Why Pokémon you’ve already captured appear as silhouettes in Pokemon GO

Have you ever noticed an all-too-familiar silhouette on your radar nearby in Pokémon GO? Many players have seen the outlines of creatures they’re sure they’ve already captured, leaving them wondering: Is this a glitch, or is there something else going on?

What do Pokémon silhouettes mean in Pokemon GO

Pokémon appearing as a silhouette rather than its color image in Pokémon GO means you have not yet added this creature to your Pokedex.

You may see an outline on your radar nearby, which means a Pokémon you haven’t yet caught is in the wild. Or, you might see it on the evolution screen if you haven’t added this evolution to your Pokedex yet.

Although this meaning is relatively simple in theory, some trainers have noticed outlines of Pokémon that they are almost sure they have caught before.

Related: Pokemon GO Players Are Furious That Mega Rayquaza Is An Elite Raid

Why Pokémon you’ve caught or evolved always appear as silhouettes

It’s happened to many of us. You prepare to evolve Pikachu into Raichu and notice that, for some reason, Raichu is just a shadow of its former self – even though your Pokémon inventory is full of them.

Why would a Pokémon you’ve already caught or evolved appear as a silhouette in Pokémon GO? There are actually several reasons why this could be happening, so let’s dive in and help you solve this mystery.

You only caught or evolved one gender

Some Pokémon, like Pikachu and Lechonk, have slight variations depending on whether they are male or female. The path Pokémon GO is coded, these are considered different Pokémon. So even if you evolved your male Lechonk into Oinkologne, you will still see a silhouette when you try to evolve a female Lechonk for the first time.

So if you see an outline of a Pokémon you’ve already captured, it might be because you only captured the male or female version.

The Pokémon wears a costume

Costumed Pokémon are also recorded separately in the Pokedex. Most of the time, you can easily tell the difference, but some costumes – like Eevee’s little flower crown, for example – can be difficult to spot.

If a costumed Pokémon appears in the wild or you prepare to evolve it, it will appear as a preview. Even if you have already evolved Eevee into Umbreon, this one has a crown, meaning you will evolve it into Crown of flowers Umbreon. Very different, depending on the game code.

You evolve a Shadow or Purified Pokémon

Shadow Pokémon (and their purified forms) are considered different and unique Pokémon forms according to the code.

So even if you have already evolved a Bagon into a Shelgon, you will see a silhouette when you try to evolve a Shadow or Purified Bagon.

It’s a bug

If you’re absolutely sure there’s no gender, shade, or costume variation, there’s one final explanation for the silhouette mystery: This could be a problem.

Players have noticed that the silhouette mechanics sometimes become a little laggy after updates that involve changing Pokémon forms in code. In this case, you might see the outlines of a Pokémon you’ve already caught for no good reason, except that Pokémon GO is a little confusing.

While this isn’t the most exciting option, because it means there’s really nothing new to grasp, it’s a real possibility when all other explanations don’t fit.

I hope this helps satisfy your curiosity next time. Pokémon GO has you playing “who is this Pokémon” with a familiar face.

Pokémon GO is available on iOS and Android.

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