What is the Garchomp fin issue in Pokemon GO?

Pokemon GO's Mega Garchomp raids have provided trainers with the opportunity to catch the Dragon/Ground-type species by defeating it in battle. When a Mega-Evolved raid boss is defeated in GO, trainers receive Mega Energy but catch whatever form the Pokemon was in before it Mega Evolved, meaning players can catch Garchomp without evolving Gible and Gabite first.

A few Pokemon GO fans have noticed something a bit odd, though. Specifically, some Garchomp have what appears to be a bite or cut taken out of their back fins, while others don't. Why is this the case? Newer players have been asking, but it comes down to the gender of the Garchomp that is captured.

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Why does Garchomp have different fin designs in Pokemon GO?

can someone explain this weird fin byu/RemoteIcy7621 inpokemongo

Though veteran Pokemon and Pokemon GO fans are likely aware of the differences between Garchomp fins, some newer players were quite confused by the disparity. Due to the Mega Garchomp raids taking place until November 16, 2023, this has been the first opportunity that some trainers have had to catch the powerful Pocket Monster.

Put plainly, in the Pokemon series as a whole, some 'mons have different appearances based on their gender. For Garchomp, female members of the species have solid fins, while males have a small wedge-shaped cut in their dorsal fins instead. This inter-gender form difference can be seen in many other Pokemon, including Pyroar, Pikachu, Magikarp/Gyarados, Meditite/Medicham, and more.

Pokemon GO Redditors confirm that female Garchomp have solid fins. (Image via Reddit)

Sometimes, the gendered differences in Pokemon GO are quite difficult to discern. An example would be female Zubat having slightly smaller fangs than their male counterparts or female Snover having a white midsection instead of a brown one. Creatures like Pikachu have more noticeable differences, as female Pikachu have a heart-shaped end to their tail instead of a flat one.

Since Pokemon GO got a large swathe of new players into the franchise who weren't fans beforehand, it's understandable for some trainers to be confused. However, contrary to players assuming Garchomp had some form of glitch or unused model, a Garchomp with an intact dorsal fin is just bearing a trait showing that it's female.

Comment byu/RemoteIcy7621 from discussion inpokemongo

As Pokemon GO trainers may have noticed, they have symbols in their Pokedexes denoting male/female individuals when they're captured. If players look up certain 'mons in their Pokedexes and switch between genders on the screen, they can start noticing the physical differences. These contrasts also apply if a Pokemon has its shiny coloration, and many also carry on through the evolutionary chain.

Oddly enough, however, when Garchomp Mega Evolves, it possesses a notch in its dorsal fin regardless of gender. It's unclear as to why this is the case, though it may be because Mega Evolution is a very intense process that allows a Pokemon to express the height of its power through transformation. In this case, the apex transformation would look the same regardless of a Pokemon's gender.

Gendered differences seem to vanish after Mega Evolution. (Image via Niantic)

Whatever the case, if players capture a Garchomp and its fin looks a bit different than the others, there's nothing to worry about. There won't be any difference in battle capabilities or potential IVs based on gender, so trainers can still power up their Garchomp and Mega Evolve it to make it one of the most powerful fighters the mobile title has seen to this point.