Pokémon Ribbons and Marks: A Complete Guide

Ribbons first appeared in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire (Generation III). Those games awarded them for goals such as winning Pokémon Contests, entering the Hall of Fame and reaching maximum effort values, and some were handed out to commemorate special occasions. In Generation III they could only be viewed from the PokéNav in Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald; FireRed and LeafGreen kept them but had no screen to show them.

Every generation since has added its own. Diamond and Pearl brought weekday Ribbons from Sunyshore City and Ribbons for records and footprints, later games added Ribbons for their own Champions and battle facilities, and Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire folded the older Contest and battle Ribbons into the Contest Memory and Battle Memory Ribbons, which turn gold for a complete set. Sword and Shield let a Trainer pick a Ribbon's title, such as "the Champion", to show beside the Pokémon's name when it is sent into battle.

Ribbons travel with a Pokémon when it moves forward to newer games, so a Pokémon caught long ago can still show the achievements of every region it has visited. That is a large part of their appeal to collectors: some Trainers raise one Pokémon through generations of games to gather as many Ribbons on it as they can. The grid below lists the Ribbons that remain part of a Pokémon's record in current games.

Marks arrived in Pokémon Sword and Shield (Generation VIII). They are found on wild Pokémon rather than earned, and describe the encounter itself: Lunchtime, Dawn and Dusk Marks depend on the time of day, weather Marks on the weather where the Trainer stood when the Pokémon appeared, and a long list of rarer personality Marks, such as the Rowdy, Jittery or Upbeat Mark, can appear on any Pokémon. Like Ribbons, a Mark gives a title the Pokémon can show in battle, such as "the Peckish" for the Lunchtime Mark. The Mark Charm, earned by completing the Isle of Armor Pokédex, triples the chance of finding one.

Scarlet and Violet (Generation IX) kept Marks and added new ones tied to its own features, such as the Jumbo and Mini Marks for record sizes, the Itemfinder Mark for Pokémon that pick up items in Let's Go mode, the Titan Mark for former Titan Pokémon and the Mightiest Mark for Pokémon caught in 7-star Tera Raid Battles.

Marks gained a second life through event mass outbreaks. Starting with version 2.0.1 of Scarlet and Violet, Poké Portal News can make chosen species appear more often in mass outbreaks, and some of those events give the featured Pokémon a higher chance of carrying a particular Mark. All of the following events have ended:

• Clefairy, September 28 to October 1, 2023: the first of these events, with a higher chance of Clefairy carrying the Upbeat Mark.
• Tinkatink, November 29 to December 5, 2024: a higher chance of the Ferocious Mark.
• Wooper, December 6 to 12, 2024: a higher chance of the Absent-Minded Mark.
• Mankey, Primeape and Annihilape, August 14 to 20, 2026: a higher chance of the Angry Mark.

Not every outbreak event boosts a Mark; many feature a species or a better shiny chance instead, so check each event's announcement. To take part, a Trainer needs the latest update data and the latest Poké Portal News, downloaded from Mystery Gift in the Poké Portal. Receiving the news does not require a paid Nintendo Switch Online membership.