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Pokémon Legends: Arceus

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What are Massive Mass Outbreaks?

By
Vincent Lau

This is a guide for Massive Mass Outbreaks in the “Daybreak” DLC for Pokémon Legends: "Arceus" IconArceus (PLA).

As their name suggests, Massive Mass Outbreaks are Mass Outbreaks but on a far bigger scale. When one of these occurs, around a dozen outbreaks will appear simultaneously.

How to Trigger Massive Mass Outbreaks

(1 of 2) Ress will inform you when a Massive Mass Outbreak is happening.

Ress will inform you when a Massive Mass Outbreak is happening. (left), They will appear as a question mark icon on the world map. (right)

These special Mass Outbreaks will only start appearing after accepting Request 96, which is only available during the postgame and after downloading the latest software update (1.1.0 or higher).

Just like regular Mass Outbreaks, each time you return to Jubilife Village there’s a chance that a Massive Mass Outbreak will occur in one or more regions. Therefore, you can simply keep leaving and returning to the village until one appears.

How Massive Mass Outbreaks Work

(1 of 2) To begin with, all of the individual outbreaks are unknown.

To begin with, all of the individual outbreaks are unknown. (left), But if you approach each outbreak or give Mai’s Munchlax berries, you can reveal the outbreaks. (right)

In contrast to normal Mass Outbreaks, you cannot see what Pokémon appear in each individual outbreak–at the beginning anyway. On the map, each outbreak will show up as a question mark icon. To learn what Pokémon’s in the outbreak, you must physically be near the outbreak.

(1 of 2) A message will routinely appear, roughly indicating how much time is left.

A message will routinely appear, roughly indicating how much time is left. (left), Evolved versions can spawn, such as Hisuian Decidueye in a Dartrix outbreak. (right)

Another key difference: there is a hard time limit for the Massive Mass Outbreak. When the rainstorm or snowstorm ends, all inactive outbreaks will vanish and (if you’re at one) the active outbreak will stop spawning new Pokémon. From time to time, there will be a message along the top of the screen indicating roughly how much time is left.

Unlike regular outbreaks, evolved versions of the Pokémon can also spawn. Eg. "Dartrix" IconDartrix in a "Rowlet" IconRowlet outbreak. Additionally, after clearing out an individual outbreak, there’s a small chance that a second wave will spawn in the same location. This second wave will feature either evolved versions of the first wave or all alphas.

(1 of 4) A shiny star does NOT indicate that shiny Pokémon are more likely.

Finally, not all outbreaks are equal. You may notice some outbreaks have a glowing border and an icon next to it–these are special outbreaks.

  • A star icon means that outbreak will always have a second wave. As mentioned above, the second wave may include evolved versions of the original wave or all alphas.
  • A berry icon means that you can acquire Aguav Berries from that outbreak. These can be given to Mai’s Munchlax to reveal all of the outbreak Pokémon on the map. So you don’t need to guess.

Benefits of Massive Mass Outbreaks

The most obvious benefit of Massive Mass Outbreaks is that it’s easier to encounter certain rare Pokémon–and alpha versions of them. For example, the Hisuian starter Pokémon (Rowlet, "Cyndaquil" IconCyndaquil and "Oshawott" IconOshawott) are fairly common during Massive Mass Outbreaks.

(1 of 2) If a second wave spawns, there’s a chance they will be all alphas.

If a second wave spawns, there’s a chance they will be all alphas. (left), The shiny rate in Massive Mass Outbreaks is significantly higher than normal, but half of a regular Mass Outbreak. (right)

Regarding alphas, as mentioned, some outbreaks (with a shiny star icon) have a guaranteed chance of featuring a second wave–and this second wave may be all alphas. Therefore, using our previous example, you could be lucky and find an outbreak with all alpha Rowlets.

Lastly, the shiny rate during Massive Mass Outbreaks is much higher than normal, but lower than regular Mass Outbreaks: 1 in 315 versus 1 in 158 (not counting boosts from the Shiny Charm or Research Task progress). Overall, the trade off is generally better, since you can encounter a wider selection of Pokémon. However, if your favorite Pokémon appears in a normal Mass Outbreak, you should go there instead.

(Numerical data via @Sibuna_Switch)

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Guide Information
  • Publisher
    Nintendo
  • Platforms,
    Switch
  • Genre
    Action RPG
  • Guide Release
    10 January 2022
  • Last Updated
    20 January 2024
    Version History
  • Guide Author

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