Alpha Pokémon

An alpha Pokémon (Japanese: オヤブン boss) is a variety of Pokémon found in . They are Pokémon that appear in Hisui with increased combat capabilities. Alpha Pokémon can be identified with the icon in the Pokémon's summary screen and on their health bar in the wild (if transferred to , they have the Alpha Mark instead). Additionally, alpha Pokémon have glowing red eyes, except for . However, they do not stay that way after they have been captured.
In Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, Pokémon who were previously identified as alpha Pokémon will have the title "Former Alpha" and with the Alpha Mark instead.
==In the core series games==
===Story===
Shortly after the joins the , an alpha intrudes Deertrack Heights. Mai, the warden who oversees , enlists / to help defeat the Kricketune, who in turn asks the player to aid Mai due to their skill in Pokémon battles.
While Ingo is leading the player through Wayward Cave, an alpha appears along the route. Ingo insists that the player not battle it due to the reduced visibility caused by the absence of the cave's torches, and leads them on a detour to avoid it. The player is unable to battle or catch this particular alpha Pokémon until Ingo reinstalls the torches in the cave.
During the three Trials of the Lake guardians, the player has to face an alpha Pokémon at each lake; at Lake Verity, at Lake Valor, and Hisuian at Lake Acuity.
During the post-game, when the player goes to meet Volo at Grueling Grove, the two are ambushed by an alpha . After defeating the Pokémon, the player receives a Stone Plate from her.
===Gameplay===
In the wild, alpha Pokémon will be at a higher level than other species of the same kind that can be found in that area, will have at least three stats with individual values of 31 (expressed in this game as initial effort levels of 3) and will know and have mastered a move that cannot be learned by leveling up. Alpha Pokémon cannot be caught outside of battle if they are significantly higher level than the player's current obedience level. They can, however, be caught regardless of level during a battle with them. If caught, alpha Pokémon will count as heavy specimens and large specimens for research tasks. Regardless of the species' normal behavior, alpha Pokémon (except for and ) are always aggressive towards the player and will never run away, unless a space-time distortion appears around it or it is a species which only appears in the wild at certain times of day. If an alpha Pokémon spots the player, it will roar out a shockwave which, if close enough, will cause the player to be knocked to the ground; they are also forcibly dismounted from their if riding , , or .
Upon entering battle, wild alpha Pokémon are filled with Wild Might (Japanese: 野性の力 Wild Strength), as indicated by their glowing red eyes. This increases all of a Pokémon's stats, independently of in-battle stat boosts, and reduces damage from status conditions. Alpha Pokémon can also use agile style and strong style moves in battle.
There are three types of ways alpha Pokémon may spawn:
* Fixed alpha Pokémon spawns will always be generated upon entering a given area of the Hisui region, and will be at a fixed level; for instance, the alpha in the Obsidian Fieldlands is always Lv. 40. These alpha Pokémon will also automatically respawn after two full in-game days.
* Random alpha Pokémon spawns may occur after the player has quelled the area's noble Pokémon. Alpha Pokémon, of the same species as the location's standard spawns, each have a small chance of appearing (between a 0.2% and 2% chance). Each location has its own rates for how likely each alpha Pokémon may spawn, including space-time distortions. Prior to the Daybreak update, during mass outbreaks, at most one alpha Pokémon could appear, however this limit was later lifted to account for the "exclusively alpha" bonus waves of massive mass outbreaks.
* During a massive mass outbreak, clearing all Pokémon in a location may cause a second wave of Pokémon to appear in the same location; if this occurs, the second wave may be composed entirely of alpha Pokémon.
During the battle against at the Temple of Sinnoh, it will be filled with Terrible Might (Japanese: すさまじい力 Tremendous Strength), which has an identical effect to Wild Might.
In , alpha Pokémon transferred from Legends: Arceus will gain the Alpha Mark. They will not retain their unique sizes in these games, but will return to their alpha size when brought back to Legends: Arceus. Instead, they will be appear as the largest non-alpha height value that the species could have.
==Fixed alpha Pokémon==
Fixed alpha Pokémon are specimens that always appear in their alpha form in a specific location. Some of these specimens do not spawn until after parts of the main story are completed, usually needing the region's frenzied Noble to be tamed before appearing in the overworld.
Species marked with an * can only be found as that single fixed alpha specimen, in rare or massive mass outbreaks, or a space-time distortion, but not anywhere else in the overworld.
===Obsidian Fieldlands===
# 	Pokémon	Pokémon	Level	Sub-Location 	Time of Day	Weather
0042	 	 	35 	Near Oreburrow Tunnel	Nighttime 	All
0047	 	 	30 	Nature's Pantry 	All 	All
0065	 	* 	60 	Sandgem Flats 	All 	All
0075	 	 	30 	Near Obsidian Falls 	All 	All
0078	 	* 	40 	Horseshoe Plains 	All 	Sunny
0123	 	 	42 	Near Grandtree Arena 	All 	All
0129	 	 	55 	Near Oreburrow Tunnel	All 	All
0130	 	 	60 	Lake Verity 	All 	All
0143	 	 	45 	Near Sandgem Flats 	All 	All
0214	 	 	45 	Grueling Grove 	All 	All
0234	 	 	42 	Deertrack Heights 	All 	All
0242	 	 	62 	Near Obsidian Falls 	All 	All
0392	 	* 	65 	Ramanas Island 	All 	All
0397	 	 	32 	Windswept Run 	All 	All
0400	 	 	16 	Tidewater Dam 	All 	All
0402	 	 	30 	Near Tidewater Dam 	All 	All
0404	 	 	40 	Floaro Gardens 	All 	All
0419	 	 	31 	Near Worn Bridge 	All 	All
0428	 	 	40 	Near The Heartwood 	All 	All
===Crimson Mirelands===
# 	Pokémon	Pokémon 	Level	Sub-Location 	Time of Day	Weather
0026	 	* 	52 	Near Golden Lowlands 	All 	All
0095	 	 	50 	Near Diamond Settlement 	All 	All
0111	 	 	45 	Diamond Heath 	All 	All
0217	 	 	55 	Near Gapejaw Bog 	All 	All
0217	 	 	41 	Ursa's Ring 	All 	All
0340	 	 	64 	Lake Valor 	All 	All
0389	 	* 	65 	Holm of Trials 	All 	All
0407	 	* 	50 	Cloudpool Ridge 	Daytime 	All
0416	 	 	61 	Near Cottonsedge Prairie	All 	All
0417	 	 	40 	Near Gapejaw Bog 	All 	All
0430	 	 	55 	Cloudpool Ridge 	Nighttime 	All
0435	 	 	45 	Scarlet Bog 	All 	All
0450	 	 	46 	Gapejaw Bog 	All 	All
0454	 	 	47 	Holm of Trials 	All 	All
0455	 	 	43 	Near Cottonsedge Prairie	All 	All
0463	 	 	52 	Shrouded Ruins 	All 	All
0465	 	* 	45 	Gapejaw Bog 	All 	All
0469	 	 	58 	Droning Meadow 	All 	All
0705	 	Hisuian Form	50 	Holm of Trials 	All 	All
===Cobalt Coastlands===
# 	Pokémon	Pokémon 	Level	Sub-Location 	Time of Day	Weather
0038	 	* 	61 	Firespit Island 	All 	All
0055	 	 	50 	Bathers' Lagoon 	All 	All
0067	 	 	40 	Ginkgo Landing 	All 	All
0073	 	 	50 	Near Lunker's Lair 	All 	All
0113	 	 	51 	Tombolo Walk 	All 	All
0130	 	 	58 	Near Sand's Reach 	All 	All
0211	 	Hisuian Form	55 	Near Islespy Shore 	All 	All
0224	 	 	46 	Castaway Shore 	All 	All
0226	 	 	50 	Tranquility Cove 	All 	All
0365	 	 	50 	Ginkgo Landing 	All 	All
0395	 	* 	69 	Islespy Shore 	All 	All
0414	 	 	56 	Spring Path 	All 	All
0423	 	 	61 	Seagrass Haven 	All 	All
0424	 	 	50 	Near Hideaway Bay 	All 	All
0432	 	 	45 	Veilstone Cape 	All 	All
0452	 	* 	45 	Near Ginkgo Landing	All 	All
0457	 	 	60 	Seagrass Haven 	All 	All
0477	 	* 	65 	Deadwood Haunt 	Nighttime 	All
===Coronet Highlands===
# 	Pokémon	Pokémon 	Level	Sub-Location 	Time of Day	Weather
0036	 	* 	62 	Fabled Spring 	Nighttime 	All
0076	 	* 	60 	Bolderoll Ravine 	All 	All
0169	 	 	60 	Wayward Cave 	All 	All
0207	 	 	52 	Near Celestica Ruins 	All 	All
0208	 	* 	60 	Celestica Trail 	All 	All
0405	 	 	55 	Sacred Plaza 	All 	All
0414	 	 	55 	Wayward Wood 	All 	All
0429	 	* 	61 	Stonetooth Rows 	Nighttime 	All
0437	 	 	55 	Near Clamberclaw Cliffs	All 	All
0444	 	 	56 	Near Clamberclaw Cliffs	All 	All
0455	 	 	52 	Lonely Spring 	All 	All
0464	 	* 	74 	Near Sacred Plaza 	All 	All
0466	 	* 	69 	Cloudcap Pass 	All 	All
0472	 	* 	77 	Near Primeval Grotto 	All 	All
0476	 	* 	73 	Near Primeval Grotto 	All 	All
0706	 	*Hisuian Form	70 	Near Ancient Quarry 	All 	All
===Alabaster Icelands===
# 	Pokémon	Pokémon	Level	Sub-Location 	Time of Day	Weather
0068	 	* 	70 	Arena's Approach 	All 	All
0125	 	 	65 	Icebound Falls 	All 	All
0215	 	 	61 	Near Avalugg's Legacy	All 	All
0220	 	 	62 	Near Bonechill Wastes	All 	All
0221	 	 	65 	Arena's Approach 	All 	All
0282	 	* 	70 	Heart's Crag 	Daytime 	All
0358	 	 	65 	Near Lake Acuity 	All 	All
0362	 	 	62 	Bonechill Wastes 	All 	All
0445	 	* 	85 	Avalanche Slopes 	All 	All
0448	 	 	70 	Icebound Falls 	All 	All
0460	 	 	68 	Bonechill Wastes 	All 	All
0473	 	* 	68 	Avalugg's Legacy 	All 	All
0475	 	* 	70 	Snowpoint Temple 	All 	All
0478	 	 	72 	Ice Column Chamber 	All 	All
===Unique alpha Pokémon===
These unique alpha Pokémon can only be found once during the storyline. With the exception of Vespiquen, they do not have the usual guarantee of any stats with individual values of 31 (starting effort levels of 3). The alpha Pokémon found in Acuity, Verity, and Valor Caverns are prevented from being , and have Scale values of 128 instead of 255. Hisuian Zoroark and Overqwil do not have other fixed alpha spawns on the map.
# 	Pokémon	Pokémon 	Level	Sub-Location 	Mission/Request 	Tutor move
0362	 	 	64 	Arena's Approach 	Request 86: "Gone Astray...in the Icelands"	
0402	 	 	12 	Deertrack Heights	Mission 5: "A Request from Mai" 	
0416	 	 	60 	Grueling Grove 	Mission 20: "The Researcher of Myths" 	
0571	 	Hisuian Form	58 	Acuity Cavern 	Mission 16: "The Trial of Lake Acuity" 	None
0706	 	Hisuian Form	58 	Verity Cavern 	Mission 14: "The Trial of Lake Verity" 	
0904	 	* 	58 	Valor Cavern 	Mission 15: "The Trial of Lake Valor" 	
==In animation==
===Pokémon: Hisuian Snow===
In Two Hues, an alpha attacked Alec and the Galaxy Team, but it was driven away by a that Alec had befriended in his youth as a .
==Trivia==
* There is a third variant of the Wild Might effect in game data, called Terrific Might (Japanese: 偉大な力), which is a version of Wild Might without the stat boosts. Its usage within the game is unknown.
* When alpha and appear in the wild, only two of their eyes glow red.
* When alpha appears in the wild, the lines in its Odd Keystone also glow red.	
* Interestingly, itself is also known as the , though this similarity does not hold in Japanese.
* Alpha Pokémon are guaranteed to have 31 in at least 3 of their stats, a trait that and Mythical Pokémon have also had since Generation VI.
* Alpha Pokémon have a slightly different music track in battle. If the player starts a battle with an alpha Pokémon and one or more non-alpha Pokémon at the same time, then catches or defeats the alpha Pokémon, the music will transition back into the standard wild battle track.
===Origin===
Alpha Pokémon might be based on the concept of in biology. Amongst animal groups, an alpha is a member of the species that has a higher rank in the group's hierarchy, contrary to the beta members who are the more submissive ones. Alpha animals often employ aggression tactics to assert dominance and leadership over their specific groups. This concept may be seen in gameplay, where alpha Pokémon display an aggressive disposition even when members of said species typically would not. They also serve as leaders of the pack, as alpha Pokémon are regularly found in places where unevolved members of their species gather, and even show signs of territorialism, as some alpha Pokémon tend to come to the aid of the lesser members when alerted. Their Japanese name "boss" seems to reinforce this idea of hierarchical leadership.
==In other languages==
Alpha Pokémon
Wild Might
Terrible Might
==Related articles==
* Pokémon of Myth
* Legendary Pokémon
* Giant Pokémon
Category:Pokémon Legends: Arceus
Category:Variant Pokémon
Category:Giant Pokémon
de:Elite-Pokémon
es:Pokémon alfa
fr:Pokémon Baron
it:Pokémon alfa
ja:オヤブン
zh:头目