Can Shiny Mudkip be Caught in Pokemon GO?

There are many different kinds of Pokemon GO players. There are players that play Pokemon GO to complete the Pokedex, players that play to compete in the Battle League, even players that play to witness the many events. However, there is a certain niche of players that play Pokemon GO to collect as many different kinds of rare variants of their favorite Pokemon as possible.

From seasonal variants like the Witch Hat Pikachu or the new Sunglasses Squirtle, there are a lot of different variants players can find. The most desirable of all variants in Pokemon GO, however, is the shiny variant. Shiny Pokemon are Pokemon that appear as a completely different color than they usually are. For example, a shiny Gyarados appears red instead of the blue color Gyarados normally appears in.

In celebration of the Ed Sheeran collaboration event, the spawn rates of Water-type starter Pokemon have drastically increased. That's because the musical artist revealed that he always picked the Water-type starter when starting a new game. Many players may be wondering if this event brings the shiny variant of the fan favorite Water type starter, Mudkip.

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Mudkip's Shiny Variant in Pokemon GO: Fact or Fiction?

Promotional Imagery for the Ed Sheeran Collaboration event in Pokemon GO (Image via Niantic)

Collectors will be happy to know that Mudkip's shiny variant is catchable in Pokemon GO. If players are lucky enough, they will be able to find a shiny Mudkip whenever one spawns. To see if a Pokemon is shiny or not, players will have to start an encounter with it. If that Pokemon sparkles when the encounter starts, it is a shiny Pokemon.

While there is no way to directly increase the chance of a shiny Pokemon from spawning in Pokemon GO, aside from certain events, there are things players can do to indirectly increase a shiny Pokemon's spawn chance.

While these are means to increase the general spawn rate of Pokemon, this indirectly increases the chance for a Pokemon to spawn in its shiny form due to the new abundance of Pokemon appearing after these methods are accomplished.

The first thing players can do in Pokemon GO is use an Incense item. Incenses are items that players can use to increase the spawn rate of Pokemon near the player. Incenses can either be purchased from the shop, found in Pokestops, or won after battles.

Another course of action players can take in Pokemon GO to increase spawn rates is to use an item called a "Lure Module". Lure Modules are a lot like Incenses but rather than being attached to the player, Lure Modules are attached to Pokestops. Lure Modules also grant their bonuses to all players near the Pokestop, rather than just affecting the one player that placed it.

To summarize, Mudkip can be found and caught in its shiny variant in Pokemon GO. Through the usage of both Lure Modules and Incenses, players can drastically increase the spawn rate of nearby wild Pokemon, thus increasing the likelihood of finding a shiny Pokemon.