Rarest Safari Zone Pokemon

Summary

• Catching rare Pokemon in the Safari Zone can be incredibly difficult due to low encounter rates and RNG.
• Some Pokemon, like Shroomish and Octillery, require certain conditions like National Dex or Champion status to appear.
• It is important to strategically approach rare Pokemon encounters in different Safari Zones to increase your chances.

In the main series of Pokemon, the Safari Zone appears in the first four generations, although not in every game. Each Safari Zone has its own set of rules, but there are some similarities. To enter, you pay an entrance fee, and you have a step limit. Once you hit the limit, you’re booted out.

Inside, you’re given 30 Safari Balls, and that’s all you get—you can’t use your regular Poke Balls or even your Pokemon for battles. There are no battles here, just the quirky Safari Zone mechanics to catch Pokemon. If you’re trying to complete your Pokedex, good luck! Some Pokemon are so rare, you’d have better odds finding a unicorn. Here’s a list of the toughest ones to catch!

9

Exeggcute

Want an Exeggcute in Gen Four without trading? Good luck! This little egg cluster only appears in the Great Marsh—but not easily. First, you need to beat the game and unlock the National Dex. Even then, Exeggcute won’t just show up. The Great Marsh picks random Pokemon daily, and Exeggcute has a 1/32 chance of being chosen.

If it’s not picked, you’re just running in circles for nothing. Even when it is picked, it only has a ten percent encounter rate! Playing Platinum? Congrats, your odds just doubled to 2/32! Still bad, but hey, slightly less pain!

8

Shroomish

Shroomish isn’t any different from Exeggcute—same struggle, same pain. You need the National Dex first, then pray it gets picked in the Great Marsh (1/32 chance). If it is chosen, you still have just a ten percent chance of actually finding it. Not exactly easy!

Shroomish isn’t the strongest Pokemon, but in Gen Four, its evolution, Breloom, is your only way to get the rare Grass/Fighting type. No Chesnaught, no Virizion, no Hisuian Lilligant or Decidueye—just Shroomish. So, if you want this little mushroom, maybe try bribing the RNG gods with mushrooms.

7

Dragonair

If you want to catch a Dragonair in Pokemon FireRed or LeafGreen, good luck—you’ll need it. First, you must have a Super Rod, but that’s just the beginning. Dragonair only has a one percent chance of appearing, so get ready for some serious patience. At least it’s not like Shroomish or Exeggcute in the Great Marsh, where it might not show up at all!

The bad news? Dragonair is one of the hardest Pokemon to catch in the Safari Zone—second only to Chansey. If you want Dragonair really bad, you might be better off grinding coins at Celadon’s Game Corner to buy a Dratini instead. But hey, who doesn’t love endless gambling for tiny digital dragons?

6

Gulpin

The Great Marsh nightmare isn’t over yet—say hello to Gulpin, another Pokemon that refuses to show up when you actually want it. Like Exeggcute and Shroomish, you’ll need the National Dex and a 1/32 chance of it being chosen for the day. Unlike them, though, Gulpin and its evolution don’t even have a unique type combo.

You could just use the PokeRadar to get Grimer or go for a Weezing with Levitate to dodge Ground moves. If you’re truly desperate for Gulpin, its odds in Platinum are slightly better—2/32 instead of 1/32. Not exactly comforting. Or, you know, you could just trade for one and spare yourself the pain of wandering through the Great Marsh like a lost tourist.

5

Drapion

Unfortunately, Drapion is yet another victim of the Great Marsh’s cruel RNG. Like the others, it has a 1/32 chance of being chosen for the day. But here’s the silver lining—its pre-evolution, Skorupi, has a much better chance at 5/32, which is almost 15 percent. So instead of suffering through the Marsh for Drapion, just catch a Skorupi and train it yourself.

Plus, with only one weakness (Ground), Drapion is a fantastic Pokémon to have—just don’t let it anywhere near an Earthquake, or your struggles in the Marsh will have been for nothing.

4

Paras

Paras is yet another Pokemon with a 1/32 chance of appearing in the Great Marsh, requiring both luck and the National Dex. But hey, at least you’re not missing out on a powerhouse. Paras and its evolution, Parasect, are far from top-tier. Their weaknesses?

Well, aside from taking four times the damage from Fire and Flying, they’re also weak to Poison, Rock, Bug, and Ice. Oh, and if they have Dry Skin (introduced in Gen Five), they take even more damage from Fire moves—technically more than four times. So if you do find a Paras, just make sure it never, ever sees a Flamethrower.

3

Quagsire

Quagsire is one of the rarest Pokémon you’ll encounter in the Pokemon Emerald Safari Zone, with only a one percent chance of appearing. To make things worse, you need to surf in Area Five, and you’re only allowed 500 steps—run out of steps, and you’re kicked out of the zone, needing to re-enter.

To top it off, to even reach Area Five, you’ll have to become the Champion. So, if you planned on using Quagsire in the league… well, forget about it. If you don’t want to go through all this hassle, just catch a Wooper in Area Five—it’s got a much better chance of showing up, and it’s basically a baby Quagsire!

2

Toxicroak

When it comes to marshes or swamps, frogs are pretty much the best fit, and the fourth generation introduced Croagunk and its evolution, Toxicroak, as frog Pokemon. With their unique Poison and Fighting type combination, they’re pretty special—well, unless you count Okidogi.

Unfortunately, just like the other Pokemon on this list, Toxicroak’s fate lies in the Great Marsh. You’ll need the National Dex and hope for a 1/32 chance that it’s the chosen Pokemon of the day. But, much like Drapion’s pre-evolution, Skorupi, Croagunk can be chosen with a 5/32 chance before you even get the National Dex. So, it’s not all bad—just mostly.

1

Octillery

Octillery is one of the rarest Pokemon in the Hoenn Safari Zone, with a one percent chance of appearing. To find it, you’ll need to become the Champion, then head to Area Five of the Safari Zone. Grab a Super Rod and pray to the Pokemon gods for luck. But don’t worry, you don’t have to rely on just that one percent chance.

Catching a Remoraid will make your life easier. You can find it in the same area, and while the chance of catching it with a Good Rod is 20 percent, with a Super Rod, you’ve got a 59 percent chance to snag it and evolve it into an Octillery. Still, good luck with that one percent—it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack!