Mobile Games
February 28, 2023
Zach Roberts
There are over 900 Pokémon available in Pokémon GO. Many of these are easy to get, but some are the rarest Pokémon. While a Pidgey isn’t terribly difficult to find, an Uxie is. Even more so, various forms of Pokémon can be rare, too.
Jangmo-o is extremely hard to get, but not impossible
Which Pokémon are rare in Pokémon GO?
- Salazzle is one of the rarest Pokémon in the game right now. Sadly, it cannot be found in the wild, nor can its base form Salandit. The only way to acquire it is to hatch a male Salandit and evolve to Salazzle. Female Salandits do not evolve. To make matters even worse, this Pokémon only comes from 12 km eggs, which only come from defeating Team Rocket Leaders.
- Scatterbug and its evolutions are hard to find, too. They cannot spawn in the wild. Rather, an encounter occurs when players save enough postcard stamps from a given region.
- Kecleon debuted recently. While it can theoretically spawn anywhere, you’d never know it. It hides on Pokéstops, so unless you are paying close attention, you might spin it and not realize it’s even there.
- Spiritomb was available for a Halloween event. Since then, it’s not returned to the wild, so most players don’t even have one. Meltan can spawn from the Let’s Go! boxes with Pokémon Home, but it otherwise cannot be found at all.
- Jangmo-o, and its subsequent evolutions, are very rare. It can be hatched from a 1o km egg, but is one of the rarest hatches. It hardly ever spawns in the wild, though. If you see one nearby, it is advised to go get it.
- Axew, which evolves into Fraxure and then Haxorus, suffers from the same rarity that Jangmo-o does. Krookodile does, too, and it doesn’t ever spawn in the wild.
- Noibat just had a community day, but it is otherwise almost impossible to get. It’s a rare hatch from 10 km eggs and it hardly ever pops up in the wild. Goomy didn’t have community day, but the same logic applies.
Additionally, costumed Pokémon (usually Pikachu, but others get costumes as well) only spawn during events, so they’re rare as well.
Regionals are among the rarest Pokémon in Pokémon GO
Regionals, since they can only spawn in various places on earth, are pretty rare for players who live elsewhere. Since the game is geographically locked (unless players spoof, which is frowned upon by Niantic), these can be impossible to find.
Here are the regional spawns available right now:
Generation I
- Tauros- North America
- Mr Mime- Europe
- Kangashkan- Oceania
- Farfetch’d- Asia
Generation II
- Heracross- Central/South America and Florida
- Corsola- Near the equator
Generation III
- Torkoal– India/South Asia
- Zangoose – Europe, Asia, and Australia
- Seviper – North America, South America, and Africa
- Solrock – North America, South America, and Africa
- Lunatone – Europe, Asia and Australia
- Relicanth – New Zealand
- Illumise – North America, South America, and Africa
- Volbeat – Europe, Asia, and Australia
- Tropius– Africa
Generation IV
- Pachirisu – Alaska, Canada and Russia
- Shellos – Blue variant to the east of the Meridian Line, Pink to the west in North America
- Chatot– Southern Hemisphere
- Carnivine– Southeast U.S
- Uxie– Asia-Pacific
- Mesprit-Europe, Middle-East, Africa, and India
- Azelf– North, South and Central America
- Mime Jr.– Europe
Generation V
- Panpour – North, South and Central America and Greenland
- Heatmor – Eastern hemisphere
- Durant – Western hemisphere
- Sigilyph – Egypt and Greece
- Throh– North America, South America, and Africa
- Sawk– Europe, Asia, and Oceania
- Basculin(Red Stripe) – Eastern Hemisphere
- Basculin(Blue Stripe) – Western Hemisphere
- Maractus– Central America, South America, and the Caribbean
- Bouffalant– New York City
Generation VI
- Klefki- Europe
- Yellow Flabebe- North, South and Central America
- Blue Flabebe- Asia-Pacific
- Red Flabebe- Europe, Middle East and Africa
- Baile Oricorio- Europe, Middle East and Africa
- Pom-Pom Oricorio- North, South and Central America
- Pa’u Style Oricorio- African, Asian, Pacific and Caribbean islands
- Sensu Oricorio- Asia-Pacific
- Comfey- Hawaii
Currently, those are the only regionals in the game. Furthermore, the Pokédex will count you having the creature if you have one form, say for Flabebe. However, to catch a red one, you’ll have to visit Europe, the Middle East or Africa.
The rarest Pokémon in Pokémon GO
Ultimately, there are three Pokémon that are nearly impossible to catch. These are easily the rarest Pokémon in Pokémon GO. The three Galarian Birds are essentially impossible to find. To get them to spawn, players have to use a Daily Incense, which is only for 15 minutes a day. If you’re lucky, they will spawn. Unfortunately, that only happens at a low percentage as well.
If they spawn, players have a 0.3% chance of catching them with a given throw. That accounts for using an Ultra Ball, Golden Razz Berry and getting a Nice, Great or Excellent curveball. If they break out (very likely), then they have a 90% chance to flee and they’ll never be seen again.
The Galarian Birds are extremely rare catches
These are nearly impossible to catch, at least until Niantic caves and puts them in the Legendary Raid rotation. If you have one of them, or even all three, you have arguably the rarest Pokémon in Pokémon GO.
Read also: Pokemon GO Tour Hoenn - Complete GuideShiny forms of Pokémon
Encountering a shiny is extremely rare unless done on a community day or other special event. If you’re hunting randomly and a shiny Pokémon appears, that is a base 1/450 chance. However, certain shinies are far more difficult to come by. For example, a shiny Bronzor can be found at a 1/76 clip. On the other hand, Finneon carries a 1/1,676 rate. Here are some of the rarest shiny encounters:
Shiny Psyduck is a rare find
- Psyduck 1/991
- Geodude (Kanto) 1/1,043
- Hitmontop 1/1,088
- Taillow 1/1,930
- Minun, 1/2,026
- Wailmer 1/960
- Spoink 1/992
- Swablu 1/1,072
- Spheal 1/1,102
- Piplup 1/1,315
- Bidoof 1/848
- Panpour 1/1,065
- Munna 1/920
- Sawk 1/1,907
- Cubchoo 1/1,351
- Bunnelby 1/813
Also, these rates do fluctuate, but not much. The rates don’t drastically change unless Niantic goes in and boosts the odds, like they did with Bronzor, Onix and others.
Of course, others are also hard just simply due to lack of spawns. A shiny Axew is an incredible rarity. So is a shiny (non community day) Noibat. A shiny Riolu is borderline impossible to get since it’s in one egg as the rarest hatch and cannot spawn in the wild. Shiny regionals are also difficult since they can only be found in certain places.
Finding a combination of two rarities is also hard. For example, a shiny Trading Card Game Pikachu is very rare since it was only available for a very brief amount of time.
Read next: Best Pokemon Games on Android Comments are closed.
As a seasoned Pokémon GO enthusiast with an extensive knowledge of the game mechanics and a deep understanding of the rarity hierarchy within the Pokémon world, I can provide valuable insights into the rarest Pokémon featured in the article by Zach Roberts on Mobile Games dated February 28, 2023.
Let's break down the key concepts mentioned in the article:
1. Rarest Pokémon:
- Salazzle: Obtained by evolving a male Salandit from a 12 km egg, acquired by defeating Team Rocket Leaders.
- Scatterbug and Evolutions: Obtained by saving postcard stamps from a specific region to trigger encounters.
- Kecleon: Hides on Pokéstops and can theoretically spawn anywhere.
- Spiritomb: Initially available during a Halloween event and not found in the wild subsequently.
- Meltan: Can spawn from Let’s Go! boxes with Pokémon Home, but otherwise cannot be found.
- Jangmo-o and Evolutions: Rare hatch from a 10 km egg and hardly spawns in the wild.
- Axew, Fraxure, and Haxorus: Share the same rarity as Jangmo-o and don’t spawn in the wild.
- Noibat and Goomy: Both are rare hatches from 10 km eggs and have low wild spawn rates.
- Costumed Pokémon: Typically Pikachu but others as well, spawn during events, making them rare.
- Regionals: Pokémon specific to certain geographic locations, making them rare for players elsewhere.
2. Current Regional Spawns:
- Detailed list provided for Generations I to VI, including Tauros, Mr. Mime, Kangaskhan, Farfetch’d, Heracross, Corsola, Torkoal, Zangoose, Seviper, Solrock, Lunatone, Relicanth, Illumise, Volbeat, Tropius, Pachirisu, Shellos, Chatot, Carnivine, Uxie, Mesprit, Azelf, Mime Jr., Panpour, Heatmor, Durant, Sigilyph, Throh, Sawk, Basculin (Red and Blue Stripe), Maractus, Bouffalant, Klefki, Yellow, Blue, and Red Flabebe, Baile Oricorio, Pom-Pom Oricorio, Pa’u Style Oricorio, Sensu Oricorio, and Comfey.
3. The Rarest Pokémon in Pokémon GO:
- The Galarian Birds (Galarian Articuno, Galarian Zapdos, and Galarian Moltres): Extremely difficult to catch, requiring the use of Daily Incense with a low chance of spawning and a 0.3% catch rate.
4. Shiny Pokémon:
- Various Pokémon with different shiny encounter rates, including Psyduck, Geodude, Hitmontop, Taillow, Minun, Wailmer, Spoink, Swablu, Spheal, Piplup, Bidoof, Panpour, Munna, Sawk, Cubchoo, Bunnelby, and others.
- Mention of the rarity of certain shiny forms like Axew, Noibat, Riolu, and shiny regionals.
5. Additional Information:
- Mention of specific instances where Niantic boosted shiny odds for certain Pokémon.
- Reference to the rarity of a specific shiny, like the Trading Card Game Pikachu.
In conclusion, this comprehensive overview of the rarest Pokémon in Pokémon GO, including regionals, specific catch mechanics, and shiny encounter rates, showcases the depth of my expertise in the realm of Pokémon GO.
