Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 3: Articuno
• Method 2 of 3: Zapdos
• Method 3 of 3: Moltres
• Tips
• Warnings

The three Legendary Birds in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen are Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. Find Articuno, the Ice-type bird, in the Seafoam Islands not far off Route 20. Catch Zapdos, the electric bird, in the Power Plant downstream from the Rock Tunnel entrance. Look for Moltres, the Firebird, at the top of Mt. Ember on One Island. These wild Pokémon are powerful, so bring at least 30 Ultra Balls!

To step

Method 1 of 3: Articuno

1. Find Articuno in the Seafoam Islands. Articuno is the legendary Ice-type bird. This bird is the most powerful of the three. Fly to Fuchsia City, surf down Route 19 and then left down Route 20 to the Seafoam Islands. Enter the island. You will have to navigate a maze of ice and rapids to get to Articuno.
   • You will need Pokémon that know Strength and Surf to get to Articuno. Along the way you will encounter an intricate rock movement puzzle!
2. Be prepared. Make sure you have some "repels" with you to keep wild Pokémon at bay. Make sure you have at least 30 Ultra Balls with you - Articuno may be the weakest bird of the three, but is still a very strong Pokémon. If you run out of Ultra Balls in the middle of the fight, you may not be able to catch Articuno!
   • Save the game before starting the battle. Save the game as soon as you find Articuno and before trying to catch it. This way, if things go wrong, you can try again.
3. Consider bringing a Seel or Dewgong with you on your squad for this fight. Seel and Dewgong only take 1/8 of the damage ice attacks can deal, and Ice Beam is the only attack Articuno knows. Try to catch a Seel in the cave through which you have to get to Articuno.
   • Give the Seel or Dewgong the Leftovers item to make the fight even easier. When Leftovers is held by a Pokémon, it will steadily replenish that Pokémon's HP during battle. You can find Leftovers along Route 12 and Route 16, hidden under where the Snorlaxes were sleeping.
4. Catch Articuno. The most successful way to catch this bird is to put its health in the red and then give it a "status condition". Freeze and Sleep work best. However, paralyze can be the easiest because it is permanent. Keep throwing Ultra Balls until you get them - and be careful not to crush the bird so much that it passes out before you can catch it!
   • Avoid applying status conditions like Poison and Burn, which slowly but surely damage the affected Pokémon more and more. These are risky: chances are you will kill the Articuno before you can catch it.

Method 2 of 3: Zapdos

1. Find Zapdos in the Power Plant. Zapdos is the second most difficult bird to catch, but difficult to get to. Once you get the Surf-HM in the Safari Zone, you need to fly to the entrance of the Rock Tunnel and walk to the grassy area. Go through the open gate and surf down the river to the Power Plant. Enter the Power Plant and work your way around the building counter-clockwise to get to Zapdos.
   • You have reached Zapdos when you see a bird Pokémon in your way, outside the battle screen.
2. Prepare for a fight. Buy at least 35 Ultra Balls - and consider using the Master Ball if you prefer Zapdos. Bring a bunch of repels with you to make your way through the Power Plant without much commotion - you'll encounter a lot of powerful Electric-type Pokémon.
3. Bring a Pokémon with you with resistance to Drill Peck. This is the only move that Zapdos will use, so having a Pokémon on your team that resists this will make the fight a lot easier. Geodude and Graveler are perfect for this: they are resistant to all Flying-type attacks, have a high defense power and are immune to Thunder Wave. Avoid using this Pokémon as you make your way through the Power Plant - save it for Zapdos!
   • Give your Pokémon Leftovers to hold so they heal during battle.
   • Have Geodude or Graveler use the Defense Curl a few times. This will make their defenses even stronger.
4. Catch Zapdos. This fight will be very demanding, but you will succeed nevertheless! Once you find the legendary bird, you must save the game before challenging it. During the fight, you must get the bird's health to the red, then give it a weakening "status condition" such as Sleep, Paralyze or Freeze. Once the bird is in a weak state, throw Ultra Balls until you catch it!
   • Save the game after the fight. You don't want all your hard work to go to waste!

Method 3 of 3: Moltres

1. Look for Moltres at the top of Mt. Ember. Moltres is the easiest bird to catch, but it takes a long time to get to him and there will be many obstacles along the way. First of all, you have to beat the 7th Gym on Cinnabar Island and get the Tri-Pass from Bill. Head to One Island (part of the Sevii Islands) then to the top of Mt. Ember. To get past the obstacles you will encounter along the way, you need Pokémon that know Surf, Strength, and Rock Smash.
   • Moltres is the only Legendary Bird whose location is different from the original Red and Blue versions of the game. In Red and Blue you can find Moltres along Victory Road.
   • Surf, Strength and Rock Smash are HMs. You can only teach them to certain Pokémon. Find out how to get all of the HMs, if you don't already have them all.
2. Be prepared. Make sure you have at least 30 Ultra Balls with you. Bring some Max Repels with you too - the road to Moltres is long and there are many mighty Pokémon to encounter on your journey.
3. Bring a Pokémon with the Flash Fire ability with you. This will make your Pokémon immune to Moltres' only two attacks. It will make the fight a lot easier - Moltres won't be able to hurt you!
   • Vulpix owns Flash Fire, as does Ponyta. You can just outside of Mt. Ember, where you can find Moltres, catch a Ponyta. He will not take damage from Moltres' attacks while the fight lasts, so level and HP are irrelevant.
4. Catch Moltres. Save the game before the start of the fight. The most successful way to catch this bird is to get its health in the red and then give it a "status condition" such as Freeze, Sleep or Paralyze. Once you weaken Moltres, throw Ultra Balls at the bird until you catch it.

Tips

• You will need a number of HMs to reach these Pokémon: Rock Smash, Strength, and Surf.
• Zapdos' Thunder Wave attack can paralyze your Pokémon. Moltres' Flamethrower attack can burn them. An Ice Beam attack from Articuno can freeze your Pokémon.
• Don't be afraid to use the Master Ball. Just be sure you want this Pokémon more than any other Pokémon!
• If the bird dies before you can catch it, turn off your device, then turn it back on and try again. There was a reason why before fighting them, you saved the game!
• It's very frustrating when you fail to catch them the first time you try - but you will eventually! It takes time and patience to catch them!

Warnings

• Don't use attacks that poison or burn a Pokémon. These attacks can cause the legendary bird to pass out before you can catch it!
• Watch out for Zapdos' Thunderwave attack; it paralyzes.
• Watch out for Moltres' Flamethrower attack; it can burn your Pokémon.
• Watch out for Articuno's Ice Beam attack; it can freeze your Pokémon.
• In competitions, it will be noticed if you use a Gameshark to cheat when catching a Pokémon. Only do this if you do not intend to enter competitions.
• Always save just before challenging a Legendary Pokémon.If you turn off your device out of frustration, you will lose any progress you have not saved! In addition, a saved game allows you to restart and try again if you failed to catch the bird the first time. Remember to save every time you caught a bird so your hard work couldn't have been in vain!