There’s something rewarding about encountering and catching a shiny Pokemon. These rare, differently-colored versions of our favorite Pokemon have become the stuff of legends. What used to be a statistical miracle is now a hobby.
Players plot out shiny hunts with odd-altering charms, mass outbreaks, and sandwich boosts, all in the chase of that sparkle and the thrill of flexing their hard-earned shinies.
But not all shinies are created equal. Some, well, are just plain bad. Whether due to lazy color swaps or ridiculous choices, these designs can have their odds raised, and still no one will hunt them.
What Are the Worst Shiny Pokemon Designs?
Pokemon like Scizor, which removes its intimidating red armor for a gross lime-green suit that screams “insect salad.” Gholdengo, whose shiny form is basically a “spot the difference” disaster waiting to happen, or Tandemaus, which changes its belly color by a pixel and expects you to adore it.
If you think that’s bad, buckle up! We’re about to roast the worst shiny designs in Pokemon.
Scizor
Its base crimson red shell is sleek, alarming, and screams swift power. But its shiny form? A vomit lime-green that clashes with everything cool about its original design.
What was once a steel-shelled menace now looks like a Bug/Grass hybrid that forgot its type matchups. It’s like they drained all the danger and replaced it with lime soda acid. This is not the shiny evolution Scyther deserved.
Armorouge and Ceruledge
Their shiny forms only change their eye color. That’s it. No glow-up, no lore-perfect color swap, just a minor optical tweak you’d miss unless you zoom in with a fictional Silph Scope.
Given how small Charcadet is in Paldea’s overworld, hunting one is already a pain. Imagine if the shinies actually swapped their fiery red and ghostly blue armor colors. That would’ve been epic, but no, this is just bad.
Solgaleo
Its original look is regal with white fur and fierce gold-and-black accents. Its shiny form trades all that for a juvenile red that looks like a rejected product mascot.
Who thought a solar deity needed to look like a cherry-flavored candy? The original Solgaleo radiates power. The shiny one looks like it was designed by a toddler with a Crayola obsession.
Elgyem and Beheeyem
These psychic extraterrestrials have a design rooting from the mysterious fourth-kind realm. So what did Game Freak do to make them shiny? They changed the eye color and the finger lights. That’s it.
That’s the whole shiny and it's the visual equivalent of whispering "boo" in a haunted house. Blink and you'll miss it, or don’t blink at all and still miss it.
Sirfetch’d
This Pokemon's supposed to be a noble avian-knight, a proud evolution of Farfetch’d. Its shiny form, though? A mustard-yellow duck that looks like it came from a discount toy bin or bathroom essentials.
What if they had changed the color of its leek sword and shield instead? I mean, those are half the design! A silver blade and golden shield combo could have looked legendary.
Tandemaus
Oh boy. The entire shiny change is on the torso and lower body. That’s right, their pseudo-clothing design goes from a pale blue-grey to a light beige. You have to be closely staring at them to notice it, and they’re tiny to begin with.
It’s one of the most taxing shiny hunts out there. You’ll likely walk past dozens without realizing it, and when you finally spot one, the payoff is so underwhelming you’ll question your entire shiny hunting motivation.
Nidoqueen
Nidoking gets a heartwarming shiny that pays homage to Nidoqueen’s classic blue. A sweet, toxic love story. So surely Nidoqueen returns the favor with a royal violet shade? Nope. She turns green. Like, “just ate a spoiled Berry” green.
It makes her look like a totally unrelated Pokemon. The pair could’ve had a match made in shiny Poison-type heaven, but instead, Nidoqueen got Grinched.
Kommo-o
This proud Dragon/Fighting-type Pokemon has one of the fiercest designs with its sharp scales and battle armor. But the shiny? A radiant green with cotton-candy pink accents.
It looks more like a sickly reptile than a champion of the dragon brawling underground. This isn’t a shiny. It’s a dragon with bad discoloration.
Gholdengo
This living string cheese is already divisive in its base form, but its shiny takes "what changed?" to a whole new level. The only thing that changes is the color of the lines across its body.
It’s like someone took a colored pencil and traced over a few details, then called it a shiny masterpiece. If you placed them alongside each other, even Oak might struggle to tell them apart.
Gengar
One of the most iconic Ghost-types in the Pokemon franchise, but its shiny is barely any different. The difference is a slightly duller purple. That’s it. No spooky glow-ups or ghoulish design changes.
You could stare at both versions for five minutes and still not know which is shiny without the sparkles.
In the end, shiny Pokemon are supposed to be rare treasures, badges of honor for dedicated trainers. But these examples feel more like cruel pranks. These are shiny Pokemon you might want to skip, and your sanity will thank you.
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