Shiny Pokémon are frequently the most sought-after creatures in the Pokemon video game franchise, which is no secret. These rare variations of Pokémon frequently have a distinctive coloring that sets them apart from other wild Pokemon.
Although shiny Pokemon were first featured in Generation II of the Pokemon game franchise, they have continued to be a prominent feature in every subsequent release.
The concept of a Shiny Pokemon is that it is a color or palette swap of an existing Pokemon. The very first Shiny Pokemon was the Red Gyarados for Gen 2.
The reason it was on Gen 2 was that Gen 1 games weren’t in color in the first place. That being said, we’ve compiled the best Shiny Pokemon that you can get.
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Table of Contents
List of the 20 Best Shiny Pokemon
Just to be clear, this list is mostly for aesthetics and appearance. That’s because a Shiny Pokemon isn’t necessarily good when it comes to combat. It still boils down to stats, Nature, IV, EV, and more.
We’re just appreciating the Pokemon you can get that are Shiny and looks good. Shiny Hunters spend a lot of time getting these Shinies.
20) Gyarados
Why not start this list of the best Shiny Pokemon with the first and original that we stated, which is the Red Gyarados. It was a Shiny that you could catch right away without a million encounters.
This Gen 1 Water/Flying-type set the stage and its Shiny factor was a part of the story. Its Mega Evolution gains the Dark secondary type. Both forms have the color red when they are Shiny.
If you also notice the image, the top pair is a male Gyarados where the whiskers are blue and red for a Shiny. The females on the bottom have regular white whiskers.
19) Applin
Applin is a Gen 8 Grass/Dragon-type Pokemon that looks like an apple. Its original look is a regular red apple. The Shiny version makes it look green, so you’re choosing between a red or green apple.
It’s a cute concept because some people think red apples are better, and some think the other way around. Then again, different apples can be used for different things but don’t eat Applin, of course.
18) Bisharp
This Gen 5 Dark/Steel-type looks like a warrior knight. Its original appearance gives it a maroon color with white limbs. The Shiny version makes it looks blue, and its limbs have a dirty white color.
It looks kinda cool and reminds you of those enemies where they are palette swaps. If you pair both of them together, they can make a formidable team, even if they are the same Pokemon.
17) Dedenne
This Electric/Fairy-type from Gen 6 looks adorable. It’s like a little mouse or a hamster that you can keep as a pet at home. The original look makes it look bright and vibrant. It has bright yellow fur, and some parts of its body have an off-white color.
The Shiny version gives it dark brown fur, and parts of its body have a yellow color. It is very reminiscent of real-life hamsters or others like it. It’s kinda cute when you think about it, and you can have one or both.
16) Mawile
Mawile’s original look gives its head the color black, which is cool. It goes alongside its Steel-type, and the mouth looks menacing with the color black along with those sharp teeth.
The Shiny version gives it a nice pinkish color which does take away from the menacing aspect. However, in Gen 6 when it gains the Fairy secondary type, it becomes cooler.
That’s because it has a Mega Evolution, and the mouth opens wider, and it makes it look more menacing even if it does have the pink color, but it syncs with the Fairy-type.
15) Gigalith
Gigalith is definitely up there as one of the best Shiny Pokemon. This Gen 3 Rock-type Pokemon does look like a pile of rocks. A big pile of rocks, if we’re being specific and with a pair of eyes.
The original version makes its body dark with red rocks sticking out. It makes it look like it came out of a volcano. The Shiny version gives it a lighter skin color, and the rocks are colored blue.
It makes it look like it came out of an ice cavern. The Shiny color really makes it look like both are opposites of each other.
14) Emboar
The final evolution of one of Gen 5’s starter Pokemon makes it on this list. Emboar is a Fire/Fighting-type and parts of its body are wrapped with fire. It isn’t the only Pokemon to do that, but the Shiny version makes it look cool or hot for this matter.
The default has standard orange flames, and the Shiny gives it a blue flame. For people that don’t know, blue flames are usually hotter than orange. Then again, that doesn’t improve the performance of Emboar either way.
13) Inteleon
From one Starter Pokemon to another, we have the Water-type Inteleon from Gen 8. This lizard-looking Pokemon is sporting a nice slender look and it’s tall.
The default look gives it a nice dark blue color with some yellow markings. The Shiny version gives it a lighter shade of blue with pink markings.
One would think that the darker one is male and the lighter one is female. Funny enough, the Gigantamax forms have the colors swapped. Basically, the darker one becomes lighter, and vice versa.
12) Roselia
Roselia is a Grass/Poison-type coming from Gen 3. When you look at it, it looks like a lovely flower because it does have roses for its hands. One colored blue, and the other colored red.
Basically, it looks bright and vibrant, like any attractive flower should be. Enter its Shiny version, which looks like the colors got sucked out, but that’s what makes it good. The Shiny Roselia looks like it’s a flower of death when the roses on its hands are colored black and dark blue.
11) Decidueye
We have another starter Pokemon in Decidueye, from Gen 7, which is a Grass/Ghost-type. Decidueye starts off as a little chubby owl but looks fit in its final form.
It has the usual grass motif having green and brown colors. The Shiny version gives it a nice black-and-blue combination. The colors really stand out for some reason, and it looks good.
It’s also worth noting that the Hisuian Decidueye version and its Shiny have different color combinations.
10) Ponyta
We’re halfway through our list of the best Shiny Pokemon. Gen 1 Fire-type Ponyta comes into this place, and on its own, it looks like a nice burning horse. It has fire wrapped around its body like Emboar earlier on.
The Shiny version also has blue flames wrapped around its body, and its skin color is slightly lighter than the original. This adorable little horse also has a Galarian version which looks more like a unicorn. It’s interesting to note that the Shiny Rapidash has purple flames instead of blue.
09) Haxorus
This Dragon-type comes from Gen 5, and it has a fully evolved body from having a small one that only looks like it had a head. Haxorus’ body looks like it’s covered with gold or close to gold.
It has a nice yellow color with some nice red highlights. The Shiny version looks cool because it still has the same color in some spots, like red, but its body is completely covered in black. It’s a simple color change, but it adds a nice layer of awesomeness to Haxorus.
08) Ho-oh
Ho-oh is the first Legendary Pokemon on our list coming from Gen 2, which is a Fire-type. Ho-oh is based on the mythical Phoenix, so it looks like one. It has red feathers combined with some nice linings of yellow and green.
Those are the colors of the Phoenix, but the Shiny version in terms of colors, doesn’t have anything to do with the Phoenix. Ho-oh’s Shiny version does look like a combination of gold and silver colors. It’s perfect since those were the games where Ho-oh first appeared which is interesting.
07) Umbreon
We have another Gen 2 Pokemon being, Umbreon which is a Dark-type. Umbreon’s design alone looks cool because it is like a black fox or a big rabbit with long legs.
It coincides with the Japanese myth, where they believe rabbits are on the moon. Considering you evolve Umbreon at night, those rings are like the moon. Its Shiny version changes the colors of the stripes or rings from yellow to blue which is cool.
It’s like the dark side of the moon, but a shame the eyes turn from red to yellow because red eyes are cool.
06) Shaymin
Shaymin is another Legendary making our list of the best Shiny Pokemon. It’s a Grass-type coming from Gen 4. However, it has a different form called Sky Forme, which is a Grass/Flying-type.
The colors on the default version speak Earthiness. Hence it has green, and the white adds to its cuteness. The Shiny version only changes one color, which is from green to cyan.
One color change makes it a bit cuter, but this is where one looks male, and the other is female. Then again, being a Legendary, Shaymin doesn’t have a gender.
05) Charizard
Arguably the most favored Gen 1 Starter Charizard is here. Just to be clear, we’re just choosing regular Charizard. We do not include its other forms like Mega Evolutions and Gigantamax form.
Regular Charizard is colored orange, but the Shiny version looks close to black. The color is similar to that of default Mega Charizard X which has a different Shiny color on its own.
What’s interesting to note is that it’s the first time forms Charmander and Charmeleon have Shiny colors close to orange or red. Charizard pretty much drifts apart with the blackish color.
04) Luxray
Luxray comes from Gen 4 and is an Electric-type. It is based on a lion, and by the looks of it, it looks very cool. It has its mane straight up covering its face and has a nice mix of black and light blue.
It also has yellow and red markings adding up to its cool factor. The Shiny version changes the blue to something dark yellow. These two forms can make up a movie where two rival lions compete to be the pride leader.
03) Steelix
If you saw the anime, you would know the story of the Crystal Onix. That could have been a Shiny but Steelix a Gen 2 Steel/Ground-type that kinda looks like a Crystal variation.
That being said, Steelix looks cool on its own, and it looks like it’s made of silver, but it’s just gray. The Shiny version looks like it’s gold-plated or something like a special mineral. It even looks cooler when it attains its Mega Evolution. You got two large metallic snakes that look like gold and silver.
02) Suicune
We have another Gen 2 Pokemon, and it’s a Legendary Water-type Suicune. Suicune looks majestic on its own with its slender body and a nice mesh of blue colors. Its body has a nice texture of blue, and the hair on its back is purple.
The Shiny version has a lighter blue color for its fur. The hair on its back is dark blue, so it looks a bit more sophisticated. Plus, the royal blue aura is coming from it because it looks great.
01) Metagross
The best Shiny Pokemon, according to us, is Metagross. It is a Gen 3 Pokemon that is a Steel/Psychic-type. Its original makes it look more like a rock and not so much like steel.
It has a dark shade of teal which makes it a bit menacing to a degree. It has four limbs which is a far cry from its first form. The Shiny version makes it look a bit more majestic.
It has a nice white body, and the end parts make it look like it’s placed or plated with gold. This is a nice Pokemon with a Shiny version that is very opposite from its original form. The other thing is that getting a Shiny Metagross is hard because getting its first form Bedang is tricky already since you don’t encounter it in the wild.
In Closing
These are the 20 best Shiny Pokemon that you could get. These Shiny versions look cool and are not just a simple palette swap. In fact, there are some Pokemon that just have a different shade, so while it is a Shiny, it doesn’t look a bit different. Think about a red Pokemon that has a slightly different shade of red.
The better Shinies have different colors making them a bit more unique and distinct. Just remember getting a Shiny means that it is better. It’s just a rare encounter, but the stats can still make it suck in battle, so you might not end up using it anyway.
If you’re playing Pokemon GBA games or DS Pokemon games and even ds rom hacks, you can easily obtain these shiny Pokemon using cheats. In fact, many of our readers who play Pokemon FireRed, Emerald, Ruby quickly jump for shiny Pokemon cheat code.
where is shiny Greninja
Yeah, a shiny Greninja can be cool looking too.🙂