The Best Looking Shinies In The Game

Released back in October of 2000, Pokemon Gold and Silver introduced a new game mechanic to the then four-year-old franchise, giving players the chance to catch color-swapped variants of their favorite pokemon, referred to as “shiny Pokemon” by developer Game Freak.

Since then, shiny Pokemon have become a beloved staple of the Pokemon franchise, with Pokemon Sword and Shield bringing the total number of catchable shiny Pokemon to an astounding 898 in the main series games. Of this expansive list, Niantic‘s 2016 AR mobile title Pokemon GO lets players catch over 350, including a number of fan favorites from across the series’ eight generations.

Updated on April 1, 2025, by Blaise Santi: Fans are eager for a new generation of Pokemon games to be announced, even though Pokemon GO players are already overwhelmed with the amount of Pokemon left for them to catch. There’s even plenty of Pokemon from the past four or five generations that are not yet obtainable in Pokemon GO, including fan-favorites like Mimikyu, Arceus, Palafin, and Dudunsparce. However, for those Pokemon past the first four generations you may not know were already in Pokemon GO, these five additional entries in this list have some of the coolest-looking shinies in the entire franchise.

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35

Lycanroc

The Wolf Pokemon

There’s a clear theme to the shinies of Rockruff’s evolutionary line. The Rock-type Pokemon, introduced in Pokemon Sun & Moon, has three different forms of its evolution Lycanroc: Midday, Midnight, and Dusk, depending on what time of day it evolves. Despite all three forms having different color palettes, their shiny forms coalesce into relatively the same shade of deep blue.

It’ll take quite a long time for fans of Lycanroc to catch all three shiny versions of it, but the end result is a pretty visually consistent evolutionary line. Plus, the midnight blue coloring on all three Lycanrocs fits the Pokemon’s overall vibe of being inspired by a werewolf, which typically transforms at night.

34

Hawlucha

The Wrestling Pokemon

Hawlucha’s main color scheme is already eclectic, combining red, green, orange, and white to resemble a luchador wrestler. However, his shiny form is a huge swing from his regular colors, swapping each of them out for black, purple, lime green, and red, respectively. In the anime, this version of Hawlucha (as owned by Carl in the X&Y series) was referred to as “Dark Hawlucha”.

This shiny form certainly adds a lot of personality to Hawlucha, a Pokemon that already has a ton of character. It feels more like a wrestling heel than a heroic luchador, which is very appropriate for its design. Suffice it to say, this shiny wrestler fits nicely alongside the other martial artists in the Pokemon world, like Incineroar, Hariyama, and Grapploct.

33

Golett

The Automaton Pokemon

Golett and its evolution Golurk are some of the best-designed Pokemon from the fifth generation games, Pokemon Black & White. Though their standard blueish-grey color schemes fits its design, apparently intended to be some kind of ancient automaton controlled by a mysterious energy. However, for both of their shiny forms, its color scheme changes to fit the games it’s form.

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That’s right, shiny Golett and Golurk both take on a black-and-white look for their shiny forms, and while Golurk’s is similarly good-looking, the simplicity of Golett’s is the one we prefer. Of course, when you’ve got a Pokemon as cool looking as these two on your team, having their shiny forms only increases their stylishness.

32

Corviknight

The Raven Pokemon

Competitive Pokemon fans have a certain affinity for Corviknight, one of the most viable Pokemon to enter the series in recent years. Its sleek, dark violet color scheme makes it resemble some kind of black knight, befitting the United Kingdom-inspired region of Galar from Pokemon Sword & Shield, the games in which Corviknight first appeared as its generation’s taxi service and regional bird.

However, Corviknight’s shiny form, as on display above, trades its black knight attire for something more traditionally noble. This stunning silverish-grey makes Corviknight look like a properly stereotypical medieval knight, making it one of the most inspired shiny Pokemon designs in the entire franchise. It’s quite a step up from its earliest pre-evo Rookidee’s eggy yellow shiny.

31

Oinkologne

The Hog Pokemon

Something must’ve gotten mixed up at Game Freak when it comes to the most recent generation’s early game Normal-type. Oinkologne comes with two forms, male and female, that evolve from its pre-evolution Lechonk. Like their pre-evolved form, both Oinkologne forms have a dark color scheme; male Oinkologne is a dark purple with pink feet while female Oinkologne is shades of brown.

However, for their shiny forms, both male and female Oinkologne take on the more stereotypical appearance of a pig with similar shades of pink. What’s surprising about this familiar shiny coloring is that it makes Oinkologne the first pig-inspired Pokemon to actually take cues from its origin’s frequent colors, as opposed to the Tepig line’s orange or Spoink’s grey with only splashes of pink and purple.

30

Zoroark

The Illusion Fox Pokemon

Zoroark is one of the most iconic Pokemon from the fifth generation, and it can be difficult to find in Pokemon GO. Its pre-evolution, Zorua, will often disguise itself in the wild as the player’s partner Pokemon, but players won’t be able to tell until they successfully catch the Pokemon. Still, if you’re prone to getting tricked by Zorua often, you’ll have no trouble finding yourself a Zoroark.

Shiny Zoroark, while even harder to come by, is well worth it. Its red-highlighted fur is replaced with a stunning purple hue, making it one of the most visually stunning Dark-types in Pokemon GO. Sadly, its Normal/Ghost-type Hisuian form has yet to appear in Pokemon GO, but when it does, fans will get to add another cool purplish Zoroark to their teams.

29

Goodra

The Dragon Pokemon

Goodra and its pre-evolutions easily take the cake for the cutest pseudo-legendaries in the entire franchise. In addition to their cute, greyish-purple color, they also have a pretty unique shiny coloring, with each of the three stages adopting a pale yellow color with reddish-orange bellies.

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However, managing to evolve your Goomy into a Sliggoo, and then that into Goodra, will take some elbow grease from players. Sliggoo requires 100 Goomy candies to evolve into Goodra, and it also needs to be a rainy day. Suffice it to say, if you have nothing else to do on a rainy day, try opening up Pokemon Go to see if there are any Goomys near you!

28

Amoonguss

The Mushroom Pokemon

Amoonguss and its pre-evolution, Foongus, are unique Pokemon in the franchise. These mushroom-shaped Pokemon blend in with tall grass by looking like Poke Balls, which is a trait the Pokemon even shares with its Paradox form in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: Brute Bonnet. As you can imagine, the shiny version of these Pokemon take things a step further.

By changing the Poke Ball color on these Pokemon from red to purple, it now resembles a Master Ball, one of the rarest items in the Pokemon franchise. The only downside to shiny Amoonguss is that trainers in the wild may mistake it for an incredibly lucky item they’ve found in tall grass!

27

Mudkip

The Mud Fish Pokemon

We’re convinced that Mudkip’s shiny form could be literally any color, and we’d still consider it one of the best shiny starters in Pokemon Go. However, the hot pink coloring replacing the variations of blue for Mudkip’s entire evolutionary line surprisingly works.

Mudkip just barely edges out its evolutions in being the best-looking shiny of the trio, due to its darker-orange-colored gills pairing better with the pink color than Marshtomp and Swampert’s lighter-orange. Still, it helps that all three of them look incredible with this color scheme, which is more than can be said about many other shiny starter Pokemon.

26

Azumarill

The Aqua Rabbit Pokemon

As far as Shiny Pokemon in the entire Pokemon franchise, Azurill and Marill aren’t that impressive. Their good-looking blue color is replaced by a bright green reminiscent of Charli XCX’s Brat. However, things really take a better turn with their final evolution, Azumarill, which adopts a bright yellow coloring that almost looks golden.

Especially compared to its pre-evolutions, Azumarill really pops off with this golden yellow coloring, which fits its rabbit-like design and personality a lot better than that hideous bright green. Considering how easy it is to evolve Azumarill and Marill into their final evolution, players don’t have to be stuck with those forms for long.

25

Ninetales

The Fox Pokemon

Ninetales is one of the original 151 Pokemon from the first generation. This Fire-type Pokemon evolves from Vulpix, which is another fan-favorite of the generation, for 50 candies. Thankfully, it isn’t a particularly rare Pokemon, so grabbing it as a Shiny in Pokemon GO isn’t a difficult task.

The Shiny version of Ninetales makes the Pokemon grayish-white with blue tips on the tails. The original is just a cream color, which looked great, but the white makes it stand out more. It is no wonder that a lot of players love this Pokemon and the shiny version, as even its Alolan form has a great Shiny look with a purplish-gray hue.

24

Chandelure

The Luring Pokemon

Chandelure is a Pokemon that was added back in generation five and is the final evolution of Litwick. This Pokemon is based on a chandelier and candelabra, making it a pretty interesting Pokemon that a lot of players thing is cool.

The original form of the Pokemon is bluish-purple and black, which looks great since it is a Ghost/Fire-Type. However, the Shiny version makes the flames on the Pokemon red and orange instead, sticking with the theme of the Pokemon and the Typing.

23

Yveltal

The Destruction Pokemon

Yveltal is the Legendary Pokemon from Pokemon Y. This Pokemon is a pretty popular Pokemon considering almost all box art Legendary Pokemon end up being popular picks for players. However, it is also a pretty interesting Pokemon itself.

Originally, the Pokemon is red and black, which looks pretty cool together. However, the design of the Shiny version makes it stand out. This Shiny changes the black on the Pokemon for white, making it look even cooler than before.

22

Starmie

The Mysterious Pokemon

Unfortunately, Starmie doesn’t have the same pull as a lot of water Pokemon out there. Although those who grew up with Generation 1 will most defintiely remember this iconic pocket monster thanks to Misty, it seems to get lost in the piles of new and exciting Pokemon that are on display.

Thankfully, the developers gave it a strange and unique Shiny color scheme, to help it stand out among the crowd better. Those that love the star-shaped Pokemon can really impress their opponents by snagging its Shiny variant, which trades its purples for blues, outlining its gem with a bright red.

21

Sylveon

The Intertwining Pokemon

Sometimes, the best Shiny variations are the ones that make simple changes. Sylveon is a great example of this practice, thanks to the basic-yet-powerful change to its original design. Most players will immediately remember Sylveon as the beautiful white-and-pink Fairy-type evolution of Eevee, but the Shiny form gives it a new color to proudly display.

The blue used for Sylveon’s Shiny form still fits the Fairy motif very well, while giving players something truly unique to quest for.

20

Furret

The Long Body Pokemon

Another simplistic variant but one that works to great effect is Furret. There are a lot of fans out there that hold this adorable (but actually pretty big) Ferret-like Pokemon in high regards thanks to its absolutely adorable appearance. Although Furret is the most vaiable pocket monster in battle, it hasn’t stopped dedicated players from finding ways to add it to their team.

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The Shiny version of Furret swaps out its brown rings for pink ones, creating a simple-yet-bold change to its overall design.

19

Ponyta

The Fire Horse Pokemon

Ponyta was the first of many horse-inspired Pokemon to make its way into the series and is a firm favorite of many Pokemon fans as a result. Its original model features vibrant red flames in place of its mane and tail fur, perfectly capturing the Pokemon’s fire-typing. When it came to designing a shiny form, however, Game Freak took this idea a step further.

Rather than red flames, Shiny Ponyta features flames of a rich and vivid blue. This works nicely, as those who remember their high school science classes will already know, a blue flame is generally a lot hotter than a red one. Ponyta also has one of the cooler-looking Galarian forms too, and that also has a great shiny form.

18

Luxray

The Gleam Eyes Pokemon

Though some may prefer the way that the blue and black contrast in its regular form, Shiny Luxray’s bright yellow coloring definitely makes it stand out from the crowd. Granted, it does take a little away from its iconic yellow eyes, but it’s at least instantly recognizable as a shiny Pokemon, which isn’t always the case.

Perhaps most importantly, the yellow coloring highlights Luxray’s electric-typing, which is more than can be said for its regular form. Without knowing any better, players would likely assume that Luxray was a dark-type Pokemon, which would actually make a lot more sense given some of the Pokemon’s characteristics and traits.

17

Dragonite

The Dragon Pokemon

There are quite a few orange dragon-type Pokemon in Pokemon GO, but very few green ones. Given that most mediums tend to portray dragons as being either green or black, Dragonite’s shiny form is therefore a lot more in keeping with the way that most players imagine dragons than its base form.

The light green coloring makes for a pretty drastic change, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It contrasts really well with the purple on the underside of the Pokemon’s wings and also works pretty well with the cream coloring that extends across the Pokemon’s chest and belly.

16

Umbreon

The Moonlight Pokemon

When compared to some of the other shiny Pokemon in the series, some may find Shiny Umbreon to be pretty underwhelming. The changes are certainly quite minimal, but given the strength of the Pokemon’s original design, it’s perhaps understandable why Game Freak took this approach. Being able to easily evolve a Shiny Eevee into a Shiny Umbreon is a nice bonus too.

The blue markings on its head, legs, and tail really stand out against the blackness of the Pokemon’s fur and definitely give the design much more of a dark-type appearance when compared to the original yellow. The blue arguably looks a lot more intimidating too, which better suits the underlying lore behind the Pokemon.