Summary

While Pokemon games usually always have the same shiny odds (1/8192 in earlier games and 1/4096 in the newer games), there are some shinies that are just harder to get than others. This may be because most encounters are shiny-locked, or it could be due to the rarity of the Pokemon.

Thankfully, the games have different methods toincrease the odds of running into a shiny (even if some of these ways are unconventional). Here is a list of some of the hardest Pokemon to find as a shiny Pokemon and an explanation as to why they are so difficult to find.

Updated May 16, 2025, by Hamza Haq:Shiny hunting remains one of the core reasons for hardcore Pokemon fans to continue playing their favorite titles over and over again until completely filling their National Dex with all shiny Pokemon. It is a massive endeavor that can easily take years and years of effort to pull off, especially for players who are aiming to gather every shiny ever made. Naturally, this puts the rarest shiny Pokemon in the entire franchise up on a pedestal for these shiny hunters. A lot of shinies have become more common with the increase in shiny odds in the recent Pokemon games, but some exceptions remain.

Keep in mind, this article will not touch on any of the shiny-locked Pokemon.

9Shiny Genesect

More Common Than It Used To Be But Still Incredibly Rare

Shiny Genesect has become a lot easier to obtainsince the release ofPokemon GOas there is a relatively high chance to catch this Mythical Pokemon as a shiny in certain raid events. Thos Genesect can then be transferred viaPokemon HOMEto any mainline Pokemon game as long as players already have the Genesect entry in the Pokedex unlocked. This can easily be achieved via touch trading with another player. But beforePokemon GO, shiny Genesect was one of the rarest shinies to try and get.

Previously, shiny Genesect was only made available in a Japan-only event forPokemon Black 2. A level 100 shiny Genesect with a Japanese name was made available for this version of the game via this event, and only a small group of Japanese gamers were able to grab one before the event ended. No English version was ever made available in any mainline Pokemon game.

8Pikachus With Hats From Pokemon GO

These Event Pokemon Are Rarer Than You Think

One of the most popular event Pokemon in Pokemon GO is Pikachu. There are countless versions of Pikachu that have been added for specific events that are wearing different costumes or hats. These may be the hats of different Pokemon protagonists or from different regions in the games, or they may just be a way to promote something, such as theDetective PikachuPikachu.

No matter when version of Pikachu you’re looking at, these event ones are some of the rarest in Pokemon GO, and in all of Pokemon period. This is because they are only available for a certain amount of time, and most of the time, if you miss the Pikachu, you miss it. It is rare for the game to go back and bring an older Pikachu back for an event, making it rare you find one if you missed the event.

7Any Pokemon In The Generation 1 Games

Shinies Weren’t Really A Thing

There weren’t any shiny Pokemon during Generation 1 of Pokemon. In fact, shiny Pokemon didn’t really begin until Generation 2, and during that time, the developers called them “rare Pokemon.” During Generation 1, Pokemon would be shiny if they had perfect IVs, which isn’t an easy feat at all. Since IV calculation wasn’t a thing back then, and it isn’t like players could just train their Pokemon so that they would be perfect, they needed to naturally find them with perfect IVs.

In order to even see if your Pokemon was shiny from Generation 1, you would have to transfer it to a Generation 2 game, where it would either show as a shiny Pokemon or not. Considering the Pokemon needed perfect IVs to be shiny, any Pokemon from a Generation 1 game is rare. Plus, players would then need to transfer them to a Generation 2 game, which could’ve cost the player some shinies if they didn’t transfer their Pokemon over.

6Shiny Family of Three Maushold

1/100 Chance Of Getting A Regular Family Of Three Maushold

Maushold evolves from Tendamaus at level 25 with two possible evolutions: Family of Four Maushold or Family of Three Maushold. Family of Three is a rare evolution and only has a 1% chance of happening. This means, on average, one out of every one hundred Tendamaus evolutions will result in a Family of Three Maushold. These are absurd odds, staggeringly so for players hoping to shiny hunt the rare Family of Three Maushold by evolving Tendamaus.

As a result, while the Shiny Family of Three Maushold is not actually time-locked or region-locked like some of the other Pokemon in this list, the process of farming for it is so incredibly tedious that only the most dedicated Shiny hunters have the patience to actually sit down and grind it out. Even in the latestPokemon Scarlet and Violet, outbreaks are of no help because Maushold can’t spawn in the wild, and the only way to get them is to evolve wild Tendamaus.

5Shiny Diancie

Requires Having Attented Exclusive Non-Shiny Locked Events in Japan or Korea

Diancie is an event-exclusive legendary Pokemon, which already puts it among the rarest Pokemon in the franchise. Shiny Diancie is even harder to obtain because in most events where the Pokemon has been made available, it has been shiny-locked. There have been only two events held in Pokemon history that have given out shiny Diancies. One was in Japan in 2015, and the other in Korea in 2016. Both of these were in-person events, requiring players to physically visit the location to obtain the Pokemon.

What it all boils down to is that only fans who were able to physically visit the Japan or Korea events in-person can boast a legitimate shiny Diancie. There is a finite pool of these Pokemon in circulation, and it’s almost impossible to find them. Players can find shiny Diancies up for trade sometimes, but these are almost definitely hacked or cloned versions of the original.

4Shiny Jirachi

Requires Owning Two Consoles And Physical Copies Of Now-Unavailable Games

To even begin to hunt for Shiny Jirachi, players need a way to find one. Unlike the mainline legendaries, Jirachi is not available in the mainline game. To catch a Jirachi, players will need the following items: aGame Boy Advance, aNintendo GameCube, a Link Cable to connect the GBA to the GameCube, a copy ofPokemon Sapphire/Ruby, and a copy ofPokemon Colosseum Bonus Disk. Without any of these items on hand, there is no way to even start shiny hunting Jirachi.

Once all items are in place, players need to boot up a new save file inPokemon Sapphire/Rubyon the GBA and progress the game until they obtain the Pokedex (8-10 minutes of gameplay). Then, connect the GBA to the GameCube with a Link Cable that is running thePokemon Colosseum Bonus Diskand select the Special Gift option with Jirachi. Check if the Jirachi they obtained was shiny or not. If not, reset the save file and start again. Not only is this process time-consuming and draining, but it’s expensive as well; the items needed to obtain one are no longer sold directly from Nintendo and need to be purchased from a third party, which is not an insignificant hit to the wallet.

3Shiny Team Mystic Lapras

One Single Chance Ever

Back in April of 2023, players were able to complete the quest “A Mystic Hero,” which saw Blanche, from Team Mystic, asking players for help. Upon completing the quest, players got a chance to catch her signature Lapras wearing a Team Mystic Costume. However, they could only complete the quest once per account, and they only had a singular encounter with the Lapras, so that meant that shiny hunting was nearly impossible for players.

The reason that this is such a rare shiny is that it was only available April 13 – July 04, 2025. Players needed to play during this time, and they only had one shot at obtaining this rare shiny. If they didn’t get on and complete the quest, they never would have even gotten the chance to see the Pokemon, let alone have a chance to catch one. Then, they needed that one Lapras to be shiny, which defied all odds.

2Shiny Manaphy

The Pokemon Ranger Egg

to obtain a shiny Manaphy, players will need to work hard. This Pokemon, while available inPokemon Legends: Arceus,it is a pretty rare Pokemon overall (in fact, it is one of the rarest). Players could only get Manaphy in one specific way. To get a Shiny Manaphy, players needed to ownPokemon Diamond & PearlorPokemon Platinum.After obtaining these games, they would need aPokemon Rangergame that hadn’t already been used to get Manaphy.

Each game disc ofPokemon Rangeronly had the ability to give one Manaphy away, meaning if players obtained the Pokemon once from a disc, they could never get it again. After beating the game, the Manaphy Egg can be transferred to the Generation 4 games, where, if players are extremely lucky, they could hatch a shiny manaphy. However, since the egg could only be obtained once, this was a near impossible feat for players.

1Shiny Spinda (At Least Two Identical Ones)

There Are Over Four Billion Patterns

Spinda is a Normal-Type Pokemon from the third Generation of games. The Pokedex entry forPokemon Rubyreads “All the Spinda that exist in the world are said to have utterly unique spot patterns. The shaky, tottering steps of this Pokemon give it the appearance of dancing.” Additionally, all other Pokedex entries mention that there no two Spindas alike, except forPokemon Y,which reads, “The chances of two Spinda having identical spot patterns is less than one in four billion.”

This means that it is nearly impossible for two players to have a Spinda with the exact same pattern, and they are both shiny. Considering the insurmountable odds of having two shiny Spindas being exactly the same, it is safe to say that it istechnicallythe rarest shiny that there ever could be. Players can safely assume that they probably have the only shiny Spinda in existence that looks just like the Spinda they have caught.