How to get Mega Salamance in Pokemon GO, and can it be shiny?

Since its debut in January 2023, many trainers might have wondered how they could get Mega Salamence in Pokemon Go, as well as whether the creature can appear in a shiny capacity. Fortunately, there aren't any secrets to getting Mega Salamence in Niantic's mobile title, and it can appear in its shiny color variation when the right conditions are met.

If you're aiming to get a Mega Salamence or a Shiny Mega Salamence in Pokemon GO, it doesn't hurt to examine how to get this powerful Dragon/Flying-type Mega Evolution.

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How to get Mega Salamence in Pokemon GO

Mega Salamence in the anime (Image via The Pokemon Company)

As a Mega Evolution, Mega Salamence can only be acquired by Mega Evolving a regular Salamence. This requires 300 Mega Energy, which can only be obtained from two aspects of gameplay currently. If you want to collect Mega Energy to Mega Evolve Salamence, you'll need to either defeat Mega Salamence in Mega Raids or complete certain Research Tasks.

Because Mega Salamence is a Mega Evolution, which is a temporary transformation, there is no way to catch a Mega Salamence in the wild or elsewhere. You must have a standard Salamence and provide it the 300 Mega Energy to obtain its Mega Evolution for eight hours before going on cooldown.

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Mega Raid Battles

Every so often, Pokemon GO rotates the bosses seen in Mega Raids, either during ordinary gameplay or due to an event. If Mega Salamence is defeated in a Mega Raid, it will turn into an ordinary Salamence for you to catch and provide you with Mega Energy you can use to initiate its Mega Evolution.

However, defeating Mega Salamence solo or with allies will take a lot of effort and may require multiple Mega Raids to collect 300 Mega Energy to Mega Evolve your newly acquired Salamence. It should be noted that Mega Salamence will return to Pokemon GO's Mega Raids on August 21, 2024, and will remain until September 3, 2024, so preparing by learning Salamence's best counters is recommended.

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Research Tasks

Research Tasks offered during events such as 2024's Pokemon GO Tour: Road to Sinnoh event or 2023's Twinkling Fantasy event will provide Mega Energy for Salamence. This hasn't occurred since the Road to Sinnoh event this year, but Niantic can always bring the research back, so do keep an eye on the event calendar in case Mega Energy is offered via research.

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How to get Shiny Mega Salamence in Pokemon GO

Getting Shiny Mega Salamence in Pokemon GO will require a Shiny Salamence (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Because Mega Salamence can't be encountered like a conventional Pokemon in capture encounters, getting a Shiny Mega Salamence will require obtaining a Shiny Salamence and Mega Evolving it. Fortunately, finding a Shiny Salamence from completing raids is somewhat easier as it has a roughly 1/128 or .78% chance to appear (or higher if Niantic boosts it during an event). While this may sound slim, many other Pocket Monsters have lower shiny rates.

Your best chance at obtaining a Shiny Mega Salamence is to raid either Mega or standard Salamence as much as possible while catching and evolving any Shiny Bagon or Shelgon you find in the wild or elsewhere along the way. If all else fails, you can trade for a Shiny Bagon, Shelgon, or Salamence and then either evolve the Bagon and Shelgon or Mega Evolve Salamence.