Why Every 'Pokémon Go' Rarity List Is BS, You Aren't Finding Ditto

A few days ago, a reddit user created a chart of what he believed to be Pokémon rarities for Pokémon Go. RotomGuy's list noted that Weedles and Pidgeys everywhere, but considered Pinsirs and Magnemites to be very rare. Users in the comment section were quick to point out how some of them have never seen a Pidgey, but Pinsirs are all over the place. It looked like this list didn’t apply to everyone, but only to one player in a sea of Pokémon trainers.

Pokémon Go is a great game, but there is still so much we don’t know about it yet. We don’t know why specific 'mon hang out in certain spots besides speculation. In New York City, I’ve never seen a Mankey or a Drowzee, but I have enough Duduos to start my own army of two-headed birds. Every single “rarity list” is pure speculation, the world is a gigantic place and the game has been out for less than a week.

Pokémon Go is a brand-new type of game; one that combines augmented reality and the real world with a Pikachu covered bow. There is no easy way to finding the Pokémon of your dreams. I know how badly you want that Raichu, but you're not going to find it sitting on your butt looking up lists on the internet.

Pokémon that are rare near you, might be common somewhere else. I’ve never seen a Growlithe, but one commenter from Dubai swears they are all over his neighborhood. Here are the Pokémon we know AREN’T in Pokémon Go yet but are in the source file for the app :

• Ditto

• Mew

• Mewtwo

• Zapdos

• Moltres

• Articuno

Every single other Kanto Pokémon is somewhere in the game. How do you find a Kabuto or an Omanyte? There’s no way to figure out the criteria necessary to have them appear. Down the road, some crazy guy with hours on his hands might take data from all over the world to create a database, but we aren’t there yet. Just enjoy catching what’s in your neighborhood and you might have something awesome actually surprise you.

Pokémon Go is specific to your area, meaning something might be rare in one place and totally common in another. We can use geography and climate to filter it out a little bit, but only by so much. I’ve found Psyducks and Staryus next to the ocean and also in the middle of a field.

I want a Magmar more than anything in the world right now. I’ve walked until my feet ached, all on a quest to find the fire spitter with a butt for a head. Sadly, no matter how many people claim he’s around, I just haven’t seen him. If I lived in a hotter area they might be easier to hide, chilling out in the middle of the desert getting a tan.

Just remember, as you increase in level, you will find stronger and better Pokémon. If you're looking for Charizard or Dragonite and can’t find them anywhere, your best chance is to grind some experience and hope you get lucky enough to encounter a fully evolved Pokémon.