Pokemon Legends: Arceus is set in olden times in the Pokemon world when it was rare to find harmony between people and Pokemon. Set in Hisui, modern-day Sinnoh, you will join the Galaxy Expedition Team (Galaxy Team for short) as a member of the Survey Corps stationed in Jubilife Village. You will be tasked to meet every Hisui Pokemon species to complete the region’s first-ever Pokédex.
In the game, there are Pokemon who appear larger than their regular counterparts with glowing red eyes, which means they are filled with Wild Might, which increases all of their stats and reduces the damage they receive from status conditions, and increased combat capabilities that are found all over the Hisui region. These Pokemon are called Alpha Pokemon.
This guide will teach us where to find an Alpha Hisuian Qwilfish!
Alpha Pokemon
The Alpha Pokemon will always be at a higher level than their regular counterparts. They will always be aggressive once they notice the player (except for Mantyke and Mantine) and will never run away (except for when the type of Alpha Pokemon appears during a certain time of day or if a Space-Time Distortion appears around them). Alpha Pokemon will roar and release a shockwave once they notice the player, and if the player is close enough, the player may get staggered and get knocked to the ground for a short while.
The player will be able to catch Alpha Pokemon, regardless of the Alpha Pokemon’s level, by battling with it and then eventually throwing a Poke Ball. The player, however, can catch Alpha Pokemon without battling by sneaking around the Alpha Pokemon in the tall grass or using stealth items and then throwing a Poke Ball. However, the player cannot do this if the player’s current obedience level is significantly lower than the Alpha Pokemon’s level.
Additionally, suppose the player has a hard time catching an Alpha Pokemon. In that case, the player can increase the catch rate of catching an Alpha Pokemon by raising the player’s Star Rank (the player’s Survey Corps rank), which can be done by completing Research Tasks and talking to Professor Laventon in any of the Base Camps.
Three types of Alpha Pokemon can be found in the game: fixed Alpha Pokemon that will always spawn and can be found in certain areas of the game and will always be at a fixed level; random Alpha Pokemon, which may only appear once the player has quelled the area’s frenzied Noble Pokemon, and Alpha Pokemon in Massive Mass Outbreaks which can appear as a second wave in the same location as the first wave.
As the other two are random, we will discuss fixed Alpha Pokemon, specifically an Alpha Hisuian Qwilfish.
Alpha Hisuian Qwilfish
Hisuian Qwilfish is a Dark Poison type Balloon Pokemon with a round body that looks like that of a fish, the upper half of its body has black color. Its lower half has a pale yellow color, spikes around its body with purple tips on the spikes on its upper half except for the two spikes above its eyes, a pair of eyes with small black pupils with purple lines underneath, a small mouth with purple lips, and a flat tail with a black outline, pale yellow insides, and a black marking in the middle that looks like a small letter “q.” According to its Pokedex entry in the game, fishermen hate the Hisuian Qwilfish because it sprays poison from its spines and gets everywhere. Additionally, a different form of Qwilfish can be found in other regions.
An Alpha Hisuian Qwilfish can be found in the waters east of Islespy Shore (north of Veilstone Cape or west of Firespit Island) in the Cobalt Coastlands and can be found here at all times of the day and in every weather condition. The Alpha Hisuian Qwilfish that can be found in this location is a Level 55 Pokemon.
It is recommended to sneak to the back of the Alpha Pokemon, using the tall grass or stealth items like Smoke Bombs, and throw the player’s Pokemon or Poke Ball on its back to catch it unawares, which assures that the player moves first in battle.
If you plan on distracting it with food before catching it, it is worth mentioning that Hisuian Qwilfish’s preferred foods are Hearty Grains and Plump Beans.
Suppose you plan on battling an Hisuian Qwilfish first before catching it. In that case, it is worth noting that, as mentioned, Hisuian Qwilfish is a Dark and Poison-type Pokemon which means it has a weakness to Ground-type moves (super effective), a resistance to Dark-type, Ghost-type, Grass-type, and Poison-type moves (not very effective), and an immunity to Psychic-type moves (no effect).
Aside from the Alpha Hisuian Qwilfish that can be found in the Cobalt Coastlands, the regular, non-alpha, Hisuian Qwilfish can also be found in the Obsidian Fieldlands (in the waters around the Ramana’s Island) and in other parts of the Cobalt Coastlands (in Tranquility Cove, in Lunker’s Lair, in the waters southeast of Hideaway Bay, and in Tombolo Walk) and Hisuian Qwilfish can be found here at all times of the day and in every weather condition. Aside from that, Hisuian Qwilfish can also be found in Massive Mass Outbreaks in the Cobalt Coastlands.
Now that the player has an Alpha Hisuian Qwilfish, the player can try to use the Alpha Hisuian Qwilfish to complete other requests, missions, or Arceus’ task for the player, which is to catch ‘em all!
