Some of the most sought after Pokémon in any of the games are the Legendary Pokémon, which are oftentimes some of the strongest, as well as gracing the cover art and usually playing some important role in the games’ stories. This guide will explain to you how to find all of the Legendaries in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, as well as all of the games’ Ultra Beasts. Be warned, as this article will contain SPOILERS for the stories of these games. In this guide you’ll find water type, electric type, flying type, and other type Pokémon in Ultra Sun and Moon with detailed instructions on how to catch these mythical Pokémon. Capture rate for them is going to vary depending on a number of different factors, but read on for this complete guide to collecting all the hardest Pokémon to capture in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.
How to Catch Solgaleo/Lunala
These are the Legendary Pokémon that appeared on the covers of Sun and Moon. However, the way you will attain them in Ultra Sun or Ultra Moon is a little different than in their predecessors. In the new games, the story makes its biggest divergence from Sun and Moon once you reach the Altar of the Sunne in Ultra Sun or the Altar of the Moone in Ultra Moon, which will occur once you have made it through the Dragon Trial at Vast Poni Canyon on Poni Island. As part of the games’ story, the player character and Lillie will play the Sun Flute and Moon Flute at the same time in the hopes of summoning a Legendary Pokémon to help return Nebby (the Cosmog Lillie has been traveling with, since evolved into a Cosmeom) to its original state, after having been tortured by the Aether Foundation. Once the Flutes have been played, Cosmeom will evolve into Solgaleo in Ultra Sun or Lunala in Ultra Moon. Once this happens, however, an Ultra Wormhole will open up and Necrozma will appear from it and fight Solgaleo/Lunala. I’ll discuss this further when I tell you how to catch Necrozma, but for now you should just know that, unlike in Sun and Moon, you will not be given the chance to catch Solgaleo/Lunala at the Altar of the Sunne/Moone. Instead, you will have a prolonged interaction with Necrozma, after which both Necrozma and Solgaleo/Lunala will be injured. The whereabouts of Necrozma become unknown, but Solgaleo/Lunala is taken by Lusamine and Lillie to be treated at the Aether Foundation. Having saved the Alola region from losing its light, the player is now free to continue his or her Island Challenge.
To complete your Island Challenge, you will need to complete Mina’s trial and then defeat Hapu in the Grand Trial. After this, your Island Challenge will be complete and the only thing left to do in the main story is to conquer the newly established Alolan Pokémon League. Travel to Tapu Village on Ula’ula Island and head north towards Mount Lanakila. At the base of the mountain, Gladion will appear and challenge you to a battle. After you defeat Gladion, he will tell you that he saw Lillie at Mahalo Trail on Melemele Island. Once Gladion tells you this, you are able to catch Solgaleo/Lunala. Return to Iki Town on Melemele Island and head north to Mahalo Trail. Right in front of the bridge where you first met Lillie, you will find her standing there next to Solgaleo/Lunala. Approaching them will prompt Lillie to tell you that she thinks Solgaleo/Lunala will be happier with you since you are a strong trainer. Now you will be able to interact with Solgaleo/Lunala, which will prompt a battle to begin.
In this battle, Solgaleo/Lunala is on Level 60, which will make it a strong edition to your party at this point in the game. Solgaleo will have the moves Sunsteel Strike, Cosmic Power, Crunch and Zen Headbutt, while Lunala will have the moves Moongeist Beat, Cosmic Power, Night Daze and Moonblast. Despite being pretty strong for this point in the game, Solgaleo/Lunala shouldn’t be too hard to catch. For one thing, both of them have capture rates of 45, as opposed to the capture rate of 3 that most Legendaries have. Secondly, if you accidentally defeat Solgaleo/Lunala, you will not be punished in any way, as it will automatically re-appear immediately after its defeat, allowing the player unlimited chances to catch it. Don’t waste your Master Ball here.
How to Catch Necrozma
So back to Necrozma. When Necrozma first appears out of the Ultra Wormhole at the top of the Altar of the Sunne/Moone, it will fight with Solgaleo/Lunala, ultimately becoming victorious and absorbing Solgaleo to attain its Dusk Mane Form or absorbing Lunala to attain its Dawn Wings Form. You will now have to fight Necrozma in this new form. Keep in mind that you will be unable to catch Necrozma while it is in this form, so don’t waste time trying to catch it, just defeat it. Necrozma will be on Level 50 here, which shouldn’t present too much of a problem, especially if you have Pokémon in your party with type advantages. Dusk Mane Necrozma will have the moves Sunsteel Strike, Morning Sun, Psycho Cut and Night Slash, whereas Dawn Wings Necrozma will have the moves Moongeist Beam, Moonlight, Psychic and Power Gem.
After you have defeated Necrozma, it will retreat back into the Ultra Wormhole. You will then be sent by the Ultra Recon Squad to chase after it. You will play the Ultra Warp Ride minigame, where you will try to land in one of the white wormholes. If done successfully, you will end up in Ultra Megalopolis, an alternate dimension where Necrozma has stolen all the light. Here, you will meet new members of the Ultra Recon Squat who will inform you that Necrozma is at the top of Megalo Tower. Climb to the top of Megalo Tower and you will find that Necrozma has attained its strongest form, Ultra Necrozma. Once again, you cannot catch Necrozma here, so just try to defeat it. This will likely be one of the hardest battles of the game. Ultra Necrozma is on Level 60, making it by far the strongest Pokémon you have fought up to this point. In addition to its high leveling, Ultra Necrozma has incredibly high stats, particularly in Attack and Special Attack, all of which are raised even further due to its aura. Ultra Necrozma has a very diverse moveset, knowing Photon Geyser, Smart Strike, Power Gem and Dragon Pulse. Additionally, Ultra Necrozma has the ability Neuroforce, which makes super effective moves even more powerful. Expect a good amount of your team to go down in one hit.
Once you defeat Ultra Necrozma, it will retreat into an Ultra Wormhole once more, where it will dissemble with Solgaleo/Lunala. When you return to your world, you will learn that Necrozma has returned to Alola, but that its exact location is unknown. Lillie and Lusamine will take Solgaleo/Lunala to the Aether Foundation to heal it and you will be left to continue your Island Challenge. Complete Mina’s trial and then defeat Hapu in her Grand Trial to complete your Island Challenge. After this, travel to Tapu Village on Ula’ula Island and head north towards Mount Lanakila. At the base of the mountain, you will fight Gladion. Once you have defeated Gladion, he will tell you that he saw Lillie at Mahalo Trail on Melemele Island. If you return to Mahalo Trail now, you will have the opportunity to catch Solgaleo/Lunala, which you can read more about in the section above. Regardless of whether you choose to catch Solgaleo/Lunala now, you are now granted access to Mount Lanakila, which acts as the games’ Victory Road. After solving puzzles and defeating trainers, you will eventually come to an area that is a huge crater. At the center of the crater, you will find the weakened Necrozma. Upon interacting with Necrozma, you will be informed that it is too weak, but you can offer to share light with it from your Z-Ring. If you do so, a battle with Necrozma in its normal form will be prompted.
Here, you can finally catch Necrozma. Necrozma is Level 65 here and knows the moves Photon Geyser, Iron Defense, Power Gem and Night Slash. If you succeed in capturing Necrozma, you will also receive Ultranecrozium Z, an item which will allow Dusk Mane or Dawn Wings Necrozma to use Ultra Burst to transform into Ultra Necrozma, and which will allow Ultra Necrozma to use its Z-Move Light That Burns the Sky as long as Necrozma knows the move Photon Geyser. Once you catch Necrozma, Colress will appear and give you an N-Solarizer and an N-Lunarizer which will allow Necrozma to fuse with Solgaleo or Lunala respectively to become Dusk Mane Necrozma or Dawn Wings Necrozma.
How to Catch Cosmog
After you have defeated the Elite Four and become the Champion of the Alola region, you will have the opportunity to get a Cosmog. To do this, you will need to have Solgaleo/Lunala in your party, then return to the Altar of the Sunne/Moone at night in Ultra Sun or during the day in Ultra Moon. Once you are there, you will find a dimensional rift which you can interact with. Doing so will prompt a message, asking you if you want to go to Ultra Megalopolis, the Ultra Wormhole or the Reverse World. Go to the Reverse World. Here, you will be transported to an alternate dimension where things are mostly the same, but the time of day has been flipped. This means that it will be night in the game when it is day in real life and day in the game when it is night in real life in Ultra Sun or day in the game when it is day in real life and night in the game when it is night in real life in Ultra Moon. In the Reverse World, travel to the Lake of the Sunne/Moone, which is to the northeast of Ula’ula Meadow on Ula’ula Island. Here, Cosmog will appear and join your party voluntarily. Cosmog will be on Level 5 and only know Splash.
How to Catch Zygarde
After you have defeated the Elite Four and become the Champion of the Alola region, you will have the opportunity to catch Zygarde. In the post-game, a large section of Poni Island that was previously closed off is now open to explore. One of the areas now available is Resolution Cave, which is where you will find Zygarde. Zygarde will be on Level 60 and know the moves Land’s Wrath, Glare, Safeguard and Dragon Breath.
After you have captured this Zygarde, you can return to the small, white Aether building on Route 16 where Sina and Dexio will be waiting for you. Here, Sina and Dexio will inform you about Zygarde Cells and give you a Zygarde Cube. Then Dexio will battle you and after you win, he will give you another Zygarde. This Zygarde is in its 10% stage, is on Level 63 and knows the moves Crunch, Earthquake, Camouflage and Dragon Pulse. With both Zygardes as well as the cells in the Zygarde Cube, you now have a total of 100 Zygarde Cells, meaning you can use the machine in this building to create a Zygarde with the ability Power Construct, which will allow it to attain its Perfect Form in battle once its health drops below half.
How to Catch The Tapus
After you have defeated the Elite Four and become the Champion of the Alola region, you will have the opportunity to catch the various Tapu Legendaries. If you interact with the altar at the Ruins of Conflict on Melemele Island, you will fight Tapu Koko, which is Level 60 and knows the moves Nature’s Madness, Discharge, Agility and Electro Ball. After battling Tapu Koko, you will receive a Tapunium Z, which can be used to allow the Tapu Legendaries to use their Z-Moves. If you interact with the altar at the Ruins of Life on Akala Island, you will fight Tapu Lele, which is Level 60 and knows the moves Nature’s Madness, Extrasensory, Flatter and Moonblast. If you interact with the altar at the Ruins of Abundance on Ula’ula Island, you will fight Tapu Bulu, which is Level 60 and knows the moves Nature’s Madness, Zen Headbutt, Megahorn and Skull Bash. If you interact with the altar at the Ruins of Hope on Poni Island, you will fight Tapu Fini, which is Level 60 and knows the moves Nature’s Madness, Muddy Water, Aqua Ring and Hydro Pump.
How to Catch Ultra Wormhole Legendary
After your first trip through an Ultra Wormhole while pursuing Necrozma, you will have the ability to do the Ultra Warp Ride minigame again whenever you want from the Altar of the Sunne/Moone. Entering different wormholes in this minigame will take you to different dimensions where different Pokémon are available depending on what color the wormhole is and how many lightyears away from your dimension it is. If you travel far enough, it is possible that you will end up in a dimension where you can find a Legendary Pokémon from another region. Below are lists of the four different color wormholes and which Legendaries you can potentially find in each, in addition to any additional requirements you may need to find each Legendary.
Red wormholes:
- Articuno
- Zapdos
- Moltres
- Ho-Oh (exclusive to Ultra Sun)
- Rayquaza (will only appear if you have Groudon and Kyogre in your party)
- Cresselia
- Tornadus (exclusive to Ultra Sun)
- Thundurus (exclusive to Ultra Moon)
- Landorus (will only appear if you have Tornadus and Thundurus in your party)
- Yveltal (exclusive to Ultra Moon)
Green wormholes:
- Mewtwo
- Raikou (exclusive to Ultra Sun)
- Entei (exclusive to Ultra Moon)
- Dialga (exclusive to Ultra Sun)
- Cobalion
- Terrakion
- Virizion
- Reshiram (exclusive to Ultra Sun)
- Zekrom (exclusive to Ultra Moon)
- Xerneas (exclusive to Ultra Sun)
Blue wormholes:
- Suicune (will only appear if you have Raikou and Entei in your party)
- Lugia (exclusive to Ultra Moon)
- Latias (exclusive to Ultra Moon)
- Latios (exclusive to Ultra Sun)
- Kyogre (exclusive to Ultra Moon)
- Uxie
- Mesprit
- Azelf
- Palkia (exclusive to Ultra Moon)
- Kyurem (will only appear if you have Reshiram and Zekrom in your party)
Yellow wormholes:
- Regirock
- Regice
- Registeel
- Groudon (exclusive to Ultra Sun)
- Heatran (exclusive to Ultra Sun)
- Regigigas (exclusive to Ultra Moon)
- Giratina (will only appear if you have Dialga and Palkia in your party)
Event Legendaries
Though there are likely to be more in the future, as of right now there are only two Legendaries that are obtainable through special means. One of these is Magearna, which can be attained by scanning the QR code to the right of this paragraph (in North America). This code will only work if you have defeated the Elite Four and become Alola’s champion. While you are playing the game, pause and select “QR Scanner” from the Pause Menu, then scan this QR code. Now you will have to pick up your Magearna from a delivery man in an orange and blue shirt who will be standing outside of the antique shop in the mall in the Hau’oli City Shopping District. This Magearna will be on Level 50 and know the moves Flash Cannon, Fleur Cannon, Lucky Chant and Helping Hand.
The other traditionally event-only Legendary that is currently available in these games is Celebi. However, you will only be able to get Celebi if you purchased a copy of Pokémon Gold or Silver from the 3DS eShop. If you have done this, then click here to follow a guide on how to receive Celebi. (Note that the guide states how to receive Celebi in Sun or Moon, but you can receive Celebi in Ultra Sun or Ultra Moon by following the same instructions.)
How to Catch New Ultra Beasts
There are four Ultra Beasts that are new to Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. One of these is Poipole, AKA UB Adhesive, which you will receive as a gift Pokémon during the main story immediately after defeating Ultra Necrozma in Ultra Megalopolis. Another new Ultra Beast is Naganadel, which Poipole will evolve into upon leveling up while knowing the move Dragon Pulse. Poipole can only learn Dragon Pulse via TM or Move Relearner.
The other two new Ultra Beasts are Stakataka, AKA UB Assembly, and Blacephalon, AKA UB Burst. These two can be caught in the post-game. After you have defeated the Elite Four and become the Alolan Champion, continue the game and attempt to leave your house. You will be given a new mission by the Ultra Recon Squad who state that Ultra Beasts have been terrorizing Poni Island. They will take you to a previously closed off location where you can find Stakataka in Ultra Moon or Blacephalon in Ultra Sun. They will appear in the grass like normal Pokémon, however, there will be only two of each available to catch. Prior to this, the Ultra Recon Squad will give you a few Beast Balls to catch these Ultra Beasts.
How to Catch Old Ultra Beasts
All of the previous Ultra Beasts from Sun and Moon return in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon as well. The first one you will encounter is Nihilego, who will appear during the main story when you are visiting the Aether Foundation for the first time. Nihilego will be uncatchable at this point, so just defeat it.
Much later, once you are given access to the Ultra Warp Ride minigame, you can use it to enter different dimensions that are home to various Ultra Beasts. Riding into red, blue, green or yellow wormholes have the potential to land you in an area where you can find a Legendary Pokémon, but riding into a white wormhole can potentially land you in an area where you can find Ultra Beasts. Below is the list of Ultra Beasts you can find in this manner.
- Nihilego
- Buzzwole (exclusive to Ultra Sun)
- Pheromosa (exclusive to Ultra Moon)
- Xurkitree
- Celesteela (exclusive to Ultra Moon)
- Kartana (exclusive to Ultra Sun)
- Guzzlord
