Pokemon Go turns ten years old this year, and although Pokemon’s anniversary focus is on its own 30th birthday – which is now just two days away – the build to Pokemon Go’s tenth anniversary has already begun. Its Memories in Motion season will kick off the festivities next month, bringing with it some very welcome and long-overdue changes to how trainers encounter shiny Pokemon.
The biggest of Pokemon Go’s upcoming shiny changes pertains to evolved Pokemon. Aside from a handful of examples revolving around special events, shiny versions of evolved Pokemon have not spawned in the wild in Pokemon Go. If you want an evolved shiny Pokemon, you have to find and catch a shiny version of the first Pokemon in its evolutionary chain and then evolve it.
So catch a shiny Sprigatito and evolve it into a shiny Floragato, for example.
Evolved Shiny Pokemon Are Being Released Into The Wild
Niantic has never explicitly explained why shiny evolved Pokemon don’t spawn in the wild, but some theories likely hold some weight. Most believe that it’s all a part of the desired grind. That Niantic wants you to “earn” those evolved shinies by catching the shiny base Pokemon first and then evolving it yourself.
If that’s the case, then clearly, after a decade, Niantic is of the belief that you’ve been grinding enough. From March 3, 2026, the first day of the upcoming Memories in Motion season, shiny evolved Pokemon will start to appear in the wild. You won’t be tripping over them as you walk round your local park, they’re shinies, so will still be rare and hard to find, but they will be out there, somewhere.
The only caveat is there need to have already debuted in the game before they start appearing in the wild.
Other Big Shiny Changes Coming To Pokemon Go
The other big change to shiny hunting that will be introduced to Pokemon Go on the same day is where you need to go to have the best chance of encountering a shiny Pokemon. From March 3, shiny Pokemon will be more likely to show up via eggs and raid battles than in the wild. The odds of finding a shiny Pokemon have previously been tied to each species. Starting next season, those – still unknown – odds will be determined by the means through which you found the shiny Pokemon instead.
Third and finally, the Pokemon you rescue via encounters with Team Go Rocket can also be shiny, provided that Pokemon’s shiny has already made its debut in Pokemon Go. Previously, only shadow raids and battles against Rocket leaders could result in a shiny Pokemon reward. Now, Go Rocket grunts might have shiny Pokemon you can save, too.
It’s fair to say Niantic hasn’t always made decisions that please the Pokemon Go fanbase during the first decade since its release. Less than a week ago, news that its super raids will need a special currency to unlock raised the ire of those who still play. The shiny changes coming next week might keep the wolves from Niantic’s Pokemon Go door for a little while, as they all seem like positive tweaks that will up your odds of finding shinies as we head towards Pokemon Go’s tenth birthday.
- Released
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July 6, 2016
- ESRB
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e
- Engine
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Unity
