There are two types of Pokémon players in this world. The first group plays the game normally, catches whatever shows up, and goes about their day. The second group looks at the game’s mechanics like a complicated spreadsheet and decides they’re going to bend probability into submission until a glowing, oversized psychic chocolate mouse appears in front of them. This guide is for the second group.
First, you need to get yourself the Mega Dimensions DLC and get to the point where you can get 4-Star & 5-Star Hyperspace Zones unlocked (Alolan Raichu appears only in 4-Star Zones from what we have found).
After you have gotten that far, the real process can begin, namely with a mystic hyperspace-glazed Sparkling Tanga donut from Ansha that contains two core perk bonuses. Alpha 3 & Sparkling 3 (Psychic). In order to roll a donut with the correct two bonuses, you’ll need to sacrifice eight Hyperspace Tanga Berries to the RNG gods and prey they are merciful.
In practice, it could take nearly a week of attempts if the Psychic typing in particular refuses to cooperate like a stubborn vending machine that keeps giving you the wrong soda. But, if the RNG gods have blessed your journey, it could take significantly less time.
Once the donut finally rolls correctly, the real hunt begins.
Your next step is finding a 4-Star Electric-Type Hyperspace Zone where a normal Raichu is listed as a featured Pokémon. Enter the zone and check what spawns. If you’re lucky, Alolan Raichu will appear immediately. If not, don’t panic, this is normal. It can take several attempts before the tropical surfer mouse decides to show up instead of its more grounded Kantonian cousin.
When you enter the zone, look at the three objectives displayed. If one of them is “Catch a Shiny,” congratulations, you successfully rolled the correct setup. Because Sparkling Level 3 guarantees a shiny, the game is essentially announcing that a sparkly Psychic Pokémon exists somewhere in the Electric-Type zone waiting to be caught.
If “Catch a Shiny” does not appear, that means the game spawned the wrong Raichu variant and your carefully crafted donut is being wasted. At that point, the correct strategy is the timeless Pokémon tradition of hard resetting the game to a previous save by hitting X+B on the game’s main menu. You will need to do this until the proper spawn appears. Just hope it shows up as an Alpha and not a normal, pitiful, beta mouse.
Eventually, the conditions and the stars will all align. The zone loads, Alolan Raichu spawns, the shiny objective appears, and somewhere in that electric arena is the glowing Alpha Alolan Raichu you spent days manipulating reality to obtain.
To sum it up:
- Get the DLC.
- Grind until you unlock 4-Star & 5-Star Hyperspace Zones
- Obtain Eight Hyperspace Tanga Berries from 4-Star & 5-Star Zones
- Note that they ONLY drop from 4-Star & 5-Star Zones
- Roll a donut using 8 Hyperspace Tanga Berries.
- Keep re-rolling until you get Alpha 3 + Sparkling 3 (Psychic).
- Find a 4-Star Electric-Type Hyperspace Zone where Raichu is featured.
- Enter the zone and check if Alolan Raichu spawned.
- Look at the zone objectives:
- If “Catch a Shiny” appears, the setup worked (Sparkling 3 guarantees a shiny).
- If “Catch a Shiny” does NOT appear, Alolan Raichu did not spawn.
- Hard reset the game (X+B+UP at the Title screen)
- Re-enter the zone until the objective appears.
Once the “Catch a Shiny” objective appears, locate and catch the Shiny Alpha Alolan Raichu in the zone. And just like that, you’ll finally possess a shiny, oversized psychic surfer mouse.
Totally normal behavior.
