Pokemon Sword and Shield Fan Gets Shiny Fossil Pokemon After Nearly 500 Tries

Shiny hunting can be an exhausting exercise in Pokemon Sword and Shield, requiring a lot of time and a lot of patience. Finding a Shiny Pokemon can be done in a number of different ways, including hatching countless eggs, or saving and attempting the same encounter over and over again in the hopes of getting a different result. Reddit user Cut-my-Carotid did just that to get a Shiny Arctozolt, trying 487 fossils in total. The Shiny version of Arctozolt trades the Pokemon's yellow and blue appearance for a more unified white and gray design, and it looks well worth the effort!

Readers can check out the original Reddit post embedded below.

Managed to get a shiny Arctozolt after 487 fossils. from PokemonSwordAndShield

An Electric and Ice-type Pokemon, Arctozolt has one of the most unique designs in Pokemon Sword and Shield. Fossil Pokemon in the game are hybrids, combining different fossilized creatures into strange-looking amalgams. As a result, these Pokemon have designs that intentionally look like they've been assembled incorrectly, with top and bottom halves that can differ wildly. What's great about this particular Shiny is the coloration makes it look a little more like the Pokemon "normally" should, as opposed to a hybrid of two different designs.

The concept of Shiny Pokemon originated in Pokemon Gold and Silver. Some Shiny Pokemon look just a little different from the standard, and others can vary quite a bit. While these Pokemon are incredibly difficult to come by, they don't have any in-game advantage over those with normal color-schemes. Instead, the coloration is their entire appeal. Some gamers might find it strange that fans would spend hundreds of hours trying to get a Pokemon that just looks a little bit different, but the collecting aspect has always been one of the franchise's strongest appeals!

Pokemon Sword and Shield is available now, exclusively on Nintendo Switch. You can check out all of our previous coverage of the game right here.

Are you a fan of Shiny hunting in Pokemon Sword and Shield? Have you devoted a ton of time to getting a Shiny Pokemon? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!