How to Catch Entei in Pokemon HeartGold

It was probably mind-blowing when you first encountered Entei back when you were a kid.

You’re playing Pokemon Gold, Silver, or Crystal for the first time, and then poof! You see the legendary dogs running away. 

Most people also randomly encountered them while running out on the field. That was a nice feeling to have back then, and they still reappear in Pokemon HeartGold. 

We all know that Pokemon HeartGold (with SoulSilver) is a remake of the Gen 2 games, and a lot of the mechanics are the same, which includes catching Entei. We’re here to teach and guide you on how to catch Entei in Pokemon HeartGold.

Other How-to guides to help you out:

• How To Increase A Pokemon’s Friendship
• When and How to Evolve Growlithe
• How to Get the Bike in Pokemon Emerald
• How to Increase Friendship in Pokemon Platinum

Story Progression

In order to catch Entei, you need to trigger the story first. You must arrive at Ecruteak City and head to the Burned Tower. 

Once you reach the area where the Legendary dogs are, a scene will play where they will individually run away.

After this scene, you can randomly start encountering Raikou and Entei in the wild. Suicune is the only one you can fight in a fixed encounter. 

Now that Entei is out, you still can’t catch it right away without the proper preparation.

How to Catch Entei in Pokemon HeartGold?

The beauty of hunting down Entei in Pokemon HeartGold is that you will know where Entei will spawn. That’s right, all you need to do is check the map on your Pokegear. 

You can see where Entei is, but there’s a bit of a challenge. Let’s say Entei is on Route 35 and you’re at Azalea Town. The closest areas you can fly to are Violet City and Goldenrod City.

Unfortunately, when you use Fly, Entei’s location will always change. It will always do that, so flying is not an option unless you use this tip.

Try flying to Violet City over and over again. Entei may spawn on Routes 30, 31, 32, 36, and 37. When that happens, just rush through the area where it is.

Entei will not disappear if you just make it on foot and not by using Fly. However, it will disappear after a period of time.

Be sure to hurry, and if you are trying to encounter it in the area, check if it is still there after a few minutes. 

Maybe it already disappeared somewhere else, so just use the same trick again, which is flying back to Violet City until Entei spawns nearby.

Tips for Catching Entei

Stock Up on Ultra Balls and Repels

Ultra Balls are the number one choice for people hunting Entei. They’re affordable and effective compared to other Poke Balls. 

Repels will come in a bit later, but it doesn’t matter which one; stock up on them. Fast Balls are also good if Entei is faster than your starting Pokemon, and Dusk Balls if it’s nighttime.

Pokemon With Mean Look and False Swipe

You need a Pokemon that has False Swipe and Mean Look if you want to battle and catch Entei. 

False Swipe is a move that deals damage but doesn’t knock out the enemy Pokemon. You will need that if you don’t want to kill Entei and keep its HP at 1.

Mean Look is important because Entei will always use Roar on the first turn. Roar will basically make your Pokemon run away, thus ending the battle and making Entei escape. 

Mean Look stops the effect of Roar, but you need to keep applying it over and over again, since Entei can use it once the effect is gone.

Using the right status ailments

Whatever you do, do not hit Entei with Burn or Poison. You don’t want the damage over time to knock out Entei. 

You can settle for Sleep, Paralyze, or Freeze, provided you’re lucky enough to inflict them.

The Level 40 Pokemon trick

When hunting an Entei, use a Repel in the area. Put a level 40 Pokemon in front of your party. Start moving around, and Entei might pop up. 

Entei will always be level 40, so having a Pokemon up front that has a higher level will decrease its chance of popping up. A Pokemon less than level 40 can also work, if you don’t have one.

Save First (Always)

Always save first before you hunt Entei. The purpose is not so much to make it convenient but to save resources. 

Using the Pokegear map trick, you will always know where Entei is. Saving allows you to just load the game and have all of those resources back again, in case you failed to catch Entei.

Using Cheats for Entei Encounters

If you’re not against using some Pokemon HeartGold cheats, these are two of them that you can use to catch or obtain an Entei.

Disclaimer: Cheats are okay to use on emulators but should be avoided on original hardware or legit save files. They can cause glitches and freezing. Captured Pokemon using a cheat may have inaccurate IVs, moves, or catch behavior. Use cheats at your own risk.

Pokemon Modifier Cheat

This is a straightforward cheat that you can use by inputting it as the only option, which is an Action Replay code. 

Once the code is saved, just go into a wild Pokemon encounter, and it will be an Entei. The level of the Entei will depend on where you encountered it.

It will have the level of the Pokemon that spawn in the area. If you encountered it in areas where the levels are from level 5 to 8, then it would be that level. 

The standard catch rates and type of Poke Ball will still apply. We can’t confirm whether this Entei will run away or not. Based on our testing, they don’t run, but we can’t confirm.

52247D8C 582000C0
12247D8A 00004801
02247D8C E0021C39
02247D90 000000F4
D2000000 00000000

Master Ball Cheat

If you don’t want to modify and encounter an Entei, you can use the Master Ball cheat. This cheat allows you to unlock all Poke Balls in the game. 

The Master Ball is included, so you can use that to catch an Entei. This process will still require you to wait for the encounter, but some people like that. 

You don’t have to worry about Entei running away now that you have a ton of Master Balls to catch it.

To use the code, put it on the emulator as an Action Replay code. Once the code is saved, press the L and R buttons, open your Bag, and check the inventory to see all the Poke Balls available.

94000130 FCFF0000
62111880 00000000
B2111880 00000000
D5000000 00000384
C0000000 00000017
D7000000 00000D16
DC000000 00000002
D2000000 00000000
94000130 FCFF0000
62111880 00000000
B2111880 00000000
D5000000 00000001
C0000000 0000000F
D7000000 00000D14
D4000000 00000001
DC000000 00000002
D2000000 00000000
94000130 FCFF0000
62111880 00000000
B2111880 00000000
D5000000 000001EC
C0000000 00000007
D7000000 00000D54
D4000000 00000001
DC000000 00000002
D2000000 00000000

Frequesntly Asked Questions

In Closing

That’s all you need to know about how to catch Entei in Pokemon HeartGold. We could say that Entei is the most underrated among the three Legendary dogs. 

Suicune is always the frontrunner when it comes to popularity. Raikou is loved by speedrunners and is always being sought out.

Entei is just there, chilling and feeling left out. In fact, Entei is the last of the three to get its Paradox form, which is Gouging Fire. 

Anyway, do you like Entei? If you do, then this guide will help you get one legitimately or just cheat your way through.