Pokémon

Pokémon, the main element of Pokémon GO, are creatures which trainer has the task to catch.

Acquiring Pokémon
Pokémon can be currently acquired in three ways:
 * 1) Catching them in wild/Raid Bonus Challange/research tasks
 * 2) Hatching them from eggs obtained from PokéStops and/or Gyms
 * 3) Trading

Catching Pokémon
Catching Pokémon in Pokémon GO is bit different than catching them in games from core series, as trainer doesn't have to fight with Pokémon before he catches it. Player can catch Pokémon by coming to spot where Pokémon is to encounter it in map view and then simply tapping on it to enter the encounter screen. Player can also catch Pokémon from a bonus challenge of Raid Battle and as a reward from research tasks.

Hatching Pokémon eggs
Hatching Pokémon is second way of acquiring it. To hatch Pokémon, player has to firstly get a Pokémon Egg by spinning Photo Disc at PokéStops and Gyms, then basically trainer puts an egg to an incubator and has to walk specified distance to hatch it.

Trading Pokémon
Trading is the third way to acquire Pokémon. Players have to trade at close distance by using Stardust.

Pokémon collection
To enter to the page with captured Pokémon in game:
 * 1) in Map View touch Main Menu button [[file:Button Main Menu.png|30px|link=]]
 * 2) touch Pokémon button [[file:White Button Pokemon.png|30px|link=]]

Pokémon collection page on its top has three tabs - Party, Pokémon and Eggs, that player can click on it or swipe the screen right or left to access each of them. On each of those to tabs there's either shown all of the Pokémon player captured, all of the Eggs player has or up to 5 customizable battle parties of 6 Pokémon. More about eggs collection page is here. More about battle parties page is here.

Initially players have only 300 slots for their Pokémon collection, but they can expand its space by buying upgrade. Every upgrade gives 50 more slots for Pokémon and a Trainer can have up to 2,500 slots for their Pokémon.

Pokémon collection can be sorted in 6 orders, that can be changed by tapping on the button in bottom left corner of screen. Pokémon can be sorted:


 * by date Pokémon were caught, the most recent on the beginning, this option is default set after login [[file:Button Sort by Date.png|30px|link=]],
 * by favourite Pokémon, which is technically same order as the one by CP but all favorite Pokémon shows up first on the list [[file:Button Sort by Favourite.png|30px|link=]],
 * by Pokédex number [[file:Button Sort by Number.png|30px|link=]],
 * by Pokémon's HP [[file:Button Sort by HP.png|30px|link=]],
 * alphabetically by Pokémon's name [[file:Button Sort by Name.png|30px|link=]],
 * and by Pokémon's CP [[file:Button Sort by CP.png|30px|link=]].

There are several optional indications shown with each Pokémon thumbnails:
 * if Pokémon is marked as favourite, there's gold star icon in the top-right corner of Pokémon,
 * if Pokémon is deployed in gym or is trainer's buddy, there's mark with an appropriate icon to the left from that Pokémon,
 * if Pokémon was caught in the last 24 hours, there's green glow behind that Pokémon.

There are three ways to exit from the page with captured Pokémon:
 * by tapping on return button on the player's mobile device (not available for iPhone users for obvious reason),
 * by tapping on the exit button [[file:Button Close.png|30px|link=]] on the bottom of screen,
 * by swiping down at the very top of the page, which cause X icon appeared and then release.

Search bar and filtering option
In top-right corner of page with Pokémon Collection, under the tabs with Pokémon and Eggs there's search button that allows player to filter their Pokémon collection. There are several commands and characters to filter Pokémon with.

Pokémon summary
Every captured Pokémon has its own summary page which player can access by tapping on the certain Pokémon on the Pokémon Collection page.

On this page there are following elements:
 * 1) Pokémon's CP
 * 2) Button allowing to mark Pokémon as favourite
 * 3) Pokémon’s nickname (on explanatory picture it's set to default)
 * 4) Button allowing to change Pokémon's nickname
 * 5) Pokémon’s HP
 * 6) Pokémon’s gender
 * 7) Pokémon’s types, weight, and height
 * 8) Candy and Stardust needed to Power Up and evolve
 * 9) Pokémon’s moves
 * 10) Location and time the Pokémon was caught. If the Pokémon was hatched from an Egg, it will display the location and time the Egg was obtained.
 * 11) *Currently, in front of the location, there's also displayed icon with certain Poké Ball with which caught or egg from which Pokémon was hatched.
 * 12) *If Pokémon comes from evolution it shows basic Poké Ball instead of way the pre-evolutionary form was obtained.
 * 13) Menu [[file:Button Menu.png|30px|link=]]
 * 14) *Mark the Pokémon as favourite [[file:New Button Favourite.png|30px|link=]]
 * 15) *Appraise Pokémon’s strengths and abilities [[file:New Button Appraise.png|30px|link=]]
 * 16) *Transfer the Pokémon to the Professor [[file:New Button Transfer.png|30px|link=]].

List of Pokémon
Currently there are 493 Pokémon in game data, but not all of them are available to acquire. These Pokémon are known from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh regions known from games of core series. Regional variants from Alola are also available.

For list of Pokémon with their data from Pokédex see: List of Pokémon by Pokédex data For list of Pokémon with their base stats and maximal Combat Power see: List of Pokémon by their statistics For list of Pokémon by their evolutionary lines: List of Pokémon families

Pokédex
Pokédex is one of game elements, which allows trainer to learn more about Pokémon that were already caught or seen.

Appraisal
Pokémon Appraisal is game element, that allows trainer to learn about Pokémon's statistics from their Team Leader. This game element is available for trainers above 5 level and chose their team, as Pokémon Appraisal is mainly used for determination of Pokémon mostly useful in combat.

Combat Power
Combat Power (CP for short) is a measurement which indicates how well particular Pokémon will perform in battle. Higher CP values mean the Pokémon will be stronger and will hit harder.

Hit Points
Hit Points (HP for short) is a measurement of the Pokémon's health. All Pokémon start out with full HP at capture, but HP can be depleted during battle.

Hidden statistics
In Pokémon GO there are some statistics related to Pokémon that are hidden and basically there's no place in game where they are displayed. Those are:
 * Pokémon Level this statistic, known from original Pokémon games is hidden in the Pokémon GO and is partially indicated with a Combat Power. Level of any captured Pokémon cannot be higher than Trainer level, unless Pokémon was caught with a weather boost.
 * Base Stats (Attack, Defense, Stamina) these three statistics, well known from the games of core series, are also hidden in Pokémon GO. The CP value is based on these statistics.
 * Individual Values that determine if a Pokémon is stronger than another Pokémon of the same species, as they are unique to each Pokémon obtained. They can be generally checked with Pokémon Appraisal.
 * Same-Type Attack Bonus that is a bonus that is applied to the power of an Attack, if the Type of the Attack matches the Type of the Pokémon.

Genders
Pokémon have Genders that are either male or female but they can be also genderless. There are some Pokémon species that have only one gender. Some of Pokémon have also different forms depending on their genders.

For list of Pokémon species genders and their ratio for each other, see:

For list of different forms of Pokémon species depending on their genders, see:

Evolution
Pokémon can evolve through the use of Candy. The amount of candy required differs depending on the Pokémon species. The CP of the previous evolutionary Pokémon affects the CP cap of the next stage of Pokémon.

Pokémon families
Pokémon families also called Evolutionary lines are groups of Pokémon species that are related with each other through their evolution.

Transfer
Transfer is an option in the game to remove specific Pokémon from Trainer's collection and in exchange for transferring a Pokémon they receive one Candy of Pokémon that was transferred.

Transferred Pokémon can’t be returned to Trainer's collection.



To transfer a Pokémon:


 * 1) In Map View touch Main Menu button [[file:Button Main Menu.png|30px|link=]].
 * 2) Touch Pokémon button [[file:White Button Pokemon.png|30px|link=]].
 * 3) Select a Pokémon from list and tap on it to open their summary page.
 * 4) Touch the Menu button [[file:Button Menu.png|30px|link=]] and select Transfer New Button Transfer.png.

There are some safety locks and prompts to prevent from accidental transferring favorite, rare and Legendary Pokémon. There is no possibility to transfer favorite Pokémon until its unmarked as favorite. There are several prompts that pop up while trying to transfer:

There is also no possibility to transfer Pokémon that is currently defending gym or is Trainer's Buddy Pokémon.
 * Legendary Pokémon
 * Shiny Pokémon
 * Lucky Pokémon
 * Event Pokémon (such as Pikachu with hat)

Mass transfer
There is also an option to transfer more than one Pokémon at the time with same conditions: 1 Candy for 1 Pokémon Transferred.

To do so:


 * 1) In Map View touch Main Menu button [[file:Button Main Menu.png|30px|link=]].
 * 2) Touch Pokémon button [[file:White Button Pokemon.png|30px|link=]].
 * 3) Locate a Pokémon you’d like to transfer. Touch and hold until the Pokémon becomes selected.
 * 4) Touch any other Pokémon you’d like to transfer.
 * 5) To transfer the selected Pokémon, touch the Transfer button located at the bottom-centre of the screen.

Just like at singular transfer same safety locks work in case of mass transfer but with significant difference that there is just no option to select:

To transfer first three of the listed player has to use manual transfer option from menu on each Pokémon's summary page.
 * legendary,
 * shiny,
 * lucky,
 * event,
 * favorite,
 * defending Gym,
 * or Buddy Pokémon.

Transfer to Pokémon Let's Go!
After release of Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu! and Let's Go Eevee!, there was another Pokémon transfer option enabled in Pokémon GO. After pairing Pokémon GO with Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee! player can select up to 50 certain Pokémon and transfer them to the Nintendo Switch game. This option is similar to Mass transfer and also rewards trainer with one candy per one transferred Pokémon.

Pokémon transferred from the mobile game to the Nintendo Switch game appear in GO Park. Similar to regular transfer feature, Pokémon transferred to Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee! cannot be returned to Pokémon GO and any other Pokémon from Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee! cannot be transferred to the mobile game, as well.

Following Pokémon can be transferred from Pokémon GO to Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee!:
 * All Kanto-region Pokémon,
 * Excluding Mythical Pokémon Mew,
 * Excluding Pokémon with event costumes such as Pikachu or Squirtle,
 * All Alolan forms of Kanto-region Pokémon,
 * Meltan and Melmetal.

Buddy Pokémon
Buddy Pokémon is game element that allows player to pick one specific Pokémon, which after walking certain distance will reward one candy of selected Pokémon.

Starter Pokémon
Starter Pokémon are group of four specific Pokémon, that beginning player has to catch. Trainer can choose only one of those four Pokémon and after catching it the other ones disappear. Unlike the other Pokémon catching, while catching the Starter Pokémon Trainer has unlimited Poké Balls and Pokémon's catch rate is 100%, despite the fact catch rates for Starter Pokémon species are pretty low (16%).

Also only three of four Starter Pokémon appear near the new trainer immediately while trainer is guided by Professor Willow. Those Pokémon are Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle. For the fourth one - Pikachu (which is considered to be an Easter Egg) player has to move a bit further from spawned Starter Pokémon to make them disappear and show up again near player's current location with chance to fourth Starter Pokémon to appear. If Pikachu does not appear, player can keep on going further until Pikachu don't show up with rest of Starter Pokémon.

Unofficial Starter Pokémon
Besides the official in-game Starter Pokémon, there are also some other Pokémon from other regions than Kanto that are called "Starter Pokémon" in player community, because of the fact, that they were Starter Pokémon in games of core series. They are not official Starter Pokémon in Pokémon GO.

Following Pokémon are considered Johto-region Starter Pokémon: 

Region-exclusive Pokémon
Region-exclusive Pokémon are group of Pokémon that are exclusive for specific region in real world and are available for obtain only by catching them in wild in these specific regions. Currently in game there are 21 Pokémon that are region-exclusive.

Shiny Pokémon
Shiny Pokémon are kind of extremely rare Pokémon that have, color variation that differs from their normal appearance. These color variations may range from minor hue adjustments to completely new palettes.

Shiny Pokémon will have an aurora of stars floating around them. Trainers won't see whether Pokémon is shiny in nearby until they encounter it. Once a player captures a shiny Pokémon, their Pokédex will show that they have captured it and additional switch buttons for shiny forms will get unlocked in specific Pokédex entry.

Shiny Pokémon are released in parts with the events.

Legendary Pokémon
Legendary Pokémon are group of Pokémon considered to be very rare and powerful. They cannot be obtained by catching them in the wild nor hatching from eggs. There are two primarily methods to capture Legendary Pokémon: defeat them in Raid Battle and then can catch them in Bonus Challenge or claiming Research Breakthrough. They can also be traded in a Special Trade.

Baby Pokémon
Baby Pokémon are Pokémon that can be obtained only by hatching eggs and they evolve into Pokémon that were already available in game before Baby Pokémon were released.

It's similar to the core-series, where Baby Pokémon were pre-evolutionary forms of Pokémon that were released in generation previous to this one in which Baby Pokémon were released, the exception for it are Togepi and Riolu, which evolved forms are from the same generations as them.

Johto
There are eight Baby Pokémon from the Johto region in Pokémon GO. All of them are available to hatch from eggs. These Pokémon include:

Hoenn
There are two Baby Pokémon from the Hoenn region in Pokémon GO. Both of them are available to hatch from eggs as well. These Pokémon include:

Sinnoh
There are eight Baby Pokémon from the Sinnoh region in Pokémon GO. These Pokémon include:

Other Pokémon groups
There are several other Pokémon groups referred across different Pokémon games media and in player community, these groups are rather fanmade or unofficial but still commonly used.

Electrical rodents
Electrical rodents also referred as Pikachu family and Pikachu clones are group of Pokémon from different regions that are Electric-type and similar to Pikachu due to their designs.

Some people consider Marill to be a part of this group, however it doesn't completely fit as despite its rodent appearance it doesn't have Electric type.

Elemental monkeys
Elemental monkeys are a group of region-exclusive Pokémon from the Unova region that are based on monkeys of various elemental types (Grass, Fire and Water). They share similar attacks, appearance and identical base stats. Each can evolve with the use of a Unova Stone.

Eeveelutions
Eeveelutions is a fan term for a group that basically includes all possible evolution forms of Eevee.

Fossil Pokémon
Fossil Pokémon are Rock-type Pokémon revived from fossils in main series. The majority of them are available in wild just like most of the Pokémon in Pokémon GO.



Hitmons
Hitmons is a fan term for a group that basically includes all three possible evolution forms of Tyrogue.

Pseudo-legendary Pokémon
Pseudo-legendary Pokémon refers to the highest stage Pokémon that has a three-stage evolution line, 1,250,000 experience at level 100, and a base stat total of exactly 600 in main game series. In Pokémon GO, they are powerful non-legendary Pokémon having over 3,600 CP and their first stage can be hatched in 10-km Eggs.



Lucky Pokémon
Lucky Pokémon are special Pokémon; received via trading that are more likely to be stronger opponents in battle, require less Stardust to power up, and appear with a shimmery effect in the Pokédex and the Pokémon Profile.

Pokémon with different forms
Pokémon with different forms are variations of Pokémon who may appear in different forms due to various reasons.

Backgrounds
There are different backgrounds on Pokémon summary page depending on Pokémon's primary type.

Trivia

 * Word "Pokémon" comes from words "pocket" and "monster".
 * On December, 2017, the maximum capacity of a Trainer's Pokémon storage was increased from 1,000 to 1,500.
 * On November, 2018, the maximum capacity of a Trainer's Pokémon storage was increased from 1,500 to 2,000. The storage increase was originally planned for the second anniversary of Pokémon GO.
 * On July, 2019, the maximum capacity of a Trainer's Pokémon storage was increased from 2,000 to 2,500.