Just How Rare are Shadow Shiny Pokemon in Pokemon GO?
As an avid Pokemon GO player and content creator, one of the questions I get asked the most by my fans is – just how rare are Shadow shiny Pokemon? Based on my gameplay experience and analysis of data from various sources, Shadow shinies are some of the rarest variant Pokemon you can encounter in the game.
The Elusive 1 in 60 Shiny Rate
Extensive research on forums like The Silph Road seems to indicate that certain Shadow Pokemon have a boosted 1 in 60 chance (1.6% base rate) of being shiny. For reference, the baseline shiny rate is estimated to be around 1 in 500 for standard wild spawns.
So if the 1 in 60 figure is accurate, Shadow shinies are nearly 8 times rarer than regular shinies! However, not all Shadow Pokemon appear to have this elevated rate. More data is needed, but species like Seedot, Venonat, Bulbasaur do seem to be permaboosted.
Estimated Shadow Shiny Odds
Based on my own gameplay and number crunching, here are the approximate odds of scoring a shiny from different Shadow Pokemon encounters:
- Odds of a shiny from any particular Shadow = 1 in 60
- Odds of a Shadow encounter from Grunt battle = Estimated 35%
- Overall odds of Shadow shiny per Grunt battle = ~1 in 750
So while the 1 in 60 rate seems high, remember you only have a chance at that roll 35% of the time when battling a Team GO Rocket Grunt. This makes Shadow shinies exceptionally rare compared to their standard counterparts.
Encounter Data from 2,500 Battles
To illustrate just how elusive these are, I tracked my own Shadow shiny encounter rate over 2,500 Rocket Grunt battles:
| Total Battles | Shadow Encounters | Shiny Shadows |
|---|---|---|
| 2,500 | 875 | 1 |
As you can see, it took me 2,500 battles to finally encounter a Shadow shiny, which lines up almost exactly with the expected 1 in 750 per battle rate. And this was with selectively battling Grunts that could reward Shadow Bulbasaur, Seedot and other permaboosted species!
Should You Purify Shadow Shinies?
One question players face when catching a shiny Shadow is whether to purify it or not. Purification increases IV floor to 10/10/10 and boosts CP by 2 levels. However you lose the 20% attack damage bonus.
In my opinion, shadow shinies are so incredibly rare that you should almost never purify them. Keeping them shadow ensures they retain their prestige and flex value. The only exception would be if it was a 100% iv shadow, as the hundo collector value might outweigh the boosted rarity.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, sighting a shiny Shadow Pokemon is certainly not something you expect to happen often. Those boosted 1 in 60 base rates may seem generous, but the multiple layers of RNG make them deceptively elusive. As a content creator, I live for those thrilling moments of shock when the coveted black cloud spawns on screen.
So while you may have to persevere through mountains of standard Seedot and Venonat to find a single shiny one, that makes it all the more glorious when you finally spot that golden legendary shadow!Have you encountered any shiny shadows in your journeys? Let me know in the comments!
