tunnel entrance. Look for Moltres, the fire bird, at the top of Mt. Ember, on One Island. These are powerful wild Pokémon, so make sure to bring at least 1 Ultra Ball![1]
Steps
Articuno
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1Find Articuno in the Seafoam Islands. Articuno is the ice-type legendary bird. It is the most powerful of the three birds. Fly to Fuchsia City and surf down Route 19, then surf left down Route 20 to the Seafoam Islands. Enter the island. You will need to navigate through a maze of ice and rapids to get to Articuno.[2]
- You will need Pokémon with Strength and Surf to reach Articuno. There is a complicated rock-moving puzzle along the way![3]
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2Be prepared. Bring a few repels to keep wild Pokémon away. Make sure that you have at least 30 Ultra Balls – Articuno may be the weakest of the three birds, but it is still a very strong Pokémon. If you run out of Ultra Balls in the midst of the battle, then you might not be able to catch Articuno!
- Save before the battle. Once you find Articuno, make sure that you save before you try to catch it. This way, you can try again if you mess up.
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3Consider bringing a Seel or Dewgong in your party. Seel and Dewgong take 1/8 damage from ice moves, and Ice Beam is Articuno's only attacking move. Try to catch a Seel in the cave on your way to Articuno.
- Give the Seel or Dewgong the Leftovers item to make the battle even easier. When held by a Pokémon, Leftovers make that Pokémon gradually recover HP throughout a battle. Find Leftovers on Routes 12 and 16, hidden underneath where the Snorlaxes were sleeping.[4]
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4Catch Articuno. The most successful way to catch this bird is to get its health into the red, then give it a status condition. Freeze and Sleep are best. However, Paralyze may be the easiest since it doesn't wear off. Keep throwing Ultra Balls until you get it – and make sure not to injure the bird so much that it faints before you can catch it!
- Avoid status conditions like Poison and Burn that gradually injure the afflicted Pokémon. These are risky: you'll run the chance of killing the Articuno before you can catch it.
Zapdos
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1Find Zapdos at the Power Plant. Zapdos is the second hardest bird to catch, but it is not that easy to get to.[5] Once you obtain the HM Surf from the Safari Zone, fly to the Rock Tunnel entrance and walk up to the grass patch, get through the open fence and surf down the river to the Power Plant. Enter the Power Plant, and proceed counterclockwise through the building to reach Zapdos.
- You'll know you've found Zapdos when you see a bird Pokémon standing in your path, outside of the battle screen.
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2Prepare for a fight. Be sure to buy at least 35 Ultra Balls – and consider using the Master Ball, if you want Zapdos more than anything. Bring a couple of repels with you to ease your way through the Power Plant – you'll encounter a lot of strong electric-type Pokémon.
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3Bring a Pokémon that resists Drill Peck. This is the only attacking move that Zapdos uses, so a resistant Pokémon on your team will make the fight much easier. Geodude and Graveler are perfect for this: they resist all Flying moves, they have high defenses, and they are immune to Thunder Wave. Avoid using this Pokémon as you wind your way through the Power Plant – save it for Zapdos!
- Give your Pokémon Leftovers to hold so that they heal throughout the battle.
- Have Geodude or Graveler use Defense Curl several times. This will boost its defense even more.
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4Catch Zapdos. This fight will be a struggle, but you can do it! Once you find the legendary bird, make sure to save before you engage it. In the fight, bring the bird's health into red, then inflict it with a weakening status condition like Sleep, Paralyze, or Freeze. Once the bird is weak, keep throwing Ultra Balls until you catch it!
- Save after the battle. You don't want your hard work to be lost!
Moltres
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1Find Moltres at the top of Mt. Ember. Moltres is the easiest bird to catch, but it takes a long time to get to it, and there are many obstacles along the way. First, make sure that you beat the 7th Gym, on Cinnabar Island, and get the Tri-Pass from Bill. Find your way to One Island (in the Sevii Islands), and get all the way to the top of Mt. Ember. In order to pass the obstacles along the way, you must bring Pokémon that know Surf, Strength, and Rock Smash.
- Moltres is the only legendary bird whose location differs from the original Red and Blue versions of the game. In Red and Blue, you can find Moltres along Victory Road.[6]
- Surf, Strength, and Rock Smash are HMs. You can only teach them to certain Pokémon. Learn how to get all the HMs if you don't have them already.
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2Be prepared. Make sure that you have at least 30 Ultra Balls. Also, bring a couple of Max Repels – the way to Moltres is long, and there are a lot of strong Pokémon there.
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3Bring along a Pokémon with the Flash Fire ability. This makes your Pokémon immune to Moltres' only two attacking moves. It will make the battle much easier – Moltres won't be able to hurt you at all![7]
- Vulpix has Flash Fire, as does Ponyta. You can catch a Ponyta right outside of Mt. Ember, where Moltres is found. It will take zero damage from Moltres for the duration of the fight, so level and HP don't matter.
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4Catch Moltres. Make sure to save before the battle. The most successful way to catch this bird is to get its health into the red, then give it a status condition like Freeze, Sleep, or Paralyze. Once you have weakened Moltres, keep tossing Ultra Balls at the bird until it's caught.
Community Q&A
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QuestionHow can we go to the Cinnabar Island in Pokemon Leaf Green?
Community AnswerGet surf and go to pallet town, at the end there will be a body of water, surf it and you will get there. -
QuestionWhat can I do if I used many balls but still can't catch Zapdos?
Natalie TellecheaTop AnswererWeaken it, put it to sleep, and/or paralyze it. -
QuestionIs it possible to catch Articuno, Zapdos and Moltress with a Pokeball?
Bun bunTop AnswererEverything is able to be caught with a Pokeball. It would just be rare to catch a legendary in one.
Warnings
- Don't use attacks that poison or burn a Pokémon. These moves can make the legendary bird faint before you have the chance to catch it!⧼thumbs_response⧽
- Watch out for Zapdos's Thunderwave; it causes paralysis.⧼thumbs_response⧽
- Watch out for Moltres's Flamethrower; it may burn your Pokémon.⧼thumbs_response⧽
- Watch out for Articuno's Ice Beam; it may freeze your Pokémon.⧼thumbs_response⧽
- Always save right before you challenge a legendary Pokémon. If you turn off the power because you were so frustrated, you'll lose everything that you didn't save! Also, saving gives you the chance to restart and try again if you fail to catch the bird on the first attempt. Make sure to save after you catch each bird so that your hard work isn't undone!⧼thumbs_response⧽
- Using a Gameshark to cheat capturing a Pokémon is noticeable in competitions. Only do this if you don't care about entering competitions.⧼thumbs_response⧽
![Get the "Cut" HM in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen](./images/1653817576--crop-342-184-245px-Get-the-"Cut"-HM-in-Pokémon-FireRed-and-LeafGreen-Step-24.webp)
References
- ↑ http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Legendary_birds
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUhyuG69ADQ
- ↑ http://www.serebii.net/fireredleafgreen/legendary.shtml
- ↑ https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Category:In-battle_effect_items
- ↑ http://www.gamefaqs.com/gba/918915-pokemon-firered-version/answers/40685-why-is-it-so-difficult-to-catch-the-3-legendary-birds
- ↑ https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Legendary_birds#Pok.C3.A9mon_FireRed_and_LeafGreen
- ↑ http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Moltres_(Pok%C3%A9mon)
About This Article
1. Bring a Seel or Dewgong to Seafoam Islands.
2. Catch Articuno by getting its health into the red and giving it a condition.
3. Go to the Power Plant with a Pokemon that resists Drill Peck.
4. Catch Zapdos by getting its health into the red and giving it a condition.
5. Go to the top of Mt. Ember with a Pokemon that has Flash Fire ability.
6. Catch Multres by getting its health into the red and giving it a condition.
