"Why couldn't Nintendo give us one of these?": Pokemon Scarlet and Violet trainer shares color variants of fan-favorite creature

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet fans, while initially reticent toward the design of Gholdengo, have grown to like the silly Steel/Ghost-type creature. However, the 1,000th Pokemon in the national Pokedex has still disappointed some players with its shiny variant, leading one fan with the Reddit username No-Werewolf-2033 to create mock shinies that would have been better. They stated in a post:

"Why coudnt Nintendo give us on[e] of these?"

In the post, No-Werewolf displayed several different color variants of a potential shiny Gholdengo form. Fans were left wondering why Game Freak made the shiny variant of the 1,000th Pokemon so lackluster.

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Pokemon Scarlet and Violet fans discuss Gholdengo's shiny coloration

Why coudnt Nintendo give us on of these?.. byu/No-Werewolf-2033 inPokemonScarletViolet

Although Gholdengo wasn't the first creature to have a disappointing shiny form in the Pocket Monsters series (Gengar and Regice come to mind), Pokemon Scarlet and Violet fans were still baffled by the lack of inspiration its shiny variant seemed to have. It's especially strange, considering how significant this creature was to the National Pokedex.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet trainers wondered openly if Game Freak was averse to changing Gholdengo's body, given that it is themed after the gold coins that its prior evolution, Gimmighoul, hoards. Others reminisced on the Gimmighoul event in-game and lamented that they spent so much time collecting coins just to evolve a shiny Gimmighoul into such a lackluster shiny Gholdengo.

Comment byu/No-Werewolf-2033 from discussion inPokemonScarletViolet

Comment byu/No-Werewolf-2033 from discussion inPokemonScarletViolet

Comment byu/No-Werewolf-2033 from discussion inPokemonScarletViolet

Comment byu/No-Werewolf-2033 from discussion inPokemonScarletViolet

Other Pokemon Scarlet and Violet players pointed out that a shiny could have worked perfectly fine for Gholdengo while keeping its gold theme intact. There are several different types of gold aside from yellow gold, after all, and it likely wouldn't have been too much for a Gholdengo that had a white or rose gold sheen instead.

This led to a question surrounding how the game's artists determine a shiny variant for new Pokemon. In the past, there hadn't seemed to be any real tangible rules for what color a shiny species could be, leaving fans wondering if Game Freak's designers were attempting to stick to some form of convention in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet when it came to shinies.

Comment byu/No-Werewolf-2033 from discussion inPokemonScarletViolet

Comment byu/No-Werewolf-2033 from discussion inPokemonScarletViolet

Comment byu/No-Werewolf-2033 from discussion inPokemonScarletViolet

Comment byu/No-Werewolf-2033 from discussion inPokemonScarletViolet

Meanwhile, a few fans couldn't help themselves and made a few jokes, stating that there's no need for a shiny Gholdengo because the creature is already a glimmering golden Pokemon. It's shining plenty on its own already.

While that brought some levity to the conversation, the consensus among commenters was that Gholdengo's shiny form was a missed opportunity in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.

Unfortunately, it isn't particularly common for Game Freak to alter the shiny variants of Pokemon once they've been released. Creatures like Arbok, Smeargle, and Charizard are prominent examples, but the total number is comparatively low compared to the sheer volume of Pocket Monsters available in the game as of Generation IX. Unfortunately, fans may be stuck with this shiny variant.