How to track costume Pokémon in Pokémon GO

Costume Pokémon are one of the most collector-focused parts of Pokémon GO. Niantic regularly releases event-exclusive costumes — Pikachu with a party hat, Gengar in a costume, Bulbasaur with a bow — and these can't evolve into their costumed evolution, making them unique collectors' items.

There are currently over 300 costume and form variants in Pokémon GO, released across years of events. Many of these are no longer obtainable, which makes the ones you have all the more valuable to collectors.

Why costume tracking is hard in-game

The in-game Pokédex doesn't clearly distinguish between costume variants. A costumed Pikachu shows up in the same Pikachu entry as a regular one. You can check your storage to see what you have, but there's no checklist view showing all possible costume variants.

Pikachu hat & costume variants

Pikachu has more costume variants than any other Pokémon. Each GO Fest, GO Tour, and seasonal event tends to introduce a new Pikachu hat — making Pikachu the ultimate test of how well you can track costume variants.

Pikachu (Party Hat)

Pikachu (Ash Cap)

Pikachu (GO Fest Hat)

Pikachu (World Cap)

Pikachu (Detective)

Raichu (Pikachu Pop Star)

Halloween & spooky event costumes

Halloween events reliably produce some of the most popular costume Pokémon. Ghost-types with costume variants are among the hardest to complete because older Halloween costumes are rarely brought back.

Gastly (Costume)

Haunter (Costume)

Gengar (Costume)

Misdreavus (Bow)

Sableye (Top Hat)

Shuppet (Costume)

Holiday & anniversary costumes

Christmas, Valentine's Day, and GO Anniversary events each bring their own costume releases. These tend to feature popular, widely-loved Pokémon dressed up for the occasion.

Jigglypuff (Bow)

Ditto (disguised)

Eevee (Flower Crown)

Snorlax (Holiday)

Lapras (Scarf)

Bulbasaur (Bow)

Alternate regional forms

Beyond event costumes, Pokémon GO includes Alolan, Galarian, Hisuian, and Paldean regional forms — alternate versions of classic Pokémon introduced in the main series games. These count as separate Pokédex entries and are tracked separately from their base forms.

Alolan Raichu

Alolan Vulpix

Alolan Meowth

Alolan Marowak

Galarian Ponyta

Galarian Farfetch'd

Shiny costume Pokémon

Many costume Pokémon also have shiny variants, which doubles the tracking complexity. A shiny Pikachu with a party hat is a separate collection target from a regular shiny Pikachu or a non-shiny party hat Pikachu.

✨ Shiny Pikachu (Hat)

✨ Shiny Gengar (Costume)

✨ Shiny Eevee (Crown)

✨ Shiny Jigglypuff (Bow)

Can costume Pokémon be traded?

Yes — costume Pokémon can be traded like any other Pokémon. If you missed a specific costume during an event, your best chance of getting one is finding someone who has a spare and is willing to trade. This is why sharing your wishlist with other players is useful.

Types of costume variants

• •Seasonal event costumes — Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's Day variants
• •Anniversary costumes — GO Anniversary Pikachu variants each year
• •GO Fest costumes — Special costumes available only during GO Fests
• •Pokémon GO Tour variants — Event-specific releases for GO Tour events
• •Alternate regional forms — Alolan, Galarian, Hisuian, and Paldean regional forms