The 7 rarest Shinies in all Pokémon games

Key insights

• Shinies in Gen 1 games were incredibly rare, as they were actually Pokemon with perfect IVs that were carried over to Gen 2 for reveal.
• Event Pikachus in Pokemon GO are some of the rarest Shiny Pikachus that are only available for a limited time and are therefore difficult to find.
• Due to over four billion unique combinations, it is virtually impossible to get a shiny Spinda with the same pattern as another.

While Pokémon games usually always have the same Shiny odds (1/8192 in earlier games and 1/4096 in the newer games), there are some Shiny odds that are simply harder to get than others. This could be because most encounters are Shiny-Locked, or it could be due to the rarity of the Pokemon.

Luckily, games have different methods to increase the chances of getting into a shiny (even if some of these methods are unconventional). Here is a list of some of the hardest Shiny Pokémon to find and an explanation of why they are so difficult to find.

Updated on November 6, 2024 by Hamza Haq: Over the years and through dozens of different iterations of Pokémon games, it has become abundantly clear to the fan base that these games will always be geared towards children, at least in terms of base difficulty. And while there's nothing wrong with that, and fighting in the gym can be real fun, for anyone even remotely familiar with the franchise and previous games, it presents literally no challenge. To remedy that, we've come up with Fans of the franchise come up with their own unique ways to enjoy these titles through self-introduced challenges. Some have gone the Nuzlocking route, which drastically increases the challenge, while others have chosen the Shiny Hunting route, making creating a living Dex out of Shiny Pokémon the crux of the game. This pursuit has also become easier in recent years Nintendo is drastically increasing the chances of finding Shiny Pokémon in the newer games like Scarlet and Violet. However, not all shiny Pokémon are easy to obtain. In fact, it can be downright impossible to find some of them without fighting through some crazy hoops. The list has been updated with two new entries to highlight some new Pokémon that fall into this category.

Keep in mind that this article does not cover any of the Shiny Lock Pokémon.

7 Pikachus with hats from Pokemon GO

These event Pokémon are rarer than you think

One of the most popular event Pokémon in Pokemon GO is Pikachu. There are countless versions of Pikachu, added for specific occasions and wearing different costumes or hats. These could be the hats of different Pokémon protagonists or from different regions in the games, or they could just be a way to promote something, like this Detective Pikachu Pikachu.

No matter which version of Pikachu you're looking at, these event versions are some of the rarest in Pokemon GO and the entire Pokemon era. This is because they are only available for a certain time and most of the time if you miss the Pikachu, you miss it. It's rare for the game to return and bring back an older Pikachu for an event, so finding one if you missed the event is rare.

6 All Generation 1 Pokémon games

Shinies weren't really a thing

During the first generation of Pokémon, there were no shiny Pokémon. In fact, shiny Pokémon didn't exist until the second generation, and during that time the developers called them “rare Pokémon.” During the first generation, Pokémon would shine if they had perfect IVs, which is by no means an easy task. Of course, since there was no IV calculation back then and players couldn't simply train their Pokémon to be perfect, they had to find them with perfect IVs.

To even see if your Pokemon has been Shiny since Generation 1, you would have to transfer it into a Generation 2 game, where it will either show up as a Shiny Pokemon or not. Considering the Pokemon needed perfect IVs to be shiny, any Pokemon from a Gen 1 game is rare. Additionally, players would then have to transfer them to a 2nd generation game, which could have cost the player several Shinies if they didn't transfer their Pokémon.

5 Brilliant family of three Maushold

1/100 chance of getting a normal Mousehold family of three

Maushold evolves from Tendamaus at level 25 with two possible evolutions: family of four Maushold or family of three Maushold. Family of Three is a rare development and only has a 1% chance. This means that, on average, one in a hundred Tendamaus developments results in a family of three Mausholds. These are absurd odds, especially for players who hope to make a brilliant hunt for the rare Three Maushold family by further developing Tendamaus.

The result is that while the Shiny Family of Three Maushold isn't truly time- or region-locked like some of the other Pokémon on this list, the process of farming for it is so incredibly arduous that only the most dedicated Shiny hunters have the patience, to actually sit down and work on it. Even in the latest one Pokémon Scarlet and VioletOutbreaks are of no help as Maushold cannot spawn in the wild and the only way to get them is to evolve wild Tendamaus.

4 Shiny Jirachi

Requires ownership of two consoles and physical copies of now unavailable games

In order to even begin the hunt for Shiny Jirachi, players will need to find a way to find one. Unlike the main Legendaries, Jirachi is not available in the main game. To catch a Jirachi, players will need the following items: a Game Boy AdvanceA Nintendo GameCubea connection cable to connect the GBA to the GameCube, a copy of Pokemon Sapphire/Rubyand a copy of Pokémon Coliseum Bonus Disk. Without one of these items, there is no way to even begin the Shiny Jirachi Hunt.

Once all items are in place, players will need to start a new save file Pokemon Sapphire/Ruby on the GBA and continue playing until you get the Pokedex (8-10 minutes of gameplay). Then connect the GBA to the GameCube it is running on using a link cable Pokémon Coliseum Bonus Disk and select the “Special Gift” option with Jirachi. Check whether the Jirachi you received was shiny or not. If not, reset the save file and start again. This process is not only time-consuming and strenuous, but also expensive; The items required for this are no longer sold directly by Nintendo and have to be purchased from a third party, which is a significant burden on your wallet.

3 Brilliant team Mystic Lapras

Only one chance at all

Back in April 2023, players were able to complete the quest “A Mystical Hero,” in which Blanche from Team Mystic asked players for help. After completing the quest, players had the chance to catch their signature Lapras in a Team Mystic costume. However, they could only complete the quest once per account and only had a single encounter with the Lapras, making the brilliant hunt nearly impossible for players.

The reason this is such a rare Shiny is because it was only available from April 13th to April 17th, 2023. Players had to play during this time and only had one chance to get this rare Shiny. If they hadn't completed the quest, they would never have gotten the chance to see the Pokémon, let alone catch one. Then they needed a shiny Lapras that would defy all odds.

2 Shiny Manaphy

The Pokémon Ranger Egg

To get Shiny Manaphy, players have to work hard. Although this Pokémon is available in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, It's a pretty rare Pokemon overall (in fact, it's one of the rarest). Players could only obtain Manaphy in a certain way. To obtain a Shiny Manaphy, players had to own it Pokémon Diamond and Pearl or Pokémon Platinum. After receiving these games, they needed one Pokémon Rangers Game that has not yet been used to obtain Manaphy.

Any game CD from Pokémon Rangers only had the ability to gift one Manaphy, meaning that players who once obtained the Pokémon from a disc could never obtain it again. After completing the game, the Manaphy Egg can be transferred to the 4th generation games, where players can hatch a shiny Manaphy if they are lucky. However, since the egg was only available once, this was a near-impossible task for players.

1 Shiny Spinda (at least two identical ones)

There are over four billion patterns

Spinda is a Normal-type Pokémon from the third generation of games. The Pokedex entry for Pokémon Ruby is: “All Spinda that exist in the world are said to have completely unique dot patterns. This Pokémon's trembling, swaying steps give it the appearance of a dance.” Additionally, all other Pokedex entries mention that no two Spindas are the same, except Pokémon Y, It states: “The probability of two Spinda having identical spotting patterns is less than one in four billion.”

This means that it is almost impossible for two players to have a Spinda with the exact same pattern and both are shiny. Given the insurmountable odds of two shiny Spindas being exactly the same, it's safe to say that this is the case technically the rarest splendor that could ever exist. Players can safely assume that they probably own the only shiny Spinda that looks exactly like the Spinda they caught.