Pokemon GO has a plethora of Pokemon, and with time, new ones are being added. Sometimes, you might have been in a situation where you encountered a Pokemon that you had never seen and wondered if it was rare or not. Well, after years of grinding the game, we’ve listed the 10 rarest Pokemon in Pokemon GO that you should look out for.
Pokemon GO Rarest Pokemon List
Pokemon GO features almost every Pokemon out so far until the 9th generation, but the rarest ones are incredibly difficult to encounter. A lot of them only appear during special events, while others require specific conditions before they can even spawn.
And the rarest Pokemon in Pokemon GO depend on various factors, including the location, climate, time, and even your level. That’s why not every rare Pokemon can be found everywhere in the world. Still, there are a few standout Pokemon that remain exceptionally hard to get, and those are the ones we’ll be taking a look at in the table below.
Pokemon Type How to Get Armored Mewtwo Psychic Previously available in special raids (currently only via trading) Clone Pokemon (Pikachu, Charizard, Venusaur, Blastoise) Electric / Fire-Flying / Grass-Poison / Water Limited-time Pokemon Day 2020 event (raids and snapshot encounters) Unown Psychic Extremely rare wild spawn; also appears in events, raids, and eggs Sinnoh’s Lake Guardians (Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf ) Water Only available in certain parts of the world Galarian Birds (Galarian Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres) Psychic-Flying /
Fighting-Flying /
Dark-Flying Daily Adventure Incense rare spawn; 0.3% catch rate Mow Rotom / Frost Rotom Electric-Grass / Electric-Ice Event-exclusive via GO Snapshot at specific GO Fest events Zygarde (Complete Forme) Dragon-Ground Collect 200 Zygarde Cells via Routes, then use Form Change Salazzle Poison-Fire Hatch female Salandit from 12 km Eggs, then evolve (female only) Volcarona Bug-Fire Hatch Larvesta from eggs (2 km, 5 km, 10 km), then evolve with 400 Candy Dusk Form Lycanroc Rock Evolve a special Rockruff with a rare “Dusk” evolution option (from eggs, Adventure Sync, or limited raids)
The Pokemon what we have included are not available in Pokemon GO events. Some of them were available for a limited time in the past events and raids, but now are no longer to be seen.
Armored Mewtwo
Armored Mewtwo was a special form of Mewtwo in Pokemon GO, with a slightly lower attack and more defense. It was released in 2019, followed by its return during raid battles on Pokemon Day 2020. As of now, Armored Mewtwo can only be obtained by trading it with players who already have it, making it the rarest Pokemon in Pokemon GO.
Clone Pokemon
Clone Pokemon were featured alongside Armored Mewtwo during the Pokemon Day 2020 event. They are based on the 1998 Pokemon Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back, featuring Clone Pikachu via Snapshots, and Charizard, Venusaur, and Blastoise in Pokemon GO Raids. They don’t have a shiny variant, and cannot Mega Evolve either, making them highly desired by collectors.
Unown
Unown is one of the rarest Pokemon in Pokemon GO as of now. These rare Psychic-type Pokemon oddly shaped like ancient writing, featured first in the second generation. They come in 28 different forms. Just like the main-line games, they rarely appear in the wild and sometimes in raids. If you spot them outside normal events, consider yourself extremely lucky, as there’s only a 1 in a million chance of them spawning. For players, hunting them down, we recommend taking part in major events similar to the GO Tour 2026.
Sinnoh’s Lake Guardians
Our next pick is the Sinnoh Lake Guardians. Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf are a Psychic-type Pokemon trio that have appeared in the fourth-generation games. Pokemon GO added these three Legendaries with some capture quirks. To catch Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf, you have to be at the following locations:
- Uxie – Asia and Pacific regions
- Mesprit – Europe, Middle East, Africa, India
- Azelf – Americas and Greenland
The only way to get all three of them is by trading with players from different parts of the world. With the Remote Trade feature now available, this has become possible, but it’s still a difficult task to complete since they have extremely rare spawns. We recommend joining communities and finding Pokemon GO Friend Codes from players worldwide to help you hunt down some of the rarest Pokemon in Pokémon GO.
Galarian Birds
The Galarian Birds: Galarian Moltres, Galarian Zapdos, and Galarian Articuno are actually some of the rarest Pokemon in Pokemon GO, due to one annoying reason. They have a 0.3% catch rate and a 90% flee rate.
These roaming legendaries can only be obtained as a Daily Adventure Incense spawn. The incense gives players a 15-minute window each day, hoping that a Galarian Zapdos, Moltres, or Articuno will spawn, only to realise that they’ll flee away from you. That’s why we recommend using a Master Ball in such a scenario.
Rotom (Mow and Frost)
Rotom is one of the most unique Electric-type Pokemon out there, mainly because of its multiple elemental forms. Each form of Rotom resembles an appliance and is mainly tied to Fire, Water, Grass, Ice, Ghost, and Flying.
However, the Mow Rotom (Electric/Grass) and Frost Rotom (Electric/Ice) are some of the rarest Pokemon in Pokemon GO. Mow Rotom was exclusively available during GO Fest 2022 Berlin, while Frost Rotom only appeared at GO Fest 2023 events in London, Osaka, and New York. Besides these events, they were never returned to the game. So if you didn’t attend those GO Fests, there’s a good chance you completely missed out on them.
Zygarde Complete Form
One of the weirdest and rarest Pokemon in Pokemon GO is the Dragon-type Legendary Zygarde. First introduced as a legendary Pokemon in the seventh generation, Zygarde starts as a snake, changing into a Dog, and finally a walking mecha.
Getting a Zydarge isn’t much of a problem. You’d have to complete the “From A to Zygarde” special research quest and have this Pokemon in your Pokedex. However, changing its form to 100% requires you to collect 200 Zygarde Cells. You can only get it from random spawns on your walking route.
Salazzle
Salazzle is well-known in the Pokemon community for many reasons. This seventh-generation Poison and Fire-type Pokemon is a rare hatch in Pokemon GO. She is the evolved form of the female Salandite, which means you have to catch one of them.
The only downside is that you first have to get a female Salandit from a 12km egg and then use 50 Salandit candies to evolve it, which shouldn’t be problematic if the egg spawns weren’t randomized.
Volcarona
First introduced in the fifth generation, Volcarona is a Fire and Bug-type Pokemon and is the evolved form of Larvesta. While you can find Larvesta from any available eggs in-game, that’s what makes it one of the rarest Pokemon in Pokemon GO. With a wide pool of Pokemon in eggs, hatching a Larvesta is a feat in itself. And topping it off, you need 400 Larvesta candies to evolve it into Volcarona.
Dusk Form Lycanroc
While you must have had a brown Midday Form or a werewolf-style Midnight Form Lycanroc, there’s a third form to them. The Dusk Form Lycanroc is a very hard find in the game, even though Rockruff is a common Pokemon that can be obtained from raids, field research, and so on.
To get the Dusk Form of Lycanroc, you need to catch or hatch a specific Rockruff with the “Own Tempo” trait. The best way to get it is to hatch plenty of eggs and complete as many Rockruff-themed field research as possible.
Tips and Tricks to Catch Rare Pokemon in Pokemon GO
While it is true that the rarest Pokemon in Pokemon GO are harder to spot and difficult to catch, it doesn’t mean you cannot prepare yourself to capture them when you get the chance. Here are some suggestions that can help you catch a rare Pokemon when spotted:
- Increase player level: When you level up in Pokemon GO, your chances of discovering better Pokemon increase ever so slightly. A level 10 player will exponentially have a tougher chance of catching a higher-quality Pokemon than someone over level 60 or 70. Hence, try completing missions, catching as many Pokemon as possible, and participating in seasonal events.
- Frequently use Incense Sticks: Incense sticks are an item that attracts various kinds of Pokemon towards you for a set amount of time. You get one daily, and you’ll attract better-quality Pokemon for a fixed duration. As such, use them frequently when you have access to them.
- Attend Events: Most of the rarest Pokemon in Pokemon GO are event-limited. So, it’s important that you stay updated with the newly released events in the game, and attend them on time to get more rare Pokemon.
- Hatch Eggs in your inventory: Eggs are an item you get from events or by completing simple tasks. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, there is a chance that one of these hard-to-catch Pokemon will appear from a hatched egg. Always try to hatch them by completing the walking milestone. The higher the milestone, the better the chances of receiving something good.
These are the rarest Pokemon you can get in Pokemon GO. So, did you manage to capture any rare Pokemon yet? Let us know in the comments below!
