Shiny Pokémon

Shiny Pokémon are an alternately colored variant of a Pokémon. They were first introduced in Pokémon Gold and Silver Versions as a way to demonstrate the new color capabilities of the Game Boy Color. Shiny Pokémon have appeared in every main series Pokémon series game ever since. Encountering one is very rare, the probability being 1 in 4,096 (or an even slimmer chance of 1 in 8,192 in games prior to Generation VI).

The term "Shiny" was initially a term invented by the Pokémon fan community due to the flash of stars that appear when such a Pokémon enters a battle, implying a sheen property to the colors of the Pokémon. The term "Shiny Pokémon" was later officially acknowledged in Pokémon Black and White, but it has been used in the anime and in a few strategy guides before this.

Ken Sugimori uses "shining" (光る) in the title of a piece of artwork featuring a Shiny Charizard.

Pokémon Gold and Silver Versions / Pokémon Crystal Version
In Pokémon Gold and Silver Versions and Pokémon Crystal Version, there are various other ways of increasing the chance of getting a shiny Pokémon. Breeding a Shiny Pokémon with a regular Pokémon has a 1 in 64 chance of producing a shiny Pokémon. The player character can encounter a red Gyarados present in the Lake of Rage. Shiny Pokémon have slightly above-average stats, but this is because their shininess is determined by their determinant values in these games.

In Pokémon Crystal Version, the Egg given to players by the Day-Care people has a 50% chance of hatching a shiny Smoochum, Tyrogue, Elekid, Pichu, Cleffa, Igglybuff, or Magby. The Pokémon that hatches is always a female except for Tyrogue, which is a Pokémon only consisting of males.

Whenever a Shiny Pokémon appears, it gives off a sparkling animation. When playing Pokémon Gold and Silver Versions on Game Boy units, Shiny Pokémon can only be distinguished by their sparkling animation due to the screen being monochromatic.

Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire Versions / Pokémon Emerald Version
In Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire Versions and Pokémon Emerald Version, a Pokémon's shininess is not determined by their genes, but by another value. Unlike the Generation II games, Shiny Pokémon do not have different stats from normal Pokémon. A shiny Zigzagoon was given out from GameStop and EB Games in July 2004. In these games (as well as Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen Versions), the term "Alt. Color" (色違い) appears among the options the player can choose when filling out forms.

Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen Versions
In Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen Versions, some Pokémon have been preset to appear as their alternate color counterparts in the Trainer Tower. Since they are under the control of the player's opponent, they are non-obtainable.

Pokemon Diamond and Pearl Versions / Pokémon Platinum Version
In Pokemon Diamond and Pearl Versions and Pokemon Platinum Version, improving the odds of a Shiny Pokémon with each link (up to 40 links, when the odds are 1 in 200). These games introduces the Masuda method (named after developer Junichi Masuda), in which breeding Pokémon that originated in games of two different languages results in Pokémon Eggs with a 1 in 1,638 chance to contain a Shiny Pokémon.

Pokémon Black and White Versions
Starting with Pokémon Black and White Versions, certain Pokémon do not have any shiny variant. These games are also the first to use the term "Shiny Pokémon" is used. Starting with these games, the Masuda method was lowered to a 1 in 1365 chance of a Shiny Pokémon hatching from a Pokémon Egg.

Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 Versions
In Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 Versions, there is an item called the Shiny Charm that increases the probability of finding Shiny Pokémon. However, this item is only accessible long after completing the game, as the player must have completed the National Pokédex (excluding Mythical Pokémon). The game has three Pokémon that are guaranteed to be shiny.

Pokémon X and Y
In Pokémon X and Y, like in the Generation IV games, the Poké Radar can be used to chain Pokémon of the same species.

Pokémon Sun and Moon
In Pokémon Sun and Moon, the SOS Battle mechanic introduces a method to find Shiny Pokémon. If a wild Pokémon calls allies to help and the ally is continually of the same species in a "chain", the chance that it calls a Shiny Pokémon rises up to a base of 13 in 4096 after the 30th is called, as do the chances of Hidden Ability and perfect IVs, though they are capped at four perfect IVs maximum.

Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon
In Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon's Ultra Warp Ride minigame, by successfully traveling more light-years through the wormhole and entering wormholes with more rings, the player can increase the chance of finding Shiny Pokémon in the Ultra Space Wilds. Generation VII also introduced an upgrade to the Masuda method referred to as Swap Breeding; the game is continually saved and soft-reset until a fast-hatching, dummy Pokémon is hatched shiny within the first thirty attempts, and shininess is transplanted to the new Pokémon hatched in the same position as the dummy was.

Pokémon anime
A number of Shiny (or otherwise differently-colored) Pokémon have been seen in the Pokémon anime. Ash's Noctowl is a Shiny Pokémon.

Other notable trainers with Shiny Pokémon are Jackson, a trainer Ash battles in the Silver Conference, who has a Shiny Magneton, and Winona, the Fortree City Gym Leader, who has a Shiny Swellow. The famous Red Gyarados was caught by Lance when Ash was at the Lake of Rage, and was seen again when Lance appeared during the battle between Groudon and Kyogre. A Shiny Donphan appeared in Hoenn, and a Shiny Magikarp was also seen briefly in a flashback in the episode 'Judgement Day'.

In Johto, the gang encountered a shiny Shuckle. This was technically the second Shiny Pokémon to be seen by all the main characters (with the first being Ash's Noctowl).

In "Bye Bye Butterfree", there is a pink Butterfree. It has been debated whether or not it is shiny as its coloration is different than in-game, and the episode aired before the release of Pokémon Gold and Silver Versions. The game's shining Caterpie line consists of a golden Caterpie, an orange Metapod, and a Butterfree with pink feet and wings. Similarly, on a few occasions, a magenta Kecleon has appeared, but it is not shiny; a shiny Kecleon has a blue stripe, but is still green.

In Hoenn, when Ash, May, Brock and Max find themselves stranded on Dontoe Island, inhabited by Donphan, during mating season, they accidentally injure one, and decide to help it pursue a 'Shiny' brown Donphan. The injured Donphan eventually impresses the female, and they fall in love.

The episode "All That Glitters is Not Gold" featured a golden Sudowoodo, but it is not classified as a Shiny Pokémon.

Pokémon Trading Card Game
In the Pokémon Trading Card Game, there are various "Shining" variants of Pokémon. These Pokémon are always considered "basic". This means they are never considered evolved forms, although their appearance may be based on evolved Pokémon (e.g. Shining Gyarados is a basic Pokémon). They also have a gameplay restriction of only one copy of each Shining Pokémon per deck, whereas normally a player may have up to four copies of any one card in a deck. Another characteristic unique to Shining Pokémon are their attacks, which are powerful, but costly. In the aforementioned Shining Gyarados' case, its first attack, "Outrage", uses 1 "Water energy" card and 2 "Fighting energy" cards. The second attack, "Devastate", uses 2 Water and 2 Fire energy cards; furthermore, Devastate requires 2 Fire energy cards to be discarded. Devastate not only inflicts a base damage of 50, but also deals 10 damage to all the opponent's Pokémon not participating in battle. The player then flips a coin; if the coin lands heads, they can choose and discard an energy card from each opposing Pokémon.

In the Ruby/Sapphire and later expansions "Shining" Pokémon have no longer been released, although they were replaced with "Pokémon ☆" or "Pokémon Star". They are no longer known as "Shining"; instead they have the ☆ symbol to recognize them; their appearance is usually based on their shiny artwork and they are also still considered as basic Pokémon even if they are based on evolved forms. Some (but not all) of their attacks still require different specific types of energies to be used. Pokémon ☆ tend to become more efficient if the player who plays it is at a disadvantage, and are usually very useful in "Sudden Death", where each player only uses one Prize (many Pokémon ☆ become have their attacks enhanced when the opponent only has one Prize left). However, their use in Decks is restricted further; instead of only being able to play one of each Pokémon ☆ (like the old Shining cards), a player can only have one Pokémon ☆ in a deck, even if they are different species. However, a player can still play with both Shining Pokémon and Pokémon ☆ in the same deck since they are not considered the same. Finally, the rarity of Stars in the TCG is also high, usually only including one Pokémon ☆ in an entire booster box of booster packs, making them highly rare and collectible even, regardless of their playability.