5 best shinies to catch in Pokemon GO’s 8th Anniversary Party

Pokemon GO is approaching its eighth anniversary. This is quite the feat in the mobile gaming industry as most titles typically only remain relevant for a couple of years. To celebrate the occasion, developer Niantic is releasing an in-game event that features a lot of different Pocket Monsters.

While most players will use the event as an opportunity to grind for candies or to fill their Pokedex, others have their sights set on the many different types of shiny variants that will be available.

Here are five shiny Pokemon that collectors should keep an eye out for.

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5 rare shiny Pokemon available during Pokemon GO's eighth anniversary

1) Costumed Grimer

Grimer will be featured in a costumed variant during Pokemon GO's anniversary (Image via The Pokemon Company)

As is standard with most of Pokemon GO's events, the game's eighth-anniversary celebration will feature a new costumed variant of an evolutionary line. Grimer and Muk are set to receive costumes this year.

Costumed creatures are held in high regard among collectors as most of them never make a return to the game. Grimer's new costumed form will be available in its shiny variant throughout the event's duration.

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2) Meltan

Meltan evolves into Melmetal, a Mythical Pokemon exclusive to Pokemon GO (Image via The Pokemon Company)

The Mystery Box is an item introduced around the release of the Pokemon Let's GO! games. Opening this box causes Meltan to begin spawning around the player for a limited time. During Pokemon GO's anniversary event, players can open these boxes much more often, and shiny Meltan will have a chance to spawn from them.

Meltan evolves into Melmetal, a very popular Steel-type critter in the Master League tier in Pokemon GO's competitive scene. Having the Pocket Monster's rare variant is worthwhile for both the competitive audience and shiny collectors.

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3) Celebi

Celebi will be available through a $5 Masterwork research ticket (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Celebi is a very popular Mythical Pokemon. With its rare type combination of Grass and Psychic, as well as its iconic ties to time travel, many fans have something to like about the creature. Niantic will be giving players the chance to add one to their collection through the $5 Whispers in the Woods Masterwork ticket.

The Celebi that players encounter after completing this research story is guaranteed to be in its shiny form. Since this is a Masterwork ticket, players have an unlimited amount of time to complete its quest, so they can obtain their Celebi whenever they want.

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4) Mudkip

Mudkip evolves into Swampert, a strong Water and Ground-type Pokemon (Image via Game Freak)

Throughout the anniversary event in Pokemon GO, various Starter Pokemon will begin to spawn on certain days. On June 28 and June 29, the Johto and Hoenn Starters will begin appearing in the wild. During this time, players should try to get their hands on a Mudkip since its evolution is arguably the best Water-type critter in competitive play.

While it will not appear in its shiny form all the time, players may still get lucky enough to encounter one if they have Lure Modules or Incenses. Hunting in rainy weather may also help since Mudkip will receive a boost, given the creature's Water typing.

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5) Costumed Kanto Starters

Costumed varieties of the Kanto Starters will be available at all points of the event in Pokemon GO (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Much like Grimer, the Kanto Starters will be featured in costumed variants during Pokemon GO's anniversary event. These creatures are fan favorites, so seeing them get costumed variants makes a lot of sense, especially considering they were the first starters to ever be available in the mobile game.

If these particular costumed variants can evolve, they will be considerably more valuable among collectors and competitive players. Since these Pocket Monsters can appear in their shiny variants, players will have a reason to keep an eye on the ones that spawn in their area.