How to Catch Suicune in Pokémon Crystal

Last Updated: August 8, 2019

Suicune is a legendary Water-type Pokémon that is available in Crystal after you beat certain portions of the game. Suicune can be difficult to capture, and often puts up quite a fight. With the right team, however, you can make quick work of it. See Step 1 below and you'll have Suicune fighting for your team in no time.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Triggering events

1
Release Suicune into the wild. In order to make Suicine available for capture, you will need to trigger certain events in the game. Only after triggering these events will you be able to go to Tin Tower and attempt to capture the legendary Pokémon for yourself.
- Visit the Burned Tower in Ecruteak City and talk to Eusine.
- Fall down the hole after battling your Rival, who will make a rude comment about you falling down the hole.
- Walk onto the platform to awaken the three Legendary Pokémon.
- Surf to Cianwood City to catch a glimpse of Suicune.
- After beating Pryce at Mahogany town, go beat Team Rocket at the Johto Radio Tower.
- Return to Ecruteak City and visit the Tin Tower. The guard will allow you to pass.^{[1]
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2
Stock up on essential items. Before battling Suicune, you'll want to ensure that you have enough items to keep you alive for a long fight. Grab lots of Hyper Potions, and as many Ultra Balls as you can afford (it is recommended that you have anywhere from 30-50 Balls).

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3
Assemble the team. You can make quick work of Suicine with the right team. Since you don't want to knock Suicune out, but you want to get it as weak as possible, one of the moves you'll want to have on your Pokémon is False Swipe. Put a high-level Scyther or Scizor in your party for this role.
- You'll also want someone to put Suicune to sleep with a move like Hypnosis. Gengar or Haunter may be good choices for this role.
4
Save your game. Immediately before fighting Suicune, make sure that your game is saved. This will make it easy to retry in case you accidentally knock it out or your party gets wiped out.
5
Start the battle. As soon as the fight starts, put Suicune to sleep. Once Suicune is asleep, switch to your Scyther or Scizor and start using False Swipe. False Swipe will always leave the opponent with at least one HP, so continue using it until Suicune has only one hit point left.
- If Suicune wakes up at any point, switch back to Haunter/Gengar and use Hypnosis again.
6
Start throwing Poké Balls. Now that Suicune only has one hit point left, it's time to start chucking Poké Balls at it. Use any ball––Ultra, Master, Great, Poke, Fast, and Lure Balls all work. This can take a really long time, so be prepared to keep throwing balls. Make sure that Suicune is asleep, as this will make it much easier to catch.^{[2]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Master Ball

1
Start the battle at Tin Tower. Do this after you get the Master Ball from Professor Elm. You don't need to battle or weaken it.
2
Use the Master Ball. The Master Ball cannot fail! You have Suicune.

Community Q&A

Question

Will I be able to Catch Suicune again if I lose the battle or is it gone forever?

Guardian Diancie

Community Answer

It will be gone forever. Save the game before having any encounter w/ legendaries.
Question

If a rare pokemon dies, can I still catch it?

Community Answer

No. Legendaries only spawn once. You either have to soft reset if you just killed a legendary, or reset completely if you've already saved after you accidentally killed it.
Question

Where do I enter the battle for the first time with Suicune?

Community Answer

You battle it in the tin tower after beating Pyrce. More details are in the guide above.