Every game where you can obtain a non-boxart legendary/mythical before the elite 4?

Question

I want to use some legendaries during my playthroughs because they usually end up sitting in my PC, but I can't think of any other than the swords of justice and victini. Please include event Pokemon, but only if they have an in-game event (think liberty pass victini or oaks letter shaymin.)

Comments

ORAS: Latias or Latios
Crystal/HGSS: Entei and Raikou
BDSP: mew, jirachi
LGPE: mew

---

Do legendaries you get after you catch the box art legendaries like the Gen 4 lake spirits or the ORAS portal legends count?

What about the DLCs where you can get kubfu/ogerpon after playing through the DLC story but not the main story? Do you want the DA legends which you can get early on but they are super over leveled?

On a similar note, what about the Ruinous Quartet which may have obedience issues if you get them early? Do you want an answer to include those as well?

---

after the box art doesn't count because then I'm getting them after beating the e4, dlcs do count, DA doesn't count, and the ruinous quartet does count.

---

So to be clear, games with box arts you can catch before the e4/clearing the 8th gym don't count?

---

Kanto games: Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres
GSC: Entei, Raikou, Suicune (Suicune is much easier to catch in Crystal, but it's also the box art Pokemon)
RSE: Regice, Registeel, Regirock
DPPt: Uxie, Mesprit, Azelf
HGSS: Entei and Raikou
BW: Virizion, Terrakion, Cobalion, Tornadus, Thundurus
B2W2: Virizion, Terrakion, Cobalion
I don't remember which in-game events require defeating the champion or having the national Pokedex.

---

Do the myths you can get using the void glitch that count?

---

yes but only if they're obtainable before the e4 during normal gameplay (so like you can get victini with the liberty pass just 2 badges in, but u cant get shaymin with oaks letter until the postgame so it doesnt count)

---

I think you can get Shaymin in DP before post-game by abusing the glitch. In Pt, this works if you have Oak's letter somehow, but I don't know if there's a different glitch that lets you give yourself items.

---

well yeah, but I want to play as intended

---

What about Pokemon from the DNS exploit?

---

So do glitches count or no?

---

no glitches, DNS only counts if it can give me an item to obtain them like victini

---

Im not sure if this counts, but if you use the dynamax adventures in s and s, which you can go to with expansion as soon as you finally get out of the first town on train, you can beat Peonyor lose to him and in the first adventure you always get suicune, and since you caught it there even though using the professors lender mon, you have a level 70 suicune and it will obey you at the start, no glitches but it’s dlc so, well, might not count,

---

There is Eternatus before the whole tournament in Sw/Sh

Answer 1

In R/B/Y (and remakes)you can catch all the legendary Birds before the elite 4 , (Also Mew Glitch is very easy to perform)
G/S/C has the legendary Beast roaming the overworld (remakes suicune is post game)
R/S/E Have the Regi's (Brail quest),
Emerald has Mew and Deoxys event tickets.
D/p/PL you can catch the Lake Trio, (remakes give you mew and jirachi for owning Lets go and Sw/Sh)
B/W have tornados/thunderous(roaming) swords of justice, and Victini via Liberty pass.
B2/W2 don't have the Genies but you can get them all with dream Radar if you have that. Sword of Justice again
X/Y None

ORAS Like the original you can get the Regis but now you can also get a Latios/Latias with other being accessible if you get the Eon Ticket. After beating the box art legendary and getting Nat Dex you can access the portals to catch the legendary Beasts (after catching Ho-Oh/Lugia), the lake trio, heatran, cresselia, the SOJ, and the Forces of Nature once requirements are met.

Sun/moon none
Ultra S/M ultra wormholes allow you catch like 20 different legendaries before elite 4 but is late game during the ultra necrozma story stuff.

Sw/Sh only eternatus can be caught before the endgame (base game). DAs are possible in DLC before 1st gym but are high level. Regis and Galarian birds once you have 8 badges. But realistically Kubfu will be the one you get and once its in the mid 30s you can return to the isle of armor to challenge one of the towers to evolve it. The swords of Justice and Calyrex cannot be caught until after the post game.

Sc/vi Wo-Chien, Chien-Pao, Ting-Lu, and Chi-Yu can be caught before elite 4 but are level 65 and will disobedient until you get all the badges. DLC for teal mask can be completed early and the legendary Pokemon can be caught but they are hard coded to be at like level 70 except for ogerpon which is Level 20 which makes it the only one that'll obey you before getting all the badges

Edit: added info later generations and fixed errors addressed in comments.

Comments

Where did OP say not to include DA legends and Kubfu line? they just said they wanted non-box art legends which doesn't include Kobfu line and most of the DA Legends. Serebi says that the Regis can be caught once you have 7 badges which is weird cause they are level 70. But ill change the swords of justice to after post game. I assume the galarian birds can't be caught until you get all badges as well?

Man DLC's are weird what is and what isn't allowed. Also I forgot about the level limit of obedience implemented in SC/VI so Ill add that and Orerpons level.

Yep my bad forgot about ORAS. I Ill go ahead and add those as well. Thanks.

---

I meant only DAs are excluded, that was just bad English on my part, the kubfu line is fine. OP mentioned not to include DAs in the comment chain above on the question itself, so that's not on you for missing it.

The regis should only be accessable after getting 8 badges since they are level 70 and you can't catch beyond level 55 until you've gotten the eight gym badge. Also, upon doing further research, it seems you actually can't catch calyrex and this the birds before beating the post game either. I'll need to double check the birds now apparently.

---

Gotcha I see it now thanks. I can't tell if OP thinks DAs were a post game only thing or just didn't want them at all since they didn't respond to one of the later comments. Ill shorten that part down and include it as a bonus.

Okay probably just an error on Serebi I guess so Ill remove that.. Ill just mention that calyrex and the birds are uncatchable until post game until someone else proves otherwise.

---

Just looked through old videos, it seems you can catch the Galarian birds before beating the game. I have a clip of triggering the cutscene before multiple days before I have a clip of the eternatus file.

---

Gotcha added that with the Regis with beating 8 gyms. thanks