Skip to main content

How to get special items in Pokémon Go

Heading outside to collect your favorite items in Pokémon Go used to be a great way to get some exercise and fresh air while playing a great Pokémon game, but continued social distancing guidelines make it more difficult for a lot of people to play their favorite augmented reality game.

Related Videos

Difficulty

Moderate

Duration

15 minutes

What You Need

  • PokeStops

  • Friends to exchange gifts with

While you might not be able to play Pokémon Go and explore in the same ways as before, the process for obtaining and collecting special items in Pokémon Go remains relatively unchanged.

So, what are special items in Pokémon Go? They are items that trainers can use to evolve their Pokémon. Special items are much rarer and harder to find than your typical Potion or Ultra Ball.

While the first-generation games have Pokémon that can evolve from stones like Eevee, that initially wasn't the case in Pokémon Go as special items weren't introduced until the release of Gen 2. Since then, Niantic has continued to add even more special items for players to hunt down, with the newest being added as recently as September 2019.

pokemon go how pvp and trainer battles work feature

List of all special items in Pokémon Go

Here is the full list of all currently available special items:

Items

  • Dragon Scale: Evolves Seadra into Kingdra

  • King’s Rock: Evolves Poliwhirl into Politoed and Slowpoke into Slowking

  • Metal Coat: Evolves Onix into Steelix and Scyther into Scizor

  • Sun Stone: Evolves Gloom into Bellossom and Sunkern into Sunflora

  • Up Grade: Evolves Porygon into Porygon2

Stones

  • Sinnoh Stone: Evolves Gen 1 and 2 Pokémon into their Gen 4 evolutions with 100 candy.

  • Unova Stone: Evolves Gen 5 Pokémon that would otherwise evolve through a stone unavailable in Pokémon Go (like a Thunder Stone)

Lures

  • Magnetic Lure: Used in place of a regular PokeStop lure. Allows Pokemon like Magneton and Nosepass to evolve into Magnezone and Probopass when within range

  • Mossy Lure: Used in place of a regular PokeStop lure. Allows Eevee to evolve into Leafeon when within range

  • Glacial Lure: Used in place of a regular PokeStop lure. Allows Eevee to evolve into Glaceon when within range

How to get special items in Pokémon Go

There are a few different ways that you can get special items like King’s Rock, Metal Coat, Dragon Scale, Up-Grade, Sun Stone, Unova Stone, and Sinnoh Stone in Pokémon Go. It’s important to note that they are all obtained the same way, so until Niantic changes this, there are no special methods for acquiring specific evolutionary items. Here are the best options for getting these super-rare items.

PokeStops

The original method of gaining special items like Metal Coat and Dragon Scales. Any PokeStop has a chance of dropping a Gen 2 evolution item when spun, but chances are incredibly slim. Extra methods added over time have made this a little less of a headache, but if you absolutely need Gen 2 evolution items, heading into a dense PokeStop area like a town or city will help speed things up.

Gifts

Another way to get special items in Pokémon Go is through gifts. Gifts are items that players can send to and receive from friends, as well as through PokeStops. Gifts are like a free PokeStop, offering rewards like special items. If you have one of these, be sure to send them to your friends and maybe you’ll get one in return.

7-Day PokeStop Spin rewards

Another way that you can get special items is through weekly rewards. For example, if you spin at least one PokeStop a day for seven days straight, you will receive a weekly reward. What’s the reward? Well, it’s a guaranteed special evolution item. This is by far one of the easiest methods but it does require patience and you can only get one per week.

Field Research

Every once in a while a new Field Research task might contain a special item. These could be "Battle X number of Gyms" or "Walk 10 kilometers." Field Research rewards are always the same for each individual mission objective, so it’s worth checking out a compendium online to see which (if any) you should be looking out for.

Trainer battles

Trainer battles are one of the best ways to get special items in Pokémon Go. Recently introduced, you can now battle against your friends and NPC team leaders. You can receive rewards from these battles up to three times per day for real players and one time per day for NPCs.

On Community Day, you can usually earn a good amount of Sinnoh Stones through battling with other trainers, so be sure to check the events page to see when the next one takes place. If a community day features a Pokémon that requires a special item to evolve, expect a way to get a few freebies during the allotted hours.

Research Breakthroughs

The only full-proof way to get an Unova Stone without paying money is to access the Research Breakthrough tab, which has seven empty slots. Each day you log in, you will receive a stamp that fills one of the open slots. Continue logging in for the next seven days, and the Research Breakthrough box will allow you to choose a reward: Unova Stone, Sinnoh Stone, or other non-evolution items such as Rare Candy and Pokeballs.

Microtransactions

If you happen to open your wallet in the game at the right time, you’ll get a unique reward like a Sinnoh Stone or Unova Stone. As usual, you also have the opportunity to purchase available items in the app store.

We want to point out that problems can come up during events that require tickets. However, you can always buy items like Magnetic, Glacial, and Mossy lures with real money. Remember that these kinds of stones are difficult to find, but if you’re lucky enough to find one (or more), your Pokémon character will earn a Generation 4 transformation, propelling their evolution.

You can also find rare items like the Unova and Sinnoh Stones through microtransactions within the game store in different circumstances. This store gives users access to the Mossy, Glacial, and Magnetic Lures. When you obtain these objects, you can advance your Pokémon with a Generation 4 form upgrade.

Editors' Recommendations

Fire Emblem Engage bond levels: how to get max Bond Levels fast
Marth and ALear cross swords in Fire Emblem Engage.

Fire Emblem Engage has a lot of systems to keep track of. Even ignoring all the different combat mechanics, you have your level, class, Support Levels, equipment, and more to consider. One thing you shouldn't forget about is Bond Levels. Bond Levels are somewhat like Support Levels, only instead of other units, these bonds are between you and the Emblems you collect that contain the spirits of heroes from past games. Leveling up these Bond Levels will vastly increase your power, so here are the most efficient ways to reap those sweet rewards in Fire Emblem Engage.
What Bond Levels do

As mentioned, Bond Levels will greatly improve your character. Once you have increased your Bond Level enough with a specific Emblem, that unit will continue to learn new skills that they can keep even when you unequip that Emblem Ring. As such, you can then mix and match learning more skills from new Emblems as you increase their Bonds and then switch to new ones.
Best ways to increase Bond Levels

Read more
How to get all Emblems in Fire Emblem Engage
Sigurd on a horse.

Fire Emblem characters are some of the most iconic and beloved of any series. Figures like Marth, Roy, Byleth, Ike, and many more have even appeared in Smash Bros. titles to introduce even more people to the series. Fire Emblem Engage is kind of a tribute to all those great characters thanks to the Emblem Ring system. These rings will not only let you summon your favorite heroes from the past, but also give you a bunch of buffs on top of that. With 12 in total, here's how to get each Emblem in Fire Emblem Engage and what they do.

Note that Emblems can be leveled up all the way to level 20, with new skills unlocking at each level. We will only list out the base skills you start out with at level 1 to keep things brief.

Read more
How to get the Silver Card in Fire Emblem Engage
Alear clenches his fist while wearing a ring in Fire Emblem Engage.

By purchasing the expansion pass for Fire Emblem Engage, you are entitled to four waves of DLC content throughout the year. The first wave was available right as the game launched, meaning you could grab some extra items right away. Probably the most enticing among them is the Silver Card, which gives you a 30% shop discount at the armory and item shops. However, it isn't clear how to actually get it, and missing it initially could require a bit of effort to go back and get it. Follow along to make sure you don't miss grabbing the Silver Card in Fire Emblem Engage.

Read more