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Gameplay GuidePATCH 2026.10.16

How to Favorite Pokémon in Pokémon GO to Prevent Accidental Transfers

By VGSources Team 8 min read

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Open the Pokémon’s summary and tap the Favorite star. Niantic says a favorited Pokémon cannot be transferred until you remove it from favorites. To check which Pokémon are protected, search your Pokémon inventory for favorite. Because a transfer cannot be undone, make favoriting and a final selection review part of every storage-cleanup routine.

Favorite a Pokémon in Pokémon GO

The Favorite control is on the individual Pokémon’s profile, also called its summary. The following sequence follows Niantic’s documented labels; the exact placement of controls can change slightly when the app interface is updated.

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  1. From the Map View, open the Main Menu.
  2. Tap Pokémon to open your Pokémon inventory.
  3. Select the Pokémon you want to protect. Its summary/profile opens.
  4. Tap the Favorite star on that profile. Niantic’s instruction is: “You can tap on the star in a Pokémon’s profile to favorite that Pokémon.”

Favoriting is an in-game safeguard, not a transfer confirmation setting. Apply it to every Pokémon you would regret losing before you begin selecting Pokémon for transfer.

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Check that your protected Pokémon are easy to find

Use the inventory search term favorite

Return to the Pokémon inventory and enter favorite in the search field. Niantic’s inventory-search documentation says this query returns Pokémon marked as favorites. It is the quickest way to audit the protection list before a transfer session.

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Search is particularly useful after favoriting several Pokémon one at a time. Instead of opening each profile again, run the query and inspect the resulting list. If a Pokémon you intended to protect is absent, open that Pokémon’s profile and tap its Favorite star.

Search before, not after, a transfer

Use the favorite search as a preparation step while your inventory is still intact. A transfer is permanent: Niantic says transferred Pokémon cannot be recovered. Checking the protected list first gives you a separate view of the Pokémon that should not be included in a cleanup.

What favoriting changes during transfers

Niantic’s transfer guidance states that a favorited Pokémon cannot be transferred until it has been removed from favorites. This applies whether you are trying to transfer one Pokémon or preparing a larger selection. If a Pokémon is intentionally protected, leave it favorited rather than relying only on memory or its position in the inventory.

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Favoriting does not delete, move, power up, or otherwise modify the Pokémon. It marks that specific Pokémon for transfer protection. If you later decide to transfer it, you must first remove the favorite mark from its profile and then begin the transfer flow again.

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Transfer one Pokémon safely

When you have identified a single Pokémon for transfer, Niantic documents this path:

  1. Open Main Menu from the Map View.
  2. Tap Pokémon.
  3. Select the Pokémon you intend to transfer.
  4. Open the Pokémon’s Menu.
  5. Tap Transfer and review the confirmation step carefully.

Before confirming, compare the selected Pokémon’s name and details with your intention. If it appears in the favorite search results, it should not be transferable while the favorite remains active. If the transfer screen presents an unexpected Pokémon, cancel the operation and return to the inventory rather than trying to correct the selection after confirmation.

Niantic describes transferring as a way to free storage and receive Candy from Professor Willow. Those benefits do not make the operation reversible; once the transfer is completed, that Pokémon is no longer recoverable.

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Use bulk transfer without losing a protected Pokémon

Bulk transfer is useful when several Pokémon are being removed at once, but it increases the importance of selection review. Niantic’s documented bulk flow is:

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  1. In the Pokémon inventory, press and hold one Pokémon to start a multi-selection.
  2. Select the additional Pokémon you want to include.
  3. Tap Transfer.
  4. Inspect the complete selected list and confirm only after it matches your plan.

Favorited Pokémon are excluded from transfer until unfavorited, but do not treat that protection as a substitute for reading the selected list. A bulk session can still include other Pokémon you did not intend to remove, and the completed transfer cannot be reversed.

Bulk-transfer restrictions to expect

Niantic lists several restrictions that can stop a bulk operation or require a different selection:

Pokémon or selection Niantic’s documented restriction
Favorited Pokémon Cannot be transferred until removed from favorites.
Active Buddy Cannot be transferred.
Pokémon defending a Gym Cannot be transferred.
Multiple Shiny Pokémon Cannot be transferred together in the bulk flow.
Multiple Lucky Pokémon Cannot be transferred together in the bulk flow.
Buddy Pokémon at Good Buddy level or above Niantic lists these among the Pokémon with bulk-transfer limitations.
Multiple Legendary or Mythical Pokémon An in-game setting must be enabled before multiple Legendary or Mythical Pokémon can be transferred.

These restrictions are separate from the Favorite star. A Pokémon can be unfavorited and still be unavailable for a particular bulk selection because it is an active Buddy, is defending a Gym, or falls under one of the listed category limits.

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A practical pre-transfer checklist

Use this sequence whenever you are clearing storage. It separates protection, selection, and confirmation so one hurried tap does not decide the outcome.

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  1. Mark irreplaceable Pokémon first. Open each Pokémon’s summary and tap the Favorite star. Include anything you are keeping for its individual value, not merely Pokémon you use regularly.
  2. Audit the protection list. Search the inventory for favorite and scan the results. This confirms that the Pokémon you meant to safeguard are marked before you start choosing transfers.
  3. Choose an individual or bulk flow. Use the individual path when one Pokémon is being removed or when the identity of the target needs extra attention. Use bulk selection only when you can inspect every selected entry.
  4. Check special categories. Look for active Buddy status, Gym defense, Shiny or Lucky Pokémon, and Legendary or Mythical selections before attempting a bulk transfer.
  5. Review the final list. Read the selected Pokémon rather than relying on the order in which you tapped them. Remove anything that is uncertain.
  6. Confirm only when the list is correct. The transfer is final once completed, so the confirmation step is the last opportunity to stop.

Individual transfer or bulk transfer?

The choice is mainly about how much selection you can safely review, not about whether one method is reversible. Both methods permanently remove the Pokémon after confirmation, and favorite protection applies to either method.

Situation Documented selection method Best safety practice
Removing one clearly identified Pokémon Open its profile, choose Menu, then Transfer. Verify the Pokémon’s identity on its summary before confirming.
Removing several ordinary Pokémon Press and hold one Pokémon, select others, then tap Transfer. Review the entire selected list and account for bulk restrictions.
Any Pokémon you may want later Keep it favorited and exclude it from the selection. Run the favorite search before starting.
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How to handle common mistakes and blocked transfers

The Pokémon does not appear in the favorite results

Open that Pokémon from the inventory, enter its summary, and tap the Favorite star. Then return to the inventory and search for favorite again. Use the exact search term documented by Niantic rather than relying on a remembered label or a partial word.

A transfer is blocked

First check whether the Pokémon is favorited. A favorite must be removed before transfer. If the Pokémon is not favorited, check whether it is the active Buddy or is defending a Gym. For a bulk attempt, also check whether the selection contains multiple Shiny or Lucky Pokémon, Buddy Pokémon at Good Buddy level or above, or multiple Legendary or Mythical Pokémon that require the relevant setting.

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The interface looks different from these instructions

Niantic’s help pages identify the functional path—Main Menu, Pokémon, the selected Pokémon’s summary, the Favorite star, and the inventory search term—but app labels or control placement can shift with updates. Look for the same functions rather than assuming a different layout means the feature has been removed.

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You selected the wrong Pokémon but have not confirmed

Stop and edit the selection before tapping the final transfer control. Reopen the list if needed, remove the unintended Pokémon, and run the favorite search to verify that your protected group is still excluded.

You already confirmed a transfer

Niantic states that transferred Pokémon cannot be recovered. The Favorite star prevents a marked Pokémon from being transferred, but it cannot restore a Pokémon that was transferred while unprotected. For that reason, the most effective recovery strategy is prevention: mark important Pokémon before storage cleanup and inspect the final list every time.

Examples of a safe routine

Cleaning up a crowded inventory

Start by searching favorite and reviewing the protected list. Leave that search view only after you know which Pokémon must remain. Then select ordinary, clearly identified Pokémon for transfer, checking for Shiny, Lucky, Buddy, Gym, Legendary, and Mythical restrictions as you build the selection. Before confirmation, compare the complete list with the group you intended to remove.

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Protecting one newly caught Pokémon

Open the Pokémon immediately from the inventory, open its summary, and tap the Favorite star. If you later perform a bulk cleanup, the favorite status prevents that Pokémon from being included in a transfer until you deliberately remove the mark.

Preparing a special-category transfer

Do not assume that unfavoriting is enough for a bulk operation involving Legendary, Mythical, Shiny, Lucky, or higher-level Buddy Pokémon. Check the applicable restriction first. If Niantic requires a setting for multiple Legendary or Mythical Pokémon, enable it before attempting that selection; otherwise, use a selection that complies with the documented limits.

What the Favorite star does not cover

  • It does not make a transfer reversible.
  • It does not replace checking the selected list in a bulk transfer.
  • It does not override restrictions for an active Buddy or a Pokémon defending a Gym.
  • It does not by itself authorize multiple Legendary or Mythical transfers; Niantic requires a setting for that case.
  • It protects only while the Pokémon remains favorited. Removing the mark makes the Pokémon eligible for transfer subject to the other rules.

Keep the safeguard reliable

Make favoriting part of the moment you decide to keep a Pokémon, rather than waiting until storage is full. The star is attached to the individual Pokémon profile, so applying it as you review catches creates a durable visual and transfer-level reminder. A short inventory audit with favorite before every cleanup catches omissions that memory can miss.

For a one-Pokémon transfer, the profile and Menu path provide a narrow selection to inspect. For bulk transfer, pressing and holding starts a broader selection, so reserve the final step for after every entry has been checked. This two-stage habit—protect first, review last—uses the safeguards Niantic documents without depending on an unverified interface detail.

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Gameplay Guideinventory managementNianticPokémon GOPokémon transfers

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