How to catch Shiny Bagon in Pokemon GO

Pokemon GO's Bagon may be short in stature, but its final evolution into Salamence makes it a fearsome Dragon-Type Pokemon to be reckoned with.

Its Shiny form, however, is a significantly tougher find than encountering a standard Bagon in the wild. Fortunately, thanks to the ongoing Luminous Legends X event, Bagon is much more likely to appear in the wild. When any Pokemon appears more often, the chances of a Shiny are mathematically higher.

Although Shiny Pokemon are seldom guaranteed to be found outside of task rewards, there are still ways to improve the chances for Pokemon GO trainers catching a Shiny Bagon of their own.

Improving Chances of Shiny Bagon in Pokemon GO

The green-hued Shiny Bagon is an elusive catch, similar to many Shiny Pokemon currently available in the game. Standard Shiny Pokemon encounter rates stand at one in 500 encounters, a very small 0.2% of appearance. While this rate does fluctuate depending on the Pokemon, there are few opportunities to guarantee catching a Shiny with the exceptions of certain events and Special Research Tasks. For example, Shiny Celebi was once available as the reward for tasks tied to the Pokemon GO crossover promotion for Pokemon The Movie: Coco.

For Bagon, the current best way to acquire a Shiny is to encounter as many as possible. Fortunately, the current increase in Dragon-Type Pokemon thanks to the Luminous Legends X event has made Bagon appear a lot more frequently in the wild than it would normally. This should allow trainers ample opportunity to ratchet up their encounters with the little Dragon-Type until the event's end on May 17th.

For added effect, players with Lure Modules and Incense should make good use of them. Since Lures and Incense both attract Pokemon and improve spawn rates, using them together will assist Pokemon GO's percentage-based spawn pool to pop extra Bagon into the wild. Although this is not guaranteed, the items will at least spawn more Pokemon, and with higher volumes of spawns come more chances at hitting that slim chance of a Shiny Bagon making its appearance.

If trainers aren't able to find the elusive Shiny during the current event, there's no reason to worry. Dragon-Type Pokemon are popular picks for community events and Spotlight Hours. Bagon itself has also appeared in the past as a Tier I Raid Boss in gyms. Enough determination and maximizing opportunities should eventually reward tenacious Pokemon GO trainers with Shiny Bagon, and eventually Salamence with a little more legwork.