More Shiny Pokemon Found in Pokemon Go's Code

Another Shiny Pokemon was recently discovered in Pokemon Go's code.

Over the weekend, dataminers discovered that Pokemon Go developers had added 3D assets for Shiny versions of Chikorita and its evolutions. These weren't exactly new additions, as it appears that the game's developers had added the Shiny versions of the Johto Starter Pokemon about a month ago.

Shiny Pokemon have alternate colorations than normal non-Shiny Pokemon and are prized by Pokemon collectors due to their extreme rarity. While Pokemon Go developers has added 3D assets for many Shiny Pokemon in the game (including all the "Gen 3" Pokemon and all the Legendary Pokemon,) only a handful of Shiny Pokemon are currently available in the game. On average, developers add one new set of Shiny Pokemon every few months. Most recently, Pokemon Go added Shiny versions of Snorunt and Glalie as part of last December's Holiday celebration. Players can also get Shiny versions of Magikarp, Gyarados, Pichu, Pikachu, Raichu, Duskull, Dusclops, Shuppet, Banette, Sableye, Absol, and Mawile.

The most noticeable difference between a regular Chikorita and its Shiny form is the color of its leaf. While a normal Chikorita has a regular green leaf, a Shiny Chikorita's leaf is brown. Shiny Bayleef's body is much browner hue than a normal Bayleef and a Shiny Meganium has yellow skin and an orange flower instead of its usual green skin and pink flower.

So why did Pokemon Go add a Shiny Chikorita to the game? Well....we really don't know. Pokemon Go's recent emphasis has been on "Gen 3" Pokemon, but it's possible that we could see a Shiny Chikorita appear as part of an upcoming event. After all, Pokemon Go recently increased the spawn rate of Shiny Pikachu for about three hours as part of last weekend's "Community Day" mini-event. If a future Community Day somehow involves a Chikorita, don't be surprised if we see its Shiny variants sneaked into the game as well.

There's lots of unreleased Shiny Pokemon in Pokemon Go, so this could be nothing, or it could be a hint at what's coming next. Looks like Pokemon Go trainers will just have to wait for Pokemon Go's next announcement.