Shiny Pokémon
A Shiny Pokémon (Japanese: 色違い differently colored or 光る shining) is a specific Pokémon with different coloration to what is usual for its species. It is one of the many differences that a Pokémon can have within its species. The term "shiny Pokémon" refers to the sparkling sound effect and animation made at the start of an encounter with one in the games.
Shiny Pokémon in the games may differ in color from their normal counterparts either very little or very much. Usually the former is the case, with some Pokémon, such as Froslass, having their shiny form be only a few shades lighter in color. However, many Pokémon will have a spectacular difference between their normal and shiny variations; even extremely common Pokémon like Caterpie show a dramatic difference. An evolutionary line is not necessarily guaranteed to have similar alternate colorations, even if their standard colorations remain consistent; both Ponyta and Rapidash have orange flames, but an alternate colored Ponyta has blue flames, while an alternate colored Rapidash has gray flames.
Despite being completely different colors, however, the two forms of Shellos and Gastrodon are not normal/shiny variations of one another. Their difference is more akin to the difference between Unown or Spinda.
Also, if a Pokémon is first encountered with an alternate color, then the Pokédex will have the normal counterpart's color.
In the games
In the main series, shiny Pokémon were first introduced in Generation II. This was likely to take fullest advantage of the Game Boy Color, which enhanced Gold and Silver and was required for Pokémon Crystal.
When a shiny Pokémon appears in the wild or from a Trainer's Poké Ball, stars will surround it and make a pinging sound effect. In Generation II, this ping happens before the Pokémon's cry, while in Generations III and IV, it occurs afterward. In Pokémon Battle Revolution, a flash of light circles the Pokémon upon its release from the Poké Ball. On the Pokémon's status screen, its shiny status is indicated in Generation II as three small stars beside its gender and in Generations III and IV as a large star near its picture. In Generation III, the Pokémon's Pokédex number will also be colored gold instead of black, and in Generation IV, the number will be colored red.
Pokémon Stadium
In Pokémon Stadium and Pokémon Stadium 2, Pokémon with a nickname can be colored slightly differently, whether or not they are actually shiny. This seems to have been removed from later games. In the Ekans Hoop Hurl game in the Kid's Club, there are golden Diglett that are worth extra points.
Generation II
In Generation II, shininess is determined by the individual values (IVs) of a Pokémon. If a Pokémon's Speed, Defense, and Special IVs are 10, and its Attack IV is 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11, 14 or 15, it will be shiny. This determination allowed for compatibility with Generation I, as if a shiny Pokémon is traded back, then traded forward, it would retain its shininess. Despite the bonus of backward compatibility allowing for a shiny Pokémon to learn Generation I TMs, provided it was a Generation I Pokémon, shiny Pokémon are only slightly above average in terms of IVs. One noticeable issue caused by this system was that Pokémon of a 1:7 Female to Male gender ratio, typically gift or starter Pokémon, cannot have shiny colored females. This is because the Attack IV is used to determine gender in Generation II. In order for a Pokémon of a 1:7 gender ratio to be female it must have an attack IV of either 0 or 1, which prevent the Pokémon from being shiny.
Due to the probability of the IVs lining up in any of these manners to produce a shiny Pokémon, the chance of obtaining one in Generation II is approximately 1/8192. However, if one breeds a shiny Pokémon properly, the offspring may have as high as a 1/64 chance of being shiny, depending on the species of Pokémon.
Shininess is inherent to an individual Pokémon; that is, a Pokémon that starts out shiny will always be shiny, and one that is not will never be (provided its data is not altered through cheating). Upon evolution, a Pokémon will retain its shiny status. A shiny Charmander, if leveled up, will eventually become a shiny Charmeleon and then a shiny Charizard, just as a regular Charmander will become a regular Charmeleon and then a regular Charizard. This is due to the status being determined by values inherent to the Pokémon; however, there is a difference in the determination between Generation II and Generations III to IV.
To highlight alternate coloration, a red Gyarados at the Lake of Rage is part of the plot of the Generation II games and their remakes. After its defeat or capture, a Red Scale will be obtained, which can be given to Mr. Pokémon in exchange for an Exp. Share. The red Gyarados is the only wild Pokémon in the games that will be shiny without fail.
The Pokémon that hatches from the Odd Egg in Crystal has a 50% chance of the result being shiny.
Generations III and IV
In Generation III, most of the data structures were redone. As such, a Pokémon's shininess would no longer need to be linked to its stats due to incompatibilities between the previous generations. The determinant for shininess is instead a calculation based on the Trainer ID number and secret ID number of the player encountering it and the personality value of the Pokémon. The same method is used in Generation IV.
The secret ID and Trainer ID bytewords are first xored together, and then the first byteword of the personality value is xored with the second byteword of the personality value. If the xor of these two results is less than eight, then the Pokémon is shiny. This results in a probability of 8 in 65536; simplified as 1/8192 (2-13, or approximately 0.012207%), just as in Generation II. Symbolically:
(Trainer ID) xor (Secret ID) = E
(First byteword of personality value) xor (Second byteword of personality value) = F
If E xor F is less than eight, then the Pokémon is shiny.
In the Trainer Tower in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen there are three Trainers which have shiny Pokémon. In the single battle mode, the seventh Trainer has a shiny Meowth, while in double battle mode, the first pair of Trainers have a shiny Espeon. In another series of battles, a Trainer will send out a shiny Seaking.
In Generation IV, some Pokémon, such as Mystery Gifts and Ranger Manaphy, can't be shiny due to the game's code. However, the Ranger Manaphy's shininess won't be altered by the game if traded to a second cartridge as an egg (changing the ID and SID). There are other methods which make obtaining alternately colored Pokémon a little bit easier: the Masuda method and the PokéRadar slightly raise the probabilities of hatching Pokémon from eggs and catching Pokémon from the wild, respectively.
Shiny Pokémon are again highlighted in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, where the red Gyarados makes its return as a plot point, while shiny Pokémon also appear in their shiny state as walking Pokémon when they follow the player.
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team and Blue Rescue Team
It is sometimes thought that the TM Merchant in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team and Blue Rescue Team is a shiny Pokémon. It is a Kecleon, and although Kecleon are normally green, it is actually purple, including its sprite. However, though it is alternate-colored (like the Kecleon in The Kecleon Caper), it is not shiny (shiny Kecleon have a blue stripe instead of a red stripe) and is more likely a different color due to its Color Change ability. It says that it was so excited about Orbs that it turned rosy-colored.
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time, Darkness and Sky
In Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness, a shiny Celebi appears, although shiny Pokémon are not obtainable normally in the game. It is believed that the shiny coloring (pink) further emphasizes that this particular Celebi is inherently female, a fact proven by in-game dialogue as well as her crush on a male pokèmon.
Also, Dialga appears with different coloration. Like the purple Kecleon, this Dialga is not shiny; the coloration is caused by a collapsing Temporal Tower, resulting in a state where it is known as Primal Dialga. After defeating it the first time in Time and Darkness, the effect will disappear, and Primal Dialga goes back to its normal self. However, in Sky, Dialga will be Primal still in a special episode.
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon WiiWare
In the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games for WiiWare, shiny Pokémon can be found in dungeons. Unlike the main series, only 36 different species of shiny Pokémon are obtainable. The chances of finding one in a dungeon is the same chances as finding one in the wild in the main series. Unlike shiny Pokémon in the past, however, the shiny Pokémon found in these games have an added bonus: their Hunger stat is 200 as opposed to the 100 of normal Pokémon. A Red Gyarados can also be obtained at Level 30 via Wondermail password as a reference to the one found in the Johto-based games.
Super Smash Bros.
In the Super Smash Bros. series, Mewtwo, Squirtle, Ivysaur, Charizard, and Lucario each have several different colorations exclusive to the series. One of Pikachu's alternate colorations is its shiny form wearing Red's hat, and one of Jigglypuff's is its shiny form wearing a straw hat; however, all other playable Pokémon in the series, except Mewtwo, do not have their actual shiny form as an alternate coloration.
In the TCG
Alternate colored Pokémon have appeared in the TCG as well, first as Shining Pokémon in Neo Revelation and Neo Destiny, and later as Pokémon 
in EX Team Rocket Returns - EX Power Keepers. Stormfront includes three cards with alternate coloration artwork and a reverse holo effect, but are not classified as rare cards. Unlike Shining Pokémon and Pokémon , these newest alternate coloration cards do not play significantly differently from their normal coloration counterparts, and since the names of the cards are not changed to indicate the alternate coloration, they can be evolved into Stage 1 Pokémon, or from normal basic Pokémon.
In the anime
- Main article: List of alternately colored Pokémon in the anime
Although the games had not premiered alternate colored Pokémon until Generation II, several Pokémon seen beforehand were colored differently. One such example is the pink Butterfree, the mate of Ash's Butterfree, which appeared as early as the twenty-first episode. This is, however, not the standard alternate coloration for a Butterfree, causing many to not count it. Likewise, the first appearance of a Generation III Pokémon in The Kecleon Caper featured a non-standard alternate colored Pokémon, this time a purple Kecleon, this may be due to Kecleon's Color Change ability however, similarly to the case in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon.
The first Pokémon with an alternate coloration that was seen was also the first Generation II Pokémon to appear, a Ho-Oh in the first episode. However it is possible that it may not have been intended to be an alternate coloration, as Ho-Oh may not have been fully designed by the episode's release and may have simply been colored after the version it represents, Pokémon Gold. However since alternate coloration was also not yet an explored concept, however, most do not consider this to be a shiny Pokémon either. A blue Breloom and a light-blue Marill also appeared in Weekend Warrior, which aren't the official alternate colors for those Pokémon, and are possibly coloring errors.
In the Orange Archipelago, certain Pokémon have a different coloration because the climate is different than that of the mainland. For example, a Butterfree would have gold wings with red spots on them instead of just being white.
The first true shiny Pokémon that appeared, however, was a Noctowl in Fowl Play!. Ash eventually captured it, and, as in the games, sparkles surround it as it comes from its Poké Ball. Several other shiny Pokémon have appeared later as well, often used to make them stand out more or be the focus of an episode.
Trivia
- Ash's Noctowl is the only Pokémon in the anime to display the trademark sparkles when released from its Poké Ball. Subsequently seen shiny Pokémon do not have this effect. However, as of the Diamond and Pearl series, all Pokémon show an extra sparkle effect when released.
- Pikachu-colored Pichu, however, displays a sparkle effect almost identical to that one in the games for shiny Pokémon.
- Due to the fact that Generation III/IV shininess is determined by the OT's ID and Secret ID, and to the fact that eggs take the ID/SID of their hatchers when hatched, eggs can be shiny on the game that breeds them, but not on a game that they're traded to (or vice-versa) if still in their eggs. Even worse, the OT of the egg isn't changed until after it hatches -- this can lead to scenarios where an egg will hatch and appear shiny, but will not be shiny when actually checked (or vice-versa) because the ID/SID changes immediately after the hatching scene.
- This is also why event Manaphy can hatch shiny when they would normally be prohibited from doing so on the original receiver's game.
