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I don’t know how to title this.

I caught two Alpha shiny Litleo. Both have max EVs in HP.

So:

  • are all alphas guaranteed to have a max stat?
  • Is it random which stat or predetermined on species?
  • Are there guaranteed IV’s at all?
  • What are the spawn rates of random alphas?

And please add anything else possibly good to know

ago by
edited ago by
I think I heard or saw somewhere that they're guaranteed to have 2 max IV's? or EV's
no they're guaranteed 3 max IVs and maxed HP EVs im writing an answer to this question rn but waiting to post it until i find exact info on EXP candy drop %
Oh, it was 3 IV's, not two. Nice.

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Alphas are guaranteed at least 3 perfect IVs, 252 EVs in HP, and a Plus move that can normally only be learned through TM (referred to as an Alpha Move in the game's data).

Once you have unlocked the Judge function, it's very easy to confirm this by observing that a newly caught Alpha Pokemon comes with the "Best!" label on 3 stats and with the HP stat glimmering. The perfect IVs are likely random, in line with past special Pokemon with guaranteed perfect IVs, as catching the same Alpha Pokemon spawn multiple times results in individuals with different stat spreads. Alphas are distinguished from normal Pokemon by the red symbol besides their level and will always be size XL.

image

The Alpha Move is species-dependent and is not explicitly specified in-game but is noted in the personal.txt file for the game; I have organized this info into a list of all the Alpha Moves here. Note that not every Pokemon on this list can actually be legally obtained as an Alpha. Different forms of the same species have the same Alpha Move so redundant entries were removed.

The spawn rate for most Alpha Pokemon, discounting guaranteed spawns, is 5%. You can check the spawn rate for different Pokemon at different locations as well as their respawn times in this interactive map.

To clarify, a guaranteed spawn means that an Alpha Pokemon is guaranteed to be generated in that location, with the species being chosen randomly from a pool of possibilities. For some areas, there is only one possible option, so the same species will be spawned as the Alpha each time (e.g., Wild Zone 7's Alpha Fletchinder). However, some zones have guaranteed Alpha spawns that randomly select their species out of a variety of options. As an example, Gardevoir may be (but isn't necessarily) one of the 2 guaranteed Alphas in Wild Zone 20, but it can also appear normally, and the normal individuals have a separate 5% chance of being Alpha. You can see a list of only the guaranteed Alpha spawns here.

Alpha Pokemon drop a Seed of Mastery when defeated or captured, which can be used at the Justice Dojo to upgrade TM moves into Plus moves. They may also drop EXP Candy XS, S, M, and L, typically 1-3 pieces. The size and quantity of EXP Candy is random and has no set drop rate between species or individual Alpha spawns, but loosely scales with the strength of the Alpha Pokemon (i.e., higher level Pokemon tend to drop better rewards).

As an additional note, Alpha size classification is not the same as Pumpkaboo/Gourgeist variety, so Alpha Pumpkaboos/Gourgeists may still be considered to be of any size variety despite being denoted as XL.

Sources: Serebii, game data, personal experience

ago by
selected ago by
is the only thing making wild alphas hard to knock out the good stats and max hp? i find even level 20's cant be oneshotted by a level 65-ish
In Legends: Arceus, Alphas would have increased stats and reduced effects from status conditions (this is sometimes called Wild Might or Wild Strength), so I would not be surprised if this has carried over to PLZA. This effect is distinct from the stat boosts you'd get in battle. I believe you are right that they have atypically enhanced stats but I do not know the definitive parameters for this phenomenon.
is this retained boost when caught?
No, I don't think so. This is a pretty casual experiment, but I went to zone 20 and caught a relatively average, unremarkable Malamar. I then went to zone 13 and battled an Alpha Weepinbell using that Malamar, which didn't perform that well. I caught the Alpha Weepinbell and returned to zone 20, where I battled another Malamar using the Weepinbell I just caught. This time, the Weepinbell performed poorly and was quickly defeated. I did catch the second Malamar as well just to confirm that both of them have fairly similar stats even if they're not the exact same individual. Like I said, it's not an airtight proof, but it can be seen in-game that the Alpha Pokemon doesn't perform quite as well once you catch it.
It would make sense that Gamefreak wouldn't give you a lv. 20 with 500HP as soon as you unlock Alphas