Can Steelix be shiny in Pokemon GO? (January 2023)

With Pokemon GO's New Year event, players have been given some new Raid Bosses to challenge. Although the 1-star Raid Bosses may not be much of a challenge, they give trainers a way to obtain some otherwise rare creatures for their collection.

Following the game's formula, players have the typical 1-star, 2-star, and 5-star Raid Bosses, but this rotation also features a new Mega Raid Boss. This type of raid pits players against a monstrously powerful Mega Evolved Pokemon. For the current rotation, players can challenge Mega Steelix.

As many may know, upon defeating a Raid Boss, players will be given a chance to catch it. This encounter can sometimes be with the shiny version of the Pokemon. Shiny Pokemon are a rare variant that sport a different color scheme.

Thankfully, Niantic has confirmed on the official Pokemon GO website that players will be able to find Shiny Steelix by defeating the Mega Steelix Raid Boss. With this in mind, they can begin to collect the resources to hunt for a Shiny Pokemon through Raid Battles.

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Tips for finding Shiny Steelix in Pokemon GO

Steelix is weak to Fighting, Ground, Fire, and Water-type attacks (Image via The Pokemon Company)

The first thing players will need is an abundance of Raid Passes. One Raid Pass is required for every attempt of a Raid Battle in Pokemon GO. This means that even if players are not successful, they will still consume their Raid Pass. One Raid Pass can be acquired for free every day by spinning the photo disk at any Gym location.

If players want to have a bunch of Raid Passes right away, they purchase them from the in-app store for roughly $1. As players can imagine, this will be rather costly as Shiny Pokemon can be quite hard to come by in the game. In fact, they may need to buy hundreds of Raid Pass before they encounter a Shiny Steelix.

Players will also need a lot of medical supplies if they intend on challenging multiple raids. Max Potions and Max Revives can be purchased from Pokemon GO's in-app store ($1 for 10). These items can also be obtained from Pokestops, though much less consistently.

If players intend on challenging multiple raids, they're going to need some strong Pokemon on their team. With this in mind, they will need to know what creatures they can bring to counter Mega Steelix.

Steelix is a Ground and Steel-type Pokemon, which means it is weak to Fighting, Ground, Fire, and Water-type attacks. Some of the top picks for this raid are those that specialize in attacking while also having an elemental type advantage. Lucario, Terrakion, and Reshiram are all great choices, with Reshiram being easy to come by at the moment, thanks to it being the current 5-star Raid Boss players can fight.