Amidst the numerous events and challenges taking place in Pokémon GO, two Shiny Pokémon have been made available in the wild that were previously only accessed through raids. Players are stating that certain Pokémon formerly only available to those who attended Go Fest earlier in the year are now spawning in the wild for all players.
In total, four Pokémon are being reported that were not available before, including the steel/fairy type Mawile, dark type Absol, ice/steel type Alolan Sandshrew, and ice type Alolan Vulpix. Of those, Shiny variants are showing up for Mawile and Absol outside of raid conditions for the first time. They are rare finds, of course, but available everywhere.
Players have also reported finding these through gifts and eggs. Since this seems to have occurred without prior notice from Niantic, it may all be a part of the Ultra Bonuses event that has gone live only recently. The primary focus of these events is Gifting, walking and hatching eggs. Luckily, eggs are now hatching during the event with only half the distance required meaning that players will have the opportunity to incubate and hatch far more than during other events.
Players who seek Shiny Pokémon over all others will also be interested to know that this event allows for region-specific Pokémon to hatch from 7km eggs, with a rare chance to be Shiny. If ever there was a time to grind out, or walk, for egg hatching, this is it.
Following this event, Niantic will release one more wave of Shiny Pokémon beginning September 16. Klink will have its Shiny form available in Raid Battles, and Shiny Patrat and Lillipups will be found in the wild. Finally, what may be considered the most prized Shiny finds of all will be available as well. Mewtwo will return to Raids with a chance to encounter him in Shiny form.
Players who have missed out on the first wave of Shiny Pokémon had better get moving. Shiny forms of Sentreet and Gligar were available in the wild until September 9 and are no longer able to be found.
While Shiny Pokémon are not any stronger than normal ones found in the wild, their rarity is what makes them desired among players. If you really want to “catch them all”, these events are a great chance to get a leg up on other collectors.