Roaming Pokémon

Roaming Pokémon are a type of legendary Pokémon that, instead of remaining in one place as a special event, run around the region they appear in, seemingly randomly.

In addition to their changing of routes, something that happens every time the player enters or leaves a separate location, they also, on the first turn of battle, will attempt to flee. The only way to prevent this is to use a move such as Mean Look or have the Pokémon sent out have an ability such as Shadow Tag.

Most often, a trainer can use his or her Pokédex to check the ever-changing location of their target. However, in Sinnoh, the Pokétch serves this purpose so that the player has no need to change through a multitude of screens, as was the case in other regions.

Roaming Pokémon appear in every game released starting with Generation II.