Pokemon Go Adds a Ton of Shiny Pokemon for Next Event

Shiny Pokemon are about to flood Pokemon Go.

Dataminers have confirmed that Pokemon Go developers have added 3D assets for the Shiny versions of all the original "Gen 1" Pokemon on the game's servers. Coupled with the announcement that the game's next event will feature the old school Kanto Pokemon, it seems likely that we could get Shiny versions of all 151 original Pokemon in the game.

Shiny Pokemon have alternate colorations than their regular non-Shiny counterparts and are prized by many players due to their extreme rarity. Pokemon Go has gradually added Shiny Pokemon to the game over the last year, but their efforts really kicked into high gear with the addition of "Gen 3" Pokemon last fall.

In the last month alone, Pokemon Go added Shiny versions of Pokemon like Bulbasaur, Lugia, Murkrow, Magmar, and Wobbuffet.

The full list of Shiny Pokemon also includes: Pichu, Pikachu, Raichu, Gyarados, Magikarp, Sableye, Shuppet, Banette, Duskull, Dusclops, Mawile, Absol, Snorunt, Glalie, Aron, Lairon, Aggron, Swablu, Altaria, Luvdisc, Poochyena, Mightyena, Dratini, Dragonair, Dragonite, Togepi, Togetic, Magby, Wynaut, Dratini, Dragonair, Dragonite, Ivysaur, and Venusaur.

Players first suspected something big was coming when Pokemon Go reverted back to its 3D sprites earlier this weekend after a week of using 8-bit sprites during April Fool's Day. Some players immediately noticed that many of the sprites had changed, which usually is an indication that developers were getting ready to drop Shiny versions of Pokemon into the game.

Of course, it's possible that next week's event could be the start of a gradual rollout of all the Shiny Pokemon and not the Shiny explosion that players are hoping for. Releasing over 100 different Shiny Pokemon into the wild at once seems a bit overwhelming....although it certainly would give players more reason to spend long hours hunting.

One of the big keys to Shiny Pokemon hunting in Pokemon Go is that the game doesn't use "Shiny" sprites in the overworld map. Players will need to tap on each Pokemon individually to see if its Shiny in the catch screen. Once in the catch screen, players can look out for a distinctive sparkly animation that surrounds the Pokemon if it's a Shiny Pokemon. Some Shiny Pokemon look nearly identical to non-Shiny Pokemon (see Pikachu or Bulbasaur for example) so that animation is key to make sure that a Shiny Pokemon doesn't get away.

We should find out more about Pokemon Go's next event in the next day or so. The big "Gen 1" event is set to start on April 10th.