Best tips and tricks to find a Shiny Pokemon in Pokemon GO

In Pokemon GO, players collect plenty of Pocket Monsters on their adventures, but occasionally, they may come across a shiny Pokemon. These species are the same as their standard counterparts except that they have a different color scheme and give off a sparkling effect. The game's community highly covets these rare and visually captivating creatures.

However, since shinies are pretty rare in Pokemon GO, newer trainers may be curious about how they can improve their chances of finding one. Although shiny appearance rates are determined in the game code outside of some events, there are still a few tricks players can use to help their search efforts.

---

Tips and tricks to keep in mind when looking for shinies in Pokemon GO

Activate AR Mode

Pokemon GO's Augmented Reality (AR) Mode is more helpful than players might think for finding shinies (Image via Niantic)

Most Pokemon GO players agree that they don't tend to play with the AR mode very often, but it can be quite helpful for finding shinies in the wild just a little bit faster. This is because when a trainer finds a Pokemon in AR, they can immediately spot the Pokemon and determine if it's shiny or not.

By comparison, playing without the AR mode active results in a short animation every time a player enters a catch encounter with a Pokemon. The difference is only a few seconds, but that time can be better served searching for the next potential shiny.

---

Keep Incense, Lure Modules, and Raid Passes handy

Lure Modules and similar items increase spawns, meaning more opportunities to find a shiny (Image via Niantic)

Any item in Pokemon GO that can increase wild Pokemon spawns is worth utilizing on a shiny hunt, including Incense and Lure Modules. More spawns mean more opportunities to enter an encounter and spot a shiny, so these items are worth investing in.

Meanwhile, it's best to keep as many Raid Passes stocked as possible. Many different 'mons that can be battled in raids can be encountered as a shiny after they're beaten, but sometimes it takes a few raid attempts. Since this is the case, Raid Passes are just as valuable for finding shiny Pokemon in raids as Lure Modules and Incense are for shiny spawns in the wild.

---

Always keep eggs in your incubators

Eggs can provide shiny Pokemon much like other methods (Image via Niantic)

While players are searching for wild 'mons, taking on raids, and conducting research, they should keep their incubators filled with eggs. Just like other facets of Pokemon GO, hatching eggs can yield shinies. Even better, players don't need to worry about using Poke Balls to catch these shinies, as they're simply added to a trainer's collection automatically.

Obviously, blue incubators or Super Incubators are more effective at hatching eggs. If players don't have them, though, they can still do just fine with a standard red incubator as long as it stays stocked with an egg as trainers continue to roam the game world.

---

Keep an eye on upcoming events

Events can vastly improve the chances of finding certain shinies in Pokemon GO (Image via Niantic)

If Pokemon GO players are hunting for a specific shiny, then one of the best ways to find one is to keep an eye on an event surrounding it, particularly those like Community Days and Spotlight Hours. These events can vastly increase the spawn rates of some Pokemon, place them in gym raids regularly, and some events even increase the overall shiny appearance rates for some 'mons.

Although Niantic obviously can't hold events for every shiny Pokemon in the game, trainers searching for certain specimens should definitely keep an eye on the event calendar. They might just get lucky.