The Rarest Generation Five Shiny Pokémon In Pokémon GO

Shiny Pokémon are some of the most sought after encounters in Pokémon GO. They are rare versions of Pokémon with different color palettes. Generally, the odds of encountering one are one in 450, but there are some species that, for a variety of reasons, are more difficult to find. These are the Top Five rarest Generation Five Shinies in Pokémon GO.

The Rarest Generation Five Shiny Pokémon In Pokémon GO. Credit: Niantic

5 & 4. Shiny Virizion & Terrakion

Generation Five has only been out for one year in total, so the earlier numbers on this list may not be especially rare compared to Pokémon that have been out of the rotation for some time. However, Virizion and Terrakion share the fifth and fourth places because of the circumstances of their Shiny release. The third part of their trio, Cobalion, saw a Shiny release at the exact time that the COVID-19 lockdown was beginning in America. As a response, Niantic canceled Lugia, which was set to take over raids after Cobalion, thereby extending Cobalion's stay in raids and putting it as an encounter in GO Battle League. This meant that Shiny Cobalion could be caught from home. Not so for Virizion and Terrakion, which were released as restrictions were easing but not nearly as much as they currently have. This left many quarantining players with no chance of getting these, since this was after Legendaries had been removed from GO Battle League but before Remote Raid Invites were introduced.

3. Timburr

Timburr raids aren't especially hard to find, and it has an increased Shiny rate, but not nearly as high as a Legendary Pokémon. This, plus the fact that this Fighting-type Pokémon is raid only, making Timburr a Pokémon that free-to-play players will have to grind daily raids in order to get, as it is otherwise paywalled. Still, there are many players who are happy to pay to do every Timburr raid they see who still have yet to catch this pink punch-otter.

2. Shiny Yamask

Now, we're getting serious. Shiny Yamask is among the rarest overall Shinies in the game. Introduced during Halloween 2020 as a relatively rare spawn with its Shiny already in-game, trainers were dismayed to discover once the event was over that this Generation Five Ghost-type Pokémon was Halloween exclusive… so anyone who didn't get it during the Halloween event has had no chance to get it since.

1. Shiny Deino

This Pokémon is so rare that its Shiny release caused an uproar within the Pokémon GO community. Incredibly rare in Eggs, equally rare GO Battle League, and even rarer in the wild, any trainer who has Shiny Deino breathes the most rarefied of air in Pokémon GO.

Honorable Mentions

  • Roggenrola: Roggenrola makes the list simply by virtue of its recent release and rare spawn rate outside of events. Players on the west coast of America can enjoy this Generation Five Rock-type as a more common spawn than elsewhere, but it remains uncommon elsewhere.

About Theo Dwyer

Theo Dwyer writes about comics, film, and games.