Regional Forms: Alola, Galar, Hisui and Paldea

An Ice-type Vulpix, a Steel-type Meowth, a Ghost-type Typhlosion: ever since Alola, the series has enjoyed sending familiar species back with a completely different face. Regional forms are neither evolutions nor brand-new Pokémon — they are the same species, adapted to another climate, keeping their Pokédex number but changing type, Ability and sometimes build. There are now fifty-five, spread across four regions.

Contents

• The same species, a different face
• Alola: eighteen forms, all from Kanto
• Galar: the biggest group, with nineteen forms
• Hisui: sixteen forms from Sinnoh's past
• Paldea: two forms, but four silhouettes
• The evolutions reserved for regional forms
• What changes, and what doesn't
• What is not a regional form
• Getting a regional form and passing it down
• The 55 regional forms, region by region
• Frequently Asked Questions

The same species, a different face

A regional form is an alternate appearance of an already familiar species, whose type, Abilities, height or weight have been changed to fit a new environment. The key point: the Pokémon keeps the same National Pokédex number, exactly like its standard version.

The concept was unveiled on 1^st August 2016, with the Alolan forms of Sandshrew, Sandslash, Vulpix, Ninetales and Exeggutor. It was carried over into Pokémon Sword and Shield for Galar, into Pokémon Legends: Arceus for Hisui, then into Scarlet and Violet for Paldea.

The total breaks down like this: 18 forms for Alola, 19 for Galar, 16 for Hisui and 2 for Paldea. All of them can be found in the wild in their own region, and the Pokédex almost always explains the change with a story of adaptation — climate, diet, predators or migration.

Alola: eighteen forms, all from Kanto

Alola follows one rule with no exception at all: the eighteen species involved all come from Kanto. A fitting choice for the series' twentieth anniversary, which turned the seventh generation into one long revisit of the very first Pokémon.

The most extreme examples play on a reversal of opposites. Sandshrew and Sandslash, both pure Ground types, become Ice-Steel after migrating to the snowy peaks to escape the eruptions; Vulpix, a Fire-type Pokémon, switches entirely to the Ice type, and Ninetales becomes Ice-Fairy.

❄️ Sandshrew and Sandslash had to turn Ice/Steel to survive Alola's snowy peaks; you get off easy with one of our Pokémon blankets on the couch.

The rest of the lineup has plenty of personality too. Alolan Raichu becomes Electric-Psychic and surfs on its own tail thanks to the Ability Surge Surfer; Marowak turns Fire-Ghost, Exeggutor trades Psychic for the Dragon type, and Geodude swaps its Ground type for Electric.

One detail trips up a lot of people: Alolan Exeggutor is the evolution of an ordinary Exeggcute. There is no regional Exeggcute — what decides is where it evolves, not the form of the parent.

Galar: the biggest group, with nineteen forms

Galar holds the record with nineteen regional forms, and above all a far more varied cast: Zigzagoon and its evolutions were the first Pokémon from outside the first generation to be announced with a regional variant.

Meowth holds a unique place here: it is the only Pokémon with two regional forms, Dark in Alola and Steel in Galar. Incidentally, its Galarian version, bristling like a Viking warrior, doesn't evolve into Persian.

Galar also takes on the classic Legendaries: Articuno becomes Psychic-Flying, Zapdos goes Fighting-Flying and Moltres shifts to Dark-Flying. Three Kanto birds redesigned from top to bottom, right down to their stats.

The rest of the batch is worth a look: Ponyta becomes Psychic and Rapidash Psychic-Fairy, Corsola turns Ghost type, Yamask becomes Ground-Ghost, Stunfisk goes Ground-Steel and Darmanitan reinvents itself as Ice, both of its modes included.

Hisui: sixteen forms from Sinnoh's past

Pokémon Legends: Arceus moves the dial through time rather than space. Hisui is the ancestor of the Sinnoh region, and its sixteen regional forms depict a harsher, less tamed world where Pokémon have not yet taken on the look we know them by.

Three starters from different eras are the stars here. Typhlosion, from Johto, becomes Fire-Ghost; Samurott, from Unova, goes Water-Dark and trades its Shell Armor for the Ability Sharpness; and Decidueye, from Alola, gives up Ghost for Fighting.

The rest of the group is just as disorienting: Zoroark becomes Normal-Ghost, Electrode disguises itself as an Electric-Grass fruit, Arcanine gains the Rock type, Braviary becomes Psychic-Flying, Goodra dresses itself in Steel and Avalugg covers itself in Rock.

🧵 Goodra suits up in Steel and Avalugg wraps itself in Rock: in Hisui, the very same species wore a completely different outfit much earlier. In your home, the only one who changes outfits three times a day still fits in a Pokémon baby onesie.

Paldea: two forms, but four silhouettes

The ninth generation is by far the stingiest: Paldea has only two regional forms. That isn't an oversight, it's a change of method — Scarlet and Violet preferred to explore other ways of reusing familiar designs.

Paldean Tauros makes up for it single-handedly by coming in three breeds: the Combat Breed, pure Fighting type, the Blaze Breed, Fighting-Fire, and the Aqua Breed, Fighting-Water. It's the only Pokémon in the series with three variants of a single regional form.

The second one is more low-key. Paldean Wooper drops Water to become Poison-Ground: it learned to coat its body in a toxic film so it wouldn't dry out in the bogs, and picks up the Ability Poison Point.

The evolutions reserved for regional forms

This is Galar's big idea: giving certain variants an evolution that the standard form doesn't have. Farfetch’d, left without one since the first generation, finally gets an evolution — but only in its Galarian version, which becomes Sirfetch’d.

The mechanic is then rolled out across the board. Galarian Meowth becomes Perrserker instead of Persian, Galarian Linoone evolves into Obstagoon, Galarian Corsola evolves into Cursola, Galarian Mr. Mime evolves into Mr. Rime and Galarian Yamask evolves into Runerigus.

Hisui and Paldea take up the same idea: Hisuian Qwilfish becomes Overqwil, Hisuian Sneasel becomes Sneasler, and Paldean Wooper becomes Clodsire. Nine evolutions in all, out of reach for the standard form of the species.

One clarification that matters: those nine are brand-new species in their own right, with their own National Pokédex number. So they are not regional forms themselves, even though the trading card game labels them "Galarian" or "Hisuian" — a naming shortcut that the games themselves don't use.

🃏 The card game slaps a "Galarian" label on Sirfetch’d and Cursola, a shortcut the video games don't take; it's up to you to find them the right page in one of our Pokémon card binders.

What changes, and what doesn't

The most visible change is still the type, but it almost always comes with a new set of Abilities, a reshuffled stat spread and often a revised build. Alolan Sandshrew, for instance, goes from 12 to 40 kilos, and gains ten centimeters along the way.

Some swaps are subtler than they look. A Pokémon that had Sand Veil can be given Snow Cloak: the two Abilities have exactly the same effect, but the first one kicks in during a sandstorm and the second one in hail. The Ability changes its name, not its logic.

What never changes, on the other hand, is the identity of the species: same name, same national number. An Alolan Ninetales is still a Ninetales, and it sits in the same Pokédex slot as its Kanto cousin. That is exactly what sets a regional form apart from a brand-new Pokémon.

What is not a regional form

The ninth generation introduced a related but clearly separate phenomenon, which fans call convergent species. There are six of them, split between Paldea and Kitakami: Wiglett, Wugtrio, Toedscool, Toedscruel, Poltchageist and Sinistcha.

The difference is clear-cut. A convergent species looks like a familiar Pokémon, but it is a completely separate species: it has its own Pokédex number and a different stat total. Wiglett brings Diglett to mind without being related to it — a textbook case of convergent evolution, just as it happens in nature.

Watch out for the false friend: despite its name, Clodsire doesn't belong to this family — it really is the evolution of a regional form. Another borderline case, Basculin (White-Striped Form), which evolves into Basculegion: it is not officially a Hisuian form, even though Professor Laventon suspects as much in his Pokédex and Pokémon HOME's research groups it with them.

Finally, don't confuse regional forms with the Paradox Pokémon, which also reuse existing silhouettes. They are brand-new species, with their own numbers, and nothing officially says they descend from the Pokémon they bring to mind.

Getting a regional form and passing it down

The basic rule is simple: a regional form is caught in the wild, in its own region. The standard form of the same species, on the other hand, is usually absent there, which has caused collectors a few completion headaches.

In Pokémon Sun and Moon, getting the standard version of a species with an Alolan form meant you had to transfer it from an earlier generation. Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon eased this by letting you evolve Pikachu, Exeggcute or Cubone during an Ultra Warp Ride to get their evolution in its standard form.

For breeding, one item settles everything: the Everstone. Normally, the baby takes the form of the region where it hatches; if the parent involved is holding an Everstone, though, the Egg instead inherits that parent's form, wherever it is.

The 55 regional forms, region by region

Frequently Asked Questions

• How many regional forms are there?
  Fifty-five in total: 18 for Alola, 19 for Galar, 16 for Hisui and 2 for Paldea. A regional form always keeps the National Pokédex number of the original species.
• Can a regional form have its own evolution?
  Yes, and it's one of Galar's greatest contributions. Galarian Meowth evolves into Perrserker, Galarian Farfetch’d into Sirfetch’d, Galarian Linoone into Obstagoon, Galarian Corsola into Cursola, Galarian Mr. Mime into Mr. Rime, Galarian Yamask into Runerigus, Hisuian Qwilfish into Overqwil, Hisuian Sneasel into Sneasler and Paldean Wooper into Clodsire. These nine evolutions are brand-new species in their own right, each with its own Pokédex number: they are not themselves regional forms.
• Why do all the Alolan forms come from Kanto?
  Because all eighteen species involved come from Kanto, without a single exception. Alola is the region that introduced the concept, unveiled on August 1, 2016 with Sandshrew, Sandslash, Vulpix, Ninetales and Exeggutor, in a generation built entirely around the series' anniversary.
• What's the difference between a regional form and a convergent species?
  A regional form is the same species with a different look: it keeps the National Pokédex number of its original form. A convergent species is a separate species, with its own number and a different base stat total, that resembles a familiar Pokémon without being related to it. Wiglett and Diglett are the textbook example. Watch out for the false friend, though: despite its name, Clodsire is not a convergent species but the evolution of a regional form, Paldean Wooper.
• How do you pass a regional form on to an egg?
  By default, the baby takes the form of the region where it hatches. To pass on a different form, you need to give the parent that has it an Everstone to hold: the egg then inherits that parent's form, no matter where it hatches.
• How many regional forms does Paldea have?
  Just two, Tauros and Wooper, which makes the ninth generation the stingiest in regional forms since the concept was created. Paldean Tauros does come in three breeds, however — the Combat Breed, a Fighting type, the Blaze Breed, a Fighting-Fire type, and the Aqua Breed, a Fighting-Water type — which means four silhouettes for two forms.

In short

From the snowy peaks of Alola to the bogs of Paldea, regional forms have become the most elegant way to reinvent a Pokémon without creating a new one. Four regions have played the game so far: there's room left for all the others, and plenty to dream about before the next generation.