Pokémon GO made its official debut on smartphones and other mobile devices in the summer of 2016. When it did, it instantly became a massive cultural hit all across the world. Multiple generations of fans both new and old came together to download the app and play. Millions upon millions of Pokémon GO players appeared in just about every city, walking around through many destinations, trying to catch them all. It got so crazy, that businesses started catering their marketing towards Pokémon GO players, and law enforcers had to be extra proactive in making sure players don’t trespass into private properties. For a few months, Pokémon GO became an even bigger cultural phenomenon than when the franchise first started with Pokémon Red and Blue. While Niantic’s greatest success isn’t as popular now as it was two years ago, Pokémon GO is still actively played by millions every day.
Pokémon GO first started out with the original 151 (minus legendaries) generation of Pokémon, since then, the 2nd and 3rd generation has made their way into the app, with the 4th generation coming soon. There are also Alolan Pokémon from Pokémon Sun and Moon present as well. While the goal may be to catch them all, some of the Pokémon are literally impossible, or at least very difficult to catch, whether if they are regional Pokémon or they are not currently active in raid battles.
Pokémon GO also has a level up system for trainers, going up to level 40 as the max level. The problem is, to get to level 40 you would have to accumulate an overall total of 20,000,000 XP. As astounding as that number is, there are ways you can reach it quickly in Pokémon GO.
So let’s charge our phones, bring multiple portable chargers, and look through Pokémon that are impossible to find as well as tricks that will help you reach level 40.
30 Impossible To Catch: You’ll Want To Literally Travel The World To Catch These
If you have a goal to catch every Pokémon in the Pokédex, you’ll have to be very ambitious. Certain Pokémon can only be obtained in specific regions of the world. Among the original generation of Pokémon, there are four who are region specific.
Farfetch’d are found in Eastern Asia, Kangaskhan in Australia, Mr. Mime in Europe, and Tauros in the West.
For many players, this exclusivity may destroy their hopes. On the flip side, these Pokémon seem to be fitting for each of their respective regions. You’ll be lucky to meet someone who has more than one.
29 Leveling Up Fast: Traveling To New Places Helps
In a similar method to the previous entry about spinning Pokéstops, you can also get a nice bonus if you spin 10 new Pokéstops in a row. This situation is best when you are exploring a new area that is littered with Pokéstops like a major city. Spinning 10 new Pokéstops in a row will yield at least 500 experience points. Pokémon GO gives a lot of incentives to travel the world with Pokéstops as well as regional exclusives.
28 Impossible To Catch: The Painter Pokémon Is Nowhere To Be Found
While the second generation of Pokémon has been available in Pokémon GO for some time now, there is one noticeable absence in a very unique Pokémon. Smeargle is known as a painter Pokémon who uses its tail to paint.
However, in Pokémon GO, Smeargle has yet to be seen anywhere.
This may be due to its unique move sketch. In traditional games, sketch was used to permanently copy a move that is used in battle. That move would stay with Smeargle until you delete it for another sketch move (Smeargle learns sketch every 10 levels). Since Pokémon GO does not feature normal battles, it may have been difficult to implement Smeargle properly.
27 Leveling Up Fast: Spending Money Helps
While it is certainly a sensitive topic in the video game industry, players do have the option of micro-transactions by purchasing Pokécoins to use to buy Lucky Eggs. Lucky Eggs double the XP gained in a 30 minute time window, but they aren’t very common. Sometimes you get them through Pokéstops or gyms, other times by leveling up. If players are willing to invest real money into the app then you can get a healthy quantity of Lucky Eggs that will last for a while.
26 Impossible To Catch: No Wonder Guard For You Just Yet
There are quite a few Pokémon like Smeargle that have been skipped likely due to balancing or technical issues. Another example of this is an evolution of Nincada, Shedinja. Shedinja was uniquely obtained in traditional games by evolving Nincada with an empty space available in your party. Obviously, you don’t necessarily carry a party of Pokémon in Pokémon GO so it is unsure if Niantic will stay true to that evolution.
Additionally, Shedinja is the only Pokémon in existence with the ability Wonder Guard. Wonder Guard protects Shedinja from all direct attacks that would not be super effective against it. With the battle system the way it is in Pokémon GO, it would make Shedinja’s ability very broken, simply tapping it won’t do any damage, even then you’ll still have to have a Pokémon with a move that can beat a bug/ghost type.
25 Leveling Up Fast: Evolve In Bunches
Once you catch enough Pokémon and earn enough of that species’ candy pieces, you’ll probably want to evolve as soon as you can. However, if you hold off, there’s a more efficient way to do it.
Instead if you waited until you obtained a Lucky Egg, you could evolve all of your Pokémon at once after using a Lucky Egg.
This especially works best for Pokémon with two-stage evolutions like Charmander to Charizard. Wait until you have 125 candies and evolve to the mid-stage, then evolve to the final stage. If this is a new species, you’ll earn 1,000 for each evolution.
24 Impossible To Catch: Heracross And Corsola Are Region Exclusive
It seems like each generation of Pokémon will feature at least a couple creatures that can only be found in certain regions. For the second generation, only two Pokémon are region exclusive.
Heracross is found in South and Central America, as well as Florida and Texas. Corsola is only found in areas near the Equator.
If you live in Texas, Florida, Mexico, and the northern part of South America, you would be in luck as those are areas that should contain both region exclusives.
23 Leveling Up Fast: The Better The Gym, The Better The Spin
Pokémon gyms can be a valuable asset in earning XP. Gyms eventually started to become extra Pokéstop spins. Much like the basic Pokéstops, spinning at gyms can earn you multiple items as well as XP. Gyms actually earn more XP than regular Pokéstops, especially if gyms are occupied by the same team you are a part of.
Additionally, the stronger the gym, the more XP you’ll gain from a spin. The best case scenario is spinning a gold-friendly gym, which will earn you 125 XP. A noticeable difference compared to the standard 50 XP.
22 Impossible To Find: Good Luck Filling Out The Unown Alphabet
Unown is a Pokémon that has 28 different forms, one for each letter of the alphabet as well as a ? and !. Simply trying to catch any Unown form is difficult as it is one of the rarest spawns in Pokémon GO. They typically spawn in areas during major gaming and entertainment related events like E3 and Comic-Con. Even then they are still hard to track down. Additionally, only one form will appear, making the idea of catching all 28 sound ridiculously impossible. Luckily you only need just one form to fill out its Pokédex entry.
21 Leveling Up Fast: Become The Best Pokémon Breeder You Can
Breeding has been a staple in Pokémon games since Pokémon Gold and Silver. It’s not fully implemented in Pokémon GO as you don’t need to pair two Pokémon together. Instead, you’ll receive random eggs through Pokéstop spins. Eggs have a varying amount of kilometers needed to be walked in order to hatch the eggs. The higher the amount, the rarer the Pokémon could be.
Once you hatch an egg, you’ll get 100 XP per Kilometer. The best way to keep hatching eggs is to have multiple incubators to place them in. Plus, you’ll get more if you hatch a Pokémon you’ve never had before. That way, you can be hatching multiple eggs a day and earn a ton of XP.
20 Impossible To Catch: Delibirds Are A Holiday Special
Delibird is a very holiday friendly Pokémon that likes to give out both good and bad presents. Initially, there wasn’t any sign of this present-giving Pokémon, much like Smeargle, appearing in Pokémon GO.
However, last holiday season featured a promotion where Delibird would show up. When you catch it, you also received extra stardust as a gift. If you missed out on your chance to get Delibird you might have an opportunity this Christmas season to get it, just make sure you make Santa’s nice list.
19 Leveling Up Fast: New Generation Means New Pokémon
If you are someone who hasn’t yet started Pokémon GO, or if you haven’t played in a long while, you can take advantage of the fact that there are a lot of new Pokémon available to catch. When you catch, evolve, or hatch a Pokémon you have yet to obtain, you’ll receive 500 bonus XP. Combine that with a Lucky Egg and you could be earning 1,000 XP for each new capture. This gives any latecomers a good chance to catch up on XP grinding.
18 Impossible To Catch: Any Starter Evolution And Then Some
Among the most difficult Pokémon to catch are any of the final evolutions of starter Pokémon. Not only are they very rare to appear, but when they do they have a very small catch rate of 4%. Even if you take advantage of Razz Berries, these Pokémon are still very difficult to catch. This also applies to “pseudo-legendaries” like Dragonite and Tyranitar. Pokémon like these are so challenging, that it may not be worth wasting Pokéballs to catch a low CP evolution.
17 Leveling Up Fast: Become Everyone’s Best Friend
A few months ago, Niantic added the ability to become friends with other players in Pokémon GO. This update will allow you to trade Pokémon and exchange gifts with other people. Each friend will have a tier system based on how much you interact with them. There are four tiers in total and you can increase your friendship levels by sending gifts and participating in Raid or Gym Battles together.
When you accomplish each tier, you receive bonuses, including XP. If you managed to reach “best friend” status with someone you’ll receive 100,000 XP. This is a long process to get to, but it is well worth it if you have many friends to play Pokémon GO with.
16 Impossible To Catch: You Only Get One Chance
A Pokémon that is difficult to catch in Pokemon GO is one that was tricky to catch in the traditional games as well. Abra is best known as a Pokémon that does nothing but sleep and teleport.
Fortunately, the concept of weakening a Pokémon first doesn’t exist in Pokémon GO.
Just like in the traditional games, Abra will teleport away at the first opportunity it gets. If you throw a Pokéball at it and don’t catch it, it will almost certainly teleport away.
15 Leveling Up Fast: Don’t Transfer Any Of Those Pidgeys
One of the earliest tricks to gaining XP fast is to farm basic Pokémon such as Pidgey and Caterpie. These Pokémon are among the most common in the game, and they also require the fewest candy to evolve. So catch as many of these Pokémon as you can.
Instead of transferring them, keep these Pokémon until you have a large quantity of candies. Next, activate a Lucky Egg and go all out in evolving your Pokémon to the next stage. With the Lucky Egg, you will receive 1,000 XP for each evolution. After that, you can transfer the evolved Pokémon if you don’t have much use for them afterward.
14 Impossible To Catch: Any Legendary Pokémon
For quite a while after Pokémon GO’s release, Legendary Pokémon such as Zapdos, Articuno, and Moltres were nowhere to be found. Fans wondered how or when will these Pokémon will be available.
Eventually, a major update would introduce raid battles.
Raid battles are where trainers team up and take down a super powerful Pokémon. This is how most legendaries are acquired. However, they would only be available for a limited amount of time. If you are just now getting into Pokémon GO, you might have to wait a while before your next opportunity to catch your favorite legendary.
13 Leveling Up Fast: Style Points Matter
While catching Pokémon in Pokémon GO is very basic, you can earn a little bit more XP if you are good. If you were to time your throw and aim well enough to where the Pokéball hits within the green circle at it’s smallest, you’ll receive a little bit extra.
Every little bit of XP counts when going in for the long haul of raising your level.
Moreover, if you touch the Pokéball and spin it on the screen, your throw will have a nasty curve on it, making your throw a curveball. Catching a Pokémon like that will also result in extra XP. You’ll also get a bonus if you pull it off on your very first throw. Those with good catching skills will be rewarded.
12 Impossible To Catch: You Need An Invite To Get Mewtwo
One of the coolest parts about the announcement trailer for Pokémon GO was Mewtwo appearing in Time Square in New York fighting off a horde of trainers. Of course, this is what the concept of Raid Battles, but Niantic won’t make Mewtwo available as a regular Raid Boss.
In order to even have a chance at Mewtwo, trainers need an EX Raid pass.
An EX Raid pass is only given out to trainers who constantly battle at gyms in high traffic areas. This favors trainers that live in large cities that features a lot of activity. Once you do, you’ll have to team up with many others to take down Mewtwo. As if that isn’t hard enough, even after you defeat it, you still need to actually catch it.
11 Leveling Up Fast: A Pokémon A Day Will Keep The XP Coming
A little while after release, Niantic updated Pokémon GO to add in extra features and incentives to help trainers gain XP. One of those is a bonus for catching Pokémon on consecutive days. If you catch at least one Pokémon a day for seven straight days, you will receive a consecutive catch streak bonus. Each catch for the first six days will net you an extra 500 XP, on the seventh day you’ll earn 2,000 XP.
