When is shiny Tapu Bulu coming to Pokemon GO? (March 2023)

Tapu Bulu has been a part of Pokemon GO for roughly a year, first being introduced in the Spring Into Spring event on April 12, 2022. It has yet to receive a shiny variant like some other Alolan Guardian Deities, but this will change in less than a month.

According to the game's official Twitter account, Tapu Bulu will receive a shiny variant on April 17, 2023, at 10:00 am local time. This coincides with Tapu Bulu's appearance as a 5-star raid boss, and the creature will remain one until May 2, 2023.

Tapu Bulu is the latest of the four Guardian Deities to receive a shiny form, with Tapu Fini being the last to not possess one.

If Pokemon GO players want to snag a shiny Tapu Bulu, they'll need to defeat it in raids.

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How to beat Tapu Bulu in Pokemon GO raids

Since Tapu Bulu is a Legendary Pokemon in Pokemon GO, finding it in the wild isn't a possibility at the moment. However, this Guardian Deity has been found both in 5-star raids and as a PvP reward in the past.

Be that as it may, for the time being, Tapu Bulu looks set to re-appear solely as a raid boss beginning in mid-April. With that said, trainers will need to prepare their raiding teams to defeat Tapu Bulu as a raid boss for a chance to catch its shiny form.

As a Grass/Fairy-type creature in Pokemon GO, Tapu Bulu is susceptible to many different elemental attack types. Among them are Fire, Flying, Ice, Poison, and Steel-type moves.

Poison-type moves are particularly effective as they deal super effective damage to both Grass and Fairy-type Pokemon, making them doubly super effective against Tapu Bulu. If trainers have Poison-type Pokemon with high CP and IV stats, they should take priority in any raids involving battling Tapu Bulu.

Although Poison-type moves and Pokemon are the best counter to Tapu Bulu in Pokemon GO, trainers shouldn't shy away from using other counters if they're effective.

Sometimes, trainers simply don't have a Pocket Monster of each type powered up enough by the time a given raid boss appears. There's nothing wrong with exploiting the boss' other weaknesses if necessary. Since Tapu Bulu isn't a Mega or Elite Raid boss, dealing consistent super effective damage to it should be enough to bring it down.

To ensure that Tapu Bulu is defeated quickly in Pokemon GO raids, it's also important to stock up on healing items like potions and revives. This way, if a player's team takes damage and faints, they can be picked back up quickly and sent back into battle as soon as possible.

Fellow trainers who can counter Tapu Bulu should also be invited into the raid to speed up the battle. Sure, the raid boss can be beaten solo by some trainers, but the faster that players defeat it, the better the rewards they'll receive.

It's also highly likely that Pokemon GO fans will need to raid Tapu Bulu multiple times to find its shiny form in the post-raid encounter. Shinies tend to have pretty low appearance rates and aren't guaranteed often, so stocking up on raid passes is also advised in the lead-up to April 17 and beyond.