Pokemon GO Research Gives Tips On Tropical Shells, Beach Glass

Rare souvenirs are some of the strangest elements in Pokemon GO. They weren't present at the launch of the game, and they'd seem pretty wacky to the people that'd only played that version of the game back then. Now, in addition to Pokemon, rare Pokemon, Shiny Pokemon, Mega Pokemon, and Pokemon that only appear at certain times or in certain locations, we've got items, too. Researchers at The Silph Road have discovered some interesting data about these bits in the game.

Back in December of 2019, Pokemon GO had an update that added souvenir items to the Buddy Pokemon feature of the game. Each users' Ultra and Best buddies were able to find and deliver souvenir items to you, their owner. Now, with over 14,000 souvenirs collected in a single research experiment and just 96 TOTAL shells and glass appearing among them, it's clear we've got some rarity tiers going on.

Of over 14,000 souvenirs collected by researchers, a total of 28 Beach Glass and a total of 68 Tropical Shells were found. Together, these two items make for approximately 0.7% of the overall haul. If you find one of these souvenirs, keep it!

It's not particularly difficult to tell where these items COULD drop, but it's super extremely unlikely that you'll ever find one. According to research performed by the folks working with The Silph Road, you'll find Tropical Shells on the coastline, and Beach Glass on the beach.

It could be as simple as that. Pokemon GO works with data from OpenStreetMap (OSM), which has tags for different sections of map. There's a tag called "Natural=Coastline" and another called "Natural=Beach" that we're looking at here.

These area tags are exactly what you'd expect. If you're walking in an area that's very obviously a beach – with sand you could use to make a sand castle – there's a chance your Pokemon GO buddy could find a Beach Glass. If you're walking along the edge of a major body of water, like a river or a lake, you'll more than likely be in an area designated coastline by OSM, and there's a chance you'll find a Tropical Shell.

Even when you're in these areas, your chances of finding either Beach Glass or a Tropical Shell are slim. Per the study done by The Silph Road, Tropical Shell base rarity along the coastline is just 5.46%, while Beach Glass on a beach has a rarity of 2.85%.

Good luck to you! And if you're anywhere near the water – and chances are you will be – you'll far more likely find a Skipping Stone. Cross your fingers for fewer stones, more glass, and more shells!