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Lucky Pokémon have finally been introduced into Pokémon GO, so it's time to catch 'em all over again!

In this guide, we're going to briefly explain the differences between a Lucky and regular Pokémon, and take a look at how you can catch these brand new critters.

What Are Lucky Pokémon?

Lucky Pokémon are a new type of Pokémon in Pokémon GO that require 50% less Stardust to power up over a regular Pokémon, and have a special background while viewing them in your Pokédex.

While viewing one, you'll also see a new counter displaying the number of Lucky Pokémon you've caught for each species.

An even more interesting feature of Lucky Pokémon, is that they always have high IVs. The lowest a Lucky Pokémon can have in terms of IVs is 80%. That's an IV score of 10 for every single stat.

You can check to see if a Pokémon is Lucky by viewing it in your list of Pokémon. Glance just above its HP and you'll see a new 'Lucky Pokémon' label. Check out our tweet above to see all of that in action.

How Do I Catch A Lucky Pokémon?

Lucky Pokémon are obtained exclusively by trading – you can't catch a Lucky Pokémon in the wild.

Trade a Pokémon, and there's a chance that it will receive the Lucky status. Though the community hasn't quite figured out the specifics, it appears that a Pokémon has an increasingly higher chance of becoming Lucky during a trade the longer you've owned it.

So, for example, a Pokémon caught in 2016 has a much higher chance of becoming Lucky when traded than a Pokémon caught in 2018.

If both of the Pokémon in the trade are different ages – one from 2016 and the other from 2018, for example – the community suspects that Pokémon GO will calculate the average age of the Pokémon.

Remember that this is all down to chance, so it's entirely possible that a brand new Pokémon will become Lucky during a trade, and that an ancient one from 2016 will not become Lucky.

We'll update this when the community understands the system a lot better.

Can A Pokémon Be Both Lucky And Shiny?

Yes, according to Reddit, a Pokémon can be both Shiny and Lucky!


This article is part of our Pokémon GO walkthrough and guide series. We have articles that take you through the basics, covering How To Catch Pokémon: Throwing Tips, Poké Balls, & Capture Rates, How To Redeem Pokémon GO Promo Codes, How To Check A Pokémon's IVs Using An IV Calculator, How Trading Works, How To Track Pokémon Using Maps And Trackers, What Star Pieces And Stardust Do And How To Get Them, How Player Vs. Player Trainer Battles Work, and How To Complete Field Research And Research Breakthroughs And All Rewards.

We cover regular weekly and monthly Pokémon GO events, such as Spotlight Hour Times And Bonus Hour Times, and Community Days. We also have charts, including a Type Chart With Effectiveness And Weakness For All Types, an Egg Chart Explaining 2km, 5km, 7km, & 10km Eggs, and a Buddy Chart Explaining How To Earn Candy.

Elsewhere we cover Friend Code And Sharing Them For Easy XP and Which Pokémon GO 'Auto Catch' Companion Device Is The Best, plus more advanced tactics and info such as All Fast Moves And Charge Moves, How To Get TMs, And How It All Works, Shiny Pokémon And How To Catch Them, Glacial Lures, Magnetic Lures, Mossy Lures in Pokémon GO (And Their Exclusive Evolutions), How To Get Lots Of Candy Fast, How Lucky Pokémon Work & How To Catch Them, How To Catch All 27 Regional Pokémon, the Best Attackers And Best Defenders, All Raid Bosses And Best Counters Listed By Tier, What EX Raids Are And How To Get EX Raid Passes, What A Super Incubators Does And How To Get One, and How Get Mega Energy.

Pocket Monster-wise, we have specific guides for How To Get Pangoro, Sylveon, Glaceon, Aromatisse, Slurpuff, Sirfetch’d, Galarian Cofagrigus And More, How To Get Sylveon, Leafeon, Glaceon, Umbreon, Espeon, Vaporeon, Jolteon And Flareon, How To Evolve Wurmple Into Silcoon Or Cascoon, How To Get Tyrogue, Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan And Hitmontop, How To Use The Weather To Get Each Castform Form, How To Catch And Evolve Into Galarian Slowbro, How To Catch Smeargle, How To Find And Evolve Burmy, How To Catch Spinda, Where To Find Unown, How To Catch Ditto, and The Rarest Pokémon Including Wild, Shiny, Mythical And Regional Catches.

We also cover timed research and special events, including Mew's 'A Mythical Discovery', Jirachi's 'A Thousand-Year Slumber', Celebi's 'A Ripple In Time', and Regigigas' 'A Colossal Discovery'. Other (past) event guides include Twitch Codes List - Pokémon World Championship 2022, How To Battle A Challenger (World Championships 2022), How To Battle Fashion Challengers, 'A Spooky Message' Spiritomb Quest, Kanto Event FAQ, and the Summer Tour 2018 Chicago GO Fest And Dortmund And Yokosuka Safari Zones.

Finally, there's our WIP Pokémon GO Pokédex, which currently goes up to 400 Pokémon: #1-50 | #51-100 | #101-150 | #151-200 | #201-250 | #251-300 | #301-350 | #351-400.