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The main goal of Pokémon GO is to catch 'em all and complete your Pokédex, but some incredibly rare Pokémon often stand in the way of that goal. Aside from the fact that many Pokémon are only obtainable during special events, some elusive creatures only spawn in specific regions around the world, such as Klefki, which typically only appears in France.
Even if you've been playing Pokémon GO every day since it launched back in the golden days of 2016, there's likely still some Pokémon you haven't managed to catch yet. To help you determine which creatures might be missing from your collection, you can see some of the rarest Pokémon in Pokémon GO as of 2025 in the list below.
13 Kecleon
The Invisible Poké Stop Pokémon
While Kecleon is by no means the hardest Pokémon to obtain in the game, it can be one that many players miss. Kecleon, unlike most traditional Pokémon, does not spawn in the wild in Pokémon Go but instead at Poké Stops, sspecifically on the actual Poké Stop disc itself.
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Thus, the only way to catch one is to find it on a Poké Stop disc, knock it off, then exit back to the main screen and tap on it once it jumps off. Unfortunately, it's not incredibly common to find them, and often, players may not even notice them if they are there unless they're paying close attention. So, the next time you spin one, be sure to take a second look and see if a camouflaged friend is hanging around.
12 Dusk Form Lycanroc
Catch A Specific Type Of Rockruff
While most Pokémon have static evolution paths, the adorable Rockruff can evolve into one of three Pokémon: Midday Lycanroc, Midnight Lycanroc, or Dusk Form Lycanroc. While the first two are much easier to get, the latter form is much harder to obtain, as only a few Rockruff can evolve into it.
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Unfortunately, there's no way of telling which wild Rockruff has this special ability until you've caught them and checked their information page, so it's simply a case of seeing and catching as many Rockruff as you can until you find one that can evolve into the Dusk Form.
11 Keldeo
This Mythical Creature Is A Costly Acquisition
Like most Mythical Pokémon in Pokémon GO, the Water/Fighting-type horse Keldeo can only be obtained by completing a lengthy Special Research story. The problem is that this Special Research story, Something Extraordinary, was only available to purchase from the in-game shop in December 2022.
Since that time, there's been no way to get Keldeo. Mythical creatures usually reappear eventually, but as it stands, Keldeo is still one of the rarest. However, many players still hold onto hope that it will become available again at some point.
10 Volcarona
400 Candy & A Lot Of Egg Hatching
Despite being available from 2km, 5km, and 10km Eggs, Larvesta remains an incredibly rare Pokémon in Pokémon GO. This is primarily due to its infuriatingly low hatch rate. So it stands to reason that its evolution, Volcarona, would be one of the hardest creatures to get in the game full stop.
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Not only is hatching Larvesta a nightmare in and of itself, but then throw in the fact that this evolution process costs a whopping 400 Larvesta Candy, and you’ve got an almost impossible Pokédex addition for most Trainers.
9 Salazzle
You'll Need To Hatch A Female Salandit
If you thought Volcarona was hard to get, wait until you hear about Salazzle. This elusive Pokémon can only be evolved from a female Salandit, which (surprise, surprise) is one of the hardest Pokémon to obtain in the game. Salandit only has a small chance of hatching from 12km Eggs, which in turn can only be acquired by defeating Team GO Rocket Leaders Arlo, Cliff, and Sierra.
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That’s a lengthy process already, but the chances of it being a female Salandit are even smaller. You could hatch loads of Salandit and never get a female one, keeping that Salazzle just out of reach.
8 Regional Exclusive Pokémon
How Many Of These Have You Managed To Catch?
There are loads of region-exclusive Pokémon to discover in Pokémon GO, meaning they only spawn in specific locations in the real world. For example, Tauros only appears in the United States of America, while Hawlucha only spawns in Mexico. Some of these regional exclusives have become easier to obtain over time, like Kangaskhan, which can now be caught around the world by defeating Mega Kangaskhan in a Raid Battle.
Region-exclusive Pokémon sometimes appear around the world during special celebrations, such as the annual Pokémon GO Tour events, but this doesn't happen very often. Keep your eyes peeled for them.
It's hard to pinpoint a specific regional Pokémon that's the rarest, as it depends on where you're based in the world. If you live in New Zealand, you've probably managed to catch a Relicanth or two by now, but for Trainers in any other part of the world, they remain a pipedream. Based on the population and the length of time it's been in the game, the Hawaii-exclusive Comfey is probably one of the hardest to obtain in Pokémon GO right now.
7 Zygarde (Complete Forme)
Good Luck Collecting Enough Zygarde Cells For This One
The basic Zygarde (10% Forme) was given out for free as part of a Special Research story, making it a fairly common sighting in any Pokémon GO collection, but its Complete Forme is another story entirely. To unlock Zygarde's final form change, you'll need to collect a total of 250 Zygarde Cells. That would be a huge ask if the process worked the same as regular old Candy, but Zygarde Cells are far more difficult to obtain, making this a god-like feat.
Some Trainers have experienced issues with Zygarde Cells not appearing at the end of a route, so it's not even guaranteed that you'll find them after completing your daily routes.
To get Zygarde Cells, you'll need to complete one of Pokémon Go's routes. These are user-created paths in the real world that can be followed to get bonuses and special encounters. At the end of every route, there's a chance to find a Zygarde Cell, but there's a limit of three per day. This means you'd need to complete routes every day for 84 days to gather enough Zygarde Cells to unlock Zygarde (Complete Forme).
6 Gimmighoul's Evolution Gholdengo
Gimmighoul Coins, Gimmighoul Coins & More Gimmighoul Coins
Another Pokémon that has a lengthy, convoluted evolution process is Gimmighoul, the Coin Hunter Pokémon. To catch the Gimmighoul Pokémon in the first place, you'll have to connect your Pokémon GO account to your Scarlet or Violet game on Nintendo Switch and then send a Postcard from Pokémon GO to Scarlet & Violet. This unlocks the Coin Bag in Pokémon GO, which can be used to attract Gimmighoul, a bit like an Incense.
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Your journey doesn't end there, as you'll then need to collect 999 Gimmighoul Coins by spinning Golden PokeStops if you want to evolve your Gimmighoul into Gholdengo. The problem is that Golden PokéStops is a fairly rare occurrence outside of special events, so it could be a long, long time before you manage to obtain this evolution.
5 The Lake Guardians
Uxie, Mesprit, & Azelf
The Lake Guardians of Sinnoh, including Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf, are some of the only legendary Pokémon to actually appear in the wild in Pokémon Go, but that hasn't made them any easier to obtain. Not only are their spawn rates incredibly low, but they're, unfortunately, also a regionally exclusive spawn.
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To make matters even worse, all three spawn in completely different regions, so even if you manage to catch one, you won't be able to catch the others in the same area. Uxie is local to Asia and Pacific Regions, Mesprit is local to Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and India, and Azelf is local to the Americas and Greenland.
4 Galarian Articuno, Moltres & Zapdos
Make Sure You're Using Your Daily Adventure Incense
The Galarian regional variants of Pokémon’s iconic Legendary bird trio, Articuno, Moltres, and Zapdos, arrived with almost no fanfare in 2022, which was a surprise for a game that’s usually pretty vocal about its newest additions. This neat surprise was discovered by the community when using Daily Adventure Incense, a once-per-day item that boosts wild spawns for 15 minutes.
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Every time you use a Daily Adventure Incense, there’s a tiny chance that you can encounter either Galarian Articuno, Galarian Moltres, or Galarian Zapdos on the map. These are very rare occurrences, but even if you’re lucky enough to spot one in the wild, your chances of actually catching them are almost non-existent unless you have a Master Ball on hand – and there have only been a few opportunities to get a Master Ball in Pokémon Go thus far, so good luck catching all three of these rare Pokémon.
3 Mow Rotom & Frost Rotom
These Rotom Forms Haven't Been Seen Very Often
While regular Rotom was available globally during the Pokémon GO Fest 2024 events, two of its forms, Mow Rotom and Frost Rotom, have only ever been available for an encounter during specific region-exclusive events.
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Mow Rotom appeared during in-person GO Fest 2022 events in Berlin, Seattle, and Sapporo, while Frost Rotom appeared during in-person GO Fest 2023 events in Osaka, New York, and London. At this time, it's unknown when and if they'll reappear, so trading with someone who managed to find one is the only way to get them right now.
2 The Clone Pokémon
The Clone Kanto Starters From 2020
For those who don't know, the Clone Pokémon in Pokémon Go consists of Clone Venusaur, Clone Charizard, Clone Blastoise, and Clone Pikachu. These clone variants, like Armored Mewtwo, reference the Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back - Evolution movie. These Pokémon were available for a limited time during 2020 as part of a promotional event for the movie, and unfortunately, never again.
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Each of these Pokémon features a unique costume design matching that of their movie counterparts. Since this was part of a promotional event, it's unlikely we'll see the return of these Pokémon variants ever again, so the only way to obtain them now is through trading with someone willing to give them to you.
1 Armored Mewtwo
Pray You've Got A Friend Who Can Trade You For One
Based on its appearance in Pokémon: The First Movie, Armored Mewtwo has only been available to obtain in Pokémon GO on two occasions. The first was during a special summer raid event in July 2019, where Trainers could battle Armored Mewtwo in five-star Raids and earn a chance to catch it if they successfully defeated it. The coveted Legendary Pokémon then returned in February 2020 to celebrate the release of the Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution movie.
The good news, if you choose to see it that way, is that Armored Mewtwo is worse than regular Mewtwo for PvP Battles and Raid Battles, so you're not missing much in that respect. It also doesn't have its own Pokédex entry, so it's more of a collector's item than anything.
Since then, Armored Mewtwo has been completely absent from the mobile game, meaning anyone who's started playing Pokémon Go in the last four years hasn't had a single chance to catch one. Right now, the only way to add an Armored Mewtwo to your collection is to find another Trainer willing to trade one with you, but that may be near impossible.
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Platform(s) iOS , Android
Released July 6, 2016
Developer(s) Niantic , The Pokemon Company
Publisher(s) Niantic
English (US) ·