How to find Galarian birds Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres in Pokémon Go

Galarian birds Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres are three exceptionally rare Pokémon Go Legendary Pokémon, since you can’t raid for them or find them in research.

They’re only found by using a specific daily incense that requires you to actually go on a walk, and their catch rate is low with a matching high flee rate. Getting these birds can be grueling, but of course, hardcore collectors will want them.

Below we explain how to find the Galarian birds (Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres) in Pokémon Go, how to find them shiny, and whether they will run away when encountered.

All three of the Galarian birds are rare encounters that show up when you use a Daily Adventure Incense, the blue 15-minute incense that you can use once every day. (You can see it in the top right corner of your Pokémon Go screen, under the weather, compass, and meetup buttons.)

Daily Adventure Incense requires movement in order to spawn Pokémon and it needs to be movement where you are actually moving locations (rather than just walking on a treadmill).

This incense is the only way to find Galarian Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. Finding the birds on your stroll is rare, so don’t expect to find any right away.

The birds also have an abysmal catch rate and if the first ball you land doesn’t catch them, they’ll very likely run. That said, these birds have become the de facto reason you want Master Balls in Pokémon Go, as this will guarantee the bird once you run into one. This Silph Road subreddit user says that the catch rate is 0.3% and a flee rate of 90%, so you’ll need to use a Golden Razz Berry and an Ultra Ball to up your chances (if you’re not using a Master Ball).

As of the “Galarian Expedition” event in October 2024, the birds you encounter now have a chance to be shiny.

These shinies are great as this actually gives the Galarian birds their Kantonian color schemes: Articuno becomes blue, Zapdos becomes yellow, and Moltres gets its yellow and orange flames back.

Shiny odds for Legendary Pokémon in raids are approximately one in 20, but since these birds have a unique encounter (found in the wild rather than raids), it’s unknown if they share this shiny rate or not. Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf are Legendary Pokémon who were also able to be found in the wild and their shiny rates also sat at one in 20, so it’s possible that these birds share that rate. We’ll update this guide when we get more information.

The rules for finding the birds are the same as before, you just have to get extra lucky to find the bird shiny — compounded with the luck you need to actually find a bird.

The main difference between the regular and shiny versions is that shiny Galarian Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres will not run, allowing you as many chances as you want to catch the bird. That said, their catch rate remains the same, so it is possible to run out of Poké Balls before you get a chance to catch the bird.

Make sure you’re stocked up on Ultra Balls (or have a Master Ball) on-hand before you commit to this expedition or you may walk out really broken hearted. Finding a shiny Galarian bird, and having to run because you’re out of Poké Balls, sounds like a nightmare.