Pokémon Legends: Arceus offers a massive world filled with grand adventures, but it seems like a lot of players haven’t had a chance to properly explore the game yet simply because they can’t solve an early sidequest that asks you to find a Pokémon with “Three leaves.”
The sidequest in question (“The Search of Bitter Leaves”) is given to you relatively early in the game following your encounter with Kleavor. Shinon asks you to collect some materials needed to make some medicine, which sounds pretty simple until you realize that finding one of the necessary ingredients requires you to capture the aforementioned Pokémon who is only identified by those three leaves the locals seem to associate them with.
While the game does a fairly good job of pointing you in the right direction from here, those who are not familiar with Arceus‘ full roster of Pokémon may have no idea which Pokémon they are supposed to be looking for in the first place. Even those who know exactly which Pokémon they are supposed to be looking for may struggle to figure out where they should go to find them.
Well, to answer that first question, this quest essentially asks you to find and catch a Petilil (number 93 on the Hisui Pokedex). As you’ve probably figured out, Petilil is most easily identified by the three leaves on the top of their head.
There are actually a couple of good places to find a Petilil at this point in the game, and they’re both located in Crimson Mirelands. Once you’re in that area, you’re going to want to head over to either Cottonsedge Prairie or Holm of Trials. Alternatively, you can just ride around Lake Valor for a while. There are usually more than a few Petilils hanging around that general area.
On that note, it’s worth pointing out that this quest is slightly easier to complete if you’ve already unlocked Basculegion. It’s not impossible to complete it without a mount, but you’ll certainly make things easier on yourself if you decide to explore this area with a little help from one of the game’s rideable Pokémon.
It shouldn’t take you too long to find a Petilil once you start roaming around those locations, but be sure to sneak up on it when you do spot one so that you don’t accidentally scare it off.
Once you spot a Petilil, you’ll simply need to catch it and eventually give it to the quest giver, but it’s worth noting that you will lose the Petilil you just caught after you’ve completed this quest. If you’re looking to also add a Petilil to your collection, be sure to catch more than one while you’re on the hunt. If you do happen to catch more than one, be sure to keep the more powerful one and then turn in the other to complete the quest.
Aside from any extra Pokémon you may decide to keep as part of this quest, your reward for completing “The Search of Bitter Leaves” will be three Fine Remedies and five Hopo Berries.