Pokemon Go Generation 3 | Legendaries, Halloween, gen 3 Pokémon available now

Hannah Dwan
Updated
Pokemon Go Egg
Pokemon Go Egg

With each new Pokémon game, the roster of Pokémon increases. For the handheld console games, they're up to over 800 (although the exact number differs on your definition, as some Pokémon are variations on each other, one is completely made up of programming code and so whether you want to include that is another matter entirely). In Pokémon Go, they're playing catch up: only the first two generations are in-game, just 251. It looks like Halloween is going to be when generation 3 first arrives in Pokémon Go, and that's just later this month, so now's when to get to grips with the next generation of Pokémon.

When is generation 3 coming to Pokémon Go?

Now! Sort of. The majority of the second generation's Pokémon became available on February 17 2017 and the game initially released on July 6, 2016: if you want to read deeply into that, we're approaching the right time frame for the next generation of Pokémon, and we're seeing the first few coming out soon.

The 2017 Halloween event is bringing along Sableye, Shuppet, Banette, Duskull, and Dusclops to Pokémon Go, spooky Ghost types that are coming out for Halloween. It looks like they're the only ones joining the game, for now, but the other Pokémon are already mostly in-game.

GAME_MASTER, one of the key files in the app for Pokémon data, has a full list of gen 3 Pokémon in there, with stat numbers and more already available. The only thing missing is exact moves. Hosted on StrategyWiki, we can see all the Pokémon, including legendaries, and some stats.

Interesting things to note are that Whismur only takes 12 candies to evolve, and Feebas only requires 100, despite people expecting to need 400.

Also interesting is Slaking, one of the new gen 3 Pokémon. It has a whopping 319 attack in the GAME_MASTER file, the highest of any Pokémon in-game. Either that's a placeholder, or Slaking is going to be an incredibly strong Pokémon that you'll want to catch.

The release date for other gen 3 Pokémon isn't confirmed, but it looks like we'll see a staggered release, given the official Halloween 2017 announcement said that "the rest of the Pokémon first seen in the Pokémon Ruby and Pokémon Sapphire video games will gradually arrive starting as early as December!"

What legendary Pokémon are in generation 3?

There are 10 legendary Pokémon in gen 3, although one has four distinct forms that may technically increase this number in Pokémon Go. The flagship legendary Pokémon for this gen are Kyogre, a water type, Groudon, a ground type, and Rayquaza, a dragon/flying type. They come from Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, and the Hoenn region.

The other legendary Pokémon from this generation are:

  • Regirock - Rock type

  • Regice - Ice type

  • Registeel - Steel type (these Pokémon are a set, akin to the Legendary Dogs)

  • Latias - Dragon/Psychic

  • Latios - Dragon/Psychic (these two are twins, expect them to release together)

  • Jirachi - Steel/Psychic

  • Deoxys - Psychic

Pokemon Go - Credit: Remko De Waal
Credit: Remko De Waal

Deoxys is the one that has multiple forms (technically referred to as Formes). By default, it's in the normal form, but it also as an attack form, a defense form, and a speed form, changing is stats and moves. In some games, Deoxys' form could be changed at will in certain locations, but originally, it was stuck to one form. 

Whether each form is region-specific, random, or can be changed by a player is unclear, and we can probably expect Deoxys to be one of the last legendary Pokémon from gen 3 released. 

What are the strongest generation 3 Pokémon?

This all depends on exactly how the Pokémon are translated to Pokémon Go, but going off the competitive scene and stats, here's what we expect the top tier Pokémon to be:

  • Salamence - Dragon/Flying (evolution of Bagon/Shelgon)

  • Metagross - Steel/Psychic (evolution of Beldum/Metang)

  • Slaking - Normal (evolution of Slakoth/Vigoroth)

  • Milotic - Water (evolution of Feebas)

  • Flygon - Ground/Dragon (evolution of Trapinch/Vibrava)

None of those are legendary, so expect them to be available soon, possibly as part of the collection released by the end of 2017. If you're looking to play competitively, it's likely these will be the Pokémon to rush for.

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When are the generation 3 raids?

We don't know! We can probably expect the gen 2 legendaries to all be available by the time any gen 3 legendary raids begin, so there's probably some months between gen 3's release and legendary raids starting up. It's unclear if raids for your common Pokémon from gen 3 will start as soon as gen 3 Pokémon become available, or if there will be a short break.