Summary
With over 1000+ Pokemon to capture in the franchise, there are bound to besome that are rarer than others. Pokemon like Rattata, Bidoof, and Taillow are common in the world, but some aren’t even able to be caught through legitimate means.
In each entry in the franchise, there are Legendary and Mythical Pokemon that are very hard to capture, often only available through an event or promotional means. Usually, there are just one or two in each main series of games. There is always one Pokemon that is almost impossible to acquire. Gamers will need to pull out all the stops to add some of these ‘mons to their rosters.
1Mew
Pokemon Red, Blue & Yellow
The New Species Pokemon was the original hard-to-get Pokemon, first released inPokemon Red & Greenin Japan from April 15th to May 14th in 1996 in an event. This was the only original, legitimate way to get the first Mythical Pokemon in the franchise.
In the West, Mew was distributed throughout 16 individual events in Europe and North America, with some only lasting for a mere couple of days. Out of all the Pokemon inPokemon Red & Blue, Mew is certainly the hardest to acquire. Mew crops up more commonly in the later games, through the purchase of the Pokeball+ and inPokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shinning Pearlif the gamer has saved data from one of theLet’s Gogames.
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2Celebi
Pokemon Gold, Silver & Crystal
Celebi was another Pokemon that was only available through events distributed throughout the world, which were only accessible for a limited time. InGold & Silver, it was much more straightforward to obtain. Just attend one of these events and receive the Pokemon.
However, inPokemon Crystal, gamers would need to have the rare item, the GS Ball, to trigger an in-game event that would lead to the capture of Celebi. This event to receive the GS Ball was only ever released in Japan, so to receive Celebi through legitimate means in the updated edition of the Generation 2 games was impossible.
3Jirachi
Pokemon Ruby, Sapphire & Emerald
The Wish Pokemon was introduced first in North Americathrough a promotion disc for the Nintendo GameCubetitlePokemon Colosseum, which featured a preview of the game, a sneak peek of theJirachi: Wish Makermovie, and a download code for the Pokemon. In Europe, gamers could get a Jirachi from playingPokemon Channel.
InPokemon Emerald, Jirachi was only available through events accessible in Japan and Taiwan. Gamers would have needed to trade their Jirachi fromRubyorSapphireintoEmeraldin the West if they were lucky to have a copy of the games in which Jirachi was released. This Pokemon is still actually available to fans if they can locate either of those games, which is a big task.
4Mew
Pokemon FireRed & LeafGreen
The remakes of the original titles came with the same Pokemon (before the National Dex was available), so, therefore, the hardest Pokemon to acquire is still the elusive Mew.
With the internet not being as powerful back in the early 2000s, there was no way to distribute Pokemon through global events like there is now. Fans who were looking for rare Pokemon needed to attend events, and there were a few around the world. The one in the USA for Mew inPokemon FiredRed & LeafGreenwas only live for one whole day, July 15, 2025. This was the only way to get Mew in North America.
5Manaphy
Pokemon Diamond, Pearl & Platinum
Completing the Pokedex gets easier with each generation, as Manaphy in Generation 4 was available if gamers hadPokemon Ranger,a spin-off game to the franchise. In one of the missions in that game, players were rewarded with a Manaphy egg which could be transferred toPokemon Diamond,Pearl, orPlatinum.
There was also the option to receive Manaphy through an event, which was a lot harder to obtain as it was exclusive to Japan, the United States, Australia, and South Korea. There is another Pokemon that is just as hard to obtain as Manaphy, Phione. This ‘mon is available by breeding a Manaphy with a Ditto, which will produce a Phione egg. But once the player has Manaphy, getting Phione is a breeze.
6Celebi
Pokemon HeartGold & SoulSilver
Continuing the trend from its original titles, the time-traveling Celebi is very hard to acquire in the Nintendo DSHeartGold & SoulSilver. It’s only accessible from in-game events distributed throughout the world on specific dates at certain locations.
There are other ways to get a Celebi, legitimately, but from playing the Generation 4 remakes there is no chance to add the Time Travel Pokemon to the Pokedex without the use of cheats. It is a shame that Game Freak includes these event-exclusive Pokemon as gamers who want to complete the Pokedex are left with huge gaps and will need to look to other games to fill them.
7Victini
Pokemon Black & White
The only Pokemon that has the unique characteristic of appearing beforethe First Partner Pokemonin a franchise, the Victory Pokemon is, no doubt, the hardest to acquire inPokemon Black & White.
Gamers will need to have the Liberty Pass, which will trigger an in-game event that will allow the player to catch Victini in Liberty Garden. However, this item is only found through an event distribution that only ran for one month in select locations around the world. They don’t make these things easy…
8Genesect
Pokemon Black 2 & White 2
Genesect takes the mantle of the most difficult ‘mon to acquire in the sequels to the Unova games,Black 2&White 2, a first for the franchise. The Bug/Steel Mythical Pokemon was once again only available through a Wi-Fi event.
The version of this Pokemon released in the United States came at level 15, which was owned by Team Plasma, and it was only available for a month starting in October. Since this was available over Wi-Fi, it was much easier than the in-person events from previous generations.
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9Diancie
Pokemon X & Y
Diancie is the Mythical Pokemon ofPokemon X & Y, and the first one that is capable of Mega Evolution, a feature introduced in Generation 6. The Jewel Pokemon was alsothe first Mythical Pokemon to be a Fairy-type, a brand-new type introduced in this generation.
This gave fans a real desire to pick up a Diancie for their own, but it was only available during Wi-Fi events. However, these were much longer this time around, running for a few months from mid-2014 to early 2015. This game gave fans a real chance to pick up this ‘mon inX & Y.
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10Shiny Yveltal
Pokemon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire
Most of the Generation 3 Legendary & Mythical Pokemon are available in-game in the remakes,Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire. So, the rarest Pokemon to obtain in these games is a Shiny version of Yvetal, which was introduced inPokemon Y, one of the first games of Generation 6.
Although there were several Nintendo Network events during this game’s run, this Shiny Yvetal was the hardest to obtain due to the fact it was only available for six days from May 20 to 26, 2016. Gamers would have needed to be quick to add this special version of Yvetal to their Pokedex.
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