Cramorant, the Flying and Water-type Gulp Pokémon from Gen 8, arrives in Pokémon Go during Ultra Unlock: Water Festival, which runs from 10AM on Tuesday, August 18th to 8PM on Monday, August 24th local time. It does not spawn in the wild, so every copy has to come from one of four specific sources. Arrokuda and Barraskewda debut alongside it.
Quick answer: Take AR snapshots of any Pokémon in your storage until Cramorant photobombs one, then catch it from the reward screen. If it doesn’t show, it also comes from 5km Eggs collected during the event, from GO Pass: Water Festival rank 30, and from GO Battle League reward encounters at Rank 16 or higher.
All four Cramorant sources in Pokémon Go
Every route below is tied to the event window. Nothing here works before the event starts or after it ends, and there is no confirmed information yet about how Cramorant will be obtained afterwards.
| Source | What you need |
|---|---|
| Snapshot photobomb | Nothing. Take AR snapshots and retry if it doesn’t appear |
| 5km Eggs | Eggs must be collected during the event itself |
| GO Pass: Water Festival | Free track rank 30; Deluxe track ranks 19 and 30 |
| GO Battle League rewards | Rank 16 or higher; more common in the premium track |
Snapshot photobombs: The fastest Cramorant encounter
The photobomb is free, repeatable, and needs no battle rank or Egg luck. It is the first thing to try.
Hatching Cramorant from 5km Eggs
Cramorant is in the 5km Egg pool, but only in Eggs picked up while the event is live. Eggs sitting in your inventory from before August 18th will not hatch it. The same pool also contains Azurill, Mantyke, and Frillish, so this is a roll of the dice rather than a guarantee.
Hatched Cramorant arrives at level 20, in the 1,158 to 1,224 CP range with a 10/10/10 IV floor. Reaching rank 20 on the GO Pass halves Egg hatch distance for Eggs placed in an Incubator during the event, which makes this route considerably faster if you’re already climbing the pass.
GO Pass: Water Festival encounters at rank 19 and 30
The GO Pass is handed out automatically when the event begins, and you climb it by completing Pass Tasks. The free track hands over a Cramorant encounter at rank 30, the final Cramorant reward on the pass. Ranks 18 and 19 on the free track give Cramorant Candy rather than the Pokémon itself.
The $4.99 GO Pass Deluxe adds a second encounter earlier, at rank 19, and keeps the rank 30 encounter as well. Whichever track you use, claim rewards before they expire on Wednesday, August 26th at 8PM local time.
GO Battle League reward encounters from Rank 16
If you have already pushed to Rank 16 or above this season, battling is the most reliable route. Cramorant appears in both reward tracks from that rank, and shows up more often in the premium track.
Note: sitting at Rank 14 or 15 is close enough that grinding two ranks may still be quicker than waiting on Eggs, but below that the snapshot route is a better use of your time.
How Cramorant’s Gulping and Gorging forms trigger
You catch only one Cramorant form. The other two appear mid-battle, and the trigger is a Charged Attack. Cramorant has to know and use either Surf or Dive, and its remaining HP at that moment decides which form it becomes.
| Form | Trigger | Effect when hit by a Charged Attack |
|---|---|---|
| Gulping Form (holding Arrokuda) | Surf or Dive used at high HP | Opponent’s Defense drops |
| Gorging Form (holding Pikachu) | Surf or Dive used at low HP | Opponent’s Attack drops |
Cramorant can also learn other Charged Attacks, including Hydro Pump, and those will not change its form. If your catch has the wrong Charged Attack, use a Charged TM until it has Surf or Dive. You can confirm a swap worked on the Pokémon’s status screen during battle, where the form is displayed.
Because of that form-changing behavior, Cramorant cannot be used in raids, gym battles, or any other PvE content. It is restricted to GO Battle League, and it is not eligible in the Competitors Cup.
Shiny Cramorant is not available yet
Shiny Cramorant has not been released. Its debut does not include the shiny form, so no amount of snapshot rerolling, Egg hatching, or battling will produce one, and the Pokémon it swallows won’t be shiny either. The shiny version swaps the standard blue plumage for orange.
Cramorant has no evolutions, caps out at 2,421 CP at level 50, and is boosted by Windy and Rain weather. Grab at least one before 8PM local time on August 24th, since nothing has been confirmed about its availability once the Water Festival closes.
