History was made last Friday when Shiny Lugia was made available in Pokémon GO. It is the first Legendary Pokémon to be able to be Shiny, and only the second Pokémon from the Johto Region to have a Shiny variant. But does Lugia set a precedent for Shiny Legendaries? Let's discuss.
Every Legendary Pokémon that has been released so far has had their Shiny sprite found in the network traffic. The models for these Shiny Legendary Pokémon have also been discovered on the server. This means that, just like Lugia, the Shiny variants of Mewtwo, Ho-Oh, Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Suicune, Raikou, Entei, Kyogre, Groudon, and Rayquaza are ready to be released. Niantic only needs to flip the proverbial switch when they return to Raid Battles.
It is safe to assume that the Shiny variants of these Legendary Pokémon will be released when they become Raid Bosses once again. This would be, in our opinion, only in a Lugia-like format, and not in the way that Kyogre and Groudon were re-released (as a contest format would be unfair if Legendary Raid Bosses had Shiny variants).
But what about new Legendaries? Will they have Shiny variants? In the end, it's up to Niantic to decide whether they want to make new Legendaries have them or not. We can see it both ways.
On the one hand, it would make sense for Niantic to release them. Some Legendaries, such as the Legendary Golem trio (Regice, Regirock, and Registeel), won't become relevant. Since they were designed with defense in mind rather than offense, Pokémon GO's stat formula and meta game negatively impacts them. To keep up the hype, it would make a lot of sense for Niantic to have the Shiny variants made available.
However, on the other hand, it may not be a good idea to release the Shiny variant of a new Legendary on their first Raid cycle. Popular and powerful Legendaries, such as Latios and Latias, wouldn't need Shiny forms to keep the community engaged with Raid Battles. Additionally, it would make their eventual return more exciting (just as we're seeing now with Lugia).
So, in conclusion, we think that the future is looking bright for Shiny Legendaries. We definitely expect old Legendary Pokémon to be able to be Shiny once they return. New Legendaries and Shiny variants have a less clear future. As for Mewtwo (or any future EX Raid Boss), Niantic should just release the Shiny form now and get the backlash out of the way.
Let us know what you think about this article and Niantic's handling of Shiny Legendary Pokémon in our PNN Poll below and on Twitter. Thanks for reading, Trainers!
Every Legendary Pokémon that has been released so far has had their Shiny sprite found in the network traffic. The models for these Shiny Legendary Pokémon have also been discovered on the server. This means that, just like Lugia, the Shiny variants of Mewtwo, Ho-Oh, Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Suicune, Raikou, Entei, Kyogre, Groudon, and Rayquaza are ready to be released. Niantic only needs to flip the proverbial switch when they return to Raid Battles.
It is safe to assume that the Shiny variants of these Legendary Pokémon will be released when they become Raid Bosses once again. This would be, in our opinion, only in a Lugia-like format, and not in the way that Kyogre and Groudon were re-released (as a contest format would be unfair if Legendary Raid Bosses had Shiny variants).
But what about new Legendaries? Will they have Shiny variants? In the end, it's up to Niantic to decide whether they want to make new Legendaries have them or not. We can see it both ways.
On the one hand, it would make sense for Niantic to release them. Some Legendaries, such as the Legendary Golem trio (Regice, Regirock, and Registeel), won't become relevant. Since they were designed with defense in mind rather than offense, Pokémon GO's stat formula and meta game negatively impacts them. To keep up the hype, it would make a lot of sense for Niantic to have the Shiny variants made available.
However, on the other hand, it may not be a good idea to release the Shiny variant of a new Legendary on their first Raid cycle. Popular and powerful Legendaries, such as Latios and Latias, wouldn't need Shiny forms to keep the community engaged with Raid Battles. Additionally, it would make their eventual return more exciting (just as we're seeing now with Lugia).
So, in conclusion, we think that the future is looking bright for Shiny Legendaries. We definitely expect old Legendary Pokémon to be able to be Shiny once they return. New Legendaries and Shiny variants have a less clear future. As for Mewtwo (or any future EX Raid Boss), Niantic should just release the Shiny form now and get the backlash out of the way.
Let us know what you think about this article and Niantic's handling of Shiny Legendary Pokémon in our PNN Poll below and on Twitter. Thanks for reading, Trainers!