Shiny Legendary Pokemon Discovered in Pokemon Go

07/21/2017 03:38 pm EDT

Four more Shiny Pokemon look to be coming to Pokemon Go and they're going to be huge. Dataminers have discovered shiny versions of four different Legendary Birds in the new update, meaning that we could see Shiny Legendary Raids in addition to the normal Legendary Raids beginning this weekend.

Shiny Pokemon are variant-colored Pokemon that are prized among many fans and players for their extreme rarity. Pokemon Go first added Shiny Pokemon in the spring with the introduction of a Shiny Magikarp and a Shiny Gyarados.

In Pokemon Go, Shiny Pokemon are generated randomly upon encounter. So, it's possible that one player will find a Shiny Magikarp while another player will tap on that exact same Magikarp and discover that it's non-Shiny for them.

Dataminers discovered variant icon for Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, and Lugia in the data that Pokemon Go downloads from the servers at launch. These icons aren't accessible to view in the game, but were provided by the PoGoDev group to PokemonGoHub.net.

We still don't know exactly how Legendary Raids will work. While we know that players will automatically receive an invitation to attend a Legendary Raid, it's unclear how often they'll pop up or how many players will be invited to each one.

While we still don't know the circumstances surrounding the Shiny Legendary Pokemon, it's possible that Pokemon Go is holding them back for special occasions. The game has plans for several live events later this summer, and a Shiny Legendary Pokemon might be a perfect way to commemorate the event.

We'll learn more soon on how (or if) the Shiny Legendary Pokemon will appear. In the meantime, check out our gallery for a first look at all four Shiny variants. Please note that Articuno and Zapdos's Shiny forms are almost identical to their non-Shiny forms.

More Pokemon: Pokemon Go Disables New Feature / Team Instinct's Leader is Missing in Pokemon Go / Shiny Tapu Koko is Available Now for Pokemon Sun and Moon Players / Pokemon Go Announces Safari Zone Live Events /Pokemon Go Still Has Plans for Trading and Player vs Player Battles /Pokemon Go Has No Plans to Address Complaints of Pokemon Go Plus Users / Pokemon Game Confirmed in Development for Nintendo Switch

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