How to Catch Tornadus, Thundurus, & Landorus in Pokémon Black & White

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Quick steps for finding & catching these legendary pokémon

Co-authored by Devin McSween Reviewed by Ishrak

Last Updated: April 5, 2025 Fact Checked

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Catching Landorus

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Catching Tornadus and Thundurus

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In Pokémon Black and White, Landorus is a legendary Ground/Flying-type Pokémon that, along with Tornadus and Thundurus, is a part of the Forces of Nature/Kami trio of legendary Pokémon. To capture Landorus, you have to have both Tornadus and Thundurus in your party and visit the Abundant Shrine. In this article, we’ll walk you through how to catch Landorus, as well as how to find and capture Tornadus and Thundurus. Read on to learn more!

Catching Landorus in Pokémon Black & White

Capture Tornadus in Black and Thundurus in White after defeating the final gym leader. Then, trade a friend with the opposite game to get the other legendary. Have both Tornadus and Thundurus in your party and go to the Abundant Shrine off Route 14. Then, interact with the shrine to make Landorus appear.

Section 1 of 2:

Catching Landorus

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1
Catch Tornadus in Pokémon Black and Thundurus in Pokémon White. To catch the legendary pokémon in your game, defeat all 8 gym leaders. Then, go to a route with a thunderstorm and encounter them in the grass. You can find a route with a thunderstorm by looking at the bulletin board at a route gate and seeing which route there is a thunderstorm at.^{[1]
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- Tornadus and Thundurus run away when you encounter them, so have a pokémon with Mean Look to prevent them from running away.
- For a detailed guide on how to catch Tornadus and Thundurus, check out the section below!
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Trade Tornadus to Pokémon White or Thundurus to Pokémon Black. Tornadus is only available in Pokémon Black and Thundurus is only in Pokémon White. So, you have to trade with someone who has the opposite game to get the other legendary. Trade by going to the top floor of a Pokémon Center and talking to one of the women there to enter the Union Room.^{[2]
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- Note: You have to do a local trade, as Wi-Fi trades are no longer supported in Pokémon Black and White. Just be in the same room as the friend you’re trading with before entering the Union Room.
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Once you’ve traded with your friend and have both Tornadus and Thundurus in your game, ensure they’re both in your party. Landorus only appears when both of the legendaries are with you.^{[3]
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Go to the Abundant Shrine off of Route 14. Enter Route 14 and go down the 2 flights of stairs. Then, head north and use Surf on the river. Go up the waterfall and hop onto the cliff to the left of the river. Go to the left-hand side of the cliff and head down the waterfall. Then, hop onto the land on the left and head inside the forest.^{[4]
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- Make sure you have a Pokémon in your party that knows Surf and Waterfall.
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Go up to the shrine and interact with it to encounter Landorus. Find the shrine toward the left-hand side of the map. Simply press A to interact with it and Landorus will appear. Then, talk to him to start the battle and catch him.^{[5]
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- Stock up on Ultra Balls (or Dusk Balls if you’re catching Landorus at night) before you start the encounter. Landorus is difficult to catch, so it might take quite a few pokéballs before you get him!
- Landorus is at level 70, so make sure you have a high-level pokémon that can fight him.
- Weaken Landorus to make him easier to catch. Landorus is a Ground and Flying-type, so aim to use Ice moves, which are super effective against both types.
- If you accidentally defeat Landorus before catching him, he will reappear again after you beat the Elite 4 and Champion.

Section 2 of 2:

Catching Tornadus and Thundurus

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After defeating Drayden (Black) or Iris (White) in Opelucid City, enter the gate that connects to Route 10. The female gatekeeper will stop you to tell you about a large storm on Route 7.^{[6]
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When you walk by the house, an old woman will come out and invite you inside. Then, she’ll tell you about Tornadus (Black) or Thundurus (White). After she stops talking, exit the house. Tornadus or Thundurus will briefly appear and then run away again.^{[7]
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Enter and exit a route until it’s storming on the route. Tornadus or Thundurus are roaming legendary pokémon that randomly appear on certain routes, causing them to storm. Depending on the time of day, walk back and forth between one of these routes until you see that it’s storming.^{[8]
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- Day: Tornadus and Thundurus only appear on routes 4, 5, and 16.
  - Day is usually between 10am to 6pm, though it varies depending on the season.
- Night: Tornadus and Thundurus only appear on routes 12, 13, 14, and 15.
  - Night is usually between 12am to 5am.
- Morning: Tornadus and Thundurus only appear on routes 2, 3, and 18.
  - Morning is usually 5am to 10am.
- Another way to find Tornadus or Thundurus is to check the bulletin board inside a route gate. It’ll notify you that a certain route has stormy weather, which means Tornadus or Thundurus is on that route.
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Head into the tall grass to encounter Tornadus or Thundurus. Tornadus and Thundurus will appear like normal wild pokémon when you walk through the tall grass. Other wild pokémon can appear, so just run away from any battles until you find Tornadus or Thundurus.^{[9]
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- Use a repel to prevent other wild pokémon from appearing. Just make sure your lead pokémon is under level 40 so you don’t repel Tornadus or Thundurus, too.
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Use Mean Look to keep the pokémon from running away. Tornadus and Thundurus will flee on their first move, making you have to search for them again. Simply use Mean Look on your first turn (before Tornadus or Thundurus) to prevent them from fleeing the battle.^{[10]
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- Pokémon that can learn Mean Look: Patrat/Watchog, Yamask/Cofagrigus
- Make sure your pokémon has a high speed stat to help ensure that it goes first. To increase your pokémon’s speed, give it X-Speed or the Quick Claw item.
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Lower the pokémon’s HP and inflict a status condition. To make Tornadus or Thundurus easier to catch, use attack moves to lower their HP to the red zone. Then, put them to sleep or paralyze them—this also helps increase your odds of catching them.^{[11]
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- Tornadus and Thundurus are at level 40, so make sure you have a pokémon that’s at a similar level.
- If Tornadus or Thundurus manages to run away, their HP and status condition will be the same when you encounter them again.
- To quickly lower Tornadus or Thundurus’ HP use the move False Swipe. This move always lowers a pokémon’s HP to 1.
  - Pokémon that can learn False Swipe: Leavanny, Axew/Fraxure/Haxorus
- Pokémon that can learn sleep moves: Patrat/Watchog, Foongus/Amoonguss, Munna, Sigilyph, Petilil (White only)
- Pokémon that can learn paralysis moves: Cottonee (Black only), Petilil (White only), Blitzle, Joltik/Galvantula, Tynamo/Eelektrik
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Throw Ultra or Dusk balls to catch Tornadus or Thundurus. If you’re battling Tornadus or Thundurus during the day, use Ultra Balls, as they have a 2x bonus catch rate.^{[12]
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Research source} If you’re battling Tornadus or Thundurus at night, use Dusk Balls for an extra boost—they have a 3.5x bonus catch rate.^{[13]
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- Alternatively, use a Quick Ball as soon as you start the battle with Tornadus or Thundurus. Quick Balls have a 5x bonus catch rate if you use one on your first turn of the encounter.^{[14]
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- Another option is to use the Master Ball, since Tornadus and Thundurus are the only roaming legendaries in the game (and thus more difficult to catch).
- It may take a few tries to catch Tornadus or Thundurus—like all legendary pokémon, they have a lower capture rate. If they manage to run away, simply find the stormy route again and run into the tall grass to encounter them.

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How do I get Tornadus?

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To catch Tornadus, first defeat the eighth Gym Leader and visit the tunnel north of Opelucid City. Afterward, go to the house east of Celestial Tower, where an old woman will invite you inside and tell you about Thundurus and Landorus. Upon exiting, head east to encounter Tornadus in Pokémon Black (or Thundurus in Pokémon White); it will flee after one turn but retain its health and status conditions. You can then track its location by checking various routes in the Unova region for storm reports.

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How do I catch Landorus in Pokemon White?

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You must first catch Landorus in Pokémon Black. Then, trade it to your Pokémon White game using another Nintendo DS console.

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Tips

Have Pokémon with moves that inflict status effects such as Sleep and Paralysis. Status effects will make it easier to catch them.

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Save before battling Landorus and Tornadus or Thundurus. If you accidentally defeat them or run out of Poké Balls, you can restart the game and try again.

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Stock up on Timer Balls, too. Timer Balls are useful if the battle goes on for a long time.

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