Search Strings Cheat Sheet
Every Pokemon GO Search Keyword, Operator & Filter in One Place
Pokemon GO's in-game search bar is incredibly powerful — if you know the right keywords. This is the complete reference for every Pokemon GO search keyword, operator, boolean trick, and filter combination.
Most-Used Search Strings at a Glance
If you only ever remember a handful, make it these. Tap into the search bar and copy them exactly — every one is a single, working string.
- Perfect IVs (hundos):
4* - Every shiny you own:
shiny - All shadows still holding Frustration:
shadow&@frustration - Caught in the last 7 days:
age0-7 - Everything you haven't tagged yet:
!# - Can evolve right now for a new Pokedex entry:
evolve&evolvenew - Still missing a second charged move:
!@3move - Already maxed-out keepers (Best Buddy + perfect):
buddy4&4*
Search Basics
- The search bar is case-insensitive —
Fireandfirework the same. - Partial name matching — typing
charmatches Charmander, Charmeleon, and Charizard. - Searches filter your Pokemon list in real-time. Only matching Pokemon are shown.
- Parentheses are NOT supported. The search bar ignores
(and).
Boolean Operators
| Operator | Symbol | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| AND | & | Both conditions must match | shiny&3* — shiny Pokemon with 3-star IVs |
| OR | , or ; | Either condition matches | fire,water — Fire-type OR Water-type |
| NOT | ! | Exclude the following term | !legendary — not legendary |
Operator Precedence
& (AND) is the loosest operator — it splits the whole search into separate AND-conditions. , (OR) binds tighter, only combining terms within the same &-separated group. So:
Is interpreted as: fire AND (3* OR water) AND 4* — not (fire AND 3*) OR (water AND 4*). There's no shared condition between the two branches here, so that OR-of-ANDs can't actually be built as one string — you'd run it as two separate searches instead.
The ! (NOT) operator applies only to the immediately following term:
Means: (NOT fire) AND water — not "NOT (fire AND water)"
Pokemon Identity Filters
| Filter | Syntax | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | <name> | char | Partial match on species name or nickname |
| Family | +<name> | +bulbasaur | Entire evolutionary family (Bulbasaur, Ivysaur, Venusaur) |
| Dex Number | <number> | 25 | Exact Pokedex number (25 = Pikachu) |
| Dex Range | <n1>-<n2> | 1-151 | All Kanto Pokemon (dex 1 through 151) |
| Type | <type> | fire | All Fire-type Pokemon (primary or secondary) |
| Region | <region> | kanto | Pokemon from a specific region |
Available regions: kanto, johto, hoenn, sinnoh, unova, kalos, alola, galar, hisui, paldea
IV and Stat Filters
| Filter | Syntax | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Star rating | 0* – 4* | 4* | Appraisal star tier (4* = perfect 15/15/15) |
| Attack IV | <n>attack or <n1>-<n2>attack | 0-1attack | Attack IV on 0–4 scale (0=0, 1=1-5, 2=6-10, 3=11-14, 4=15) |
| Defense IV | <n>defense or <n1>-<n2>defense | 3-4defense | Defense IV on 0–4 scale (0=0, 1=1-5, 2=6-10, 3=11-14, 4=15) |
| HP IV | <n>hp or <n1>-<n2>hp | 3-4hp | Stamina/HP IV on 0–4 scale (0=0, 1=1-5, 2=6-10, 3=11-14, 4=15) |
| CP | cp<n> or cp<n1>-<n2> | cp1500- | Combat Power (trailing - = "or higher") |
cp1500- = CP 1500+. A leading hyphen means "or lower": cp-2500 = CP 2500 or below. Both endpoints = between: cp1500-2500.
Move Filters
| Filter | Syntax | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Move by name | @<movename> | @return | Pokemon knowing a specific move |
| Move by type | @<type> | @water | Pokemon with any move of that type |
| Has 2nd move | @3move | @3move | Pokemon with an unlocked 2nd charged move |
| No 2nd move | !@3move | !@3move | Pokemon without a 2nd charged move |
| Legacy/Special | @special | @special | Legacy or event-exclusive moves (Community Day, etc.) |
| Frustration | @frustration | @frustration | Shadow Pokemon that still have Frustration |
| Return | @return | @return | Purified Pokemon with Return |
| Weather-boosted | @weather | @weather | Moves boosted by current in-game weather |
Status and Category Keywords
| Keyword | Description |
|---|---|
shiny | Shiny Pokemon |
lucky | Lucky Pokemon (from lucky trades) |
shadow | Shadow Pokemon (from Team Rocket) |
purified | Purified Pokemon |
legendary | Legendary Pokemon |
mythical | Mythical Pokemon |
ultrabeast | Ultra Beast Pokemon |
costume | Costumed/event Pokemon |
traded | Pokemon received via trade |
hatched | Pokemon hatched from eggs |
defender | Currently defending a gym |
favorite | Marked as favorite (heart icon) |
male / female | Filter by gender |
genderunknown | Genderless Pokemon |
Evolution and Transformation Filters
| Keyword | Description |
|---|---|
evolve | Pokemon you can evolve right now (enough candy + items) |
evolvenew | Pokemon whose evolution = new Pokedex entry |
item | Pokemon that require an evolution item |
tradeevolve | Pokemon eligible for free evolution after being traded |
megaevolve | Pokemon with enough Mega Energy to Mega Evolve now |
dynamax | Dynamax-capable Pokemon |
gigantamax | Gigantamax Pokemon |
fusion | Fused Pokemon (Kyurem/Necrozma fusions) |
Mega Evolution Levels
| Keyword | Description |
|---|---|
mega1 | Mega Level 1 (Base) |
mega2 | Mega Level 2 (High) |
mega3 | Mega Level 3 (Max) |
Tag Filters
| Syntax | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
#<tagname> | Pokemon with a specific tag | #pvp |
# | All tagged Pokemon | # |
!# | All untagged Pokemon | !# |
Other Useful Filters
Buddy Level
| Keyword | Buddy Level | Hearts Needed |
|---|---|---|
buddy0 | Never been a buddy | 0 |
buddy1 | Good Buddy | 1 |
buddy2 | Great Buddy | 70 |
buddy3 | Ultra Buddy | 150 |
buddy4 | Best Buddy | 300 |
Size, Age, and Catch Filters
| Filter | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|
xxs, xs, xl, xxl | xxl | Size categories |
age<n> | age0-7 | Days since catch (age0 = today) |
distance<n>- | distance100- | Caught 100+ km away |
<YYYY> | 2024 | Caught in a specific year |
eggsonly | eggsonly | Species only obtainable from eggs |
raid | raid | Caught from a raid |
gbl | gbl | Caught from GO Battle League rewards |
Useful Search Recipes
Combine operators for powerful filters:
| Goal | Search String |
|---|---|
| All hundos (perfect IVs) | 4* |
| Nundos (0/0/0) | 0*&0attack&0defense&0hp |
| PvP IV candidates (Great/Ultra) | 0-1attack&3-4defense&3-4hp |
| Shiny 3-star or better | shiny&3*,4* |
| Lucky Pokemon worth powering up | lucky&3*,4* |
| Shadows that still have Frustration | shadow&@frustration |
| Pokemon ready to evolve for new dex | evolve&evolvenew |
| All untagged Pokemon (transfer review) | !# |
| Legendaries with bad IVs | legendary&0*,1* |
| Trade-evolve candidates | tradeevolve&traded |
| Community Day move Pokemon | @special |
| Everything caught this week | age0-7 |
| Fire attackers with good IVs | fire&3*,4* |
- No parentheses —
&is the loosest operator (it splits the query into AND-groups) and,binds tighter (OR within one group); that's your implicit grouping. - Partial matching —
charmatches Charmander AND any nickname containing "char". Use+charmanderfor family precision. - Comma = semicolon — both are OR operators with no behavioral difference.
- Dynamic filters —
@weatheranddefenderchange based on game state.
Copy-Paste Cleanup Recipes
These are the strings people actually open the search bar to type during a cleanup session. Each one is a real, ready-to-paste filter — start with the safe-transfer view, then work down the list to pull out keepers before you transfer anything.
- Safe mass-transfer view (hides everything worth keeping):
!4*&!shiny&!shadow&!legendary&!mythical&!lucky&!favorite&!# - Find your keepers (anything special, in one view):
4*,shiny,shadow,legendary,mythical,lucky,favorite - Find low-IV extras to trade away (skip favorites and tags):
0*,1*&!lucky&!favorite&!# - Great League PvP candidates (low attack, bulky):
cp-1500&0-1attack&3-4defense&3-4hp - PvP candidates within one family (example: Azumarill line):
+Azurill&cp-1500&0-1attack&3-4defense&3-4hp - This week's catches worth a second look (recent + decent IVs):
age0-7&3*,4*,shiny - Raid-day attackers (high attack, by type — example Fire):
fire&4attack&3-4defense&3-4hp - Low-CP duplicates that are cheap to transfer for candy:
cp-100&!shiny&!favorite&!#
!4*&!shiny&!shadow&!legendary&!mythical&!lucky&!favorite&!# first and eyeball the list. If anything you care about still shows up, it means you have an unprotected keeper — favorite it or tag it, then re-run the search. There's no undo on a transfer, so the order is always "hide the good ones, then clear what's left."Building a Search String Step by Step
The fastest way to stop guessing is to build a string outward one condition at a time, checking the result count after each piece. Say you want bulky, low-attack Water-types for Great League:
- Start broad with the type:
water— every Water-type, primary or secondary. - Narrow to a PvP-friendly CP cap:
water&cp-1500— Water-types at 1500 CP or below. - Add the low-attack, high-bulk IV gate:
water&cp-1500&0-1attack&3-4defense&3-4hp— now you're down to genuine PvP keepers.
Each & you add shrinks the list. If you over-filter and get zero results, delete the last condition rather than retyping the whole thing.
Common Mistakes and Gotchas
- A space is not an operator. Typing two words with a space between them searches for that text as a name, not "A and B." Use
&between conditions — for exampleshiny&4*, never "shiny 4*" with a space. - OR binds tighter than AND, not the other way around.
fire&2*,!2*&rocklooks like it should mean "2-star Fire-types, or non-2-star Rock-types" — but&splits the WHOLE string first, so it's actuallyfire AND (2* OR !2*) AND rock. Since every Pokemon is either 2-star or not, that middle group is always true, and the filter silently collapses to justfire&rock— no IV filtering at all. To group an OR correctly, factor the SHARED condition out into its own&-segment instead of repeating it on each branch:2*&fire,rockmeans "2-star, AND (Fire OR Rock)" — exactly "(2-star Fire) OR (2-star Rock)." - Parentheses do nothing. The bar ignores them, so a string like "(fire,water)&4*" silently falls back to the wrong grouping. Plan around precedence instead.
- Names match partially, including nicknames. Typing a species name like
Mareepalso matches Marowak, Marill, and any Pokemon you've nicknamed with those letters. Use the+family prefix —+Mareep— when you want a clean family match instead of a loose text match. - NOT only applies to the very next term.
!fire&watermeans "(not Fire) AND Water," not "not (Fire and Water)." To exclude several things, repeat the!on each one:!shiny&!legendary&!favorite. - Star rating and per-stat filters do different jobs.
4*finds a perfect 15/15/15 (a true hundo) — and so does4attack&4defense&4hp, because on the per-stat scale a 4 means an IV of exactly 15. The per-stat filters aren’t a stricter hundo; their point is targeting individual stats — low attack with high defense and HP for PvP, which the overall star rating can’t express on its own. - Watch stray separators. A dangling comma or an extra
&at the end of a string can return nothing or everything. If results look wrong, check the last character first.
Don't memorize — let us generate the strings for you
POGO Cleanup builds optimized search strings for your storage cleanup, handling character limits, splits, and boolean logic automatically.
🧹 Try POGO Cleanup — Free ToolIf you want these operators turned into a real cleanup flow, generate your filters in POGO Cleanup, then review our storage cleanup guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you combine Pokemon GO search strings?
Use three operators. & means AND (both must match), , (or ;) means OR (either matches), and ! means NOT (exclude). & is the loosest operator — it splits the query into AND-groups, and , binds tighter within one group — so 3*,4*&shiny reads as "(3-star OR 4-star) AND shiny". There are no parentheses — you rely on that precedence to group terms.
What is the safest search string to mass transfer in Pokemon GO?
Show only the safe-to-dump Pokemon by excluding everything valuable: !4*&!shiny&!shadow&!legendary&!mythical&!#&!favorite. That hides perfect IVs, shinies, shadows, legendaries, mythicals, anything you've tagged, and favorites — leaving only the leftovers, which you can select-all and transfer. Add &!yourtag for any custom tags you use.
What does 4* mean in a Pokemon GO search?
The star filters match appraisal level: 4* is a perfect three-bar (98–100% IV), 3* is two-bar (82–96%), 2* one-bar, 1* no-bar, and 0* the lowest. Combine them with OR like 3*,4* to catch your best keepers in a single search.
Why isn't my Pokemon GO search finding the right Pokemon?
Search is partial-match, so char also matches any nickname containing "char". Use a + prefix for family precision — +charmander matches the Charmander family only. And remember & is the loosest operator — it splits your ENTIRE query into AND-groups, even across commas elsewhere in the string, which is behind most "wrong results" surprises.