Deoxys, for example, has four different forms: Normal, Attack, Defense, and Speed. However, the question mark and exclamation point Unown have different Performance stats in the Pokeathlon, for some reason.įunctionally different form changes: Some Pokemon have significantly different characteristics based on which form they are currently in. They don't really have discernable differences beyond their appearance. Unown: This Psychic-type Pokemon comes in 28 forms, one for each letter of the Latin alphabet and two that are punctuation marks. We haven't listed every one of them here, but we have listed some examples.

There are some other Pokemon that pose problems for a simple answer to this question. Gigantamax Pokemon do not receive a new name, nor do their types or abilities change. Mega Evolved Pokemon gain the 'Mega' moniker, like Mega Gardevoir versus just Gardevoir. If we're counting how many different Pokemon designs there are, and we count Mega Evolution, then surely Gigantamax forms should count as well, right? But, they're different in many ways. On the topic of Gigantamax, it poses another problem. They even have different Gigantamax forms, whereas other multiple-form Pokemon do not, like Toxtricity or Alcremie. They are fundamentally different, but the 'same' Pokemon. You can evolve your Kubfu into Rapid-Strike Style Urshifu, which is a Water/Fighting-type, or you can evolve it into the Dark/Fighting-type Single-Strike Style Urshifu. the same Pokemon.įor example, Kubfu will evolve into Urshifu, but Urshifu has two different forms and cannot swap between them. There are some Pokemon that have a branched evolution into. But, Glastrier hasn't been removed from existence in terms of how many Pokemon there are overall. Now, you only have one Pokemon in your party. You fuse Calyrex and Glastrier into Ice Rider Calyrex. Let's say you have two Pokemon in your party: Calyrex and Glastrier. Surely these don't count as separate Pokemon, but the steed effectively ceases to exist as its own entity, and the transformation lasts outside of battle as well. On the other hand, a Pokemon like Calyrex can fuse with Glastrier or Spectrier to make Ice Rider Calyrex or Shadow Rider Spectrier, respectively. While they're both Meloetta, they are 'different Pokemon' in the sense of counting how many different Pokemon designs have been made. While Meloetta can swap between its Aria and Pirouette forms in battle, the transformation is temporary, and it will also revert to Aria after the battle ends. Some forms do more than just change appearance, with some being temporary for the course of a single battle and some being more substantial. Do these different forms that have no function beyond appearance make for a different Pokemon? Probably not, but it's something to consider. We've mentioned Vivillon, but its Gen 6 friend Florges is another example, with different colors based on what flower its pre-evolution, Flabébé, formed an attachment with. Speaking of appearance changes - some Pokemon just look different based on various factors. While Kantonian and Galarian Meowth are both Meowth, they are different Pokemon, have different types and appearances, and evolve into different Pokemon.īut, Vivillon and Shellos both have different forms based on where they are caught (Vivillon in the real world, Shellos in the in-game world), and these forms don't count as regional variants (just design differences). One final caveat is that not every Pokemon is available in every game, so depending on which game you're playing (and when!), the total will be a different number.Īnother wrinkle is regional variants. These don't technically count as different Pokemon, but they can often function as such. However, many Pokemon have different forms, regional variants, Mega Evolutions, Gigantamax forms, and more. The official total at the time of writing, between Pokemon Scarlet & Violet's debut and our early preview footage of its DLCs, is 1013. RELATED: Pokemon GO: The Best Pokemon Of Every Type If you want to talk about how many Pokemon designs exist - for example, Kantonian Vulpix versus Alolan Vulpix - the answer is much different. However, those who have spent enough time with Pokemon games, anime, manga, trading cards, and any other element of the franchise might know that it's a bit more complicated, depending on how you want to answer the question. To an outsider, the question 'How many Pokemon are there?' seems like it should be a simple one.

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