There are certain steps to complete and strategies to use in order to find and capture Palkia in Pokémon Shining Pearl. Palkia is a legendary Pokémon featured exclusively in Shining Pearl, and players will need to complete the main story to find it. This involves collecting badges and defeating various members, and the leader, of Team Galactic. Players will also need to acquire the Rock Climb HM in order to reach Palkia on Mount Coronet.

There are eight gyms in Shining Pearl, but players will only need to defeat the first seven leaders, including Snowpoint Gym's Candice, to unlock the opportunity to catch Palkia. Interacting with Palkia is part of the main storyline for Shining Pearl, but players are not guaranteed to catch it. Doing so will involve some strategy and a large stock of Ultra Balls, but even then players may find it hard to capture the elusive legendary Pokémon in Shining Pearl.

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Palkia is one of the most difficult Pokémon to catch in Shining Pearl, and players may not be able to catch it at all. The best way to ensure that Palkia is caught is to stock up on Ultra Balls and save the game just before starting the battle. Alternatively, players can use the Master Ball that they receive at the Team Galactic Headquarters earlier in the game. Either way, saving the game before fighting Palkia is highly recommended because if the Pokémon is knocked out or the player runs out of PokéBalls the chance to catch it will be permanently lost.

Catching Palkia in Pokémon Shining Pearl

Palkia roaring at Spear Pillar in Pokémon Shining Pearl

In order to find Palkia, players will need to get to the top of Mount Coronet, which can be accessed by heading to the entrance at Route 208 from Hearthome City. From there, players will need to ascend the mountain using Rock Climb. Once at the top, players will be confronted by Pokémon's Team Galactic grunts as well as Mars, Jupiter, and, finally, Cyrus. After defeating Cyrus, players will be able to approach Palkia.

Catching Palkia is only guaranteed if players use their Master Ball, but there's only one in Shining Pearl, and players may want to save it for another difficult-to-catch legendary Pokémon like Cresselia. Instead, players can use Ultra Balls, but they will likely need a large number of them. Get Palkia's health as low as possible without knocking it out, then throw Ultra Balls continuously until it's caught. Palkia is a Water-Dragon type Pokémon, so it will take the most damage from Fairy and Dragon moves. Players can also put Palkia to sleep to make capturing it a little easier. Saving the game just before the encounter will allow players to try to catch Palkia more than once.

If players don't save before battling Palkia and it runs or faints, then there will be no way to catch it. Stocking up on as many Ultra Balls as possible is vital to increasing the chances of capture. Players can also use their Master Ball, although it may be better suited for catching another legendary Pokémon. Palkia is the main story legendary in Pokémon: Shining Pearl and players will only get one opportunity to battle and capture it.

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Pokémon Shining Pearl is available for Nintendo Switch.