Shiny is always better. Always. Join Ashley as we look over the sparkly versions of Pokemon that surpass the original from a design perspective
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00:00 Welcome to WatchMojo and today we're counting down our picks for the greatest shiny Pokémon
00:14 to ever grace the RPG franchise.
00:27 Number 20 – Klawf From its debut in the Pokémon Scarlet and
00:31 Violet trailer, this goofy-looking rock crab captured our hearts and minds.
00:45 After this initial appearance, fans went on a creative rampage in creating the potential
00:50 shiny version of Klawf's usual red coloring, with the highlight being a grey aesthetic.
00:56 However, its official version is far better.
01:00 The primary color switches to a bright sky blue, with its black hairy bits turning off
01:06 white.
01:12 With the blue shell and the underneath beige color remaining the same, Klawf's adorable
01:17 rosy cheeks draw even more attention.
01:19 Plus, with this attention-grabbing color change, spotting the shiny in the wild is far, far
01:26 easier.
01:32 Number 19 – Vikavolt
01:43 Whenever Pokémon shinies and the color green are mentioned, immediately a sense of dread
01:49 fills fans, as it's often one of the hated alternate color schemes for the rare variants.
01:55 Just look at the radioactive Stantler, Usaring, and Espeon.
01:59 Yikes.
02:00 But, when green is used sparingly and well thought out, it can be a smash hit, as with
02:06 Vikavolt – everyone's favorite bug electric type, sorry Galvantula – the glistening
02:12 silver body and red mouth complement its green eyes, mandibles, and detailing perfectly,
02:19 making it look more like a UFO.
02:21 On paper, this color scheme shouldn't work, but in practice, it's awesome.
02:32 Number 18 – Luxray
02:34 Black and blue shades on a Pokémon are a fantastic combination.
02:49 As such, it's hard to create something as cool for its shiny form.
02:54 Enter Luxray.
02:55 All its standard yellow detailing becomes orange, and its blue body changes to yellow.
03:01 Its black fur also gets slightly lighter.
03:04 Somehow, it makes the already menacing Luxray look even more intimidating.
03:09 On top of this, the shiny is a better reflection of its electric typing.
03:14 What makes it even better is that the whole evolutionary line of Shinx and Luxio follows
03:19 the same eye-catching alternate color, making it more aesthetically pleasing for shiny hunting
03:25 collectors.
03:26 Number 17 – Nidoking
03:46 To show the connection between Nidoqueen and Nidoking even more, their respective evolutionary
03:52 lines have their color palettes swapped for their shinies.
03:56 As well as being a great idea, it looks awesome, especially with Gen 1's beloved poison-ground
04:02 purple kaiju.
04:04 From its usual attire, Nidoking's primary colors become a crisp blue, while its inner
04:09 ears change to shades of brown.
04:11 While this steps further away from nodding towards its poison typing, the color change
04:16 is so good and attention-grabbing that it's forgivable.
04:20 Sadly, Nidoking ruined the color-swap shiny connection by becoming sickly green and pink
04:27 instead of purple.
04:29 Shocking.
04:30 Number 16 – Chandelure
04:39 When a fire gives off a blue-purple color, that means it's burning at a much higher
04:44 temperature.
04:45 In the world of Pokémon, the usual red-orange flamed creatures have their shiny fire turned
04:52 blue-purple as a nod to this, like Ember.
04:55 But for Gen 5's Chandelure, its ghostly standard version is already that color.
05:01 So the franchise's artists did the opposite thing for its shiny and turned the flaming
05:07 Chandelure's fire red-orange.
05:10 And it's awesome.
05:12 Other color changes include Chandelure's blue-tinted glass-esque face switched to a
05:17 more green shade, its black coloring becomes slightly darker, and its eyes go from yellow
05:23 to a pink color, making it far more likely to put folks in a hypnotic trance, just like
05:29 its Pokédex states.
05:43 Number 15 – Sir Titan
05:45 2022's Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, with its Gen 9 monsters, had a host of great alternate
06:01 coloring for us to sink our shiny-hungry teeth into.
06:05 And the best of the bunch is the icy terror whale, Sir Titan.
06:09 While its grey inner body color remains the same, the pink detail changes to orange, while
06:15 its mostly white coloring becomes black.
06:18 The orange and black are already complementary to each other.
06:22 Simply turning a light-colored Pokémon into a more villainous dark for its shiny is always
06:28 a big hit with the fans, and Sir Titan is another success story.
06:32 The darker appearance also makes it super easy to spot while traversing over the Glacado
06:37 Mountain, which is handy when looking to complete the living shiny decks.
06:53 Number 14 – Sceptile
06:55 Arguably, Gen 3 was the most difficult addition for fans to agree on, with which is the favorite
07:07 starter.
07:08 Everyone has a different opinion, as shown in Pokémon and Google's 2020 poll, but
07:14 when it comes to its shiny form, Sceptile stands out well above Pink Swamp It and slightly
07:20 darker Blaziken.
07:21 The tree lizard's body goes from grassy green to turquoise, its red accents switch
07:27 to beige, and the bulbs on its back go from yellow to red.
07:32 Shiny Sceptile looks like, if it were to walk past you, a scent of mint would be in the
07:37 air.
07:38 The whole evolutionary line is a triumph in pleasing shiny aesthetics, as both Treecko
07:43 and Grovyle also nail their rare variants.
07:57 Number 13 – Gallade
08:06 When Gallant Gallade was introduced in Gen 4 with its sharp arms, it quickly became a
08:12 fan favorite in the franchise.
08:14 Then when we saw its shiny, we somehow fell in love even more.
08:18 While it remains the same, Gallade's prominent green changes to an eye-pleasing blue, its
08:24 red body spikes morph to orange, and its aqua horn and face details become a mysterious
08:30 grey.
08:31 The delightful color palette continues for its mega form, complete with a dashing darker
08:36 cape.
08:37 It also makes perfect sense for Gallade to have an awesome shiny, considering it's
08:41 also one of the de facto leads for shiny hunters, with its access to false swipes and hypnosis.
08:54 Number 12 – Ho-Oh
09:02 As one of our writers can attest, they spent nearly a year in Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra
09:08 Moon, self-resetting in a wormhole for a shiny Ho-Oh.
09:13 Was it worth it, we hear you think?
09:15 Yes, yes it was.
09:17 The colorful phoenix has one of the most desirable shiny forms for legendaries of all time, simply
09:23 by making it less bright.
09:25 Ho-Oh's typical gold changes to a cool silver, the green detailing becomes red, and the usual
09:31 red is subbed for a yellow, including in its eyes, making its awe-inspiring glare a bit
09:38 more frightening.
09:39 While Ho-Oh has been a fascination for fans since its original anime debut episode, its
09:44 majestic coloring in its shiny is the icing on the feathery cake.
09:59 Number 11 – Haxorus
10:15 With axe-esque mandibles, this dragon-type pseudo-legendary Pokémon is already an intimidating
10:22 sight, but franchise designers wanted to go one step further on the "scary" scale
10:27 with Haxorus' shiny form, and all it took was changing one color.
10:32 Instead of its yellow-green colored body, it was changed to dark gray.
10:37 With that one adaptation, the red tips on its claws and mandibles stand out even more
10:43 and make it look like the beast has just finished a fresh meal.
10:47 Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 knew it had a shiny mammoth, as they featured an in-game
10:53 event where you could catch the dark Haxorus and add it to your collection, alongside a
10:58 shiny Dratini and Gible, depending on which version you had.
11:17 Number 10 – Noctowl
11:23 Fans of the anime will be quick to recognize this winged Pokémon's shiny form, as the
11:28 Noctowl that accompanied Ash through the Johto region had this rare color palette.
11:34 Ash's Noctowl was actually the first official shiny seen in the series, and remains the
11:43 only one ever owned by a main character.
11:46 Its golden body and reddish wings are a notable departure from the original form's subtle
11:52 brown coat.
11:53 However, Ash's Noctowl had much more going for it than its exclusive color scheme.
11:59 Its exceptional intelligence aided it well in key battles.
12:09 Number 9 – Genesect
12:17 In the anime, Team Plasma creates the Genesect Army.
12:21 The leader is a shiny Genesect, which sports an intimidating red finish to match its incredible
12:28 power.
12:29 Living up to its imposing presence, the red Genesect is a ruthless leader who wants to
12:34 avenge the loss of their homeland.
12:41 The red Juggernaut served as the main villain of the 16th Pokémon movie, where it was able
12:46 to hold its own with the likes of Mewtwo.
12:56 Their epic battle shows that this Pokémon not only looks the part, but can also back
13:01 it up.
13:02 Number 8 – Umbreon
13:06 Sometimes the subtle changes can be the most effective.
13:16 This is definitely a case for the fan-favorite evolution's shiny form.
13:21 By simply switching Umbreon's gold rings for a powder blue and changing its eyes to
13:26 yellow, the creators of Pokémon produced a shiny that is universally loved and sought
13:32 after.
13:33 Umbreon's base form is already amazing on its own.
13:39 However, the shiny version has a more sleek and mystical presence.
13:47 Number 7 – Greninja
13:53 When it comes to shiny Pokémon, the rule of thumb is that if you make it edgier, you
13:58 make it cooler.
13:59 Greninja is one of the few lucky enough to get this treatment, as he drops the blue luck
14:04 for a much stealthier black.
14:06 Given the whole ninja theme, the shiny version kind of looks more fitting for the fastest
14:11 water Pokémon in the game.
14:13 But since its base form, Froakie, is a starter Pokémon, getting a shiny version requires
14:19 endless attempts of restarting the game.
14:24 Number 6 – Mega Gengar
14:27 Gengar has always been an overwhelming fan-favorite, even being named as original artist Ken Sugimori's
14:34 favorite Pokémon.
14:38 However, its shiny sprite was always a bit of a disappointment, since its slightly darker
14:47 colour was barely noticeable.
14:49 This was all forgiven in Generation 6, with the introduction of Mega Pokémon.
15:00 Owners of shiny Gengar had their jaws hit the floor when first laying eyes on its mega
15:06 form, as it now sported a bone-chilling white finish.
15:10 The new look was so popular, it even spawned a heap of merchandise.
15:15 Number 5 – Hawlucha
15:21 As is always the case with wrestling, every hero needs a villain.
15:25 That's where Hawlucha's shiny form comes in.
15:28 Its black cape and purple mask create a perfect foil to the original form's bright colour
15:33 scheme.
15:34 This was further demonstrated in the Pokémon anime, where a shiny Hawlucha was pitted against
15:39 Ash's own.
15:47 Its nickname in the episode, fittingly, was "Dark Hawlucha".
15:51 Shiny Hawlucha proves that not all heroes wear capes, but some villains do too.
15:56 Number 4 – Rayquaza
15:58 It's the master of the weather trio that includes Groudon and Kyogre.
16:07 It was voted as Japan's favourite version mascot in 2012, and it was given a completely
16:13 OP mega evolution in Generation 6.
16:21 The special treatment does not stop there, as Rayquaza was also given one of the best
16:27 shiny designs in the whole franchise.
16:30 Its distinctly dark grey gives it an awesome mechanical look.
16:34 Admiring it is fun, but catching one is gonna be a little bit more tricky.
16:46 Number 3 – Gyarados
16:48 Ask 100 Pokémon players who their first shiny was, and odds are that 95 of them will say
16:54 "Gyarados".
17:01 Since it served such a pivotal role in Pokémon Gold and Silver, the gold Gyarados in "The
17:07 Lake of Rage" was the first exposure to shinies for many.
17:17 The ability to capture it after the story arc made red Gyarados so common that owning
17:22 a regular coloured one was soon considered odd.
17:26 The widespread use of a shiny Gyarados led many gamers to start searching for other shiny
17:31 Pokémon, and it's been a staple in the series ever since.
17:41 Number 2 – Metagross
17:50 Although it's always been known for its immense power, Metagross' design was always
17:54 a step behind other pseudo-legendary Pokémon such as Garchomp and Salamence.
18:00 However, while other pseudo-legendary shinies typically fall flat, Metagross' alternate
18:06 look is downright awe-inspiring.
18:14 Ditching the muted blue of the original in favour of a striking gold and silver combo
18:19 gives this metallic quadruped a look that finally matches its strength.
18:24 Metagross mania was eventually noticed by the game creators, who featured a shiny Beldum
18:30 as the first event Pokémon distributed for the Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire versions.
18:58 Number 1 – Charizard
19:00 Oh, come on.
19:06 You saw this one coming.
19:08 The badass black coat and red inner wings had kids across the world offering everything
19:13 they had as trade bait.
19:16 All of this was in pursuit of the fabled black Charizard.
19:20 Eventually creators added fuel to shiny Charizard's hype train, giving the Pokémon's Mega X
19:26 form a black redesign with blue flames.
19:36 The Pokémon Company's knack for giving fans what they want is what places Charizard atop
19:42 the throne of all shiny Pokémon.
19:48 What's the most disappointing shiny Pokémon of all time?
19:55 Garchomp?
19:56 Gengar?
19:57 Sirouledge?
19:58 Armourouge?
19:59 Or something else?
20:00 Let us know in those comments below.
20:16 Thanks for watching.
20:22 (upbeat music)
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