Regions

Regions are an organized areas of the Pokémon world known from previous games about Pokémon such as games from core series. In Pokémon GO there are currently eight regions referred, which are Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, Alola and Galar.

Kanto
The Pokémon known from Kanto region were the base Pokémon released in Pokémon GO, but not all Pokémon of this region were released at one time.

History

 * Most of the Pokémon from Kanto was released with the game release.
 * November, 2016 – Ditto was released in the games, disguised as other Pokémon.
 * July, 2017 – Articuno was available from Raid Battles for the first time.
 * July, 2017 – Moltres was available from Raid Battles for the first time.
 * August, 2017 – Zapdos was available from Raid Battles for the first time.
 * August, 2017, during the Pokémon GO Stadium event, Mewtwo was confirmed as a Raid Boss.
 * March, 2018 – Mew became available as the reward for completing A Mythical Discovery.

Johto
Johto is the second region from which Pokémon are available in Pokémon GO. The Pokémon from this region were firstly released in December 2016 as Baby Pokémon available to hatch from Pokémon Eggs.

History

 * December, 2016 - Togepi and Pichu along with other Baby Pokémon (except Tyrogue) and Togetic as evolution of Togepi were released as Pokémon available only to hatch from Pokémon Eggs.
 * February, 2017 - over 80 Pokémon from this region became available to catch in the wild and hatch from eggs.
 * July, 2017 - Lugia was released as the Legendary Raid Boss for the first time and were available to catch only after defeating it.
 * From August, 2017 to September , 2017 - Legendary Beasts were available as the Legendary Raid Bosses for the first time and were available to catch only after defeating them. All three of these Pokémon were exclusive to following regions:
 * Raikou could be battled throughout the Americas
 * Entei could be battled throughout Europe and Africa
 * Suicune could be battled throughout the Asia-Pacific region
 * September, all three of Legendary Beasts moved to different locations and are available until October in following regions:
 * Raikou could be battled throughout the Asia-Pacific region
 * Entei could be battled throughout the Americas
 * Suicune could be battled throughout Europe and Africa
 * October, all three of Legendary Beasts moved for last time to different locations and were available until November in following regions:
 * Raikou - Europe and Africa
 * Entei - Asia-Pacific region
 * Suicune - the Americas.
 * November, 2017 - Ho-Oh was released as the Legendary Raid Boss for the first time and were available to catch only after defeating it.
 * December, 2017 – Delibird was announced to be released along with 20 Ice and Water-type Pokémon from Hoenn.
 * It was released day later, on December, 2017.
 * July, 2018 – Celebi became available for Pokémon GO Fest 2018 attendees only.
 * August, 2018 – Celebi became available worldwide as the reward for completing A Ripple in Time.
 * February, 2019 – Smeargle became available via GO Snapshot.

Hoenn
Hoenn is the third region from original core series of which Pokémon are now available in Pokémon GO.

Selected non-legendary Pokémon from this region were mostly released in 5 waves:
 * 1) In October 2017 as a part of Halloween event - 5 Ghost-type Pokémon.
 * 2) In December 2017 as main release of Hoenn-region Pokémon - 50 selected Pokémon.
 * 3) In late December 2017, more Pokémon of this region were made available - 20 aquatic themed, mainly Water and Ice-type Pokémon.
 * 4) In January 2018, yet more were made available - 23 desert themed, mainly Ground and Rock-type Pokémon.
 * 5) In February 2018, more selected, sky themed, mainly Flying and Dragon-type Pokémon.

Currently there is a one Pokémon that is yet to be released &mdash; Kecleon.

History

 * On October, 2017, five Pokémon of Ghost and Dark types were released as a part of Halloween event. Those were Sableye, Shuppet, Banette, Duskull and Dusclops.
 * December, 2017 - 50 selected Pokémon from Hoenn-region were announced to become available to catch in the wild and hatch from eggs later that week along with Weather game feature.
 * They were made available to catch in wild and hatch from eggs on December, 2017, along with Mawile and Absol introduced as Raid Bosses.
 * This release might be called the "main release" of this-region Pokémon, as it brings  to the gameplay  the most of them.
 * December, 2017 - Groudon was available to be defeated and caught in Raid Battle for the first time.
 * On December, 2017 - 20 Water and Ice-type Pokémon from Hoenn region were announced to catch in wild and they were released day later.
 * January, 2018 - Kyogre was available to be defeated and caught in Raid Battle for the first time.
 * On January, 2018 - 23 mostly Rock and Ground-type Pokémon from Hoenn region were announced and later this day released to catch in wild.
 * On February, 2018 - 19 mostly Flying and Dragon-type Pokémon from Hoenn region were announced to catch in wild and they were released day later.
 * February, 2018 - Rayquaza was available to be defeated and caught in Raid Battle for the first time.
 * April, 2018 - Latios was able to be defeated and captured across the Americas and Africa for the first time; until it switched with is counterpart Latias, which is now available in Europe and Asia.
 * May, 2018 - Latias is able to be defeated and captured across the Americas and Africa for the first time; while is counterpart Latios is available in Europe and Asia.
 * June, 2018 - Regice was available to be defeated and caught in Raid Battle for the first time.
 * July, 2018 - Registeel was available to be defeated and caught in Raid Battle for the first time.
 * August, 2018 - 8th pattern form of Spinda was made available as reward for Field Research tasks.
 * On September, 2018, there was 3rd pattern variant of Spinda released.
 * On October, 2018, there was 1st pattern variant of Spinda released.
 * On November, 2018, there was 7th pattern variant of Spinda released.
 * On December, 2018, there was 6th pattern variant of Spinda released.
 * On January, 2019, there was 5th pattern variant of Spinda released.
 * On March, 2019, there was 2nd pattern variant of Spinda released.
 * On May, 2019, there was 4th pattern variant of Spinda released.
 * August, 2018 - Regirock was available to be defeated and caught in Raid Battle for the first time.
 * October, 2018 - Deoxys became available to be battled exclusively in EX Raid Battles.
 * December, 2018 - Attack Forme Deoxys became available to be battled exclusively in EX Raid Battles.
 * March, 2019 - Defense Forme Deoxys became available to be battled exclusively in EX Raid Battles.
 * July, 2019 - Speed Forme Deoxys became available to be battled exclusively in EX Raid Battles.
 * November, 2018 – Nincada, Ninjask, Shedinja were exclusively released with the Bug-type Pokémon themed Research tasks. Nincada became reward for regular Field Research tasks, while Shedinja could be rewarded from Field Research Breakthrough.
 * February, 2019 – Clamperl was first made available in Limited Research.
 * June, 2019 – Jirachi became available for Pokémon GO Fest 2019 attendees only.
 * August, 2019 – Jirachi became available worldwide as the reward for completing A Thousand-Year Slumber.

Alola
Alola is the fourth region, in release order, to be mentioned in Pokémon GO. Unlike three previous regions there are currently no new Pokémon species from this region planned to be added to the game but only Alolan forms of Kanto-region Pokémon.

History

 * May, 2018 - The release of Alolan forms of Kanto-region Pokémon was announced to be released in game.
 * May, 2018 - Alolan Exeggutor was released.
 * June, 2018 - Alolan variants of Vulpix, Sandshrew, Meowth, Grimer and their evolutionary lines were made available to hatch from 7-km Eggs.
 * June, 2018 - Without prior announcement, Alolan Rattata became available to be caught in the wild.
 * July, 2018 - Alolan variants of Geodude, Diglett and their evolutionary lines were released to catch in the wild with the beginning of 2018 edition of Pokémon GO Fest.
 * They were added to 7-km Eggs hatchlings pool after the event has ended.
 * July, 2018 - Alolan variants of Raichu and Marowak were made available to be defeated and caught exclusively in Raid Battles.

Sinnoh
Sinnoh is the fifth region from which Pokémon are available in Pokémon GO. Pokémon originally discovered in this region are released in waves. The release in waves is similar to Hoenn-region Pokémon release however there are no particular type-themes of these waves.

Currently there are 103 out of 107 Pokémon species from Sinnoh region released to the game. The unreleased Pokémon from this region are: Phione, Manaphy, Shaymin and Arceus.

History

 * October, 2018 – Release of Sinnoh-region Pokémon was officially announced.
 * October, 2018 – 26 selected Pokémon were released to the gameplay. Including:
 * Turtwig, Chimchar, Piplup, Starly, Bidoof, Kricketot and Buneary started appearing in the wild.
 * Shinx and Riolu started to hatch from Eggs.
 * Carnivine was reported to appear exclusively in Southern areas of the.
 * Chatot was reported to appear exclusively in countries of Southern Hemisphere.
 * Pachirisu was reported to appear exclusively in North-Arctic countries (, Northern ).
 * October, 2018 – 6 select Ghost- and Dark-type Pokémon were released to the gameplay. Including:
 * Drifloon, Stunky and Skuntank were released to the wild, with Drifblim available from evolution.
 * Spiritomb was made available from event-exclusive Special Research task series &mdash; A Spooky Message.
 * Altered Forme Giratina was released as Legendary Raid Boss for the first time.
 * November, 2018 – Budew, Buizel, and Floatzel were released, but not Roserade.
 * November, 2018 – 11 selected Pokémon, that are evolved forms of previously available in game Pokémon from other regions, were released to the game. These Pokémon were: Roserade, Mismagius, Honchkrow, Weavile, Rhyperior, Electivire, Magmortar, Togekiss, Gliscor, Porygon-Z and Dusknoir were released into gameplay along with the Sinnoh Stone.
 * November, 2018 – Cresselia was available to be defeated and caught in Raid Battle for the first time.
 * December, 2018 – 14 Pokémon were released to the gameplay. Including:
 * Families of Bronzor, Skorupi, Croagunk, Finneon and Snover were released in wild.
 * Chingling, Munchlax and Mantyke were available in Eggs.
 * Heatran was available to be defeated and caught in Raid Battle for the first time.
 * January, 2019 – Palkia was available to be defeated and caught in Raid Battle for the first time.
 * January, 2019 – 15 Pokémon were released, including:
 * Families of Combee, Glameow and Fossil Pokémon – Cranidos and Shieldon were released.
 * Bonsly was made available to be hatched from eggs and was the first Baby Pokémon in the game to require Buddy distance walked in order to evolve it.
 * 6 selected Pokémon, that are evolved forms of previously available in game Pokémon from other regions, were released to the game. These Pokémon were: Ambipom, Lickilicky, Tangrowth, Yanmega, Gallade and Froslass.
 * February, 2019 – Happiny became available from Eggs with the beginning of Valentine's Day 2019.
 * February, 2019 – Mamoswine was released on a day prior to February Community Day that featured Swinub.
 * March, 2019 – Dialga was available to be defeated and caught in Raid Battle for the first time.
 * April, 2019 – Origin Forme Giratina was available to be defeated and caught in Raid Battle for the first time.
 * April, 2019 – The Lake Guardians Uxie, Mesprit and Azelf were made to be the first Legendary Pokémon to be released in wild.
 * May, 2019 – 16 Pokémon were released, including:
 * Families of Burmy, Cherubi, Shellos, Gible and Hippopotas were released.
 * Magnezone, Leafeon, Glaceon and Probopass were available to be evolved via advanced Lure Modules.
 * September, 2019 – Mime Jr. became available from Eggs in Europe with the beginning of World Tourism Day.
 * October, 2019 – Darkrai became available in Raid Battle with the beginning of Halloween 2019.
 * November, 2019 – Regigigas became available as the reward for completing A Colossal Discovery.
 * July, 2020 – Wash Rotom became available for Pokémon GO Fest 2020 ticket holders only.

Unova
Unova is the sixth region from which Pokémon are available in Pokémon GO. It was first mentioned in the blog post of Ultra Bonus Event 2019. Pokémon originally discovered in this region are released in waves.

Currently there are 147 out of 156 Pokémon species from Unova region released to the game. These are unreleased Pokémon from Unova region:
 * Zorua and Zoroark
 * Mienfoo and Mienshao
 * Druddigon
 * Larvesta and Volcarona
 * Keldeo
 * Meloetta

History

 * September, 2019 – 46 selected Pokémon were released to the gameplay. Including:
 * Snivy, Tepig, Oshawott, Patrat, Lillipup, Purrloin, Pidove, Blitzle, Drilbur, Foongus, Ferroseed, Litwick, Golett and Deino were made available in wild and Eggs.
 * Klink was introduced to Eggs and Raid Battles.
 * Pansage, Pansear, Panpour, Heatmor and Durant were made to be region-exclusive.
 * October, 2019 – Yamask became available with the beginning of Halloween 2019.
 * November, 2019 – Cobalion became available in Raid Battles.
 * November, 2019 – Terrakion became available in Raid Battles.
 * December, 2019 – Virizion became available in Raid Battles.
 * December, 2019 – Cubchoo and Cryogonal became available with the beginning of Holiday 2019.
 * January, 2020 – 34 selected Pokémon were released to the gameplay. Including:
 * Roggenrola, Tympole, Venipede, Dwebble, Tirtouga, Archen, Trubbish, Karrablast, Joltik, Axew and Shelmet were made available in wild and Eggs.
 * Timburr was introduced to Eggs and Raid Battles.
 * Throh, Sawk, Basculin, Maractus and Sigilyph were made to be region-exclusive.
 * January, 2020 – Darumaka and Standard Mode Darmanitan became available with the beginning of Lunar New Year 2020.
 * January, 2020 – Scraggy became available via GO Battle League.
 * February, 2020 – Woobat became available via Research Breakthrough.
 * February, 2020 – Minccino was first made available in Limited Research.
 * February, 2020 – Incarnate Forme Tornadus became available in Raid Battles.
 * February, 2020 – Audino and Alomomola became available with the beginning of Valentine's Day 2020.
 * March, 2020 – Incarnate Forme Thundurus became available in Raid Battles.
 * March, 2020 – Rufflet became available via GO Battle League Season 1.
 * March, 2020 – Genesect became available as the reward for completing A Drive to Investigate.
 * March, 2020 – Gothita and Solosis became available with the beginning of Psychic Spectacular 2020.
 * March, 2020 – Incarnate Forme Landorus became available in Raid Battles.
 * April, 2020 – Stunfisk became available with the beginning of Tricky Pokémon.
 * May, 2020 – Reshiram became available in Raid Battles.
 * June, 2020 – Zekrom became available in Raid Battles.
 * July, 2020 – Ducklett became available with the beginning of the 4th Anniversary.
 * July, 2020 – Kyurem became available in Raid Battles.
 * July, 2020 – Petilil became available with the beginning of Summer Event.
 * July, 2020 – Victini became available for Pokémon GO Fest 2020 ticket holders only.
 * August, 2020 – Elgyem became available with the beginning of Enigma Week.
 * August, 2020 – Sewaddle, Cottonee, Emolga and Bouffalant became available with the beginning of Unova Week.
 * October, 2020 – Autumn Deerling became available with the beginning of The Seasons Change.
 * October, 2020 – Sandile, Pawniard and Vullaby became available from 12-km Eggs.
 * December, 2020 – Summer and Winter Deerling became available with the beginning of Season of Celebration.
 * December, 2020 – Vanillite became available with the beginning of Holiday 2020.
 * January, 2021 – Frillish became available with the start of the second half of GO Battle League Season 6.
 * February, 2021 – Munna became available with the beginning of Valentine's Day 2021.
 * March, 2021 – Tynamo became available with the beginning of Charge Up.

Galar
Galar is the seventh region, in release order, to be mentioned in Pokémon GO. Unlike Alola, there are also a few new Pokémon species being added to the gameplay due to some regional forms having exclusive evolutions that the original forms do not have.

History

 * November, 2019 - Galarian Weezing was released to celebrate the release of Pokémon Sword and Shield.
 * June, 2020 - Galarian forms of Meowth, Zigzagoon, Linoone, Darumaka, Darmanitan and Stunfisk were released to the game along with their respective evolutions – Perrserker and Obstagoon.
 * June, 2020 - Galarian form of Farfetch'd was released to celebrate the release of Pokémon Sword and Shield Expansion Pass: The Isle of Armor, but its evolution was not available.
 * October, 2020 - Galarian form of Ponyta and Sirfetch'd were released to celebrate the release of Pokémon Sword and Shield Expansion Pass: The Crown Tundra.
 * October, 2020 - Galarian form of Yamask and its evolution Runerigus were released with the beginning of Halloween 2020.
 * December, 2020 - Galarian form of Mr. Mime and its evolution Mr. Rime were released with the Tap... Tap... Tappity-Tap... Special Research.

Kalos
Kalos is the eighth region, in release order, to be mentioned in Pokémon GO. It was first mentioned with GO Beyond on November, 2020. Pokémon originally discovered in this region are released in waves.

History

 * November, 2020 – Espurr was released in raids.
 * December, 2020 – 19 selected Pokémon were released to the gameplay. Including:
 * Chespin, Fennekin, Froakie, Bunnelby, Fletchling, Litleo and Noibat were made available in wild and Eggs.
 * Klefki was made to be region-exclusive to France.

Trivia

 * Another term used in Pokémon GO players community to describe Pokémon groups from each region is Generations. This term was adopted by community but it is not correct in context of Pokémon GO game as the game itself does not neither belong to nor have generations as a result of being under ongoing development.
 * This term was not officially referred in the game nor by its publishers on official social-media and information channels.
 * However, in game data some game features such as Pokédex and correlated medals are referred with  term (short for generation).
 * Therefore Kanto is Generation I, Johto is Generation II, Hoenn is Generation III and so on.
 * Arguably, some fan information sites such as Bulbapedia or Serebii.net state that Pokémon GO would belong to either Generation VII or Generation VIII, but these are not any official statements.
 * More about generations is available here.
 * Common thing for Pokémon, that were not available with main release of Kanto- and Johto-region Pokémon, is that those Pokémon were either legendary or mythical or have certain, special moves like Ditto, Delibird or Smeargle.
 * Although, Pokémon from Hoenn region and any later ones did not have their one main release as they were released in smaller groups.
 * Pokémon species from Hoenn region were added to game the code with game update 0.71.0.
 * On December, 2017 in Apple Watch Store, Pokémon GO banner with Starter Pokémon from Hoenn region appeared- spoiling official announcement about release of Hoenn-region Pokémon that happened next day.
 * Release of fifty Pokémon from Hoenn region and Weather feature had trailer with similar cinematic style as trailer for release of Legendary Pokémon in raid battles and new gyms system and trailer of the game itself.
 * Teaser trailer and release trailer of Sinnoh-region Pokémon also had similar cinematic style.
 * There are at most sixteen known regions that have appeared in the various Pokémon canons.