Shiny Pokémon

Shiny Pokémon are alternate forms of fictional creatures called Pokémon, introduced in the 1999 games Pokémon Gold and Silver. These Pokémon have different color palettes from the standard color of their species, with each type of Pokémon having only one predetermined shiny palette (for example, all shiny Charizard are black instead of orange, as seen on the right). An individual Pokémon's status as being Shiny or not is determined when it is created by the game, such as by being encountered in the wild or by being born from an egg, and can not be changed after the fact; a regularly colored Pokémon will never become Shiny, and a Shiny Pokémon will never stop being Shiny. They are very rare to encounter in the Pokémon games, with very low odds of encountering one across many games in the franchise. How Shiny color palettes are determined is unclear; James Turner, a designer for the series, stated he was only able to design the Shiny palettes of his designs starting from the 2016 games Pokémon Sun and Moon. Since their inception, Shiny Pokémon have appeared throughout the franchise, including in spin-off games and the Pokémon anime.

Shiny Pokémon have proven to be popular with fans. Due to their rarity, "Shiny hunting" has emerged as a popular pastime within the Pokémon fandom, with hunters focusing on capturing a specific Shiny Pokémon. The ease of accessing Shiny Pokémon in later entries in the series has been critiqued, as has the overall quality of the color changes given to Shiny Pokémon as the series has progressed.