A Bit of Luck

[AdventureSerum]

I just wanted to tell you all that I spent some time researching Beldum (I'm trying to catch a shiny, white and gold Metagross are just soooo cool!) to look up its moves, where it lives, etc. Apparently it's only in D/P during swarms. "Dang it," I said to myself, "How long am I going to have to wait for a swarm?" As luck would have it, what happens when I turn my DS on to check what's the swarm for today? That's right, Beldum! Yaaay, coincidences.

[Zallarion]

Jezus loves you, lol

[AdventureSerum]

Now if I could just CATCH A FREAKING BELDUM! Seriously, I got it confused and down to a sliver of HP. I tried every kind of ball. Any tips?

[Poryhedron]

Now if I could just CATCH A FREAKING BELDUM! Seriously, I got it confused and down to a sliver of HP. I tried every kind of ball. Any tips?

Heh. You're luckier than I was. The first time I talked to the owner of the Trophy Garden to put a new rare pokémon in there, it turned out to be Porygon (Hooray!) But then I never found a single one of them.

Confusion is not the best status to inflict on a pokémon you want to capture. It doesn't improve the odds of capture any, and at any time your target might hurt itself in confusion and faint itself. Paralysis would be better, and Sleep would be even more so.

Regrettably, this is the first generation (Red/Blue notwithstanding) where it's impossible to get a Spore Swiper before accessing the National Dex. The best you can do is to use the False Swipe TM on a Kricketune that knows Sing...or have two pokémon, one on Sleep/Paralysis duty and one with False Swipe.

[Phoenixsong]

False Swipe against Beldum won't help any more than weakening it any other way, though; unless you switch to a Ghost-type, it'll just KO itself with Take Down the turn afterwards (or when it wakes up).

The thing about Beldum is that it has an EXTREMELY LOW catch rate. Dialga and Palkia have a catch rate of 30; Beldum is 3, making it as difficult to catch as most legendaries.

I tried to catch Beldum during a swarm and failed, mostly because of that wretched catch rate, the fact that I started late, and the fact that I was being picky and looking for a specific nature. Bad combination. There really aren't many tips to give, other than nail it with Sleep/Freeze and bring lots of Pokéballs. Catching them at night using Dusk Balls will help somewhat (not really, but it's better than Ultra Balls or whatever). If you can really keep one alive for that long (and you'd need either a Ghost-type or something with Pain Split to do it), you can try a Timer Ball as well. In my case, though, now that I've caught Cresselia in a Quick Ball, I'm free to use my extra Master Ball on the little sucker. And I WILL, too, next time a swarm comes up. Ugh.

[Pokemaster Ash]

It also doesn't help that the Beldum swarms appear at L51 or so. You basically have to Move Tutor or TM a bunch of stuff onto it the moment you evolve it. Might take more effort, but it might be better to just catch a Beldum, then breed one (maybe with a better nature) and raise that one. At least that way if the one you catch sucks, there's potential for redemption if it can give you a decent egg.

...Of course, Ditto requires the damn radar (I hate that thing so much), and it's really rare on top of that, so....well, whatever strategy works for you. I took the breeding route, though I wasn't being picky with natures.

[AdventureSerum]

But it's gotta be shiny! GOTTA BE SHINY! *ahem* Yes. Must be shiny. I already caught a ditto anyway, by the way. Oh yeah, and I maxed out a Haunter with Mean Look, Hypnosis, Confuse Ray, and Dream Eater in the event that I see a Pokemon I MUST catch. (I nicknamed him "Catchy".)

You're going to use your Master Ball?! Don't do it! D: I've already caught two Beldum! Don't give up! Heck, if you want one that badly I'd trade one to you! I mean, I'm already going for the shiny anyway.

[AdventureSerum]

You can have the one I caught first, or the one I decided on a whim to nickname "Crunchy". Remember, you can't change the nickname of a Pokemon you traded!

[Phoenixsong]

It's not that I'm desperate or want one THAT badly; it's that I have absolutely nothing better to use the Master Ball on. It's not worth wasting all those money on balls. Heatran is the only legendary I haven't caught yet, and Dusk Balls work well enough for that. I mean, c'mon. You EXPECT to waste balls on a legendary. NOT on an irritating little Beldum.

And I appreciate the trade offer, but I'd rather get my own, thanks. Full control over the name in case I decide to change it, and all the better to get the stats I'm looking for without breeding. Because breeding sucks.