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Shiny versions have always been prominent in the franchise, and Pokemon GO is no exception. Apart from their appearance, there is no difference in stats and movesets between a regular or a shiny Pokemon. The shiny variants are seen as collectibles due to their unnatural and cool-looking skins. But Pokemon GO fans are always seen complaining about the terrible designs.
Pokemon GO also has many amazing shiny variants on its roster. But there is only a slim chance of catching a Shiny variant of your favorite fighter on the platform since their spawn rate is drastically low.
Niantic has continued adding more shiny variants of popular pocket monsters already available in-game, with Shiny Tapu Bulu making its debut recently. May 2023 will also see the first appearance of Shiny Kleavor and Shiny Tapu Fini.
Some Shiny fighters are so mesmerizing and unique that they look like they came out of pure mythology or some bizarre nightmare. Here is a list of some of the rarest Pokemon GO shiny variants.
Note: This article is subjective and reflects the writer's views.
Detective Pikachu and Hat Wearing Pichu with eight other rare shiny variants in Pokemon GO ranked
10) Shiny Lunatone
Originating from Generation III, Lunatone became a popular demand right after its appearance on Pokemon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald. It is a dual-rock and psychic-type creature that has no evolutionary pool.
Shiny Lunatone was officially released after the Pokemon GO 2020 Equinox Event. Lunatone and Solrock were open for capture, and no shiny variant was available for everyone as they were region-specific.
Before the event started, Solrock was available in the Australian, Asian and European regions, whereas Lunatone was available in the African and American regions.
Later, when the event was running, they swapped regions. This was the first time a regional-exclusive fighter’s shiny variant was open for capture. If you weren’t in one of these regions, you would be unable to capture this shiny variant.
9) Shiny Woobat
Woobat is a Psychic and Flying-type Pokemon from the Unova region in Pokemon GO. It can evolve into a Swoobat after feeding 50 candies and walking 1 km as a Buddy Pokemon. Unlike Woobat, its shiny variant is a rarity of a sort.
Although occasionally found in the wild, it is a rare catch since it is said to have a probability of 1 in 500. That means you will only encounter 1 Shiny Woobat every 500 encounters. With an eerie green color, the shiny version of Pokemon GO deviates from its regular variant’s blue color.
8) Shiny Unown C
As one of the strangest beings in the franchise, Unown is a peculiar creature that has no known purpose in the franchise. It is an alphabet for some hidden mythological creatures or higher beings. Despite its weak combat power, collectors don’t care much about it. Many take it upon themselves to venture out into the wild to collect different variants of the Unown when they can.
This comes down to its shiny version, which is extremely rare in the wild. Hunting every variant of Shiny Unown can take time, energy, effort, and concentration. Even more rare is the Shiny Unown C, which was available for capture in November 2020 in a Pokemon GO event in only three cities worldwide.
Players from only three cities, Thailand’s Tainan, Newzealand’s Ackland, and South Korea’s Busan, were allowed to participate with an entry fee of $5. The event lasted only eight hours, and the only way to get the Shiny Unown C was through incense.
7) Shiny Clefairy
Shiny Clefairy was removed very quickly after its release in one of the Pokemon Go fests. It was released as a mistake, and the developers swiftly took it off the platform and cleared the blunder. Those who could catch one in less time before its removal were allowed to keep it. Apart from them, nobody has got the opportunity to catch a Shiny Clefairy.
Although it has now become possible to get a Shiny Clefairy, the process is not as straightforward as catching one out in the wild. You will have to get a Shiny Cleffa and evolve it into a Shiny Clefairy, which is the only procedure for one to acquire it. Unlike regular Cleffa, the shiny variant is only available through eggs.
6) Shiny Heart Spinda
Available in the Pokemon GO 2021 Valentine's Day event, the rarest shiny Spinda form took the whole world by storm. This fighter has nine designs, and the final 9th design is known as the heart design.
The Heart Spinda debuted in 2019 on the platform, whereas its shiny variant only came later in 2021. With a unique design of a broken heart on its forehead, the Shiny version of the Heart Spinda became a sought-after collection.
The rarity of this Shiny variant is exceptionally high since it has only been available at two events for 10 days in the entire history of the platform. Once during the five-day 2021 Valentine's event and on the 2022's Valentine’s day event, which also sadly lasted only five days.
5) Shiny Nidorina/Nidoqueen
On October 11, 2018, to celebrate the International Day of the Girl Child, Pokemon GO developers caught everyone off-guard with a swarm of female fighters appearing in the wild. A new horde of Shiny versions came into the franchise, but it was only limited to the Nidoran line.
It is next to impossible to find a Nidorina or a Nidoqueen in the wild since it only came to reality during the one-time event of 2018. The only possible route to getting a Shiny Nidorina or a Shiny Nidoqueen is to be lucky or persistent enough to locate a Shiny Nidoran and evolve it into a Shiny Nidorina, later into a Shiny Nidoqueen.
4) Shiny Abra
Accidentally released in 2019, Shiny Abra was disabled about an hour after it made its way into the wild. It was an error from the developers' side and was not meant to be released anytime soon in Pokemon GO.
This single mistake by the developers gave enough room for several people to try their hands on this unexpected shiny variant. A few fortunate people got their hands on this Shiny, although it is tough to capture. It was designed to teleport away in an instant when discovered, and it hasn’t yet been released since its leak in 2019.
3) Shiny Party Hat Nidorino
As one of the rarest shines, the Shiny Party Hat Nidorino was released during a special Pokemon GO Gengar Raid Day event that lasted only 3 hours. Players had a much lesser time frame to try and catch the Shiny variant of the Paty Hat Nidorino.
Shiny Party Hat Gengar and Shiny Party Hat Nidorino debuted on the same day, and it is a known fact that most people focused on catching the Shiny variant of Party Hat Gengar. This negligence later made the Shiny Party Hat Nidorino more exclusive and rare in Pokemon GO. Many are seen trading or buying this shiny variant on the platform to collect.
2) Shiny Witch/Party/Santa Hat-Wearing Pichu
Pichu, the pre-evolved form of Pikachu, is way more adorable than its evolution. It might be easy to encounter, but the shiny hat versions of it are tough to find. The shiny variant of Witch Hat Pichu was only available at Halloween events and at the August Pokemon GO fest of 2019.
Along with the shiny version of Witch Hat Pichu, Party and Santa Hat wearing Pichu’s shiny variants are also incredibly scarce in the wild. While Witch Hat Pichu can be acquired by hatching 2 KM eggs, there is no known way to capture its Shiny.
1) Shiny Detective Pikachu
A staple Pokemon in the franchise since Red and Blue, Pikachu owns the most recognition in the entire world. With the electrifying success of the Detective Pikachu movie, Pokemon GO had to add a shiny hat-wearing detective version of Pikachu for people to find and capture.
Although there are already many hat-wearing versions in Pokemon GO, Detective Pikachu is the rarest shiny version you can collect. It is available for catching only at a one-time limited event and is disabled after being caught in the wild. Only the platform's augmented reality camera could show this creature during the event. While taking pictures, it would appear out of nowhere and photobomb, later spawning in the area.
