Where to find the rarest Pokémon in Pokémon Sun and Moon

Munchlax and Happiny: Route 1

Munchlax, the baby form of the formidable Snorlax, can be caught extremely early in the game. Munchlax can be found in the patches of grass directly to the right of your house on Melemele Island. It’s an exceptionally rare encounter, but it’s in there.

Happiny, the unevolved form of Chansey, can also be caught on Route 1, but only during SOS battles (battles where the Pokémon has called for help). Rumor has it that wild Bonsly are most likely to summon a Happiny to help.

Bagon: Route 3

The dragon Pokémon that eventually evolves into the fearsome Salamance can be found more easily later in the game, but you can run into it very early on Melemele Island (the first island). There’s a single patch of grass on Route 3 to the right of the bridge that leads back to Route 1. Its encounter rate is insanely low, but if you’re determined to have a Salamance on your team right at the start, it is possible.

Passimian/Oranguru: Lush Jungle

The twin (fraternal, not identical) new monkey Pokémon can be found early on, on the second island in Lush Jungle. Passimian only appears in Sun and Oranguru in Moon. They’re both extremely rare encounters in their respective games. All you can do is keep hunting.

Feebas: Brooklet Hill

When it was introduced in generation 3 (Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire), Feebas was insanely hard to catch. Now, it’s just a matter of beating the odds while fishing at Brooklet Hill. Look for fishing spots with bubbles coming out of them to improve your odds of finding the weird fish that evolves into the beautiful Milotic.

Vulpix/Sandshrew: Tapu Village

Vulpix (in Pokémon Sun) and Sandshrew (in Pokémon Moon) have been around in Pokémon forever. But in Alola, they get new typing, and they look awesome. They’re common on the path approaching the Elite Four, but you can actually get them much earlier than that. With a little patience, you can find them in the grass in Tapu Village on the third island.

Mimikyu: Thrifty Megamart

If you’ve progressed far enough in the story to catch a Mimikyu, then you’ll already know exactly where to get it. But an encounter with the powerful Pikachu wannabe is so rare within the abandoned supermarket that you might find yourself questioning whether it’s in there at all. Rest assured, it is — just keep fainting those Golbats and Haunters until your new best friend appears.

Jangmo-o: Vast Poni Canyon

Being your opponent in the island trial that takes place there, Jangmo-o obviously resides in Poni Island’s canyon. But like the other monsters on this list, it’s not easy to find this dragon-type Pokémon. Keep hunting in the grass around the trial site. You might even have better luck in the hidden area you can reach by crawling under the branches nearby.

Aerodactyl: Seafolk Village

Characters in Pokémon Sun and Moon have a really weird habit of just giving Pokémon away. Easily the best example is the Aerodactyl you can get for absolutely free just by talking to one of the people in the house in Seafolk Village that looks like a Huntail. Go figure.

Dhelmise: Seafolk Village

There are other interesting Pokémon to catch while fishing, but none as weird as Dhelmise. For one thing, it’s not a fish, and it doesn’t even have water typing (it’s ghost/grass). The ghostly anchor can only be caught while fishing in Seafolk Village, and even then, it’s a low encounter rate, even in bubbly fishing spots.

Drampa and Turtonator: Mount Lanakila/Blush Mountain

Besides the legendaries, Drampa and Turtonator are definitely the coolest Sun/Moon version exclusives. Drampa, the Moon exclusive and dragon/normal type, can be found on Mount Lanakila; Turtonator, the Sun exclusive and dragon/fire type, is on Blush Mountain.