Will shiny Darumaka be present in Pokemon GO Lunar New Year 2023?

With the Lunar New Year festivities on the horizon in Pokemon GO, Niantic has decided to host its own celebration by giving trainers a chance to catch some holiday-appropriate Pokemon. One of the many creatures players can anticipate encountering throughout the holiday is Darumaka, the Fire-type from the Unova region.

Being able to more easily catch Darumaka, which evolves into one of the best Fire-type creatures in the game, is an attraction in itself. However, players may want to up the ante and try to obtain something a bit more unique: its shiny variant.

With the concept of shiny Pokemon remaining consistent throughout every aspect of the franchise, it shouldn’t be surprising that some of these altered color pallets appear in Pokemon GO.

However, not every Pocket Monster has a shiny variant in the mobile game. So what about Darumaka? Can players find its shiny form?

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Players will be able to find shiny Darumaka in Pokemon GO Lunar New Year 2023

Darumaka as it appears in the online series, Poketoon (Image via The Pokemon Company)

As confirmed by Niantic on the official Pokemon GO website, players will be able to find a shiny Darumaka during the Lunar New Year event. However, there are many different ways that they can go about encountering it.

The first and most common way that trainers can encounter a Darumaka is through the wild. Since Darumaka is a pure Fire-type Pokemon, it has the highest chance of spawning in areas currently experiencing sunny weather. Once players find an area with such conditions to hunt in, Lure Modules should be planted at nearby Pokestops to set up a patrol path.

To complement the hunt for a wild Darumaka, trainers can also try their luck at hatching one out of an egg. The seven-kilometer eggs that players receive after opening gifts from other gamers have a chance to contain both the standard Unovan version of Darumaka as well as the Galarian variant.

Lucky trainers will also be able to earn encounters with a Darumaka through both field and timed research tasks in Pokemon GO. These Darumaka also have a chance to be shiny. Since these challenges are never really difficult, players should have no problem completing them. However, other creatures can be encountered through these quests, so using them to grind can be inconsistent.

Finally, trainers can also encounter Darumaka and Galarian Darumaka in Pokemon GO through Raid Battles. Both variants of Darumaka are featured in the current One-Star Raid Battle pool and can be found in their shiny forms after being defeated. Since they are One-Star Bosses, most players should have no problem cleaving through them.

In summary, not only can players find shiny Darumaka in Pokemon GO, but they have multiple ways of doing so. Thanks to all the different ways Darumaka can be encountered during the Lunar New Year event, now is the best time for trainers to get their hands on this particular shiny Pocket Monster.

The Lunar New Year event will begin on Thursday, January 19, 2023, at 10:00 am local time. It will end on Monday, January 23, 2023, at 8:00 pm local time.