Storage system that actually works
Storage problems in Pokémon GO are almost never about space. They're about not having a system. Tag what you keep; trust the no-tag search to show what's safe to delete. Below: complete tag library by category, 12 copy-paste search strings, and the workarounds for the tag-overlap problem.
Tag what you keep, delete the rest.
- Step 1 · Set up tags
Build your tag library once. ~50 categories grouped by rarity, IVs, battle, trade, evo, buddy, max, dex. Up to 100 tags total in PoGo.
- Step 2 · Save search strings
Pin 12 high-impact searches in the favorites bar. The cornerstone is the no-tag filter '!#' which finds anything you haven't assessed.
- Step 3 · Tag-and-clear loop
After play, search '!#' → tag what's worth keeping → mass-transfer the rest. Storage stays clean forever.
Pick the categories that match how you play. Most players use 25-40 tags total — fewer than the 100 cap. The categories below are grouped by intent so you can adopt one section at a time without losing your existing structure.
Shiny + 100 % IV
Shiny + 0 % IV
Shiny Shadow mons (rare overlap)
Mew, Celebi, Jirachi, etc. — one per account
15 / 15 / 15 IVs
15 / 15 / 14 — same stat product as a hundo for certain species
14 / 15 / 15 / 15 / 14 / 15 / 15 / 15 / 14
13 / 15 / 15 / 15 / 13 / 15 / 15 / 15 / 13
Notable PvP-rank IVs for Great League
0 / 0 / 0 IVs (low-CP cup builds, novelty)
IV ≥ 90 % shadow worth powering up
Powered up to level 50
Powered up to level 40
Has an Adventure-Effect move (Frustration, Ice Burn, etc.)
Wants a regular Charged TM
Wants a legacy / Elite TM
Wants Max moves leveled up
Save a Rare Candy for it
For Smeargle move-copy snapshots
Sub-500 CP cup builds
1500 CP team
2500 CP team
Open league team
Top 6 raid attackers per type — 18 sub-tags
Powered Shadow raid mons
Big bulky gym hold
Best mons for Team GO Rocket grunt fights
OK to trade away for stardust / IV reroll
Caught > 100 km away — extra XL candy
Backgrounds / lures for friends
Shinies you would let go of
Holy-grail trade chips — only for big asks
2-year-old shinies — guaranteed Lucky outcome
Hold for 2× / 3× transfer-candy events
12-candy evolution + trade evolutions
Pancham, Kubfu — quest-gated evolutions
1 000 - 3 000 dust purifies
Hydro Cannon Wartortle, Frenzy Plant Bulbasaur, etc.
< 2.41 kg Rattata, > 13.13 kg Magikarp — medal grind
Megas at max level
Megas leveling up daily
Mons whose Mega is announced but not in PoGo yet
Lunala / Solgaleo / Reshiram / Zekrom — for fusion
Best Buddy in progress
Achieved Best Buddy status
Powered up using a Bottle Cap
Candidate for future Bottle Cap
Has Dynamax form
Has Gigantamax form
Stationed at a power spot
One of every species
One of every shiny
Regional exclusives
Up to 9 patterns
18 Vivillon patterns
5 flower colors
10 trim styles
4 dance styles
Event costumes
Pose-card backgrounds
XL / XXL prep for PokéStop showcases
Articuno / Zapdos / Moltres galarian variants
Important / sentimental — story behind it
Avoid tag names that match search keywords. Tags called “shiny” or “shadow” collide with built-in search filters and corrupt search-string results. Use short suffixes or unique words instead — “star✦” for shiny, “dark-form” for shadow, etc.
Save these in the favorites search bar (long-press a recent search to pin). The no-tag filter (!#) is the cornerstone — it surfaces anything you have not yet decided about. Combine with stat / size / category filters to slice fast.
!#Shows every mons that you have NOT yet assigned a tag to. After tagging everything you want to keep, this list is safe to bulk-transfer.
!#&0-1attack&2-4defense&2-4hpPvP-style stat distribution — low attack, high bulk. Filter no-tag mons that are PvP candidates.
!#&3*&4attackStrong raid contenders only. 3-star or higher AND has 15 attack IVs. Aggressively filters trash.
!#&4*Hundos you have not yet tagged. Quickly add them to your "100" tag.
!#&0attack&0def&0hpZero-IV mons. Useful for low-CP cup builds and pure-novelty collection.
!#&xxl,xlBig mons not yet tagged. Drop them into the Showcase tag for future PokéStop showcases.
!#&dynamax,gigantamaxMax-eligible mons not yet tagged.
!#&shadowShadow mons you have not assessed yet.
!#&shinyShinies you have not yet tagged into a sub-category.
!#&distance100-&!traded&!shadow&!mythicalCaught more than 100 km away, never traded, not Shadow or Mythical — perfect for distance trades.
!#&shadow&+caterpie,+weedle,+pidgey,+rattata,+zubat,+geodude,+magikarp,+ledyba,+poochyena,+whismur,+aron,+wailmer,+spoink,+swablu,+barboach,+starly,+bidoof,+patrat,+purrloin,+pidove,+dwebble,+ducklett,+foongus,+fletchling,+pikipek,+grubbinAll Shadow forms of common evolutions cheap to purify (1 000 dust). Mass-purify for the medal.
!#&caterpie,weedle,pidgey,wurmple,whismur,pidoveCheapest mons to chain-evolve under a Lucky Egg for fast XP.
Why tags can fail you
If you tag a mons as “raid” and later want to find it via an “XL” tag, your search fails — it lives under only one tag at a time. This collision is the single biggest weakness of pure tag-systems.
The fix: prefer search-strings over redundant tags
- For dynamic categories (XL / XXL, IV bands, type / form, age) — use a search-string. The filter automatically picks up new mons as they qualify.
- For permanent intent (Gems, Trade Bait, Best-Buddy candidates) — use a tag. These don't change as you catch more.
- For Adventure-Effect moves (Frustration, Ice Burn) — search-string. The list of mons with these moves changes every event.
- Move the !# out of tags into the search — start strings with
!#instead of having a separate “assess later” tag, so the workflow self-cleans.
Some species hit max stat product without 15 / 15 / 15. Full list of which mons + at what level.
Back-solve IVs from CP + HP + dust to know what's tag-worthy.
Mass-purify boosts the Purifier medal — see which medals stack with this workflow.