Rarest Pokemon in Pokemon Go & how to get them

Filling your Pokedex with the rarest Pokemon is one of the most challenging yet fun goals in Pokemon Go. From Melmetal and Vivilion to Unown and Pikachu Libre, here’s a list revealing the rarest Pokemon in Pokemon Go for reasons like region-exclusivity, limited-time events, and more.

Progress in Pokemon Go is directly tied to your ability to catch as many Pokemon as possible and evolve them to unleash their true potential. The PvP Go League expects you to build a balanced and powerful team of Pokemon with high IVs and strong moves.

Having said that, another way to stand out in Pokemon Go is by getting your hands on rare Pokemon. Luckily, there’s no shortage of rare Pokemon in the game due to region exclusivity, limited-time events, low spawn and hatch rates, and more.

On that note, let’s take a look at the rarest Pokemon in Pokemon Go.

• The rarest Pokemon in Pokemon Go
  • Region-exclusive Pokemon
  • Kecleon
  • Frigibax, Artibax, and Baxcalibur
  • Sandile, Krokorok, and Krookodile
  • Sunglasses Squirtle
  • Legendary Galarian Birds
  • Jangmo-o, Hakamo-o, and Kommo-o
  • Vivillon
  • Armored Mewtwo
  • Clone Pokemon
  • Rarest Pokemon from eggs
  • Salandit and Salazzle
  • Melmetal
  • Pikachu Libre
  • Unown
  • Event-exclusive and Costume Pokemon in Pokemon Go
  • Archen and Archeops
  • Keldeo, Zarude, and Hoopa
  • Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie – the rarest Pokemon in Pokemon Go

The rarest Pokemon in Pokemon Go: Melmetal, Unown & more

Region-exclusive Pokemon

Pokemon Go has a fair share of Pokemon that are exclusively found in certain regions and are unsurprisingly rare. Here’s a list of the rarest region-exclusive Pokemon:

• Comfey – Hawaii
• Klefkii – France
• Hawlucha – Mexico
• Mime Jr. – Hatches through eggs in Europe.
• Kartana – Ultra beast found in Northern hemisphere
• Celesteela – Ultra best found in the Southern Hemisphere

Kecleon

Kecleon was introduced in Pokemon Go on January 2023, and ever since, has become one of the rarest finds in the game. It doesn’t spawn in the wild, unlike regular Pokemon, instead, it spawns attached to a random PokeStop, and only on rare occasions.

Trainers need to spin the disk several times for it to fall to the ground and spawn. This makes it hard to spot for trainers that do not tend to Spin all the PokeStops they come across. In most cases, trainers unaware of this mechanic tend to get confused and think they are just having connection issues, and ignore Kecleon’s PokeStops.

Frigibax, Arctibax & Baxcalibur

Frigibax, Arctibax, and Baxcalibur are so rare, that, according to PokeSwap Statistics, only 1 out of 10000 trainers have one in their teams. Even more so, since its debut in the Ultra Unlock Paldea event, this Pokemon family seems to have vanished from the game.

You need a total of 125 Candies to reach the final evolution stage of this line (Baxcalibur), and that means you need to catch at least 21 Frigibax boosted by Pinap Berries to get enough Candy to add these species to your Pokedex. In the worst-case scenario, you’ll need to catch 41 of these rare mons to get enough Candy, which has made the dream of having Baxcalibur in your team, a hard goal to reach.

Sandile, Krokorok & Krookodile

Like many other Pokemon on this list, Sandile can only hatch from a 12 Km Egg, which is a big obstacle even for hardcore Pokemon Go players. It now sits in the first tier of difficulty for these Eggs, but it’s still very rare.

Of course, Krokorok and Krookodile, Sandile’s evolutions, are even harder to get since players need 125 Candy for the whole process. The quickest way to get them is to set Sandile as your buddy to collect Candy, but it will take some time nonetheless.

Sunglasses Squirtle

You might remember this little fellow from the Pokemon Anime, a member of The Squirtle Squad, a group of Squirtles abandoned by their trainers that went rogue all around Kanto.

The Pokemon Go version of this Squirtle can be shiny too, making it even more rare. The evolution line will keep the Sunglasses as they evolve, so Wartortle and Blastoise will look great with those black shades.

You can get your own Sunglasses Squirtle by participating in events like Community Day Classics: Squirtle. Being a Community Day Classic-only capture makes Sunglasses Squirtle one of the rarest Pokemon to have in Pokemon Go.

Legendary Galarian Birds: Articuno, Zapdos & Moltres

Niantic surprised players by adding the original Legendary Birds in their Galarian forms in Pokemon Go in 2022. To get Galarian Articuno, Zapdos, or Moltres, players must use their Daily Adventure Incense and walk until they find one during those 15 minutes.

The problem is that these Pokemon will flee after you try to catch them just once, making them extremely hard to catch. We recommend using a Golden Razz berry and an Ultra Ball to maximize your chances, but there’s no guarantee it will work. And in case you are thinking of using your Master Ball to catch them, here’s a detailed guide on which Galarian Bird has Perfect Stats, so you don’t waste those precious items.

Jangmo-o, Hakamo-o & Kommo-o

In the group of elusive Dragon-type Pokemon, Jangmo-o ranks high on the list. It’s another Pokemon that can spawn in the wild while using Daily Adventure Incense and it can also hatch from 10 Km Eggs, but it’s the rarest of all possibilities.

To evolve Jangmo-o into Hakamo-o and Kommo-o, players need a total of 125 Candy. Using Pinap berries while catching Jangmo-o might help a little, but setting it as your buddy is probably the best way to go.

Vivillon

In addition to many regional Pokemon, players can now try and collect all 18 different Vivillon patterns in Pokemon Go. These patterns can be obtained by pinning Postcards received from Gifts, catching a Scatterbug in the triggered encounter, and evolving it by spending 125 Candy.

It’s already tough to get one Vivillon considering Scatterbug doesn’t appear in the wild, but to get all 18 patterns is an almost impossible task at the moment. The key is to have friends all over the world and send Gifts frequently.

Armored Mewtwo

You can only obtain Armored Mewtwo in Pokemon Go through trading, making it one of the rarest Pokemon at the time of writing. The special costume variant of the Legendary Beast arrived in five-star raids in July 2019 and returned once in February 2020.

This means that players haven’t had the chance to catch Armored Mewtwo for almost four years and from the looks of it, the narrative won’t change anytime soon. Unlike other costume Pokemon, Armored Mewtwo boasts new moves and stats and stands out in every way possible.

Clone Pokemon

There are four Clone Pokemon in Pokemon Go, – Clone Venusaur, Clone Charizard, Clone Blastoise, and Clone Pikachu. You could catch them between February 25 and March 2 in 2020 and currently, the only way to get them is by trading.

Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise appeared in four-star raids during the event while Clone Pikachu could appear in in-game photos and then spawn in the overworld. The one-time promotion event will most likely never return, making Clone Pokemon extremely rare.

Rarest Pokemon from eggs

Here’s a table revealing the Pokemon with the lowest hatch rates from different types of eggs:

Egg type	Rarest Pokemon to hatch
2km	Larvesta
5km	Larvesta
7km	Galarian Darumaka, Galarian Zigzagoon, and Hisuian Growlithe
10km	Larvesta, Frigibax
12km	Inkay, Screlp, Skorupi, and Absol

Salandit & Salazzle

Salazzle is the evolution of Salandit in Pokemon Go and it is rare because of a unique evolution condition. Apparently, only a female Salandit can be evolved into a Salazzle and there’s only a 12.5% chance of players getting one from eggs.

Salazzle’s first form, Salandit, can be hatched from a 12 km egg but it’s never guaranteed. Moreover, you cannot get this Poison and Fire-type Pokemon in the wild which further contributes to its rarity.

Melmetal

Melmetal can be obtained in Pokemon Go by evolving Meltan with 400 Candy. Meltan itself is one the rarest Pokemon in the game which makes Melmetal even harder to get.

You can get Meltan by completing the Let’s Go, Meltan Special Research quest or through Mystery Boxes. In Season 10 of Pokemon Go titled Rising Heroes, a Ticketed Timed Research had Melmetal as the final reward.

Pikachu Libre

Pikachu Libre is rare in Pokemon Go because you can get it only after reaching rank 24 in the Go Battle League. Upon reaching this rank, the game allows you to have an encounter with Pikachu Libre.

To reach rank 24 in the Go Battle League, you must win a ton of PvP battles in different types of categories, and naturally, rank progression becomes tougher as you move further.

It is no surprise that the Pikachu Libre variant is not common in the Pokemon Go community. Casual players often struggle to win battles in the Go Battle League after a certain point and reaching high ranks requires them to put countless hours into the PvP mode.

Unown

There are 28 variants of Unown in Pokemon Go, and collecting them all is close to impossible. These variants are based on the 26 letters in the alphabet, the exclamation mark, and the question mark.

You can obtain Unown from the wild, Eggs, and Raids but all these methods are easier said than done. The Pokemon has made this list due to its extremely low spawn rate.

Event-exclusives and Costume Pokemon in Pokemon Go

Pokemon Go has time and again released events that let players collect certain Pokemon and they naturally end up becoming rare when the event doesn’t return for a long time or is confirmed to be a one-time thing.

Here are the rarest Pokemon in the game that were tied to certain events:

• Rotom – Wash Rotom
• Yamask, Cofagrigus, Galarian Yamask and Runerigus – Appear only during Halloween events
• Galarian Mr. Mime and Mr. Mime – Season of Mythical Wishes

Costume Pokemon are usually released in Pokemon Go through events and missing out on them once means that you’ll most likely not see them again for a long time. This makes them quite rare, and here are the rarest Costume Pokemon:

• Star Hat Pikachu
• Okinawan Kariyushi Shirt Pikachu – Only found in Okinawa prefecture in Japan.

Archen & Archeops

Fossil Pokemon like Archen are known for their rarity not only in Pokemon Go but the entire franchise. The dual Rock and Flying-type Pokemon used to be a part of the 7km Egg pool but now, it is only available in the wild.

Archen’s spawn rate in the wild is close to nil making it one of the rarest Pokemon in the game. Archen also has an evolution called Archeops and unsurprisingly, it is even more challenging to obtain because of the Candy requirement.

Keldeo, Zarude, and Hoopa

Keldeo, Zarude, and Hoopa are Mythical Pokemon in Pokemon Go meaning that you cannot trade them and the only way to get them is by completing the special research quests. The quests to catch some Mythical Pokemon are available permanently, but the ones released for Keldeo, Zarude, and Hoopa only lasted for a few weeks and are nowhere to be seen now.

Unless we get the special research quests again, it is impossible to get Keldeo, Zarude, and Hoopa in Pokemon Go. This explains why they’re at such a high spot on our list of the rarest Pokemon in the game.

Azelf, Mesprit & Uxie – Rarest Pokemon in Pokemon Go

Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie are the rarest Pokemon in Pokemon Go because they’re not just region-exclusive but also Legendary. The three Pokemon spawn in the wild but only in the following regions:

1. Azelf – North America, South America, and Greenland
2. Mesprit – Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and India
3. Uxie – Asia and Pacific regions

Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie are available in the wild despite being Legendary Pokemon. They seldom become a part of the raid pool, and when it happens, you can try unlocking them through Remote Raids.

Apart from Raids, there is clearly no easy way of getting Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie. You can travel around the world but it still won’t ensure that the Legendary Pokemon appear in the wild.

These were some of the rarest Pokemon in Pokemon Go. Make sure to use berries and your best Poke balls to catch them.

For more Pokemon Content and guides, you can also check:

Pokemon Go Along The Routes: How to find Mateo & exchange Gifts | How to connect Pokemon Go to Pokemon Scarlet & Violet | How many Pokemon are there? | How to get revives in Pokemon Go | How to get the Master Ball in Pokemon Go | How to get shiny Meltan in Pokemon Go: Mystery Box explained