What Does the X Mean for Alpha Pokemon in Pokemon Legends: Arceus? – Answered

Pokémon Legends: Arceus was released last month after much fanfare and hype. It is the latest installment in the Pokémon series and takes a much different turn than its predecessors do in terms of storytelling and game mechanics.

The game takes place in the ancient Hisui region, which would become modern-day Sinnoh. Fighting and capturing Pokémon is drastically different with battles taking place on the overworld instead of turn-based instance battles, as was the staple of the series thus far.

One feature that a lot of players have enjoyed so far is the addition of Alpha Pokémon. So what are Alpha Pokémon?

Alpha Pokémon

Alpha Pokémon are stronger and tougher variations of their normal counterparts introduced in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. These Pokémon have fixed spawn areas and spawn at bigger intervals than normal Pokémon do. Battling any of them is quite a challenge as compared to their normal forms, but the rewards are worth it!

Alpha Pokémon can be identified by their glowing red eyes and menacing auras. The best way to approach any of them would be via stealth. Taking them on from behind will give the player valuable time to set up their plan of attack before capturing the Pokémon.

So how hard is it to capture Alpha Pokémon?

Capture indicators for Alpha Pokémon

Generally, a head-on battle is not the best course of action to take on Alpha Pokémon. If your Pokémon happen to be at a much higher level than the Alpha Pokémon, then it should not pose that much of a problem, but in most cases, the Alpha Pokémon would outlevel the players’ Pokémon.

This is why we recommend the stealth approach. When the player approaches the Pokémon from behind and is successfully hidden, an indicator pops up showing how likely the player is to capture the Alpha Pokémon.

Getting close enough will spawn a diamond-shaped indicator showing the likelihood of a successful capture.

• Green Diamond: High odds of capture
• Yellow Diamond: Fairly likely odds of capture
• Red Diamond: Unlikely odds of capture
• X Symbol: Impossible to capture

The X symbol is the one to look out for. If the Alpha Pokémon displays a big X, that would be the cue for the player to run away and come back to fight another day! Preferably when they are well-prepared the next time!