Is there a reason why I can't hit this roaming Articuno or am I just unlucky?

Question

I've tried about 15 times to land any hit on the roaming articuno in Platinum but every time it flees before I can attack. The other two birds weren't any issue, so is this an intentional game aspect or am I incredibly unlucky?

Comments

It's most likely because the Articuno is faster than your Pokemon. Roaming Pokemon in gen 4 flee with 0 priority, so it will flee first if it's faster.

Answer 1

Articuno outspeeds your Pokémon, so it’s able to go first. In this case, it flees.

Try levelling up your Pokémon some more or lead with a Pokémon with high speed. You could also use priority moves to get around this.

Source: experience

Hope I helped!

Comments

I suspected that, but it seemed weird that I outsped the other two birds and not this one, since Articuno has a lower base speed. Could be crazy ivs/natures though. Thank you :)

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You can try catching all 3 birds and comparing what their speeds are immediately after catching them.