Why Galarian Slowpoke cannot be Shiny in Pokemon GO

Galarian Slowpoke has had a sudden burst of relevancy due to the news of its evolution, Galarian Slowking, being added to Pokemon GO.

Players have been anticipating Galarian Slowking's addition to Pokemon GO since its inclusion in the main series alongside the release of the Crown Tundra DLC for Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield.

Due to the long-term availability of Slowpoke and its evolutions' shiny variants, many players wonder if these new forms of Slowpoke have their shiny forms currently obtainable in Pokemon GO.

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Pokemon GO: Can Galarian Slowpoke be Shiny?

Galarian Slowpoke as they appear in the main series Pokemon games (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Sadly, for all the collectors in Pokemon GO, Galarian Slowpoke and its evolutions cannot appear shiny as of now. The reason for this lies within how different Pokemon are coded into the game.

Whenever a new Pokemon is added to Pokemon GO, it receives a Pokedex space. While a Pokemon of a distinct regional form, like Alolan Rattata, can share candies with its regular variant, they are still considered different by the game.

For this reason, the files for shiny Slowpoke may be present in the game and even "switched on" in a sense, but the files for shiny Galarian Slowpoke may not be available.

However, dataminers have determined that the shiny variants for the new Slowpoke line exist within Pokemon GO's files, meaning it is only a matter of time before Niantic switches them on and distributes shiny Galarian Slowpoke.

When shiny Galarian Slowpoke is added to Pokemon GO, this is what it will look like (Image via The Pokemon Company)

When the day inevitably does come, there are certain measures players can take to help decrease the time it takes them to find a shiny Pokemon in Pokemon GO.

The first of these measures is using an incense. By utilizing incense, Pokemon will have an increased spawn rate near the player. This indirectly boosts the shiny chance of certain Pokemon by just spawning more of them. Doing so decreases the time it takes players to find a shiny Pokemon, much like how Horde Encounters worked in the sixth generation of Pokemon games.

Another course of action players can take is to use a Lure Module. Lure Modules increase the spawn rate of wild Pokemon around any Pokestop the player attaches it to. In conjunction with the incense, players can drastically decrease the time it takes to find a shiny Pokemon.

While shiny Slowpoke may not be obtainable in Pokemon GO yet, players should not give up their hope of finding one in the near future. Given the player's newfound love for the Psychic-type, Niantic may soon take notice and grant us the opportunity to find a shiny variant through Raids or wild encounters.