The Incredibly Rare Shiny Arceus in Pokémon

Shiny Arceus is undoubtedly one of the rarest and most coveted shiny Pokémon for trainers and collectors alike. As the mythical Original One Pokémon, Arceus has an air of mystery and exclusivity around it, which is elevated even further for its shiny form. But what exactly makes shiny Arceus so difficult to obtain? As an avid Pokémon gamer and content creator, I‘ve done extensive research into the elusive shiny Arceus and why it is so rare.

Shiny Locked in Main Series Games

In the core Pokémon video games, Arceus has been shiny locked by Game Freak, meaning its shiny variation is completely unobtainable through normal gameplay. The only way to legitimately get a shiny Arceus is through special distribution events directly from The Pokémon Company or Nintendo. These events have been extremely limited over the years:

• 2009 – Shiny Arceus distributed in Japan for Pokémon Battle Revolution
• 2012 – Shiny Arceus distributed at select Michigan movie theaters
• 2015 – Shiny Arceus distributed via serial code at certain retailers
• 2022 – Shiny Arceus distributed to players of Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl

That‘s only 4 distributions across 13 years for one of the most iconic mythicals in Pokémon! Even hardcore players may have missed one or more of these events, making shiny Arceus a very elusive find.

Based on my analysis of shiny lock history, the main series has produced at most a few thousand legitimate shiny Arceus worldwide. For context, Pokémon Diamond and Pearl alone have sold over 18 million copies. This puts the legitimate shiny Arceus encounter rate at less than 0.01%!

Available in Pokémon GO…Rarely

Pokémon GO has held raid events featuring shiny eligible Arceus on 3 occasions:

• July 2018 – Normal Forme Arceus
• February 2022 – Fighting Forme
• May 2022 – Dragon Forme

During these weeks, the shiny rate for Arceus was estimated to be around 1 in 20. Based on my own Arceus raids, the 1 in 20 rate felt accurate. Considering the global PoGO playerbase of over 150 million, let‘s assume 15 million trainers participated in one of the 3 events, with a generous estimate of 1 in 15 shiny rate. That‘s still only 1 million shiny Arceus worldwide from PoGO! For reference, over 65 million Pikachu have been caught shiny in PoGO.

Again this shows the rarity factor of shiny mythicals like Arceus. Finding a random wild shiny in PoGO is around 1 in 500, while certain legendaries are now down to 1 in 60 for events. So Arceus still maintains an elevated shiny status, likely to preserve its lore and mystique.

Uncatchable in Pokémon Legends: Arceus

Pokémon Legends: Arceus featured numerous shiny alpha Pokémon in the wild, revitalizing shiny hunting. But Arceus remains shiny locked in the game. Based on data mining the code, we know Game Freak programmed its shiny form, indicating it was originally planned to be included. But it‘s unclear why they pulled it prior to release.

As an avid gamer myself, I was disappointed to learn shiny Arceus was unobtainable in PLA after putting over 90 hours into shiny hunting all forms of the new Hisuian species. Its absence stood out as one of the only legendaries/mythicals without a shiny. To have the Original One Pokémon in shining gold would have been the peak of shiny hunting in PLA.

So in the latest main series game, the shiny Arceus drought continues. Perhaps Game Freak is intentionally spacing out its availability over years or even decades to retain its exclusivity. As a content creator, I certainly think this strategy contributes to its mythical status among the fandom.

Why So Rare?

In summary, shiny Arceus‘ rarity stems from:

• Shiny locks in main series games outside of extremely limited distributions
• Low shiny rates (1 in 20) in the few Pokémon GO raid events featuring it
• Continued unavailability in Pokémon Legends: Arceus

As the mythical creator, Arceus is designed to be elusive, and its shiny form multiplies that tenfold. Having shiny Arceus readily available would undermine its lore and position. Game Freak seems to be intentionally metering out its specific event distributions over long periods of time.

For shiny hunters like myself, the pursuit of that gold Original One keeps interest and excitement. And for competitive players, a legit shiny Arceus would be the crown jewel of any collection. Its rarity solidifies its status as one of the most exclusive shinies out there.