Legendary and Mythical Pokémon in Pokémon GO

Pokémon GO borrows "Legendary" and "Mythical" straight from the core series' classification of rare, usually one-of-a-kind species, but the two categories are generally obtained through very different in-game systems. Knowing which is which helps set expectations before you go looking for either.

Legendary Pokémon

Legendary Pokémon (species like the original Legendary birds, the weather trio, and various region-specific Legendaries) are almost always made available through raid battles, typically in the game's higher raid tiers. They generally rotate in and out of raids over time as part of the game's ongoing event calendar, so a specific Legendary being available in raids right now is not something this page tracks; check the in-game raid listings or official announcements for that. See our raid tiers page for how raid difficulty and group requirements work in general.

Mythical Pokémon

Mythical Pokémon (species like Mew, Celebi, Jirachi and Deoxys) have historically been distributed outside the normal raid pool, most often through Special Research storylines rather than an encounter you can just walk up to. Special Research is a guided series of tasks that unlocks in stages and often ties into a specific event; some Special Research has been offered for free and some as a paid storyline, and which applies to a given Mythical has varied over time, so treat any specific claim about cost or availability as something to verify in-game rather than take from this page. Our Field Research and Special Research guide covers how that research system works more broadly. Deoxys is a good example of a Mythical with an unusually raid-centric history in Pokémon GO rather than the more typical research path; see our dedicated Deoxys guide for its forms.

Why the split exists

The Legendary/Mythical split isn't just flavor text. It shapes how you should expect to encounter a given species:

• Legendary: generally raid-first, rotates through the raid pool, usually catchable by a group without a specific storyline attached.
• Mythical: generally research-first, often tied to a limited-time storyline, and historically less likely to reappear on a predictable schedule than a rotating Legendary raid boss.

Neither rule is absolute forever; the game has occasionally used raids, research, or special events for either category outside the usual pattern, particularly around anniversaries. Treat the two paths above as the general rule rather than a guarantee for any single Pokémon.

Typing and team building

Legendary and Mythical Pokémon span the full type chart rather than clustering in any one type; Mewtwo and Deoxys are Psychic; the weather trio covers Water (Kyogre), Ground (Groudon) and Dragon/Flying (Rayquaza); the original Legendary birds pair Flying with Ice, Electric and Fire; and Dialga, Palkia and Giratina are all Dragon-types with a second type each. Once you know (or suspect) a specific raid boss or research reward's type, our type pages and type chart are the fastest way to plan counters, and shiny or Pokédex implications are covered in our general collecting guide.

FAQ

Can a Legendary Pokémon show up outside of raids?

Not typically as the standard method, though other formats have been used (research tasks tied to events, for example) on occasion. Raids remain the dependable way to encounter most Legendaries.

Do Mythical Pokémon ever appear in raids?

It has happened for specific Mythicals during specific events, but it isn't the default path the way it is for Legendaries. Special Research has historically been the more common route.

For raid structure, difficulty and group sizes, see raid tiers. Our events hub also has a dedicated Legendary raids FAQ with more on how Legendary raid encounters typically play out. Everything else in the reference section is on the database hub, and the guides start from the Trainer Hub homepage.