Every Pokémon has a shiny color variant, but they aren’t all available. Each new Pokémon game, starting with Black and White, has had some number of Pokémon that can’t be found in their shiny coloration, otherwise known as a “shiny lock.” These typically include the mascot legendary Pokémon and unique Pokémon forms. And because Mythical Pokémon are almost always specially distributed, their colors are specifically controlled, leaving their shiny availability entirely out of players’ hands. Although many shiny locked Pokémon have the lock lifted in later games, many are still unobtainable even today. Below is a list of the 10 best shiny Pokémon that haven’t been made available to players—at least, not yet.
Top 10 Best Shiny Pokémon You Can’t Get Yet
Honorary Mention: Battle Bond Greninja
Like the standard Greninja, Battle Bond Greninja (otherwise known as “Ash Greninja”) has a fantastic shiny color scheme. It’s exceedingly difficult to make a black-colored shiny look bad. Although it’s a massive shame that this Greninja form’s shiny may never see the light of day, there’s some solace in the fact that regular Greninja’s fantastic shiny can be obtained across the mainline Pokémon games as well as in Pokémon GO.
10: Meloetta
Meloetta is an example of a Mythical Pokémon that has only ever been distributed in its standard colors. The shiny colorations for both its Aria and Pirouette Formes are a bit on the neon side, which isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Still, the way its eyes match with its regular colors’ hair is a nice touch. This is one Mythical Pokémon whose shiny colors are long overdue for a distribution.
9: Wo-Chien
Wo-Chien continues to prove that you can never go wrong with autumn leaves as a shiny color choice for plant-like Pokémon. As one of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s new legendary Pokémon, Wo-Chien’s shiny coloration will likely be made available sooner than some of the other Pokémon on this list. But until that day comes, this color palette is one of the best that is tragically out of players’ reach.
8: Iron Leaves
All of the Future Paradox Pokémon may have opted for the same “everything is chrome in the future” look, but the way I see it, that’s just more of a good thing. As long as it looks good—just like the swaths of cool black-colored shiny Pokémon—I’d say, the more the merrier. And shiny Future Paradox Pokémon definitely look good, with the sleek silver adding to their appropriately futuristic look. This can be incredibly cool when in combination with the colors of the Pokémon’s LED lights, which stay the same across color schemes.
The as-of-yet unobtainable shiny Iron Leaves does this exceedingly well. Its pink LED lights, eyes, and even eye paint look great alongside its silver body and calls back to regular Virizion’s own coloration. Iron Leaves’s shiny may seem like a downgrade compared to the regular Virizion’s brilliant shiny color scheme, but it would actually be quite nice to get what is essentially a second solid shiny color for Virizion—once it’s made available, that is.
7: Keldeo
Keldeo is yet another Mythical Pokémon whose lovely shiny coloration hasn’t been distributed in any way since its first series appearance in Pokémon Black and White. Both its Ordinary and Resolute Formes opt for subdued, almost pastel-like alternatives to its more saturated usual colors. It may not be the flashiest shiny around, but it’s pleasant all the same. As far as gentle, shiny color schemes go, Keldeo’s stands out in the right ways, with the only wrong way being how it still isn’t obtainable after all this time.
6: Cosmoem
It’s no easy task, but Cosmog and Cosmoem’s evolutions, Solgaleo and Lunala, can be caught in their shiny colorations in Pokémon Sword and Shield: The Crown Tundra. Cosmog, on the other hand, is still shiny-locked, meaning it and Cosmoem are stuck in their regular colors for the foreseeable future. While Cosmog’s slight color change has a certain charm, Cosmoem’s shiny coloration is the most disappointing not to have access to. The magenta coloration is lovely and vastly different from its typical blue appearance. It’s easy to forget some middle-stage evolution Pokémon, but when shiny Cosmog finally becomes available, it will be very worth not evolving it all the way into Solgaleo or Lunala.
5: Spectrier
At first blush, shiny Spectrier might not feel too different from its regular appearance, but it’s actually a noticeably different shade of magenta compared to its usual deep blue-purple colors. Spectrier is a great example of how shiny colorations don’t always have to be drastically different to be good. Sometimes the shiny colors just need to be fitting in the same way its normal colors are fitting, but still different enough to be distinguishable from the original. Once the ghostly shiny Spectrier is obtainable, it will be worth getting.
4: Chi-Yu
The fiery fish Chi-Yu already has an appealing design and sleek color scheme, but its shine is on another level. Going from orange to blue flames is a perfect change for its shiny coloration, and the black on the tips of its fins is a small but powerful touch. Shiny Chi-Yu looks absolutely fantastic, and it can’t lose its shiny lock quickly enough.
3: Miraidon
Miraidon is another shiny Future Paradox Pokémon whose chrome coloration works fantastically with its LED lighting. The light blue and neon yellow really capture the perfect electric look, and Miraidon also gets an edge thanks to its main body appearing pure white rather than gray-silver. This is a great shiny in general, and one that’s especially disappointing to not be available yet.
2: Koraidon
Other Past Paradox Pokémon take the shiny coloration of their original Pokémon inspirations, but Koraidon is the sole exception. And thank goodness for that—shiny Cyclizar is perfectly acceptable, but the beige look wouldn’t have the same impact on Koraidon. Instead, shiny Koraidon is a stark black with stunning red and yellow accents. Like its Future Paradox counterpart, Koraidon has an outstanding shiny coloration that will hopefully see its way into players’ collections sooner rather than later.
1: Victini
The best shiny Pokémon that hasn’t been made available yet is shiny Victini. Its bright white fur makes it stand out in an exciting, unique way compared to its regular coloration’s yellow fur. Its bright blue eyes and vivid orange hands, feet, and tops of its ears add a lot of needed contrast to the color scheme, and also give it a connecting element to its regular coloration. Shiny Victini is a fantastic shiny Pokémon overall, and the fact that it hasn’t been obtainable even once since Pokémon Black and White is an immense shame. Victini may be able to bring victory to its Trainer, but the real victory will be when its shiny is finally distributed.
