What Pokemon team setup is good for catching legendaries?

Question

What Pokemon in combination works together well to catch most legendaries? I know smeargle is good because of him being able to learn spore and false swipe and there are other good false swipe Pokemon too but I want a team that can do this efficiently.

Comments

Smogon unfortunately doesn't have an XY legendary guide, so you can try reading the next closest thing. https://www.smogon.com/ingame/guides/cap-bw2

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You could use the classic method: Lowering the foe's HP to the red zone and then throwing Ultra Balls until it gets caught.

"It's not very effective" but it's fun to do!

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I use a parasect with False Swipe, Spore, and Substitute, plus a generic damage-dealing move. It works pretty well

Answer 1

You don't need a team to efficiently catch legendary Pokemon, one Pokemon will suffice. But there are some key things that will make catching them easier. Hopefully my answer can help with your situation. Note that these are all my opinion and not facts. This is based strictly on my experience. This is going to be a long answer. One thing that will help catching legendaries easier is by having a single Pokemon for the job. As mentioned before you don't need a while team. That one dedicated Pokemon is your choice. Yes Smeargle is a good choice due to the fact that it can learn certain (if not all) moved due to Sketch. I personally prefer a Pokemon with stats and moves that can support itself. By that I mean a Pokemon with good stats, recover options, status options, and resistance to the type of legendary you're trying to catch. Obviously if you're trying to catch Moltres you don't want to use a grass type, that would be pointless (but hats off to you if you do it successfully.) Another thing to note is that having that certain Pokemon level be higher than the legendary Pokemon you're trying to catch is extremely helpful. Again the Pokemon to use is up to you. Personally I use a LV. 100 Jolteon with Wish,Subsitute, T-Wave, and Thunderbolt. Any Pokemon that can effectively use False Swipe and a status move works as well. Pokeballs are just as important when it comes to catching. Although Ultra Balls work (and you should definitely bring many of them) there is another option that is great as well, that option being Timer Balls. Timer Balls have a higher catch rate the longer the battle, here's the kicker too, it's gonna be a long battle. Because you'll be whittling that monster's HP down and that takes time. But as far as suggestions go:
-Jolteon (as mentioned before, also has good speed)
- Toxic Stall Umbreon (great defense, but time limited due to Toxic)
- Wish/ Pixilate Slyveon (great defense, good recovery, and great typing)
- Spore Breloom (with access to Spore, Drain Punch,has great recovery and good attack. Be aware that Pokemon do wake up so plan accordingly. Weak typing though so be careful)
-Any variation Smeargle (you already know that, but with some decent IV investments and the right moveset it's a great choice)
- Ageislash (learns False Swipe, King's Shield for protection, Shadow Sneak to get the assured first hit in)

Hopefully this helps or gives some basis for making it easier. Some of the listed Pokemon can double up as a competitive Pokemon if you're interested in that as well. Let me know if you need specifics (i.e. EV and IV investments, nature, full movesets, etc.)

Comments

A team often is necessary to catch a legendary Pokemon. Catching useful legendary Pokemon is extremely difficult without synchronize and "one under" Pokemon.
Also, Jolteon and Sylveon are bad because they can learn neither false swipe nor any sleep moves.

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Maybe I wasn't let in on it, but last I checked it didn't take 6 Pokemon to catch just one legendary, but again it could just be me. False Swipe is not a necessary move when capturing legendary Pokemon. Yes having it at one HP is helpful, but normal attacking moves are just as useful. Mainly due to the fact that False Swipe, being a Normal type move, can not affect some legendary Pokemon and resistant to others. Go try False Swiping a Landorus, let me know how that works. Sleep inducing moves aren't all that reliable. Mainly being that the Pokemon can wake up from it. This means that you'll have to keep using it over and over. This makes T-Wave an okay choice. Last I check ain't no legendary Pokemon shaking off paralysis unless it's got a berry or some move that clears status effects. Jolteon is good due to its high speed, it's ability to inflict paralysis, and it's got a good Sp.Atk stat for some damage. Slyveon is good due to it's impressive defensive capabilities, recovery options, and great typing. So maybe I left out Synchronize, but the question didn't say that it was for competitive purposes, so if the user is just catching them to have them, Then nature doesn't matter.

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Any Pokemon and any Poke ball can catch legendary Pokemon. This question asked what kind of team was GOOD for catching legendary Pokemon. The answers on this question should answer the question rather than listing random Pokemon that work but not work particularly well.
As for false swipe, no legendary Pokemon in XY resists it. Landorus is neither encounter-able in XY nor resists false swipe. Even though false swipe is weak, it's still the fastest way to get a legendary Pokemon's HP to exactly 1. Other attacks can almost never do this, and then the player would have to settle with a slightly higher HP and slightly lower catch chance and very likely waste more Poke balls. More importantly, all other attacks (except maybe super fang) CAN CAUSE FAINTING. One critical hit or simply a high damage roll makes the player start over.
As for sleep, I don't understand what's so bad about having to use it multiple times. Poke balls cost money. Move PP is completely free. Additionally, a paralyzed Pokemon is much more likely to run out of PP and struggle itself to death.
High speed, defensive capabilities, and great typing are irrelevant because overlevelling is always a thing, and recovery options are irrelevant because revival herbs are always a thing. High special attack is BAD because it can cause fainting.