Pokémon Legends Z-A: Alpha Pokémon Locations and Catching Guide

Returning from the Hisui region, Alpha Pokémon are back to terrorize trainers in the sprawling metropolis of Lumiose City in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. These oversized, aggressive variants offer a significant challenge and a powerful reward for those skilled enough to catch them. With their glowing red eyes and intimidating presence, finding and capturing these behemoths is a key part of mastering the urban wilds.

This guide will serve as your comprehensive resource for all Pokémon Legends Z-A Alpha Pokémon locations. We will break down what makes these Pokémon special, where to find them across Lumiose City’s Wild Zones, and provide essential tips to add them to your team.

What Are Alpha Pokémon?

Alpha Pokémon are super-sized versions of regular Pokémon that are much more powerful than their standard counterparts. You can easily identify them by a few key characteristics:

• Glowing Red Eyes: Their most menacing feature, signaling their aggressive nature.
• Larger Size: They are significantly larger than others of their species.
• Higher Level: Alphas are always at a much higher level than other Pokémon in the same area, making them a serious threat early in the game.
• Special Moves: They often know powerful moves that they wouldn’t normally learn at their level.
• Aggressive Behavior: Unlike some Pokémon that might ignore you, Alphas will often spot you from a distance and attack on sight.

Catching an Alpha Pokémon adds a formidable ally to your team, as they often have strong stats and make for excellent additions to your party, especially in the early to mid-game.

Tips for Catching Alpha Pokémon

Approaching an Alpha Pokémon requires strategy and preparation. Charging in without a plan will likely lead to your entire team fainting.

1. Use Stealth: Sneak up on the Alpha by using tall grass or smoke bombs. A successful back-strike with a Poké Ball will stun it, giving you a major advantage and a higher catch rate from the start.
2. Exploit Weaknesses: Before engaging, check the Alpha’s typing and prepare a team with strong counters. Hitting it with a super-effective move is the fastest way to lower its health.
3. Inflict Status Conditions: Putting an Alpha to sleep or paralyzing it is one of the most effective strategies. A Pokémon with a status condition is significantly easier to catch. Moves like Hypnosis, Spore, or Thunder Wave are invaluable.
4. Use the Right Poké Balls: Don’t waste your standard Poké Balls. Heavy Balls are effective if you can get close without being spotted. During battle, once the Alpha’s health is in the red, start throwing Great Balls or Ultra Balls.
5. Stay Mobile: The real-time battle system allows you to dodge attacks. Keep moving to avoid taking damage yourself, especially from wide-ranging attacks like Hyper Beam or Solar Beam. Be careful not to stray too far, or the Alpha may disengage and heal itself completely.
6. Don’t Give Up: It is very rare to catch an Alpha on the first try. Be persistent, keep its health low, and continue throwing high-quality Poké Balls.

All Pokémon Legends Z-A Alpha Pokémon Locations

Alpha Pokémon have fixed spawn points throughout Lumiose City and its Wild Zones. Some only appear during the day or at night. If you don’t see one, try resting at a bench or base camp to change the time of day, which will refresh the Pokémon spawns.

Wild Zones 1-10

Pokémon	Location	Level	Time of Day
Bunnelby	Wild Zone 1 – Near northern exit	15	Night
Fletchling	Wild Zone 1 – Near middle signpost	17	Day
Pidgey	Wild Zone 1 – Most westerly roof	25	Any
Patrat	Wild Zone 2 – In the middle area	18	Night
Magikarp	Wild Zone 2 – South-east corner	30	Day
Staryu	Wild Zone 2 – South-east corner	31	Night
Espurr	Wild Zone 3 – North-eastern building	19	Any
Litleo	Wild Zone 3 – Inside stone building	23	Any
Gastly	Wild Zone 4 – Northern side	21	Day
Spinarak	Wild Zone 4 – Mausoleum	21	Any
Bellsprout	Wild Zone 5 – Middle road	24	Any
Whirlipede	Wild Zone 5 – South-eastern garden	27	Any
Houndour	Wild Zone 6 – Near stalls	30	Night
Binacle	Wild Zone 6 – Beneath bridge, south	32	Any
Houndoom	Wild Zone 6 – Road area, opposite battle court	33	Any
Magikarp	Wild Zone 6 – Beneath bridge, north	40	Night
Pikachu	Wild Zone 6 – Northern rooftop	42	Night
Fletchinder	Wild Zone 7 – Central plaza	33	Any
Krokorok	Wild Zone 8 – Circling in sand	38	Any
Camerupt	Wild Zone 8 – Central plaza	39	Day
Watchog	Wild Zone 10 – Eastern rooftop	41	Any
Manectric	Wild Zone 9 – North-western rooftop	41	Any
Sharpedo	Wild Zone 10 – Middle water area	41	Any
Meowstic	Wild Zone 9 – Middle rooftop	42	Any
Arbok	Wild Zone 10 – Middle rooftop	52	Any

Wild Zones 11-20

Pokémon	Location	Level	Time of Day
Slowbro	Wild Zone 11 – Northern top level	44	Any
Abomasnow	Wild Zone 12 – South of battle court	36	Any
Clawitzer	Wild Zone 12 – Water	43	Any
Avalugg	Wild Zone 12 – Water	55	Any
Weepinbell	Wild Zone 13 – Southern side	46	Day
Trevenant	Wild Zone 13 – Northern side	47	Night
Excadrill	Wild Zone 14 – Middle area	48	Any
Beedrill	Wild Zone 15 – Western garden area	52	Day
Gourgeist	Wild Zone 15 – Middle of road	52	Any
Banette	Wild Zone 15 – Western garden area	53	Night
Ampharos	Wild Zone 16 – Northern garden	52	Any
Mawile	Wild Zone 17 – Rooftops	56	Any
Pyroar	Wild Zone 17 – Northern area	57	Any
Lopunny	Wild Zone 18 – Near scaffolding	55	Any
Salamence	Wild Zone 18 – Road area	61	Any
Furfrou	Wild Zone 19 – Pavilion	58	Day
Clefable	Wild Zone 19 – Pavilion	60	Night
Multiple	Wild Zone 20 – Beneath tower	63	Any

Note on Wild Zone 20: This final zone is a special area beneath the central tower where a large variety of powerful level 63 Alpha Pokémon can be found, including Eeveelutions, starters, and other final-form Pokémon like Gengar, Alakazam, and Machamp.

Lumiose City Sectors & Special Areas

Pokémon	Location	Level
Kakuna	Magenta Sector 9 – On a tree	19
Flabébé	Jaune Sector 2 – Rooftops	23
Pansear	Bleu Sector 6 – Rooftops	27
Riolu	Rouge Sector 4 – Rooftops	27
Dedenne	Bleu Sector 8 – Rooftops	29
Larvitar	Bleu Sector 7 – Rooftops	31
Pidgeot	Jaune Sector 4 – Rooftops	42
Skrelp	Sewers (Bleu Sector 3)	46
Haunter	Sewers (Bleu Sector 3)	47
Klefki	Sewers (Bleu Sector 3)	47
Honedge	Lysandre Labs	58
Arbok	Lysandre Labs	59

Mission Encounters

Certain Alpha Pokémon are guaranteed encounters during Main and Side Missions.

Pokémon	Mission	Level
Bunnelby	Side Mission 1 – “A Big Old’ Bunnelby”	10
Weedle	Side Mission 43 – “A Big Weedle Problem”	45
Watchog	Side Mission 71 – “The Burning Gaze of Watchog”	50
Steelix	Main Mission 40	70
Gallade	Main Mission 40	70
Pangoro	Main Mission 40	70

Can Alpha Pokémon Be Shiny?

Yes, Alpha Pokémon can be shiny in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. However, encountering one is incredibly rare, as it combines the standard shiny odds with the specific Alpha spawn.

• Your chances of finding a shiny Alpha increase with the Shiny Charm.
• Alpha Pokémon encountered as part of a mission (either as a gift or a required catch) are shiny-locked, meaning they can never be shiny.

Finding a shiny Alpha is one of the ultimate achievements for any Pokémon trainer, so keep your eyes peeled and good luck!