Pokémon Go got shiny Pokémon in a recent update, and there are still many questions about them that need answering. Thankfully, the experts at The Silph Road have compiled an FAQ detailing everything we know so far. These findings may change, but, given a few hours, these are the latest conclusions.

What’s A Shiny Pokémon?

Shiny Pokémon are different-colored versions of existing monsters. They aren’t any more or less powerful, they’re just harder to find.

Which Pokémon Are Shiny?

As it stands right now, Magikarp and its evolved form Gyarados are the only shiny monsters in the game. If you catch a shiny Magickarp, it evolves into a shiny Gyarados. Because shiny Pokémon made their debut during this week’s Water Festival event, you might want to keep an eye out for other water types with uncommon colors.

How Do I Find A Shiny Pokémon?

Shiny Pokémon don’t appear in the Nearby screen with different colors, so they can be very hard to find. As more shiny Pokémon get discovered, the hunting strategy remains the same. You’ll have to seek out spawns of Pokémon with shiny variants and hope you get lucky. Items like Increases and Lures will also improve your odds of finding one. If you have a Pokémon Go Plus, you can catch a shiny using that too.

How Will I Know If I Have A Shiny Pokémon?

You’ll see a little shine marker next to its gender in its Pokédex entry. The color variation will even show up in your journal. If you try to transfer it, a warning will display telling you the selected monster is shiny.

Shiny Pokémon were introduced alongside Pokémon Go update 0.59.1 on Android and update 1.29.1 on iOS. However, even those without the latest patch have been able to encounter them.

How do you feel about shiny Pokémon coming to Pokémon Go? Do you think we’ll see more beyond Magikarp soon? Tell us in the comments section!

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