How to get shiny Unown U in Pokemon GO

With Pokemon GO set to begin the first part of its Ultra Unlock event, Unown U has appeared as a raid boss.

For players unfamiliar with Unown, these Pokemon were introduced in Generation II of Pokemon with Pokemon Gold, Silver, and Crystal. They were found after the player finished the puzzle of the Ruins of Alph, whereupon the Unown became active and began to inhabit the ruins.

Previously, they were just thought to be strange hieroglyphics on the walls of Alph's ruins, but they are actually Pokemon reflecting the English alphabet. As of Generation III, Unown have 26 different forms reflecting the letters of the alphabet, as well as two additional forms for exclamation points and question marks.

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Pokemon GO: Catching shiny Unown U during the Ultra Unlock event

Image via Niantic

Since Unown U will be appearing as a raid boss for the first part of Ultra Unlock, this presents Pokemon GO players with a great opportunity to possibly catch its shiny form. The event begins in earnest on July 23, 2021 at 10:00am until August 3, 2021 at 8:00pm local time.

At the moment, and according to Niantic's announcement, it is unclear if Unown U will be catchable in other ways during the event. With that being said, players will need to focus on raiding Unown U in order to have the chance of acquiring its shiny form.

Since there is no way to guarantee obtaining a shiny, players will just need to keep raiding and beating Unown U in gyms across the Pokemon GO map until its shiny form presents itself after battle.

In order to defeat this raid boss quickly, trainers will want to use Pokemon proficient with Bug-, Dark-, and Ghost-type attacks. Since Unown is weak to these elements, they'll assist in dealing extra damage and taking it out quickly, since it's a Psychic-type Pokemon. Bringing a friend or two along for the fight can speed things up even more.

When finding this particular shiny, it just becomes a matter of lather, rinse, repeat. Be sure to stock up on plenty of raid passes and keep battering Unown U with all your battle party can muster.

More data needs to be gathered to ascertain this Pokemon's exact shiny appearance percentage, but it is likely quite small, like most of the other percentages. Determined trainers will likely be rewarded for their dedication battling this Pokemon GO raid boss, although shinies are never guaranteed.

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