List of Pokémon with gender differences
Although most Pokémon look identical regardless of gender, some species have differences in appearance due to gender, with noticeable differences between the males and females. Gender differences were introduced in Generation IV.
These differences are a reference to sexual dimorphism, which is commonly seen in many real organisms and may offer some clues to their biology and behavior.
In Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, in the gate to Canalave City, Professor Rowan's assistant upgrades the player's Pokédex to be able to display form differences, including gender differences. In later games, they are displayed from the start.
Generation IV, in addition to introducing new Pokémon with gender differences, also modified several older Pokémon to have gender differences. In most cases, the male version retained the original design while the female was altered; however, the inverse is true for Dodrio, Meganium, Xatu, Aipom, Torchic, Beautifly, Ludicolo, Meditite, Medicham, and Milotic.
Later generations would introduce far fewer Pokémon with gender differences, but those that were introduced differ much more drastically in appearance. Starting in Generation VI, some Pokémon even have different Abilities, base stats, and/or moves they can learn depending on their gender.
Starting in Generation IV, certain Pokémon's evolution is affected by their gender. Burmy evolves into Wormadam if it is female or Mothim if it is male. Only female Combee and Salandit can evolve into Vespiquen and Salazzle respectively, with the males unable to evolve at all. Only male Kirlia can evolve into Gallade, though either gender can evolve into Gardevoir; similarly, only female Snorunt can evolve into Froslass, though either gender can evolve into Glalie. However, Combee is the only one of these Pokémon to have a visual gender difference.
List of Pokémon
Generation I
# | Name | Male | Female | ||
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Difference
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0003 | Venusaur | ||||
Female's flower has a visible gynoecium
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0012 | Butterfree | ||||
Female has black (purple in Generation V) spots on her lower wings
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0019 | Rattata | ||||
Female has smaller whiskers
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0020 | Raticate | ||||
Female has smaller whiskers
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0025 | Pikachu | ||||
Female's tail ends in the upper half of a heart
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0026 | Raichu | ||||
Female's tail lacks a point and is smaller
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0041 | Zubat | ||||
Female has smaller fangs
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0042 | Golbat | ||||
Female has smaller fangs
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0044 | Gloom | ||||
Female has one large spot per petal
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0045 | Vileplume | ||||
Female's petals have larger spots
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0064 | Kadabra | ||||
Female has a smaller mustache
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0065 | Alakazam | ||||
Female has a smaller mustache
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0084 | Doduo | ||||
Male has black necks and female has beige necks
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0085 | Dodrio | ||||
Male has black necks and female has beige necks
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0097 | Hypno | ||||
Female has longer collar fur
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0111 | Rhyhorn | ||||
Female's horn is shorter
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0112 | Rhydon | ||||
Female's horn is shorter
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0118 | Goldeen | ||||
Female's horn is smaller
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0119 | Seaking | ||||
Female's horn is smaller
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0123 | Scyther | ||||
Female's abdomen is larger
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0129 | Magikarp | ||||
Male has yellow whiskers and female has white whiskers
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0130 | Gyarados | ||||
Male has blue whiskers and female has white whiskers
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0133 | Eevee | ||||
Female's tail's white tip has larger, rounder scallops. This gender difference was introduced in Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, where it was exclusive to the partner Eevee. Starting in Generation VIII, this gender difference was applied to all Eevee. | |||||
Generation II
# | Name | Male | Female | ||
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Difference
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0154 | Meganium | ||||
Male has longer antennae
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0165 | Ledyba | ||||
Female has smaller antennae
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0166 | Ledian | ||||
Female has smaller antennae
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0178 | Xatu | ||||
Male has three body stripes
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0185 | Sudowoodo | ||||
Female's head "branch" is smaller
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0186 | Politoed | ||||
Female has smaller cheeks
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0190 | Aipom | ||||
Male has shorter head fur
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0194 | Wooper | ||||
Female has one set of gill branches
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0195 | Quagsire | ||||
Female has a smaller dorsal ridge
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0198 | Murkrow | ||||
Female's hat-like plumage is smaller
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0202 | Wobbuffet | ||||
Female's mouth has lipstick-like markings
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0203 | Girafarig | ||||
Female's body has a larger yellow section
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0207 | Gligar | ||||
Female has a smaller stinger
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0208 | Steelix | ||||
Female lacks an outer tooth on each side
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0212 | Scizor | ||||
Female's abdomen is larger
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0214 | Heracross | ||||
Female's horn is heart-shaped
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0215 | Sneasel | ||||
Female's left ear is shorter
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0215 | Hisuian Sneasel | ||||
Female's left ear is shorter
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0217 | Ursaring | ||||
Female has longer shoulder fur
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0221 | Piloswine | ||||
Female has smaller tusks
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0224 | Octillery | ||||
Female has smaller suction cups
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0229 | Houndoom | ||||
Female has smaller horns
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0232 | Donphan | ||||
Female has shorter tusks | |||||
Generation III
# | Name | Male | Female | ||
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Difference
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0255 | Torchic | ||||
Male has a black speck on his rear
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0256 | Combusken | ||||
Female has smaller head feathers
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0257 | Blaziken | ||||
Female's head crest is smaller
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0267 | Beautifly | ||||
Male has longer red markings on his upper wings
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0269 | Dustox | ||||
Female has smaller antennae
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0272 | Ludicolo | ||||
Male has thicker stripes
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0274 | Nuzleaf | ||||
Female has a smaller leaf
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0275 | Shiftry | ||||
Female has smaller leaves
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0307 | Meditite | ||||
Male's ears are higher
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0308 | Medicham | ||||
Male has a larger bulb on his head
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0315 | Roselia | ||||
Female's body leaf is longer
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0316 | Gulpin | ||||
Female's feather is shorter
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0317 | Swalot | ||||
Female has shorter whiskers
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0322 | Numel | ||||
Female has larger hump
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0323 | Camerupt | ||||
Female has larger humps
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0332 | Cacturne | ||||
Female has a large diamond on her chest where male has two small ones
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0350 | Milotic | ||||
Male's hair-like fins are shorter
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0369 | Relicanth | ||||
Female has a shorter jaw guard | |||||
Generation IV
# | Name | Male | Female | ||
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Difference
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0396 | Starly | ||||
Female's forehead marking is smaller
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0397 | Staravia | ||||
Female's forehead spot is smaller
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0398 | Staraptor | ||||
Female's forehead spot is smaller
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0399 | Bidoof | ||||
Male's tail has two additional curls
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0400 | Bibarel | ||||
Male's mask has two additional curls
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0401 | Kricketot | ||||
Female has a larger collar
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0402 | Kricketune | ||||
Female has a smaller mustache
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0403 | Shinx | ||||
Female has blue hind feet and a shorter mane
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0404 | Luxio | ||||
Female has exposed rear ankles and a shorter mane
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0405 | Luxray | ||||
Female's mane is smaller
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0407 | Roserade | ||||
Female has longer cape
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0415 | Combee | ||||
Male's lower face has no red mark Only female Combee can evolve into Vespiquen
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0417 | Pachirisu | ||||
Female's head stripe is shorter
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0418 | Buizel | ||||
Female has one less light-colored spot on her back
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0419 | Floatzel | ||||
Female has one less light-colored bump on her back
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0424 | Ambipom | ||||
Male has shorter head fur
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0443 | Gible | ||||
Male has a notched dorsal fin
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0444 | Gabite | ||||
Male has a notched dorsal fin
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0445 | Garchomp | ||||
Male has a notched dorsal fin
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0449 | Hippopotas | ||||
Female's color pattern is inverted
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0450 | Hippowdon | ||||
Male's body is light brown and female's is bluish-gray
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0453 | Croagunk | ||||
Female has higher "bandages"
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0454 | Toxicroak | ||||
Female's vocal sac is smaller
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0456 | Finneon | ||||
Female has larger bottom tail fins
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0457 | Lumineon | ||||
Female has longer fins
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0459 | Snover | ||||
Female's midsection is white
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0460 | Abomasnow | ||||
Female has longer chest fur
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0461 | Weavile | ||||
Female's ears are shorter
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0464 | Rhyperior | ||||
Female has smaller upper horn
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0465 | Tangrowth | ||||
Female's finger markings are longer
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0473 | Mamoswine | ||||
Female has smaller tusks | |||||
Generation V
# | Name | Male | Female | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Difference
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0521 | Unfezant | ||||
Male has a reddish-pink wattle with long extensions while the female has a curved feather on the back of her head. Male has a green underside and female has a brown underside.
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0592 | Frillish | ||||
Male is blue, frowns, and has a ruffled collar, smooth, diamond-patterned tentacles, and one upper eyelash per eye. Female is pink, smiles, and has a bulbous collar, frilled tentacles, and one lower eyelash per eye. Males have a star-shaped head pattern and a stiff crown while females have a flower-shaped pattern and a limp crown.
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0593 | Jellicent | ||||
Body color, eyes, head pattern, and tentacle differences are much the same as with Frillish, but the female's eyes are now larger and have two eyelashes each. Males have a facial covering resembling a large mustache while females have one resembling a fluffy collar. Female has a heart-shaped mouth and the male's is hidden inside the "mustache." Males have a more overall "kingly" appearance, while females have a more overall "queenly" appearance. | |||||
Generation VI
# | Name | Male | Female | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Difference
| |||||
0668 | Pyroar | ||||
Male has a large mane shaped like the kanji character 大 ō (big or great) or 火 hi (fire), a stockier body, and half-brown front legs. Female has long, flowing hair similar to a ponytail and mostly-brown legs.
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0678 | Meowstic | ||||
Males are mostly blue with white highlights, the inverse of females. Male's eyes are green with light blue sclerae, while female's are red and yellow.
The moves Meowstic can learn vary by gender, with males learning more status moves and females learning more damaging moves. Male Meowstic have the Hidden Ability Prankster, while female Meowstic have the Hidden Ability Competitive. In Pokémon Sword and Shield, all wild Meowstic are male in Sword and female in Shield. However, evolving Espurr allows both genders to be obtained in either version. | |||||
Generation VIII
# | Name | Male | Female | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Difference
| |||||
0876 | Indeedee | ||||
Males have lowered eyes, a triangular mouth pointing upwards like a frown, and more black on their torso, made to resemble a suit. Females have wider eyes, a triangular mouth pointing downwards like a smile, and more white on their torso, made to resemble an apron.
Male Indeedee have higher Attack, Special Attack, and Speed, while female Indeedee have higher Defense, Special Defense, and HP. The two genders also have different moves and Abilities. In Pokémon Sword and Shield, all wild Indeedee are male in Sword and female in Shield. However, breeding allows both genders to be obtained in either version. | |||||
0902 | Basculegion | ||||
Males have red accents, fierce-looking eyes, longer barbels, and two additional growths on their chin resembling a stubble. Females have pale-blue accents, sad-looking eyes, shorter barbels, and additional accents around their lips and eyes.
Male Basculegion have higher Attack, while female Basculegion have higher Special Attack. | |||||
Generation IX
# | Name | Male | Female | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Difference
| |||||
0916 | Oinkologne | ||||
Females have more brown bodies while males have a darker gray complexion. Male Oinkologne have a larger left ear which often covers their left eye, and have a more magenta shade of pink for their hooves and snout. Male Oinkologne are also slightly plumper than the females, and have a differently shaped tail bobble.
Male Oinkologne may have the Ability Lingering Aroma, while female Oinkologne may have the Ability Aroma Veil. They also have slightly different stats and moves learned via leveling up. | |||||
Trivia
- Nidoran♀ and Nidoran♂ are gendered counterparts in a similar vein to gender differences, but they are considered two separate species. They were introduced in Generation I, prior to the introduction of gender as a mechanic in Generation II and of gender differences in Generation IV. Notably, Eggs produced by Nidoran♀ or Nidoran♂ can hatch into either Pokémon. A similar male-female gendered counterpart pair is Volbeat and Illumise, who also can produce Eggs containing each other.
- Some Pokémon with gender differences have unique distinctions:
- Garchomp is the only pseudo-legendary Pokémon to have gender differences.
- Sneasel is the only Pokémon to have a gender difference in both its standard form and regional form.
- The Torchic evolutionary line is the only first partner Pokémon line to have all of its members have gender differences.
- Politoed is the only Pokémon with gender differences from a branched Evolution line that evolves from a Pokémon without gender differences.
- Fairy is the only type that lacks a Pokémon with gender differences.
- Generation IV introduced the most Pokémon with gender differences, with a total of 31.
- It was also the first generation to introduce gender-based evolution, and the first to introduce new gender differences to Pokémon established in previous generations.
- Generation IX introduced the fewest Pokémon with gender differences of generations that introduced Pokémon with gender differences, introducing only one.
- Generation VII is the only generation that did not introduce any Pokémon that have gender differences. However, it did introduce a Pokémon that can only evolve if it is a specific gender (only female Salandit can evolve into Salazzle) and a new gender difference for Eevee that was initially exclusive to the player's partner Eevee.
- No Mega Evolutions or Gigantamax forms have gender differences, even if other forms of the same species do.
- Despite having very prominent gender differences, Hippopotas and Hippowdon only have artwork and a menu sprite for the male of the species.
- Despite Spinda not having any gender differences, the Rotom Pokédex displays separate models for male and female Spinda, using whichever spot pattern the player caught first for each gender.
- Some Pokémon with gender differences evolve into Pokémon that do not have gender differences, namely Golbat evolving into Crobat, Gloom evolving into Bellossom, Eevee evolving into the Eeveelutions, Murkrow evolving into Honchkrow, Girafarig evolving into Farigiraf, Gligar evolving into Gliscor, Hisuian Sneasel evolving into Sneasler, and Ursaring evolving into Ursaluna.
- Although Krookodile has no gender differences in the games, in Fuecoco…Becomes a Crook?!, a Krookodile who plays the role of "mother" in a litter of Sandile and Krokorok has pink eyelashes.
See also
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