Is there a pokémon who is good for catching difficult to catch pokémon and legendaries?

Question

I just redid my platinum game, I faced giratina and whittled his hp down to red and threw easily thirty ultra balls, eventually I gave up and threw my master ball. Using the same strategy in white 2, I caught the reshiram with red hp in about five ultra balls. I need a pokémon that you guys could suggest with moves that would help make catching these pokémon a little easier. Thanks

Answer 1

False Swipe & Sleep

• Sleeping or Freezing the opponent doubles the catch rate unlike other status moves (of which the rate becomes 1.5 from what it previously was). Although there is currently no move that just freezes a Pokemon so you could faint a legendary by accident especially because many are dragon type. Burn and Poison can kill a Pokemon before it is caught and you can still be attacked.
• False Swipe is a move that can't faint a Pokemon so you can whittle any Pokemon down to 1HP, if it isn't a ghost type Pokemon of course (I would use the Masterball on Giratina if you can't catch it otherwise).

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Here are some Pokemon I recommend for the job and why.

[no starter Pokemon (you might not want to choose the one I suggest) or Pokemon that learn False Swipe or high accuracy Sleep-Inducing moves through breeding only]
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Gen 4:

Scizor:

1. Learns False Swipe by level up supported by high ATK stat.
2. Doubles up as a powerful play-through Pokemon with a vast offensive movepool: STAB, Priority, Technician Boosted, Bullet Punch; STAB X-Scissor; STAB U-turn; Night Slash; Slash; Aerial Ace; Brick Break; STAB Iron Head, Superpower, Razor Wind, Bug Buzz, Flash Cannon, Silver Wind, Ominous Wind, Vacuum Wave and Air Slash.
3. Can be found early on as Scyther on Route 229 [DP], Route 210 and 215 [P] or in the National Park (Bug Catching Contest) [HGSS].
4. Resists STAB moves from many legendaries: in the Gen 4 games [it resisted ghost and dark moves until Gen 6].
5. Scizor can restore HP with Roost.

Tangrowth:

1. Learns Sleep Powder by level up, supported by its' bulk.
2. Doubles up as a powerful play-through Pokemon with a vast offensive movepool: Ancient Power, Knock off, STAB Power Whip, Rock Slide, STAB Energy Ball, Poison Jab, Focus Blast, Aerial Ace, Sludge Bomb, Brick Break, Earthquake, STAB Leaf Storm, STAB Solar beam, STAB Giga Drain, Facade and Return. As well as many status-changing moves: Sleep Powder, Poison Powder, Stun Spore and Toxic.
3. Can be found early on as Tangela in the Great Marsh [P] or on Route 21, 28 and 44 as well as Mt.Silver [HGSS].
4. Tangrowth can restore HP with Ingrain, Leech Seed, Giga Drain, Synthesis and Rest.

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Gen 5:

Haxorus:

1. Learns False Swipe by level up, supported by high ATK stat.
2. Doubles up as a powerful play-through Pokemon with a vast offensive movepool: Assurance, STAB Dual Chop, Slash, STAB Dragon Claw, STAB Dragon Pulse, STAB Outrage, Surf, Earthquake, Return, Dig, Brick Break, Aerial Ace, Facade, Focus Blast, Shadow Claw, Bulldoze, Rock Slide, X-Scissor, STAB Dragon Tail, Poison Jab, Iron Tail, Night Slash, Razor Wind, Aqua Tail, Draco Meteor and Superpower.
3. Can be found after your 5th Gym badge in Mistralton Cave [BW] [B2W2].
4. Haxorus can restore HP with Rest.

Lilligant:

1. Learns Sleep Powder by Level up, supported by is reasonable speed and access to Quiver Dance.
2. Doubles up as an essential, supportive Pokemon with moves such as: Leech Seed, Synthesis, Teeter Dance, Quiver Dance, STAB Petal Dance [with Own Tempo], Aromatherapy, STAB Giga Drain, STAB Energy Ball, Helping Hand, STAB Leaf Storm, STAB Magical Leaf, Sleep Powder, Stun Spore, Healing Wish, Ingrain, Sweet Scent, Heal Bell, STAB Seed Bomb, Toxic, Swagger, Attract, Light Screen, Safeguard, Protect, STAB Solar Beam, Return, Double Team, Facade, Rest, Flash and Substitute.
3. Can be obtained early on as a Petilil or Lilligant at the Abundant Shrine, Castelia City, Lostlorn Forrest and Pinwheel Forrest [BW] or the Abundant Shrine, Castelia City, Lostlorn Forrest, Pinwheel Forrest and Victory Road [B2W2] or traded - as a Petilil - for a Cottonee (found in the same places).
4. Lilligant can restore HP with Rest, Synthesis, Giga Drain, Leech Seed or Ingrain.

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Gen 6:

or

Scizor:
1. Can Mega-Evolve for added power for False Swipe.

Haxorus:
1. Can be found easier and earlier than Scizor so can be part of your team.

Vivillon:

1. Learns Sleep Powder by level up, made 98% accurate with Compound Eyes.
2. Doubles up as a powerful play-through Pokemon with a vast movepool: Poison Powder, Powder, Sleep Powder, Stun Spore, Rage Powder, Psybeam, Draining Kiss, Aromatherapy, STAB Bug Buzz, Safeguard, Quiver Dance, STAB Hurricane, STAB Bug Bite, STAB U-turn, Dream Eater, STAB Acrobatics, Energy Ball, Rest, Facade, Aerial Ace, Double Team, Psychic, Return, Solar Beam, Roost and Calm Mind.
3. Can be found extremely early on as a Scatterbug in Santalune Forrest or on Route 2 (Avance Trail) or as a Spewpa on Route 7 (Riviere Walk).
4. Spewpa can restore HP with Rest and Roost.

Comments

Extremely helpful, thanks for covering the most recent generations.

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No problem, thanks for making this answer my first 'best answer'.

Answer 2

You want higher leveld Pokemon with moves like False swipe(like Terlor said) and a good idea is to have status moves.

The ideal situation is to have the Pokemon you're trying to catch as low as possible on HP and have a status condition.

Preferably sleep or freeze as they have a 2x catch rate, while the other ones have a 1.5x catch rate(source for that is here)
Other than that just throw Ultra balls and it will go fine. Might take a while but eventually it will happen.

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Source: knowledge and links above
Hope I helped.

Comments

i dont think there's a move that induces Freeze, and moves like Ice Beam and Ice Punch have a really low chance.

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There isn't, I'm just being dumb again. But yeah, sleep is your best bet.

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question, does confusion raise catch rate?

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^ No. It just raises the chance of the wild Pokemon hitting itself and taking itself out.

http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Catch_rate

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play at night and use dusk balls instead of ultra balls

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Very helpful as well, thanks.

Answer 3

Any high level Pokemon with Hold Back or False Swipe, that can learn a status-condition move.

if it's high level (around 80-100), it will only take 1-2 hits to get the Pokemon to 1HP, making it alot easier to catch, unless it's a ghost type Pokemon, then you can status condition it, making it easier to catch.

so basically, there isnt just 1 Pokemon, here are all the Pokemon that learn False Swipe, and the ones that learn Hold Back

Pokemon that learn Thunder Wave, Toxic, Will-o-Wisp and Sleep Powder

Comments

Sometimes thats just not enough though, putting it to sleep or something (preferably paralyzing it) is your way to go after the whittling imo.

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yeah i forgot about that.

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Sleep > paralysis

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i included everything but freeze ;_;?

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Sleep goes away in some time though, so I prefer paralysis, which stays

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Thanks, this was very helpful.