The Rarest Fortnite Emotes

Most of the time, emotes and other cosmetic items return to the Fortnite item shop time and again, allowing players who missed it the first time around to grab them while they can. Occasionally, however, some items show up a few times a year and then disappear, never to be seen again.

There may be a controversy attached to the emote, a problem regarding licensing, or the developers just plain forgot about its existence. Whatever the cause of its disappearance, those emotes become some of the rarest items in a player’s inventory. Although some cosmetics are rare because they are Battle Pass exclusives, we are keeping this list strictly item shop-related.

Updated December 9th by Rowan Jones to include the latest list of rare emotes in Fortnite to date.

25

Pump It Up

You’d assume Fortnite would bring seasonal spooky emotes back every Halloween, but this hasn’t been the case for a few of them, including Pump It Up.

What starts as a simple dance transforms your character’s head into a pumpkin with glowing eyes. It was first in the item shop for Halloween 2019, then appeared every Halloween for the next few years, but it hasn’t been available to buy since 2022.

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24

Trinity’s Kick

This iconic Trinity move is from the movie blockbuster The Matrix, and first appeared in 2021 along with Neo’s Bullet Time. It could be purchased alone, or as part of the White Rabbit bundle.

It seemed pretty popular and appeared in the shop 24 times between 2021 and 2022, but it hasn’t been seen since. Perhaps they will re-add it if the movie becomes popular again.

23

Neo’s Bullet Time

Just like the Trinity emote above, this effortlessly cool emote is taken from a memorable moment in The Matrix movie. It appeared in the item shop with Trinity’s Kick and the White Rabbit bundle.

This emote is bound to be popular if it returns to the item shop as it has been three years since anyone has seen it. The Matrix remains a favorite of many film buffs and pop culture fanatics.

22

Leave The Door Open

The first Icon Series emote in the list, this emote was based on the dance moves of the man himself. Bruno Mars choreographed the dance, and co-wrote the song Leave The Door Open with Anderson Paak.

The emote has had only 41 appearances over 18 months between 2021 and 2022, and hasn’t entered the item shop since October 2022. It is surprising that this emote hasn’t been back, especially since Bruno Mars was part of a recent Music Pass in 2025.

21

Team Tomato

Were you team tomato? Or Team Burger? It seems like many players were Team Burger, as that emote doesn’t appear anywhere near the top 25 rarest emotes.

Those of you on Team Tomato should be proud of your alliance with the salad fruit. You may be a small team, but an honorable one. This scorecard emote was reskinned for future fights such as Team Monster vs Team Mech.

20

The Look

The Look is part of the Balenciaga set, and despite the Balenciaga cosmetics returning to the shop a few times, this emote has not. The item shop hasn’t seen The Look for over three years now after a short run of around 30 appearances.

The song for The Look was written and produced by French musician BFRND, who has composed soundtracks for the fashion brand’s runways.

19

The Crane Kick

Any budding karate kids would have snapped this emote up when it first appeared in the shop on New Year’s even 2021. It returned 22 times between then and September 2022, but hasn’t graced the item shop since.

Never say never, but it is clear Fortnite haven’t even thought about this emote for a long time now. If the Karate Kid gets another movie or TV series, this emote may make a reappearance.

18

Laugh It Up

Laugh It Up is a controversial emote only because it is so obnoxious. It was so universally hated (by eliminated players), that Fortnite had to put it in its own category of ‘Confrontational Emotes’, along with Take The L and Toxic.

It is apparently never going to appear in the item shop again, and hasn’t done since September 2022. What emotes would you want to see banned from the Item Shop?

17

Buckets

It’s all net! This simple but effective emote shows the character making a quick basketball shot move, giving a quiet confidence, especially after a win.

Despite being non-offensive, cheap and simple, this emote only appeared in the item shop a few times between 2019 and 2022. It could easily return with any of the basketball skins.

16

Flex On ‘Em

Flex is part of the Hang Time set along with the Buckets emote above. It is another simple and short emote that shows off your confidence and pride after a win.

It has had only nine appearances between its release in 2019 and its last sighting in March, 2022. There is no real reason why it hasn’t returned, but perhaps it just wasn’t very popular when it was added to the shop.