Complete guide to mass outbreaks in Pokemon Legends: Arceus

Pokemon Legends: Arceus’ mass outbreaks feature is useful for all sorts of players. 

Unlike in previous games, catching an abundance of a single Pokemon is heavily rewarded in Pokemon Legends: Arceus. There’s no better way to do this than during a mass outbreak. From the new Pokedex to the different ways of traversing the environments, shiny hunting in Pokemon Legends: Arceus certainly works differently, and it revolves around mass outbreaks. Here’s how to catch shinies in Pokemon Legends: Arceus.

What are mass outbreaks in Pokemon Legends: Arceus?

Mass outbreaks are a phenomenon in Pokemon Legends: Arceus where a number of Pokemon of the same species will spawn in a small area.

Players are alerted of a mass outbreak by the Galaxy Team security guard at the exit of Jubilife Village. The Pokemon that is having the outbreak will be shown with an icon.

If the player chooses to go to a different area, the outbreak will disappear. However, players can enter an area with an outbreak, exit back to Jubilife Village, and then return to it. It is possible to have more than one outbreak occur after exiting Jubilife Village.

Upon arrival in the area, an icon is displayed on the map to show which Pokemon will be appearing in the outbreak. The number of Pokemon that will appear from an outbreak seems to vary by species and by how quickly the player can move through the Pokemon that spawn, but the floor seems to be eight.

Make sure to watch out for shinies during outbreaks

While mass outbreaks are a great way to quickly catch Pokemon for the Pokedex, they’re also the best way to shiny hunt in Pokemon Legends: Arceus. 

Pokemon from mass outbreaks are more than 25 times more likely to be shiny than those in the field, and this goes up to 32 times if the player has a totally completed Pokedex entry for the Pokemon and a Shiny Charm. While players aren’t going to max out the Pokedex entry for every single Pokemon, an outbreak can ultimately have about an 8% chance of containing a shiny under ideal circumstances. 

This makes obtaining a shiny significantly more manageable than in past games, most notably Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl where getting shiny or high-IV was an absolute ordeal.

What to do during a mass outbreak

When a mass outbreak occurs in an area, it’s worth acting to check it out. Even just the first wave has a very strong chance of including a shiny Pokemon.

The best way to approach this will vary based on a number of factors. Against small and skittish Pokemon that may flee but are easily captured, such as Togepi or Kricketot, the player might need to hide off to the side and snipe them with Poke Balls as they spawn in. Against larger Pokemon that are more difficult to catch and immediately aggro onto players such as Tentacruel and Luxray, a more direct approach may be called for.

How to create a mass outbreak in Pokemon Legends: Arceus

There is currently no known method for triggering a mass outbreak in Pokemon Legends: Arceus. While mass outbreaks are useful in a number of different ways, it seems as though they appear completely at random. Similarly, it’s also seemingly random in regards to what Pokemon species the mass outbreak centers around.

The only thing that seems to be consistent is that when a mass outbreak occurs, it will only ever feature Pokemon that are native to the area where the outbreak occurs. For example, the Obsidian Fieldlands will not experience an outbreak of Hisuian Growlithes, as Hisuian Growlithe is exclusive to the Cobalt Coastlands area.