How to unlock Pokémon in PokéBonk: all 79 League challenges

To add a playable partner to your League, complete all of its challenge requirements, then capture it in a later run. Finishing the challenge alone does not immediately make it selectable.

The current client defines 79 League partners. The 151-entry Kanto Pokédex includes evolution forms and other reference entries; it is a different count. A Pokédex record is not a promise that every form can be independently selected from the League.

Challenge first, capture second

1. Open Play and inspect the League partner you want. Its card shows challenge requirements and progress.
2. Complete every listed requirement. A League-size gate and a combat challenge both need to be satisfied.
3. Start a later run and watch for the partner’s encounter. Follow the capture prompt after weakening or defeating it.
4. Confirm it has joined your League before planning a run around selecting it.

For ordinary challenge encounters, the League describes weakening and capturing the partner before it escapes. Some boss-linked encounters have a different arrival sequence. Check the partner’s current League panel for the encounter instructions as well as the table’s challenge conditions.

Unlock the other starters

A new player chooses one of Bulbasaur, Charmander or Squirtle. That one becomes the first League member.

For either of the other starters, finish two runs, win or lose, then capture it when it appears in a later run. You do not need to clear a map just to satisfy the two-run challenge. You still need to complete the subsequent capture.

Our starter comparison explains their real passives, opening moves, Ultimates and signature fusion pairs.

Read the challenge correctly

Lifetime goals accumulate across runs. A target such as 5,000 total KOs or 250 berries does not have to be completed in one session.

Single-run goals use your best result from one run. Four separate runs with 1,000 healing each do not satisfy a 4,000-healing-in-one-run challenge.

League-size requirements count partners already in your League. They are not the number of different Pokédex forms you have seen, evolutions reached, or enemy species defeated.

All listed conditions are required. For example, Eevee requires 15 League members and having played 10 different Pokémon. Simply reaching 15 members is not enough. Mew requires the other 78 League members.

Support Alpha capture is a separate system. Recruiting an Alpha to accompany the current run does not, by itself, add that species to the playable League. A shiny capture also does not replace the regular League recruitment requirement. Follow the League’s own challenge and capture flow.

All 79 League challenges

The table lists the checked client conditions. “None” in the League-size column means there is no additional roster-size gate, not that the partner is unlocked automatically. All other requirements still apply, followed by the capture.

Plan your next unlock

Start with a requirement you can make progress on using a familiar partner. Pidgey requires four completed runs, while the remaining starters need two. These are straightforward goals to track as you learn the opening, without assuming a successful map clear.

For a specific target, work backward from the condition:

• Pikachu asks for KOs in rain. Check whether your current run and kit can produce that context; ordinary KOs in dry weather do not advance the same counter.
• Eevee needs League size and varied partner use. Finish runs with partners you have already recruited rather than only repeating one starter.
• Zubat asks for healing within one run. Bulbasaur’s recovery passive offers a mechanic to investigate, though this is a planning suggestion rather than a tested fastest route.
• Mewtwo has multiple late requirements, including the three legendary birds. Use the table as a checklist, not a claim that one completed condition is enough.

If your target is not selectable yet, check three things: the whole challenge is complete, the follow-up encounter was captured, and the partner is now shown as a League member. If progress did not save, resolve the connection or account issue before attempting another long single-run challenge.

Permanent upgrades from the Lab can support later attempts. When you have chosen the next partner, the fusion recipe list helps you plan a specific pair rather than spreading upgrades without a goal.

Sources and checks

Keep exploring

• PokéBonk starters: Bulbasaur, Charmander or Squirtle?
• PokéBonk Lab guide: upgrades, costs & the fourth move
• PokéBonk move fusions: Bill’s Machine & all 106 recipes