Is shiny Cryogonal unavailable in Pokemon GO? (December 2022)

With the winter season finally here, a sharp increase in Ice-type spawns has come to Pokemon GO. As such, many trainers may feel tempted to fill their collection with as many winter-themed creatures as they can. One of the many pocket monsters players may face is the Crystallizing Pokemon, Cryogonal.

With the occasion bringing all sorts of opportunities to catch these creatures, many may want to take things up a notch and aim to fill their storage with rare shiny variants of all the Pokemon that can be encountered during the Winter Holiday event. This would include Cryogonal.

However, Niantic is notorious for releasing these rare forms of the various monsters that populate their mobile title. With this in mind, players may need to do some background research before pursuing a specific shiny form of a creature. So what of Cryogonal? Can players find its rare color-swapped variation?

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Shiny Cryogonal in Pokemon GO: MIA or on the way?

Official artwork for Pokemon GO's Winter Holiday Part 2 event (Image via Niantic)

Sadly, according to Pokemon GO's official website, players cannot find Shiny Cryogonal through any means. The reason why the rare form of the creature is absent is unknown, though it may be reasonable to assume that Niantic wanted to give the spotlight of this year's Winter Holiday event to the Bergmite family of Pokemon.

As avid mobile game players will know, this year's winter event marked the arrival of shiny forms for Bergmite and the Kalosian and Hisuian Avalugg. Veterans of the title will also know that it is unlike Niantic to release such forms for a brand-new species of creature multiple times in a single event.

Scouring every reputable leak source for Pokemon GO, the date Shiny Cryogonal is released on live servers appears to be a long time off. No resource even hints at the sentient snowflake's alternate color making a debut.

However, this can be excused as Cryogonal has never been the center of attention for any event or main series title.

Given the obscure nature of Cryogonal among the Pokemon community, it may not be reasonable to assume that the creature will get its own event to debut its shiny form, like a Community Day, or be the spotlight creature in a seasonal event. Rather, if the pocket monster does appear in Pokemon GO, it will most likely debut for a smaller occurrence like Spotlight Hour for the winter month.

With December's Spotlight Hour creatures already revealed, the soonest this could happen for Cryogonal would be next month, January 2023. However, this is purely speculation, and nothing has come to light regarding this topic. Only time will tell if Niantic intends to release this variant in that time.

In summary, Cryogonal is unavailable in Pokemon GO as of writing. Given that Cryogonal is far from a typical fan favorite, it is unlikely that Niantic will add the rare form of the creature anytime soon. However, if it does debut in the mobile game, it will most likely do so in a lesser event like a Spotlight Hour or Raid Day.