Lucky Pokémon are better than Shiny Pokémon in Pokémon GO
As a hardcore Pokémon GO gamer and content creator, I get asked this question a lot – what‘s better to have, Lucky or Shiny Pokémon? And my answer is always the same: Lucky Pokémon are way more useful and practical to obtain in the game.
Sure, Shiny Pokémon have that coveted alternate coloration and visual appeal. But Lucky Pokémon have enormously reduced power up costs, making them much easier to max out for combat. Let‘s do a deep dive on why Lucky Pokemon reign supreme!
Lucky Pokémon Have a Major Stardust Saving Advantage
The #1 benefit of Lucky monsters is the whopping 50% Stardust discount you get when powering them up. Considering how precious Stardust is as a resource in Pokémon GO, being able to cut those costs in half is enormous.
To give some stats – normally powering up Pokémon from level 20 to 40 takes 225,000 Stardust. But for Luckies, that cost is slashed down to just 112,500!
Here‘s a table summarizing the total costs:
| Pokémon Type | Stardust Cost (Lv. 20 to 40) |
|---|---|
| Normal | 225,000 |
| Lucky | 112,500 |
As you can see, the Stardust savings with Lucky Pokémon is massive! This allows you to power up high-level combatants much faster and cheaper.
How to Obtain Lucky Pokémon in Pokémon GO
Now that we‘ve established why Lucky Pokémon are so desirable, how do we get them? Fortunately, Niantic has made Luckies reasonably attainable:
Trading Older Pokémon
The #1 way is by trading Pokémon from July – August 2016 – doing so gives them a high chance of going Lucky. Specifically, the rates are:
- July – August 2016 Pokémon: Guaranteed Lucky if you haven‘t gotten 10 yet
- Pokémon Over 2 Years Old: 5% Lucky Rate
- Pokémon Over 1 Year Old: 2% Lucky Rate
So make sure to hold onto those older pocket monsters!
Trading with Lucky Friends
You can also score guaranteed Luckies by becoming Lucky Friends with someone and then trading. When Lucky Friends trade next, both Pokémon swapped will become Lucky!
And according to most data, the Lucky Friends rate is about 5% when actively raiding/battling with Best Friends in Pokémon GO.
So utilize friend bonuses as much as possible!
Lucky Pokémon Also Have High IV Minimums
On top of the reduced power up costs, Lucky Pokémon also come with guaranteed-good stats.
More precisely, upon becoming Lucky, a Pokémon‘s Individual Values (IVs) are set to a minimum floor of 12/12/12.
For those newer to Pokémon GO, IVs help determine how strong a Pokémon will be in battle. So having decent IVs makes Lucky Pokémon reliable fighters too!
Whereas Shiny Pokémon come with totally random IVs – you could end up with a 0% IV one!
The Prestige and Rarity of Shiny Pokémon
Alright, so clearly Lucky Pokemon are very practical and useful in Pokémon GO thanks to cheap power-ups and high IVs. But what about Shiny Pokémon?
Well, Shinies unfortunately have zero gameplay advantages – their stats and movesets are determined normally like standard Pokémon. The only difference is their unique coloration.
However, having an ultra rare alternate color monster still brings great prestige as a dedicated Pokémon GO trainer!
Shinies stand out in Gyms and Raids and demonstrate you‘re a highly skilled hunter. Many also just think Shinies look cooler than their normal versions with pink, black, or golden skins.
Let‘s overview some Shiny Fun Facts:
- Wild Catch Shiny Rate: Roughly 1 in 500
- Egg/Raid Shiny Rate: Generally thought to be 1 in 60 to 1 in 100
- Certain Legendaries have Shiny Rates of 1 in 20 (like Lugia)
- Some Shinies like Gyarados have minor visual differences
- Shiny Mega Evolved Pokémon look very unique!
So while less useful than Luckies, Shinies are still hugely coveted by the community for appearances!
In Summary: Focus on Catching Lucky Pokémon!
To wrap up, while both Shiny and Lucky Pokémon have pros and cons, Luckies are clearly superior from a gameplay efficiency standpoint. With 50% cheaper power up costs and guaranteed-decent IVs, they require much less investment to hit max combat potential!
I hope this guide has been insightful on when to prioritize going after Lucky vs Shiny Pokémon in Pokémon GO! Let me know in the comments which you prefer or if you have any other questions.
And for my fellow hunters – best of luck out there on your Pokémon journeys this year! There are lots of awesome events and releases planned for 2023!
