Rarest Pokemon In Pokemon GO

Some of the rarest Pokemon in Pokemon GO can take a really, really long time to find. There are a handful of Pokemon so rare that even pro Pokemon GO players struggle to find them, or to find them enough times to get the candies needed to evolve them.

Of course, the true rarest Pokemon in Pokemon GO are shinies, time-locked exclusives, and unavailable costumed Pokemon. But, we’re going to look at non-shiny Pokemon that are obtainable at any time, but are so rare that you’ll probably never see them outside of a special event or extreme luck.

• Ditto can be a pretty difficult Pokemon to find, too. Here's how to catch a Ditto in Pokemon GO.

Rarest Pokemon In Pokemon Go: Regionals

To the chagrin of many, one of Niantic’s most controversial decisions was to introduce regional Pokemon in Pokemon GO. These are ‘mons that can only be caught in certain parts of the world, some of them entire hemispheres and some of them single countries.

Any regional Pokemon that resides in a region other than a particular trainer will, of course, be very rare to that person. Luckily, regionals sometimes swap locations during special events, and they can be traded.

Rarest Pokemon In Pokemon Go: Noibat

This Dragon/Flying-type from the Kalos region made its debut in Pokemon GO during the Kalos Celebration Event in late 2020. Since then, its rarity has been a cause of grief for many collectors.

Noibat is, unfortunately, incredibly rare. However, the true annoyance with this Pokemon is that you need to catch or hatch a ton of them, as they require 400 candies to evolve. Luckily, they can hatch from 10km eggs and are a reward for reaching Veteran Rank in the GO Battle League.

Rarest Pokemon In Pokemon Go: Axew

Another Dragon-type, Axew hails from the Unova region originally. Though it’s likely to receive a Community Day eventually, at the moment, it’s one of the hardest Pokemon to find in Pokemon GO.

Like Noibat, it can hatch from 10km eggs if you’re super lucky. Fortunately, it doesn’t take 400 candies to evolve — but it does need 124 (25 to evolve to Fraxure, 100 to evolve to Haxorus, with one candy given upon the first evolution). It also isn’t a reward in the GBL like Noibat is.

Rarest Pokemon In Pokemon Go: Pikachu Libre

Speaking of rewards in the GBL — that’s the only way to obtain Pikachu Libre. This special costumed Pokemon is one of the many cosplay Pikachu from Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.

Currently, the only way to encounter it for yourself is to reach Legend Rank in the GBL, which is extremely difficult.

• Trying to level up in the GBL and encounter Pikachu Libre? You'll want to train some of the best Pokemon in Pokemon GO.

Rarest Pokemon In Pokemon Go: Sandile

Sandile is from the Unova region and has two evolutions, Krokorok and Krookodile. This Dark/Ground-type is only obtainable by hatching the special Strange Eggs dropped by the Team GO Rocket Leaders, Sierra, Arlo, and Cliff.

These eggs take 12km to hatch under normal circumstances, and there’s a very low chance that they’ll contain a Sandile. Good luck!

Rarest Pokemon In Pokemon Go: Lake Guardians

Strangely, these Legendary Pokemon can actually be caught in the wild. It is incredibly, incredibly rare, but it is technically a possibility. These three, Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie, should appear near bodies of water if they do, but again, it’s unbelievably rare.

The best way to obtain these three Psychic-types is to wait for them to reenter Raids, which they do every once in a while. However, just to add to how much of a headache they are to catch, they’re regional! In both Raids and the wild, they are each locked to certain parts of the world.

• Uxie: Asia-Pacific
• Mesprit: Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and some parts of western and southern Asia
• Azelf: North America, South America, and Greenland

It’s not too difficult to find other players online who live in different parts of the world, add them as a friend in Pokemon GO, and invite each other to your respective Lake Guardian Raids.

Rarest Pokemon In Pokemon Go: Unown

This Psychic-type is probably one of the first Pokemon to come to mind when someone asks what the rarest Pokemon in Pokemon GO is. Unown is so rare in Pokemon GO that most people probably never see one outside of a special event.

Luckily, they’re often included in these events, typically spelling out something related to the event.
That’s right — the Unown forms are the letters of the Latin alphabet, plus a question mark and exclamation point. 

This means that, if you plan to add every form to your Pokedex, you’ll need to be one of the luckiest people in the world or attend quite a few events. There’s even a medal for collecting certain numbers of forms, so if you’re a true completionist, good luck. You’ll need it.

Trying to complete the Pokemon GO Pokedex? You'll need some evolution items. Here's how to get and use Pokemon GO Unova Stones.