Spotting and Catching the Rarest Pokémon in Pokémon Go

It is hard to figure out how to get the rarest pokémon in Pokémon Go, and we are not just talking about legendary Pokémon either! Compared to other pokémon games like the classic Red, Pearl, and Shield or the Pokémon Unite, Pokémon Go was made to simulate the pokémon world in our reality. This simulation means that rare pokémon would not just pop out in random places. Instead, you have to know where they are and how to get them instead. Thankfully enough, we have this handy guide that lets you know more about these rare and special pokémon!

Also read: Tips and Tricks on Playing Pokemon Go

The Rarest Pokémon in Pokémon Go

First off, what do we mean when we say the “rarest pokémon” in Pokémon Go? Due to the way Niantic makes Pokémon Go work, it is actually hard to say which pokémon will be available at any time. This is especially true for legendary and mythical pokémon like Rayquaza, Mewtwo, and Jirachi that can only be gained through research or raids. Because of that, we will split this guide into a few general sections and give you advice on how to get these pokémon into your team.

You should take note that Pokémon Go is a complex game that also factors in your location during play. It means that the data we have here might not be entirely accurate by the time or at the place you are playing the game. We will, of course, do our best to update this guide as much as possible, so you should check back here from time to time to see what is new!

Legendary and Mythical Pokémon

Of course, the rarest pokémon in any pokémon game are the legendary and mythical Pokémon. These pokémon are rare not only in Pokémon lore, but are also rare in the games themselves. You can obtain these pokémon through two methods: as part of legendary raids or as rewards for field research quests. The pokémon offered usually change per month or during events and be unavailable until re-introduced in further events or rotations. The current “legendary” pokémon that have been introduced in Pokémon Go are the following:

• Articuno
• Moltres
• Zapdos
• Mewtwo
• Raikou
• Entei
• Suicune
• Lugia
• Ho-Oh
• Regirock
• Regice
• Registeel
• Kyogre
• Groudon
• Rayquaza
• Latios
• Latias
• Deoxys
• Uxie
• Mesprit
• Azelf
• Dialga
• Palkia
• Heatran
• Regigigas
• Giratina
• Cresselia
• Darkrai
• Terrakion
• Virizion
• Tornadus
• Thundurus
• Reshiram
• Zekrom
• Kyurem
• Landorus
• Genesect
• Xerneas
• Yveltal
• Zacian
• Zamazenta

Before trying to capture a legendary pokémon through “legendary raids,” you might want to take a look at our Pokémon Go Raids and Gym Battle Guide as well as our Pokémon Go Excellent Throw guide to know what to expect during these tough battles.

Mega and Special Evolutions

The next set of rare pokémon are the Mega and Special evolution pokémon. These pokémon only evolve through special items or “mega energy” to permanently or temporarily evolve into new forms. Similar to legendary pokémon, mega evolution pokémon are also raid and research exclusives due to mega energy only being available as rewards after Mega raids or research rewards.

Pokemon with Mega Evolutions

While there are 48 pokémon able to mega evolve in the main games, Pokémon Go only has these pokémon able to mega evolve as of writing:

• Venusaur
• Charizard
• Blastoise
• Pidgeot
• Beedrill
• Houndoom
• Gengar
• Abomasnow
• Ampharos
• Gyarados
• Manectric
• Lopunny
• Altaria
• Slowbro
• Absol
• Steelix

Pokemon with Special Evolutions

Pokémon with “special” evolutions need specific items or conditions to enable it to evolve. This is similar to Eevee’s Eevolutions that enable Eevee to evolve in many different ways. These evolutions include baby pokémon. The current special evolution pokémon and their requirements are as follows:

Other Special Evolutions

A Sinnoh Stone or an Unova Stone can also have several pokémon evolve with the use of candies. When using a Sinnoh Stone and 100 candies, the evolved pokémon are Ambipom, Dusknoir, Electivire, Gliscor, Gallade, Lickilicky, Magmortar, Mismagius, Honchkrow, Porygon-Z, Rhyperior, Roserade, Weavile, Frosslass (from female Snorunt), Mamoswine, Tangrowth, Togekiss, and Yanmega. Meanwhile, pokémon evolved using an Unova Stone and 50 candies are Eelektross (100 candies), Chandelure (100 candies), Cinccino, Musharna, Simisage, Simisear, and Simipour.

Regional or Location Locked Pokémon

Since pokemon like Mr. Mime are quite common in specific regions, this means that some of the rarest pokémon in Pokémon Go are regional or location-locked to specific places in the world. These pokémon are either entirely absent or extremely rare outside their specified locations. The location-locked pokémon are separated into continent-locked pokémon and region-locked pokémon. These locations are the following:

Rarest Pokémon of Pokémon Go in The Americas

• Tauros (North America)
• Heracross (Southern USA and South America)
• Maractus (Southern USA and South America)
• Throh (North and South America, and Africa)
• Panpour (North and South America)
• Pachirisu (Alaska, Canada and Russia)
• Carnivine (Florida and South Carolina)
• Bouffalant (New York City and nearby areas)

Rarest Pokémon of Pokémon Go in Europe

• Mr. Mime (Europe)
• Mr. Mime Jr. (Europe)
• Sawk (Europe, Asia, Middle East, and Oceania)
• Tropius (Southern Spain and Africa)
• Pansear (Europe, Africa, India, Middle East)
• Sigilyph (Albania, Egypt, Greece, Israel)
• Klefki (France and nearby areas)

Rarest Pokémon of Pokémon Go in Other Areas

• Pansage (Asia-Pacific)
• Corsola (Found roughly around the equator)
• Chatot (Southern Hemisphere)
• Heatmor (Southern Hemisphere)
• Durant (Southern Hemisphere)

There are also three legendary pokémon that you can find in the wild that are region locked. These pokémon are Uxie (Asia-Pacific), Mespirit (Europe, Middle East, Africa, and India), and Azelf (Americas and Greenland).

Event and Exclusive Pokémon

Some of the rarest pokémon in Pokemon Go are the seemingly one-time event or timed-exclusive pokémon. While there are usually legendary or mythical pokémon, there also some Galarian or Alolan form pokémon, costumed pokémon, and other seasonal pokémon included in these lock-outs. As they are tied to a past event or a season, the only way to get these pokémon is to either wait for an event that would feature them as wild pokémon, in raids, or as field research rewards. Another way to get these pokémon, especially the costumed ones, is to trade for them with willing pokémon trainers. Some of these pokémon include the following:

• Armored Mewtwo
• Holiday Delibird
• Ash Hat Pikachu
• Flying Fifth Anniversary Pikachu
• Meloetta Hat Pikachu
• Santa Hat Raichu
• Flower Crown Pichu
• Christmas Bells Stantler
• Top Hat Kirlia
• Galarian Mr. Mime
• Yamask

Rare Wild Pokémon

So, there is no event planned for the month that you can join; you do not have much luck trying to trade for the rarest pokémon in Pokémon Go, but you just want a rare pokémon to call your own – what do you do? The simplest answer to that is to find one in the wild! Besides the three region-locked legendary pokémon (Uxie, Mespirit, and Azelf), there is also a lot of rare wild pokémon in the world. It is impossible to make an exhaustive list of which pokémon are available in every location due to Niantic’s secretive management, but community-sourced lists on the Internet and Reddit have helped us make this small list of the rarest pokémon you can find in the wild!

• Axew
• Deino
• Gible
• Larvitar
• Dratini
• Bagon
• Shelmet
• Chimeco
• Tirtouga
• Archen
• Pikachu
• Bulbasaur
• Charmander
• Squirtle
• Chikorita
• Cyndaquil
• Totodile
• Lapras
• Unown
• Rhyhorn
• Electabuzz
• Voltorb
• Porygon
• Magmar

From what we can understand, the rarest pokémon in Pokémon Go in the wild are Dragon-type pokémon, starter pokémon from the main series games, fossil pokémon, pokémon that can mega evolve, and pokémon that have second evolutions. This trend of rare pokémon is probably due to the strength the final evolution of these pokémon display with Axew and Charmander having tremendous Combat Power (CP) in their final forms of Haxorus and Mega Charizard (X or Y) respectively.

Shiny Wild Pokémon

Wild pokémon are not the extent of the rarest pokémon in Pokémon Go, though, since you can also find “shiny” variations of those pokémon. These shiny pokémon are virtually the same as their normal counterparts, except they have a different color scheme than usual. The rates of finding these shiny pokémon usually go up during events and community days, so keep a lookout for these insanely rare creatures!

What Next?

We have gone over ways you can get some of the rarest pokémon in Pokémon Go, but there is one thing we need to mention — eggs! You can carry up to nine of these in your bag after you find some in PokéStops or are given some from trades and defeated Team Go Rocket leaders.

While you could only guess what pokémon is hidden inside your egg before the April 8, 2021 update, that isn’t the case anymore. You can figure out what pokémon your egg will hatch into by tapping your egg. Even if most of these pokémon are not rare, you may be lucky enough to get an Axew, a Larvitar, or even a region-locked Tauros!