Pokemon Scarlet And Violet: 20 Rarest Pokemon (2024)

While it has been de-emphasized in recent years, Pokemon is still well known for the “Gotta catch 'em all” slogan. Each of the main series games still tasks trainers with completing their respective Pokedexes, even though they no longer contain the entire Pokemon roster.

The real challenge of this task is created by the existence of very rare Pokemon. While most of the dex is fairly easy to obtain, certain members can prove very hard to track down. Some trainers even go after rare Pokemon forms, which can be even harder to obtain. For Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, these are the hardest Pokemon to track down.

Updated August 8, 2024 by Ben Painter: While fans wait for the next entry in the Pokemon franchise, Pokemon Legends Z-A, they may want to head back into and attempt to complete the Pokedex. But, this is no easy task. Some Pokemon are easy to spot in Paldea and beyond, but others are a bit more tricky, requiring some hidden methods to add them to the roster. Especially considering that even more Pokemon were added to the game with the two DLCs The Teal Mask and The Indigo Disk. This update adds two new types of Pokemon that are rare to find in S&V and how to catch them.

1 Paradox Pokemon

Location: Area Zero

• Capture Requirements: The main story must be completed.

Paradox Pokemon are a new type of Pokemon introduced in Scarlet & Violet. In Scarlet, they come in the form of Ancient Pokemon and in Violet, they are from the Future. They are alternate versions of the creatures but are considered separate species in the Pokedex, unlike regional forms.

In the base game, there are six standard Paradox Pokemon in each version, they aren't exactly rare to find in Paldea, but they are only found in Area Zero, which requires a significant chunk of the story to be completed before it can be accessed. There are newer Paradox's, introduced in DLCs, which are significantly harder to capture.

2 Slakoth

Location: South Province: Area One, Area Three, Area Five, Coastal Biome, Torchlit Labyrinth

• Capture Requirements: None

The Normal-type 'mon Slakoth has been present since the start of the game, but for whatever reason, it was a rare spawn in the South Province of Paldea. Its evolved form, Slaking, was easier to capture as it can be found as a fixed spawn in the game, meaning it always shows up.

Slakoth was found more commonly in the Coastal Biome, spawning along the beach, but some trainers have still found it difficult to locate the Slacker Pokemon. It is worth it as Slaking is a very strong Pokemon in the game, despite its annoying ability.

Slakoth's Base Stats

3 Baxcalibur

Location: Glaseado Mountain

• Capture Requirements: None

As the resident ‘pseudo legendary’ of the Paldea region, Baxcalibur is a powerful Pokemon that is easily missable in a first playthrough. It can’t be found in the wild, so trainers looking for a Baxcalibur will have to find either a Frigibax or an Arctibax first.

Both can be found on the snowy Glaseado Mountain but are very rare spawns. Considering the sheer size of the mountain, finding them can take some time. Once they’ve been caught, though, Arctibax still needs to reach level 54 to evolve into Baxcalibur.

Baxcalibur's Base Stats

4 Ditto & Zorua

Location: West Province: Area Two, Area Three (Ditto), East Province: Tagtree Thicket, West Province: Area Three (Zorua)

• Capture Requirements: None

On the face of it, Ditto & Zorua are no rarer than any other Pokemon, but what is really annoying about capturing these Pokemon is that they disguise themselves as other Pokemon. In the overworld, gamers could walk straight past a common Pokemon, and it could be one of these elusive creatures.

There is no real trick in finding them either, gamers will just have to battle every Pokemon and pray that they are either a Ditto or a Zorua. Or, players could try their luck in Tera raid battles, but again, there is no certainty that these Pokemon will show up in them either.

Base Stats

5 Any Shiny Pokemon

Location: Varies

• Capture Requirements: None

Since their introduction in Pokemon Gold & Silver, shiny Pokemon have been largely sought after. Some trainers dedicate full playthroughs to finding these elusive creatures! They are alternate-colored versions of the Pokemon, which have a rate of 1/4096 to find. The odds can be boosted via Shiny Charms, Mass Outbreaks, and eating a sparkling sandwich. It has never been easier to find a shiny.

However, some Pokemon are easier to obtain a shiny than others and hardcore players will try to find the rarest Pokemon they can in their special form. Having a shiny starter Pokemon is much more of an objective than a shiny Lechonk, who is abundant throughout Paldea.

6 Blaze / Aqua Breed Tauros

Location: East Province (Area Two, Three), West Province (Area Two, Asado Desert), Tera Raid Battles

• Capture Requirements: None

Despite being one of the original 151 Pokemon, Tauros has gone a long time without much focus, being outshined by newer, stronger Pokemon. However, Scarlet and Violet changed this by introducing a regional variant for Tauros, which comes in 3 different breeds.

While the combat breed is found abundantly in certain areas, the blaze and aqua breed Tauros are quite rare and are exclusive to Scarlet and Violet respectively. These breeds only appear in a maximum of 20% of Tauros spawns, so they can be hard to find, but sandwich powers can make them much more common.

Paldean Tauros' Base Stats

7 Meloetta

Location: Coastal Biome - Blueberry Academy

• Capture Requirements:
• Find the cyclone of leaves in the Coastal Biome
• Spin clockwise in the center of leaves for at least 10 seconds
• Activate the camera
• Flip to the Sepia Filter
• Look for Meloetta or listen to their singing
• Exit camera mode, step up to Meloetta, and initiate battle

The Generation 5 Mythical Pokemon is a special case as it is not exactly rare in the game, but its conditions for evolving are weird. Gamers cannot stumble upon this Pokemon randomly and will need to know the requirements to do so. If players are doing a blind run, then Meloetta is out of the question.

Even if gamers follow the above steps, there is no guarantee that Meloetta will be caught, as it may escape the Pokeball, or the player may accidentally knock it out. As a rare Pokemon in the whole franchise, it will be worth it following these rules to add this Pokemon to their collection.

Base Stats

8 Sprigatito / Fuecoco / Quaxly

Location: Cabo Poco

• Capture Requirements: None

Every Pokemon game features 3 starter Pokemon that players get to pick from at the start of the game. In Scarlet and Violet, this role is filled by the trio of Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly. Just like any starters, each save file only gets one of the 3, with none available anywhere in the game.

Whatever starter a trainer picks can be bred to create more, but without trading with other players or owning multiple Switches, there is no way to obtain the other two starters.

Base Stats

9 Roaring Moon / Iron Valiant

Location: Area Zero

• Capture Requirements: Must complete the main story

Following concepts like regional variants and convergent evolutions, Scarlet and Violet introduced ‘paradox’ Pokemon. In Scarlet, they are ancient versions of current Pokemon, while in Violet, they are futuristic robot versions.

Roaring Moon and Iron Valiant are the strongest of each version’s paradox Pokemon and are fittingly hard to find. They only spawn in a secret cave that is hidden inside some rocks near the 3rd research base in Area Zero. Since paradoxes can’t breed, catching them is the only way to obtain them.

Base Stats

10 Milotic

Game Location: Evolve Feebas Or 5/6-Star Tera Raid

• Capture Requirements: Evolve Feebas by acquiring a Prism Scale

One of the biggest teases in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet is battling Milotic in the Teal Mask DLC, and not being able to capture it. The Water-type has always been a difficult Pokemon to acquire as it can only be found by evolving Feebas, a rare Pokemon. In the Switch games, Feebas can be found in the Crystal Pool at the top of Oni Mountain.

Gamers must then find a Prism Scale, which is easily found in Fellhorn Gorge, and then trade the Feebas while holding the item to acquire Milotic. If gamers have no way of trading, then they must take a chance on finding the 'mon in a 5 or 6-star Tera Raid Battle. This method is not reliable as these battles are hard to win.

Base Stats

11 Gholdengo

Game Location: N/A

• Capture Requirements: Collect 999x Gimmighoul coins

The Pokemon series has had a lot of different evolution methods over the years. Newer games, especially, have introduced some Pokemon that are hard to evolve. Gimmighoul is one such Pokemon, requiring 999 Gimmighoul coins to evolve into Gholdengo.

Gimmighoul coins are obtained when interacting with Wandering and Chest Form Gimmighoul, which are scattered around the open world. Even trainers who are paying attention to this task the whole game likely won't have that many coins by the end, making Gholdengo extremely hard to obtain.

Gholdengo's Base Stats

12 Family Of 4 Maushold / 3 Segment Dudunsparce

Location: Tera Raid Battles / Evolve Tandemaus (Maushold) & Evolve Dunsparce (Dudunsparce)

• Capture Requirements: None

There are Pokemon like Spinda that have different forms that don’t change anything besides appearance. It’s quite uncommon for evolved Pokemon to have these forms, but Maushold and Dudunsparce do.

Upon evolving from Tandemaus and Dunsparce, these Pokemon will most likely become their ‘family of 4’ and ‘2 segment’ forms respectively. However, there is a 1% chance they will instead evolve into the ‘family of 3’ or ‘3 segment forms. These low odds make these special forms some of the rarest in the series, especially since they only appear post-evolution.

Base Stats

13 Antique Sinistea / Polteageist

Location: South Province (Area Six), East Province: (Area Three), Porto Marinada Auction (Chipped Pot item)

• Capture Requirements: Requires the Chipped Pot item to evolve.

Sinistea and Polteageist were introduced in Pokemon Sword and Shield. They, too, have a special form similar to Maushold and Dudunsparce that doesn’t affect their abilities in battle but has a small chance of being found in the wild.

Whereas Tandemaus and Dunsparce can be found quite commonly, Sinistea is already quite rare, only appearing in two areas on the map. Antique Sinistea only has a 1% chance of appearing, and the only indicator of it is a small stamp on the bottom of its cup. And only Antique Sinistea can evolve into Antique Polteageist.

Polteageist's Base Stats

14 Iron Boulder / Iron Crown / Raging Bolt / Gouging Fire

Location: Area Zero

• Capture Requirements: Must register 200 Pokemon in the Blueberry Academy Pokedex and start the quest with Perrin

Much like Iron Leaves and Walking Wake, the other Legendary Pokemon of their respective trios were given a Paradox Form that can be obtained in The Indigo Disc part of the DLC. Gouging Fire and Raging Bolt are exclusive to Pokemon Scarlet, as they are Ancient Pokemon; Iron Boulder and Iron Crown can only be obtained in Violet, being Future Pokemon.

To catch these Pokemon, gamers must first register 200 Pokemon in the Blueberry Academy Pokedex, which is no easy feat as some are difficult to obtain and will take a lot of hours in the game to register. Trade evolution will cause some gamers, who have no one else to play with, issues. Even if that job is done, players must approach the daunting task of finding the Paradox Pokemon in Area Zero and catching them, too.

Base Stats

15 All DLC Starter Pokemon

Game Location: Blueberry Academy Terrarium

• Capture Requirements: Collect 3000 BP points from completing BBQs

Starter Pokemon are some of the rarest to obtain in the Pokemon franchise, as they are usually not able to be captured; only one Pokemon is given to the player at the start of the game. But in the DLC of Scarlet and Violet, this was switched up. A random Sinnoh Starter (Turtwig, Chimchar, or Piplup) is available from Jacq in Kitakami in the first part, The Teal Mask.

The Indigo Disk was even more rewarding. However, it will require some work. Every single starter Pokemon can be obtained in the Blueberry Academy, but gamers must spend 2000 BP points, which are obtained from completing BBQs, short tasks that can be done in the Terrarium. Once players have 3000 BP points, they can activate the Starter Pokemon in the BB dorm room for one biome at a time. This means that 12000 BP points are needed for all four of the biomes in the Terrarium, and then the trainer must find each one and catch them.

16 Kyurem

Location: Dalizapa Passage

• Capture Requirements: Complete Group BBQs and earn the treat from Snackworth.

Another Pokemon that are tied to completing BBQs in the Terrarium are the legacy Legendary Pokemon found in previous games. For every 10 quests that have been completed, Snackworth will reward the player with a random treat that will summon said Legendary Pokemon in a location in Paldea.

However, Kyurem is different; players need to complete group quests, which are given to those who are playing together in the Union Circle, so gamers need to find someone else to play the game with for this to work. Kyurem must then be located and captured. It is level 70, so players should prepare for a tough battle.

Kyurem's Base Stats

17 Necrozma

Location: Socarrat Trail

• Capture Requirements: Complete Group BBQs and earn the treat from Snackworth

Just like Kyurem, Necrozma is only available by obtaining a treat from Snackworth after completing a group BBQ while playing in the Union Circle. The Generation 7 Legendary Pokemon is one of the harder 'mons to capture as it requires someone else to play with, which can be difficult for some gamers.

After obtaining the Necrozma Treat, the Psychic-type will show up beside a waterfall coming from a mountain in Socarrat Trail. Players should make sure they are prepared with plenty of Ultra Balls.

Necrozma's Base Stats

18 Rayquaza

Location: Great Crater Of Paldea, South Province (Area Three)

• Capture Requirements: Complete Group BBQs and earn the treat from Snackworth

A fan favorite among the Pokemon community, Rayquaza was first introduced in Generation 3 and was the star of Pokemon Emerald. Since then, it has been most people's favorite Legendary.

Players must have another person to play with in Blueberry Academy, and then they must complete group quests to unlock all the exclusive Pokemon, but it is all down to chance, as it will be random each time. Gamers will head to the Great Crater of Paldea, and there, they will be able to catch Rayquaza. Noted for having one of the best shinies in the whole franchise, this version of Rayquaza is, unfortunately, shiny-locked.

Rayquaza's Base Stats

19 Walking Wake / Iron Leaves

Location: Poke Portal News

• Capture Requirements: Event-exclusive Tera Raid Battle

Just like Roaring Moon and Iron Valiant, Walking Wake and Iron Leaves are a pair of paradox Pokemon that are exclusive to Scarlet and Violet respectively. Instead of being found in a secluded location, though, they are only found in 7-star Tera Raid Battles.

While these raids are easy to gain access to, they are extremely difficult to beat. Strong trainers online might be able to carry their weaker teammates to victory, but that would require a lot of luck. NPC raid trainers also will likely not be enough. Even after beating the raid, each player only gets one, no matter how many raids they beat.

Base Stats

20 All Shiny Locked Pokemon

Location: N/A

• Capture Requirements: N/A

Shiny Pokemon are rare in the games, but there are certain creatures that are impossible to capture for one simple reason: they are just not programmed to be shiny, despite existing. Game Freak took their time to design shiny forms but did not implement them into the game. This includes the two box legendaries Miraidon and Koraidon, and their awesome black color schemes cannot be used!

The full list of these shiny locked Pokemon is Ghimmighoul, Gholdengo, Walking Wake, Iron Leaves, Bloodmoon Ursaluna, Gouging Fire, Raging Bolt, Iron Boulder, Iron Crown, Ting-Lu, Chien-Pao, Wo-Chien, Chi-Yu, Koraidon, Miraidon, Okidogi, Munkidori, Fezandipiti, Ogerpon and Terapagos.

So it is safe to say that these forms of Pokemon are the rarest in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet because of the simple fact that they aren't in the game.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

RPG

Platform(s)

Switch

Released

November 18, 2022

Developer(s)

Game Freak