Evergreen
Pokémon GO Search Strings: Filter Your Storage Like a Pro
Pokémon GO search strings explained: operators, the most useful search terms and ready-made strings to filter your Pokémon storage quickly and safely.
The search bar at the top of your Pokémon storage understands far more than names. It can filter by type, appraisal, how a Pokémon was obtained and how far away it was caught, and the moves it knows, and it lets you chain conditions together. The keywords below are English; other game languages generally use their own. The game has added terms over the years, so test a string before relying on it.
The three operators
| Symbol | Meaning | Example | Finds |
|---|---|---|---|
| & | AND | fire&shiny | Shiny Fire-types |
| , | OR | fire,water | Fire-types and Water-types |
| ! | NOT | !shiny | Everything that isn't shiny |
There are no brackets. Instead, each part between & signs acts as its own group, and commas work inside a group. So fire,water&shiny means "Fire or Water, and shiny", never "Fire, or shiny Water-types".
Search terms reference
What the Pokémon is
| Term | What it finds | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Species name | That species and matching nicknames; short names can match other species too | pikachu |
| + before a name | The whole evolution family | +eevee |
| Number or range | Pokédex numbers | 252-386 |
| Type name | Pokémon with that type in either slot | dragon |
| shiny, lucky, shadow, purified, legendary, mythical, costume | Exactly what they say | lucky |
| male, female, genderunknown | Gender | female |
| xxs, xs, xl, xxl | Size class, handy for Showcases | xxl |
Stats and appraisal
| Term | What it finds | Example |
|---|---|---|
| cp or hp with a range | CP or HP values; leave one end open with a dash | cp-1500, cp2500- |
| 0* to 4* | Appraisal stars; 4* means perfect (three stars shown highlighted) | 4* |
| attack, defense, hp with 0 to 4 | One appraisal bar, 0 (empty) to 4 (full). Number first: 4hp is a full HP bar, while hp100- is 100+ actual HP | 0-1attack, 4hp |
Where and when it came from
| Term | What it finds | Example |
|---|---|---|
| traded, hatched | How the Pokémon was obtained | hatched |
| age | Days since it was caught; age0 covers roughly the last day | age0-7 |
| distance | Kilometers from where it was caught to where you are now | distance100- |
Moves, tags and status
| Term | What it finds | Example |
|---|---|---|
| @ plus a move or type | Knows that move or a move of that type; @1, @2 and @3 mean the fast, first and second charged move | @1dragon |
| @special | Knows a legacy or event move that a regular TM can't teach | @special |
| evolve / evolvenew | Can evolve now / would register a new Pokédex entry | evolvenew |
| tradeevolve | Species that can evolve for no Candy once they have been traded | tradeevolve |
| # plus a tag | Pokémon you tagged | #pvp |
| favorite | Pokémon you've marked as favorites | !favorite |
| defender | Currently defending a Gym | defender |
Strings worth saving
Keep your go-to strings in a phone note and paste them in. The game may list recent searches, but don't rely on it keeping them.
| Goal | Search string |
|---|---|
| Clean up after a session | age0&0*,1*&!shiny&!lucky&!shadow&!legendary&!mythical&!costume&!favorite&!@special |
| Find perfect-stat Pokémon | 4* |
| Great League shortlist | 0-1attack&3-4defense&3-4hp&cp-1500 |
| Plan a Lucky Egg evolving session | evolvenew, then evolve |
| Protect hard-to-replace moves | @special |
| Shortlist Pokémon you can trade | !traded&!shadow&!mythical&!defender |
The trade string is rough: Legendary and shiny Pokémon can be traded as Special Trades, some event Pokémon can't be traded at all, and the trade screen has the final say (see our trading guide). Tag or favorite what @special finds: those moves usually return only through an Elite TM or a later event.
The Great League string only narrows the list: which stat spread works best depends on the species, and the appraisal bars are only a rough guide. Our explainer on reading your team leader's appraisal shows how the stars and bars relate, and the league guide covers the CP caps behind cp-1500.
Habits that prevent mistakes
- Run a new string and scroll the results before you transfer anything from them.
- Always add !shiny&!lucky&!legendary and anything else you value to cleanup strings: a transfer can't be undone, so it's safer to exclude too much than too little.
- Tag Pokémon you're saving for a purpose, then add !# plus each tag name (for example !#pvp) to your cleanup searches.
- Mark the ones you'd never part with as favorites; at the time of writing the game won't transfer a favorited Pokémon until you remove the mark, and you can add !favorite to any cleanup string as a second safeguard.
For the bigger picture on storage limits and what to keep, see our guide to managing your Pokémon storage. Catching, raiding and battling guides are all reachable from the Trainer Hub homepage.