With over one thousand Pokemon with multiple forms across the franchise, some eventually became rarer than others. Beyond the obviously rare and valuable creatures, there’s a small group of Pokemon that have wound up as valuable even if most players don’t even think about them. Some Pokemon are sporadically available in Pokemon Go, but for the most part, finding them reliably is difficult.
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Every Pokemon Game on the Nintendo Switch, Ranked
The best Pokemon games on the Nintendo Switch are chock full of innovation and help to elevate Nintendo’s long-running franchise to all-new heights.
While Shiny, Mythical, and Legendary Pokemon are intentionally hard to obtain in the franchise, with the Indigo Disk DLC in Scarlet and Violet bringing some Legendaries back for new players to find, a select few, typically normal Pokemon, have found themselves as valuable for collectors. These Pokemon are difficult to obtain, for reasons ranging from restricted Pokedexes to specifically special forms, and often have players wanting to catch ‘em all offering everything for one.
11 Pumpkaboo
The Importance Of Size
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- Generation Debut: 6
- Type: Ghost/Grass
- Rare In: Pokemon X/Y, Pokemon Sword/Shield
Pumpkaboo, as well as Gourgeist, are readily available in Pokemon Sword and Shield and are always found around Halloween time in Pokemon Go. But while the Pokemon is generally available, the many forms it comes in are slightly trickier to completely collect.
How to Get Litten, Torracat, and Incineroar in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet (Indigo Disk)
If you want to add the powerful Fire/Dark-type Incineroar to your team in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, you can start by catching Litten in Indigo Disk.
Being a haunted gourd, Pumpkaboo can come in four different sizes, ranging from small to super-sized. These sizes cannot be changed in any way, and when it evolves into Gourgeist, the size carries over. While telling super from small is obvious, especially since the pitch of its cry deepens, making sure each of Pumpkaboo’s different sizes has been collected can be tricky.
9 Pansage, Pansear, and Panpour
Stuck Behind The Switch
- Generation Debut: 5
- Type: Grass, Fire, Water
- Rare In: Pokemon Sun/Moon, Switch Pokemon Games
Often referred to as the Elemental Monkeys, Pansage, Pansear, and Panpour, along with their evolutions, are one of the few Pokemon not available in any of the Switch Pokemon games. Last available in Pokemon X and Y, these six Pokemon are an oft-forgotten part of the Pokedex.
Thankfully, Pansage, Pansear, and Panpour are found in a forest immediately after picking a starter Pokemon, making them a fast catch for those needing the monkeys to complete the Pokedex. And even though these supplemental starter Pokemon are often hated, they manage to end up as valuable anyway.
8 Patrat
A Rare Regional Rodent
- Generation Debut: 5
- Type: Normal
- Rare In: Pokemon X/Y, Pokemon Sun/Moon, Switch Pokemon Games
Players familiar with Pokemon Black and White would not even remotely say that Patrat, or its evolution Watchog, are hard to find or especially wanted. But ever since that introduction four generations ago, finding this regional rodent is impossible on the Nintendo Switch.
The last time Patrat or Watchog was available was in Pokemon X and Y, and only Watchog could be caught in the wild, with Patrat needing to be bred from it. While it can be found in Pokemon Go, the only reliable way of finding either Unovan rodent is on the 3DS.
7 Pikachu
The Rarity Of The Series’ Mascot
- Generation Debut: 1
- Type: Electric
- Rare In: Pokemon Sword/Shield, Pokemon Scarlet/Violet
In almost every single game, Pikachu is readily available. Every Pokemon player is aware of Pikachu, and most people in general are vaguely aware of Pikachu. Being the series’ mascot, Pikachu is practically everywhere, and yet, it manages to be rare at the exact same time.
How to Get Totodile, Croconaw, and Feraligatr in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet (Indigo Disk)
If you’re looking to add Totodile and its evolutions to the Pokedex in Scarlet/Violet’s Indigo Disk, then here’s what you’ll need to know.
The Partner Cap Pikachu forms, featuring Pikachu wearing Ash’s signature caps from various seasons of the anime, are usually obtainable only as limited-time distributions. This elusive variant of the electric mouse was last available in 2020, and while it’s almost guaranteed to return as a distribution, this group of eight Pikachu is quite the collector’s piece for now.
6 Greninja
A Gimmick Left Behind
- Generation Debut: 6
- Type: Water/Dark
- Rare In: Pokemon Scarlet/Violet
Like all starters from previous generations, Greninja is readily available to players in Scarlet and Violet thanks to the Indigo Disk. Most starters are often passed around over Surprise Trade as well, making them somewhat difficult to obtain, but certainly not rare or especially valuable. Ash Greninja, a special form based on the anime, is a different case entirely.
Greninja with the Battle Bond ability, also called Ash Greninja, was only available for players who have access to the demo of Pokemon Sun and Moon on the 3DS. Since the demo is no longer downloadable, it is not obtainable for most players.
5 Spinda
A Unique Oddity
- Generation Debut: 3
- Type: Normal
- Rare In: Switch Pokemon Games
Found in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, Spinda isn’t particularly hard to find as a swarm Pokemon. And since no player seriously considers obtaining every Spinda pattern, of which there are roughly four billion, catching Spinda is usually a one-and-done. Given the nature of the Generation Four remakes, adding a Spinda to a Pokemon Home collection isn’t that easy.
Thanks to a coding error, Spinda caught in BDSP cannot leave BDSP. For players in search of Spinda that actually counts as part of the National Pokedex, the treasure hunt has only begun.
4 Sinistea and Poltchageist
Rare Special Teas
- Generation Debut: 8
- Type: Ghost
- Rare In: Pokemon Sword/Shield, Pokemon Scarlet/Violet
Perhaps the most well-known detail about both the Sinistea line and its convergent version in Poltchageist is the far rarer form, the authentic and artisan variants, respectively. Since this form can only be caught, and cannot be bred down, as the whole point with the true forms is that they aren’t reproductions, finding the properly stamped tea cups can be difficult.
While Scarlet and Violet offers outbreaks specific to the true forms, the difficulty of finding authentic Sinisteas and artisan Poltchageists does drop considerably, making it rare enough for most players.
3 Alcremie
The Value Of Sprinkles
- Generation Debut: 8
- Type: Fairy
- Rare In: Pokemon Sword/Shield, Pokemon Scarlet/Violet
Now available in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet in the Terrarium, finding Milcery to turn into Alcremie isn’t especially hard. But for players searching for specific Alcremie with certain sweets, or players even hunting down every possible variant of Alcremie, two forms are decidedly more difficult.
Most Difficult To Spot Shiny Pokemon in Scarlet & Violet
Shiny Hunters will want to be on the lookout for these hard-to-spot Shiny Pokemon in Scarlet & Violet.
The Ribbon Sweet and Star Sweet are only obtainable in Scarlet and Violet through the Item Printer at the Blueberry Academy. Since the other sweets can be obtained in the wild, the 18 Alcremie variants that need these sweets certainly have to get lucky, and after that, are a pretty solid trade offer.
2 Furfrou
Unobtainable French Poodle Fashion
- Generation Debut: 6
- Type: Normal
- Rare In: Switch Pokemon Games
A Pokemon that most players don’t even think about, Furfrou is perhaps one of the most sought-after Normal-types directly after its introduction in Generation Six. The gimmick for Furfrou is to dress it up with different haircuts and, while that doesn’t sound especially exciting or notable, the key distinction with this cosmetic is how it retains its form in Pokemon Home.
Because only Furfrou found in Pokemon Go keep their fancy haircuts, that is the only way to obtain every variant of Furfrou. The major point about all of Fufrou’s fashion is that most of these forms are only obtainable in certain locations in real life, such as the Pharaoh trim in Egypt. As such, collectors searching for every Pokemon, in every form, are more than willing to trade Legendaries and Shinies for something so common.
1 Vivillon
One Of The Most Coveted Pokemon On The GTS
- Generation Debut: 6
- Type: Bug/Flying
- Rare In: Pokemon X/Y, Pokemon Scarlet/Violet
Vivillon, in both Pokemon X and Y and Scarlet and Violet, has dominated the GTS. This butterfly Pokemon is easily found in early routes in both games, easily evolved from Scatterbug, seemingly making it nothing more than Pokedex filler, but as some players know, the true value of Vivillon relies on real-world locations.
In Pokemon Go and X and Y, depending on where the Scatterbug is from or where the player is from, the pattern of Vivillon’s wings will change. The Modern form, native to mainland North America, isn’t too rare, but the Ocean patterns and Icy Snow patterns that are only found in places such as Hawai’i and Finland respectively are the true treasures of this Pokemon species. Vivillon has consistently ranked as a popular trade on the GTS, and often requests Legendaries in return. For rarer patterns, that might even be a good trade.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet
- Released
- November 18, 2022
