The world of Pokemon is home to hundreds of incredible and mysterious creatures. A neat thing about them is that each one has a special shiny version which happens to be a different colored individual who sparkles a bit every time they are released from their PokeBall.
You would assume that each of these special shiny versions are a completely different color or something that leaves a mark, but that's not the case for every Pokemon. Let's now take a look at and rank the worst shiny Pokemon in existence.
Updated April 23, 2022, by Jerrad Wyche: With the ninth generation of Pokemon right around the corner via the upcoming release of Pokemon Scarlet & Violet in late 2022, it's safe to say that fans are excited about all of the new things coming to the series. The starter Pokemon's base forms have been revealed, but it's unclear what they will evolve into, or what their shiny forms will look like. Since the proper introduction of shiny Pokemon variants, it's been one of the more fascinating reveals when it comes to the series adding more than a handful of new creatures to the ever-growing roster of pocket monsters.
20 Blissey
A common design choice with some shiny forms is for the color of said Pokemon to either become more or less vibrant. This is the case for Blissey and is annoying considering its prior form named Chansey has a more drastic change in appearance by comparison.
That being said, the move from one shade of pink to another is also what we see when looking at Blissey's base form named Happiney.
If they really wanted to keep the main pinks of the design they could have changed the accenting white parts in order to make the shiny form of Blissey dynamic in some capacity. Instead, they settled for making one of the worst shiny Pokemon in existence.
19 Munchlax
This entry could honestly be for either Munchlax or its final form Snorlax as they both suffer from the same issue when looking at the shiny versions of both of them. Naturally, these rotund lovable souls sport black fur with accenting patches of beige in various spots. If you happen to come across a shiny Munchlax you might be confused and assume your eyes or the lighting in your location is playing tricks on you.
The black fur it is known for is instead a rich navy blue that feels more like a low-quality black color you'd find on an internet video due to compression. Like with all of the other shiny forms on this list, the variation is so subtle it makes it hard to justify going after the shiny form of this evolutionary line at all.
18 Galarian Farfetch'd
When Galarian Farfetch'd and its new evolution Sirfetch'd were revealed to be a part of Pokemon Sword & Shield the fandom was excited to see one of the few neglected Pokemon from the original 151 finally get some attention. Beggars can't be choosers, but it was a bit of a letdown that the shiny version of Galarian Farfetch'd was underwhelming, to say the least.
Its feathers are simply a darker shade of brown, which makes it feel more intimidating, but that's honestly pretty subjective in and of itself. Shiny Sirfetch'd on the other hand is a dazzling golden shade of yellow and makes use of its color variant.
17 Alolan Vulpix
You know a shiny form is bad when someone can glance at it and not be sure if that's the normal version of a Pokemon or not. That questioning eliminates all of the fun of trying to obtain these rarer color variations. Sure you still have the sparkly entrance animation, but when Alolan Vulpix and its shiny form are almost indistinguishable it feels like a buzzkill for something that should feel anything but that.
Alolan Ninetales leans more into the violet alterations to the white fur, but it still isn't enough to have fans of the evolutionary line struggling over and over in hopes of landing the shiny variant of a regional variant.
16 Flabebe
Not only is Flabebe one of the smallest Pokemon in existence, but it also happens to have one of the smallest changes in terms of its normal and shiny variant forms. Contextually this is a fun detail, but it's likely not the reason why the shiny form is so lackluster. The only real difference is that the bottom half of its tiny body is a charcoal grey instead of a vibrant green.
The only redeeming quality about a shiny Flabebe is that it can evolve into a shiny Florges, which is a satisfying and worthwhile shiny to try and obtain. That means it isn't the literal worst shiny Pokemon, but it's bad enough to make the list.
15 Scyther
Scyther is luckily one of the coolest-looking Pokemon in existence, so even though his shiny form is almost identical to the regular more common coloration it's not that disappointing.
On top of that Scyther happens to evolve into Scizor which is another cool-looking Pokemon as well. It may be a Bug/Flying-type, but at the end of the day, Scyther happens to look like one of the coolest dragon design concepts the world has ever seen. An uninspired shiny form will never take away from that sentiment.
14 Phanpy
Catching a shiny Phampy will most likely have the fortunate trainer feeling a little down as it looks similar to regular Phanpy, but there is hope to be had. The shiny version of Phanpy's evolution, Donphan, sports a distinguishable change in color and is the silver lining to it all.
If you're one of those people who prefer Phanpy over Donphan and simply hand the little elephant an everstone, then maybe don't spend all that time and effort looking for a shiny variant unless you like sparkles and stars.
13 Beartic
Most Ice-type Pokemon tend to be mostly white or lighter shades of blue as those colors help communicate its typing. When it comes to shiny forms you'd assume those design principles should go out the window, but that's not the case for Bearctic.
Despite its base form called Cubchoo having its blue head turn pink in its shiny form, Bearctic is left with the same white coat that now happens to be injected with the smallest amount of blue toning that results in it looking almost the same as its normal coloration.
12 Bidoof
The assumption by many trainers is that the worst a shiny form can be is simply looking the same as the regular form. It turns out that Bidoof is here to prove the world wrong as it showcases what is worse than a shiny Pokemon looking exactly the same as it normally does.
Bidoof shiny coloration takes the browns of its coat and injects an unhealthy amount of orange and yellow leaving it worse for wear. How in the world can a shiny form be uglier and more uninteresting?
11 Glaceon
The Eevee-lutions are very iconic and popular among the Pokemon fandom so you would assume that they would all be treated the same. The truth is that the line is almost cut in half when it comes to shiny forms where one half receive slight changes in color while the other half is given a vibrant and noticeable variation.
Glaceon falls into a camp with Leafeon and others where it looks practically the same. Evolve your shiny Eevee into a Jolteon or Vaporeon and you'll be much more satisfied with the results.
10 Elekid
Elekid is not only representing itself on this list but every other baby Pokemon that also happens to look the same whether it's shiny or not.
The introduction of these pre-evolutions was meant to add another level of cute Pokemon that trainers would fall in love with. It seems the idea started and ended there as most of these critters, including Elekid, are identical to their shiny versions. The poor little electric outlet of a creature evolves into a slightly more orange Electabuzz as well. There's not much to look forward to.
9 Herdier
Herdier is the middle evolution of Generation 5's line of early game dog Pokemon and it happens to be the most similar in design to an actual dog.
Both the base form of the evolutionary line and the final form have noticeable variation in their coloring when it comes to their shiny form, but Herdier seemingly drew the short stick. When it evolves into a shiny Stoutland its upper black coat becomes a dark forest green. It's a real shame that Herdier is stuck with the tan undercoat and the black overcoat of fur.
8 Venusaur
Sometimes instead of keeping the coloring for a shiny the same or on the opposite end going with something extreme, they'll just either slightly darken or lighten the already existing colors.
For Venusaur they figured the best course of action was to make the least desired starter Pokemon final evolution even less desirable. This spot was a toss-up between both Venusaur and Blastoise as they both weren't as lucky as Charizard when it came to having a cool shiny form.
7 Jigglypuff
You'll often hear people talk about their poor luck when it comes to shiny hunting as they begin to question if they'll ever come across one at any point in their Pokemon journeys. You would assume that the starry animation and sound effect would be noticeable, but when you're grinding away and a shiny like Jigglypuff pops up that's the same color, you could easily miss it.
Apparently, there's a hard rule at GameFreak that pink Pokemon must remain that way no matter what.
6 Pikachu
Pikachu lands a spot on this list for worst shinies and there's plenty of reasons why. Like most other shiny Pokemon on this list, its shiny form is just a slightly different color than what you would normally see. It simply sports a slightly darker yellow coat but the coloring is all pretty much the same.
For a character as popular and iconic as Pikachu, it's a shame that it wasn't given a more surprising shiny variant. Also, if you plan on evolving your shiny Pikachu be prepared to also be let down by shiny Raichu's design.
5 Dragonite
Dragonite is a disappointment in a lot of ways. Many fans agree that the drastic change from Dragonair to Dragonite is jarring, and many have come up with redesigns in order to fix this issue. Sometimes, a good shiny form can fix a Pokemon's problems... but sometimes it can make things worse.
Dragonite got stuck with a dull green and deep purple combination, which would really suit a Pokemon like Crobat better. We could have had a bright pink shiny to match Dratini and Dragonair's shiny forms, or even a blue Dragonite to match their non-shiny forms, but such wishes can't always come true.
4 Lucario
These next five Pokemon are where the real disappointment begins, because as frustrating as it is to have a shiny Pokemon that looks absolutely the same as its non-shiny form, can it really compare to a palette that screams "eyesore?" Popular fan-favorite Lucario normally has a sleek blue and black design, adorned with subtle, light yellow fur. Its shiny form, however, takes a decidedly non-subtle approach.
Shiny Lucario sports a neon yellow and black combination akin to a traffic sign or a bumblebee. The light blue color of its middle fur isn't doing it any favors either, clashing heavily with the brightness of the yellow. Shiny Lucario could have been so cool, which makes it a real shame that this is what we got.
3 Groudon
Groudon is an imposing monster of a legendary Pokemon with the ability to expand continents and create land in its own design. Such a creature should have a truly amazing shiny form, but unfortunately that isn't really the case. Groudon is instead stuck with a strange color that can't decide whether it wants to be yellow or green.
A great choice for Groudon could have been a dark brown, light brown, or even a grey color to emulate the earth, the desert, or earth's metals. Kyogre definitely got the better deal, since at least some fish in the ocean have magenta and pink colors.
2 Ferrothorn
Ferrothorn's original color palette is logical: green for Grass-type, silver for Steel-type. A potential shiny form that would still communicate its typing could be an inverted palette, or even darker green vines and a black body.
Game Freak decided to go with...ketchup and mustard, which makes Ferrothorn look like a snack food with sharp edges. The shade of yellow is similar to an NES console that has faded with age, and the red around its eyes is particularly upsetting, mimicking someone who is bleeding or has just cried their eyes out.
1 Bruxish
There are wonders and mysteries that lurk within the planet's oceans that humans haven't even begun to uncover, but we have had the pleasure of seeing many vibrant and colorful coral reef fish. Bruxish is based off the Humuhumu Nukunuku Apua'a (or reef triggerfish), which is Hawaii's state fish.
Bruxish's original design is unique, to say the least, but the lighter pastel colors worked well to imitate coral reef fish one might see while snorkeling. The clashing, neon colors of its shiny form? They make Bruxish look less like a coral reef and more like a clown...or a very bad slice of cheese.