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Pokemon GO has been around since July 2016 and in that time it has released a number of limited edition Pokemon, making them some of the rarest Pokemon in the entire game.
This list will detail some of the rarest Pokemon ever released in Pokemon GO, including how they were released and the methods needed to capture them!
Got any super rare Pokemon? Let us know in the comments section and we'll update this list!
Rarest Pokemon from Pokemon GO
Shiny Celebi
Shiny Celebi was released for a short period in December 2020 and hasn't been released since.
To coincide with the Pokemon Movie: Secrets Of The Jungle, a special research was released titled Secrets Of The Jungle that guaranteed a Shiny Celebi encounter once completed!
You had to have logged in between the period 14th December 2020 and 17th December 2020 to get the research!
Armored Mewtwo
To celebrate the release of Pokemon Evolutions: Mewtwo Strikes Back, Armoured Metwo was released for a limited time during July 2019.
To capture Armored Mewtwo, you had to fight in 5-Star raids and capture it. This was only 3 years since the release of Pokemon GO, so raiding was still very difficult and there were no remote raid passes.
It hasn't been released since!
Apex Shadow Lugia and Apex Shadow Ho-Oh
These two Legendary Pokemon were released during Pokemon GO Tour: Johto and included special powerful moves, and if you purified them, the moves would get even stronger.
This meant that you'd have to sacrifice the Shadow version of the Lugia or Ho-Oh, making them even rarer now that the event is over.
The two Legendary Pokemon appeared as rewards in a Special Master Research task, and you could only choose either Lugia or Ho-Oh. However, if you had a ticket for Pokemon GO Tour: Johto, you could get both Pokemon.
Shiny Jirachi
Shiny Jirachi was made available during the Pokemon GO Tour: Hoenn as a special research that you had to pay for separately.
What made the Shiny Jirachi so difficult to capture, was the incredibly difficult tasks needed to complete in order to encounter the Pokemon.
They included catching 10 Kecleon, catching 1,200 Pokemon and have 10 Best Buddies. All of these time consuming tasks led to many to give up capturing Shiny Jirachi, despite having paid for it!
If you attended the Pokemon GO Tour event, the research tasks were slightly more forgiving.
Shiny Kecleon
Kecleon was first made available in January 7th 2023. To capture this Pokemon, you must find a PokeStops with Kecleon attached to them. Then you had to manually spin the stop to knock it off, allowing you to capture it.
Kecleon is very rare to find on PokeStops, and unless you're checking them every hour, they can be a pain to capture! You cannot use Pokemon Go-Tcha like devices either, as the stops require manually spinning to knock the Pokemon off.
Even rarer, Shiny Kecleon made it's debut at the Pokemon GO Tour: Hoenn. It can be caught outside of this event now, but because finding Kecleon is so rare, getting the shiny version is even rarer!
Clone Pokemon: Venusaur, Charizard and Blastoise
A special event held for Pokemon Day in 2020 saw the release of three cloned Pokemon: Cloned Venusaur, Cloned Charizard and Cloned Blastoise.
These Pokemon were only available from 4-star raids (now defunct!). The Cloned Pokemon cannot mega-evolve and feature special patterns on their bodies.
Cloned Pokemon were released to celebrate the release of Pokemon Evolutions: Mewtwo Strikes Back. They haven't been released since!
Mythic Pokemon Zarude
Zarude was recently re-released in Pokemon GO through a paid research ticket costing $8 during March 2024.
However, before that, the Pokemon was only made available during Secrets Of The Jungle 2021 event.
Zarude is actually one of the stronger Dark / Grass type Pokemon, making it one of the best Pokemon to capture.
Galarian Legendary Birds
The Daily Incense item/feature was released on July 2022 and allows players to find Pokemon not seen frequently in the wild for 15 minutes.
You can use it once per day for free.
You can also encounter the three Legendary birds in their Galarian forms!
However, there is a catch. THEY ARE EXTREMELY HARD TO CAPTURE!
Whilst the Galarian Birds appearing during the Daily Incense isn't too rare, actually capturing them is. It's why many Pokemon GO players use their Master Ball to capture them (a 100% capture ball).
Shiny Halloween Mimikyu Pikachu
Costume Pikachu are available for many different events in Pokemon GO; you've likely caught several yourself and transferred them for candy due to how common they are.
However, some of these costume Pikachu never return again to the game, making them super rare catches!
One of those is the Mimikyu Pikachu which was released during Halloween 2019 for less than 15 days! If you were super lucky, you could have caught the Shiny Mimikyu Pikachu, which is even rarer!
Squirtle Squad Squirtle
The famous Squirtle Squad made its debut in the Pokemon TV Anime show and during a brief period in Pokemon GO, you could also capture your very own Squirtle Squad Squirtle.
Squirtle Squad Squirtle, otherwise known as Squirtle wearing Sunglasses, has returned to Pokemon GO a few times.
It was first released in 2018 during the Squirtle Community Day. You could capture it through a special field research released on the day.
It then made a return for an Ed Sheeran promo in 2021.
Finally, it made another appearance for the Squirtle Community Day Classic, which was held in 2023.
What is your rarest Pokemon caught in Pokemon GO?
Leave you comments below with the rarest Pokemon you have caught in Pokemon GO!
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