Where the numbers come from
Every Pokédex entry since the first games has included a height and a weight. In international releases they are shown in metres and kilograms, or feet, inches and pounds in the United States. Heights are recorded in steps of 0.1 metres, which is why so many Pokémon are listed at exactly 0.3 m, 0.4 m or 1.0 m, and why the smallest possible listed height is 0.1 m.
The figures describe a typical member of the species, not an individual. Size It Up's Pokémon pages use the heights and weights listed on each Pokémon's wiki entry and link to that source, so you can always check the number behind a comparison.
Height or length? The serpent problem
For upright Pokémon, “height” is unambiguous. For long, serpentine or flying species it is less clear. Onix is listed at 8.8 m and Gyarados at 6.5 m; those figures describe the whole body rather than how high the head sits off the ground. When a page here says how “tall” a Pokémon is, it is reporting the Pokédex figure as written, and the artwork is scaled so that the official number spans the creature's main axis.
Why the games make every Pokémon look the same size
Battle screens need two Pokémon to share a frame, so the camera rescales each one to fit. A 0.1 m Joltik and a 14.5 m Wailord can appear nearly the same size in a fight. Trading cards do the same within a fixed rectangle, and anime episodes freely change scale for drama. Over years of play, fans absorb those on-screen impressions rather than the Pokédex numbers.
Recent open-world games show species at something closer to their listed sizes, which is why players are often surprised when they first meet a large Pokémon in the field. The Pokémon size comparison on this site puts every measured Pokémon on one true-scale ladder so you can see the gaps for yourself.
The smallest Pokémon
Several species share the minimum listed height of 0.1 m — about the width of a hand. They include Joltik, Flabébé, Comfey and Cosmog. To picture 10 centimetres, think of a large coffee mug or a deck of cards standing on end. A Flabébé riding its flower would fit comfortably in a teacup.
The most famous Pokémon is small too. Pikachu is listed at 0.4 m and 6.0 kg. A standard school ruler is 30 cm, so Pikachu is only a little taller than one stood on end — about knee-high on an adult. Players who have seen it stand beside a ten-year-old trainer in the anime usually guess it is twice that.
The largest Pokémon
At the other end, Wailord is listed at 14.5 m — longer than a city bus and roughly the size of a large whale. Eternatus in its normal form is listed at 20.0 m, which puts it in the range of a six-storey building. Legendary Pokémon cluster at the large end: Lugia is listed at 5.2 m, about as tall as a big giraffe, and Rayquaza at 7.0 m.
Large figures are where intuition flattens most. Once a Pokémon is “bigger than a house”, people stop distinguishing between 5 and 15 metres. Stacking helps: Lugia is about two and a half interior doors; Wailord is nearly five storeys if stood on its tail.
Weight: the strangest numbers in the Pokédex
Weights are where the Pokédex becomes playful. Gastly is listed at 1.3 m tall and just 0.1 kg — essentially a cloud of gas. Snorlax, at 2.1 m, weighs 460 kg, about as much as a concert grand piano. Cosmoem is listed at only 0.1 m tall but 999.9 kg, the maximum the games display.
A useful way to read these numbers is to compare them with a person of the same height. A human 2.1 m tall might weigh around 100 kg; Snorlax is more than four times that. Size It Up's Pokémon pages include a “weight and build” note that makes exactly this comparison, so you can see whether a species is built like a feather or a boulder.
Pokémon next to things you know
- Pikachu (0.4 m) is a little taller than a 30 cm school ruler and about knee-high on an adult.
- Charizard (1.7 m) is about the height of an adult and weighs 90.5 kg, a little heavier than most people.
- Mewtwo (2.0 m) would just fit through a standard 2.03 m interior door.
- Snorlax (2.1 m) would have to duck through that same door, and at 460 kg it outweighs six average adults.
- Onix (8.8 m) is about three storeys of a house laid along the ground.
- Wailord (14.5 m) is longer than a typical 12 m city bus.
How to guess Pokémon sizes in the game
Because on-screen sizes are unreliable, the best approach is to start from the Pokédex habit you already have: most familiar starter Pokémon are between 0.3 and 0.7 m, most fully evolved ones between 1 and 2 m, and legendaries often several metres. Use the reference silhouette as your anchor, decide which of those bands the mystery Pokémon belongs to, then fine-tune with a ratio. The size estimation guide explains the method in detail.
The daily puzzle currently includes Pokémon comparisons every day, and the Pokémon practice set deals five at a time for as long as you like. Every Pokémon in the game has its own size page with unit conversions, real-world comparisons and its rank among the rest.
Pokémon names and artwork © Nintendo, Creatures Inc. and GAME FREAK inc. Size It Up is an unofficial fan project and is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.