Can Shiny Mega Steelix be caught in Pokemon GO?

One of Pokemon GO's more recent Mega Evolutions, Mega Steelix, has made its rounds as a Mega Raid boss occasionally.

With the appearance of just about any Pokemon, players tend to wonder if its shiny form is available in Pokemon GO.

Can the shiny form be caught? Can it be obtained from other means? This applies to Mega Steelix as well. The good news is players can have a shiny Mega Steelix of their own, but they won't be catching one after a raid due to the nature of how Mega Evolutions works in-game.

Instead, players will need to rely on a different means to obtain a shiny Mega Steelix.

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Obtaining a shiny Mega Steelix in Pokemon GO

Shiny Steelix in the Pokemon Trading Card Game (Image via The Pokemon Company)

To acquire a shiny Mega Steelix in Pokemon GO, trainers will need to have already obtained either a shiny Onix that they have evolved into a Steelix or have obtained a shiny Steelix via trade with other trainers. Steelix currently does not appear in the wild, so catching a shiny Steelix while walking around isn't quite possible.

Catching a shiny Onix can be difficult, but it is possible, especially during the Rock/Ground-type Pokemon events. Once trainers have a shiny Onix, they need to secure 50 candies and a Metal Coat item. Giving these items to a shiny Onix will evolve into Steelix, and its shiny form will remain intact.

After a trainer has been blessed with the presence of a shiny Steelix, they'll need to Mega Evolve it for it to become a shiny Mega Steelix. Trainers should head to Mega Steelix raids and defeat the boss, which will result in the acquisition of Mega Energy for Steelix.

Certain Special Research Tasks are also available that can allow trainers to collect Mega Energy for certain Pokemon. To Mega Evolve in Pokemon GO, Steelix will need 200 Mega Energy for the first time it evolves and 40 each time afterward (Mega Evolutions are temporary).

A shiny Steelix that evolves into its Mega Evolution form will retain any shiny alterations it possessed before it evolved, meaning shiny Mega Steelix will retain the golden coloration that shiny Steelix had before Mega Evolving.

This applies to other Pokemon as well, so players who have acquired plenty of shiny Pokemon can show off their shiny Mega Evolutions during raids if they'd like.