Pokemon GO has grown a massive, dedicated community in the years since its dramatic launch back in 2016. While the total player count has fallen since the initial launch week numbers, there remains a dedicated fanbase that Niantic continues to support with frequent updates and events for Pokemon GO, such as the addition of the Dynamax mechanic from Pokemon Sword and Shield during the ongoing Max Out season. With the growth of this community has come some terminology new players may not be familiar with that have developed independently of Niantic's own work on the game.
Some Pokemon GO players hunt for the rarest mons they can find, such as Shiny Pokemon or critters with the best stats for battling. However, there exists another type of elusive critter that the Pokemon GO community has termed a "nundo" mon, meaning that it represents the worst possible stat total for a creature of its species. While at a glance, it may seem like players would be disappointed to find this type of critter, the immense rarity of nundo mons in Pokemon GO means that they can be quite desirable for collectors.
The Unwritten Rules of Pokemon GO Explained
Pokemon GO has a dedicated community that continues to support the game to this day, and there are a number of unspoken rules in that community.
Pokemon GO's 'Nundo' Mons Have the Worst Possible Stat Lines
How to Tell if a Pokemon is a 'Nundo' Based Pokemon GO's Appraisal Stats
A Pokemon's stats determine its effectiveness in battle, and Pokemon GO breaks these stats down into three categories:
- Attack
- Defense
- HP
Players can determine a particular critter's stats by appraising them from their screen in the player's Box. Each stat is represented by a scale with three levels of power, which contribute to the mon's overall star rating.
These stats are known as IVs or "Individual Values" and have a maximum possible value of 15: 5 for each level represented on the scale.
While most players will want all three stats to have maxed-out levels, usually players will find mons with varying degrees of levels in each stat. However, very rarely, players will encounter a mon that has no levels in any of the three stats, resulting in what the community has dubbed as a nundo. These types of mons represent the worst possible stats a creature can have in Pokemon GO, since they have zero IVs in any of their three stats categories.
Getting a 'Nundo' Mon in Pokemon GO is Incredibly Rare
Players who find themselves with a nundo will not want to use it in battle since it will pale in comparison to the mons players will be facing in Gyms or PvP battles. However, it's still worth keeping nundos as trophies of sorts since they can be some of the rarest mons in Pokemon GO. The base odds of finding a nundo critter in Pokemon GO is 1 in 4096, but these odds don't account for the fact that nundos can't appear from Raids, eggs, trades, or research task rewards.
Finding nundo versions of some of Pokemon GO's other rarest mons is even more difficult, making them possibly some of the rarest mons in the game. Shiny nundos or even certain Legendary nundos can be incredibly rare since all three conditions are rare to find individually, and even more so together. For players looking for the opposite of a nundo with perfect IVs, dubbed a hundo, the odds of finding them are thankfully much better since they have a 1 in 216 chance to appear from raids, eggs, and research tasks.
Likely the rarest mons in Pokemon GO are Shiny Galarian bird nundos, since they are the only Legendary mons that can be found in the wild. Galarian Zapdos, Moltres, and Articuno can only spawn from Daily Incense and have a measly 0.3% catch rate, meaning catching a Shiny nundo version is quite the feat.
WHERE TO PLAY
Pokémon GO is an immersive open-world multiplayer RPG that enables you to live your own RPG adventure in augmented reality. Find and evolve all Pokémon and battle with other players in AR online in this multiplayer adventure RPG.
COMPLETE YOUR POKÉDEX AND INCREASE YOUR TRAINER LEVEL!
Catch your favourite Pokémon as you explore the open world in augmented reality, trade them with other Trainers, or get the chance to catch a Pokémon after winning a Raid. You can also collect Pokémon by hatching eggs through walking! Evolve your Pokémon in your Pokédex, gain levels to catch more powerful Pokémon and earn adventure rewards during a Raid in multiplayer or online PvP battle.
EXPERIENCE THE ADVENTURE IN MULTIPLAYER AND PvP!
Start your own adventure and challenge other Trainers online in PvP during epic Gym battles or in the GO Battle League. You can also enjoy multiplayer by facing off with other players in PvP battles to win rewards, or team up with other Trainers for a chance to catch Pokémon after a Raid Battle.
CREATE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE!
Customise your avatar, join one of the three teams and pick your Buddy Pokémon from your Pokédex to journey by your side in this AR adventure RPG.
SWITCH BETWEEN THE REAL WORLD AND THE VIRTUAL WORLD WITH THE AR+ MODE!
Bring the RPG to the real world and search for Pokémon in locations around you. With the AR+ mode, Pokémon appear right in front of you — Catch it with your PokéBall and add it to your Pokédex.
Catch your favourite Pokémon in AR as you explore the world and battle online with other Trainers in PvP and Raid battles.
