One Legendary Pokémon challenge has Scarlet and Violet players swearing off repeat attempts

That's frustrating.

Miraidon sitting on the beach in Pokémon Violet.
Image via Game Freak

Legendary Pokémon have always been pretty hard to catch in the mainline games, but one player claimed it took them 11 hours to catch Miraidon in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet while trying to accomplish what few trainers have done.

In a July 22 Reddit thread, a player shared a clip of them finally catching Miraidon in a Beast Ball after 11 hours of failed attempts. 

While 11 hours might sound like overkill, there were multiple factors contributing to that long length of time. The most apparent one is the Beast Ball’s reduced catch rate modifier. Unless you’re throwing them at Ultra Beasts (which aren’t even in Scarlet and Violet), Beast Balls have about a 0.1x catch rate modifier. Even compared to the standard Poké Ball’s 1x catch rate modifier, Beast Balls are the worst balls for catching anything that isn’t an Ultra Beast.

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When you combine Beast Balls with the Legendary Miraidon’s low capture rate, yes, the odds of catching it are super low. So why would anyone do that to themself? Why wouldn’t they just use their Master Ball or an Ultra Ball? It’s because Beast Balls not only look cool but also give you another way to show off. Because of the extra low catch rate, catching non-Ultra Beasts in Beast Balls is kind of like hunting for certain marks or Shinies.

To add to the pain and suffering, Beast Balls are also very rare in Scarlet and Violet. The only sure way to get a Beast Ball is by completing the Pokédex and claiming it as the reward. Outside of that, you have to hope you get lucky and randomly earn one by clearing the Academy Ace Tournament.

That means you might only have one chance to catch a Pokémon with your Beast Ball before having to restart your game. This was the unfortunate case for the player who was so dedicated to catching Miraidon in that cursed ball.

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, the player revealed the tedious process wasn’t as simple as throwing the Beast Ball at Miraidon at the beginning of the battle before resetting. They needed to remove the Electric Terrain, cut Miraidon’s HP down, and put it to sleep to maximize their chances of success. 

The whole process took five turns before restarting. Imagine doing that for 11 hours straight.

In the end, the player caught their Miraidon in their Beast Ball, but at what cost? They walked away from the experience saying, “10/10 won’t ever do again.”

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About the author

Karli Iwamasa

Karli is a freelance writer based in the Bay Area. She has written about your favorite video games on sites like Dot Esports and TheGamer. When she's not writing, she's playing VALORANT or the latest Pokémon game.