Pokémon GO Location Cards Explained: How They Work and Which Pokémon Have Them

Pokémon GO Location Cards are collectible backgrounds tied to a real-world place, usually an in-person event, city or participating venue. The game now generally calls these Location Backgrounds, but “Location Cards” remains a common name among players because the feature originally became known as a souvenir-style card behind the Pokémon on its summary screen.

How Pokémon GO Location Cards work

When a qualifying Pokémon receives one of the Pokémon GO Location Cards, artwork representing the place appears on that Pokémon’s information screen. The display cycles with the Pokémon’s normal background, giving that specific catch a permanent visual record of where it came from. The card does not raise CP, change IVs or add an attack; its value is entirely as a collectible and travel souvenir.

The modern official wording is Location Background, so an event page may never use the phrase Pokémon GO Location Cards even though players are talking about the same feature. This also helps separate them from Special Backgrounds. A Location Background is about a physical place. A Special Background is normally about an event, game version, team, anniversary or other theme that is not simply the catch location.

How to get Pokémon GO Location Cards

Pokémon GO Location Cards are not available from ordinary catches everywhere. You need to play the encounter source specified for the location or event. In-person GO Fest events have offered Location Backgrounds on selected catches, while other partnerships can make them available at specific real-world sites through raids or local research.

A good 2026 example is the National Trust partnership in the UK. Selected National Trust sites have offered site-specific Location Backgrounds on featured raid catches, with local Timed Research also awarding Treecko, Grovyle and Sceptile carrying that site’s background. GO Fest 2026 in-person events also advertised a GO Fest Location Background for Mewtwo caught after the event’s Super Mega Raid finale.

Situation	Can it produce a Location Background?
Normal catch at home	No, unless a specific event explicitly says otherwise.
Eligible in-person event encounter	Yes, when the event names that Pokémon/source.
Eligible raid at a participating local venue	Yes, if the venue promotion includes a Location Background.
Catching the same species elsewhere	Usually no; the qualifying place and encounter source matter.

Which Pokémon have Pokémon GO Location Cards?

There is no single permanent species list for Pokémon GO Location Cards. Eligibility changes with each event. Legendary Pokémon, costumed Pokémon, raid bosses and research encounters have all been used. What matters is the event announcement for the place you are visiting, not simply whether that species has ever had a Location Background before.

For example, a Mewtwo from the correct GO Fest 2026 in-person finale can be a location-background collectible, while an ordinary Mewtwo caught during a different raid rotation is not automatically entitled to the same design. Likewise, the National Trust promotion ties specific raid species and research encounters to individual participating sites. Pokémon GO Location Cards therefore work more like event stamps than a species trait.

Are Location Cards worth keeping?

If you collect event memorabilia, definitely. Pokémon GO Location Cards can be much harder to replace than a high-IV Pokémon because the original location, ticket window or local promotion may never return in the same form. Favorite the catch before mass transferring and consider using a dedicated background or travel tag so it does not disappear among ordinary duplicates.

The most useful rule is simple: if a catch has location artwork you recognise, treat it as a collectible first and a spare second. Pokémon GO Location Cards are designed to remember where you played, and their rarity comes from that real-world restriction rather than from combat power.

Because access is location-specific, it is also worth checking the event details before travelling. A venue can host ordinary Pokémon GO gameplay without every encounter there receiving a card. For Pokémon GO Location Cards, the announcement normally identifies the eligible raid, research or special encounter. Screenshotting that event information before you arrive can save confusion later, especially when several species are appearing at the same site but only selected catches qualify.

For current events and availability, check the official Pokémon GO website, because collectible backgrounds, featured species and Showcase eligibility can change from event to event.