Feebas: The Bane and Beauty of Pokémon Hunting
Feebas. Its name does not inspire fear in trainers. Still, this fish is famous for the wrong reasons. Some say for the right reasons. Forget Legendaries for now. When it comes to rarity, Feebas often takes the crown, barring mythical creatures. It’s like finding a four-leaf clover in a vast field.
The Unlikely Hoenn “Magikarp”
Each generation has its weakfish. Magikarp is the classic flop, until it evolves into Gyarados. Hoenn enhanced this idea with Feebas. This fish looks a lot like Magikarp. It plays hide-and-seek in annoying ways. Pokémon often mirror past designs, but Feebas is a whole new level of complex capture.
Location, Location, Frustration: Finding Feebas’s Elusive Tiles
Now where do you even start? Feebas hides well; it’s in witness protection. Your hunting spots are Route 119 and Mt. Coronet. At these locations, Feebas spawns in tiny numbers of specific water tiles. Hidden tiles within vast water bodies make finding Feebas feel nearly impossible.
Route 119 has 400 water tiles. Among these, Feebas decides to inhabit just 6. Yes, six. No flashing signs or helpful NPCs guide you. These tiles are random and change roughly every 45 minutes. In Mt. Coronet, only four tiles exist, shifting daily. You can expect the same frustration.
If you brave Mt. Coronet, bring Defog. Thick fog adds to the challenge of finding Feebas. Clear the fog and start looking for the right tiles. Remember Route 119 is also where you save the Weather Institute folks from Team Magma or Aqua. While saving them, try to find that rare fish.
Rod Choice and Encounter Rates: Don’t Get Your Hopes Up
Let’s talk about catching this slippery fish. You can use any fishing rod – Old Rod, Good Rod, or Super Rod. Unfortunately, none improve Feebas tile discovery rates. Feebas has a base encounter rate of around 1%. If you cast into a rippling tile, the rate goes to 5%. Not great odds, so be prepared for a long wait.
However, there’s a bit of hope. Once you find a tile with Feebas, its rate rises to 50%. So, once you’re in the right spot, you have a decent chance to hook it. The trick? Cast several times at each suspicious tile. Be persistent. Feebas is not shy once you find its spot.
The Shiny Mirage: Is a Sparkly Feebas Worth the Suffering?
For shiny hunters, there’s some good news. Feebas has a boosted shiny rate of about 1 in 64. This is better than usual odds. If you want a Shiny Milotic to showcase your skills and dedication, Feebas becomes a less daunting shiny hunt. Is it worth hours of searching for a slightly different-colored fish? That’s yours to decide, and maybe your therapist.
From Zero to Hero: Evolving Feebas into Milotic
You’ve caught a Feebas. Congrats! You’ve beaten odds that rival lottery winners. What to do now? Evolve it into Milotic! The evolution method isn’t straightforward. You have to max out Feebas’s Beauty stat and then level up. Pamtre berries help boost Beauty if you’re going old-school. You can also trade it holding a Prism Scale.
Pokémon GO changes things up. To evolve Feebas into Milotic, walk 20km with it as your Buddy Pokémon. That equals about 12.5 miles. You also need 100 Feebas candies to evolve it. After catching this rare creature, the grind continues. In Scarlet and Violet, you evolve Feebas with a Prism Scale, requiring battling Milotic in raids.
Feebas and Milotic: More Than Just Pretty Faces (or Fins)
Despite its rarity and uselessness, Feebas, or Milotic, has prestige. It is Wallace’s signature Pokémon. Cynthia, the Sinnoh Champion, also uses one. The anime portrays it as a Pokémon for skilled trainers. Gen 3 had powerful Pokémon, yet Milotic stood out. It’s visually striking and powerful, rewarding those who endure Feebas’s fishing ordeal. Feebas symbolizes persistence, a badge for trainers willing to face the absurd for elegance and power.
