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Graphic: Julia Lee/Polygon | Source images: Game Freak/Nintendo, The Pokémon Company
Julia Lee (she/her) is a guides producer, writing guides for games like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Pokémon Go. She helped launch the Rift Herald in 2016.
Pikachu (in a party hat), the mouse Pokémon from Kanto, can be found in the wild in Pokémon Go during special events. Yes, party hat Pikachu can be shiny in Pokémon Go!
Graphic: Julia Lee/Polygon | Source images: Niantic
These shinies are great, even if they don’t have meta relevance. It’s pretty rare nowadays to get a hat-wearing Pokémon that can actually evolve, so know that you can totally evolve your party hat Pikachu into a party hat Raichu.
What is the shiny rate for party hat Pikachu in Pokémon Go?
As per old research by the now-defunct website The Silph Road (via Wayback Machine), the shiny rate for Pokémon on a regular day is approximately one in 500.
We’re not sure if Pikachu (party hat) is “permaboosted” or not as part of the 9th Anniversary event, but previous years have not had boosted shiny rates on party hat Pikachu (according to this old The Silph Road post via Wayback Machine).
What can I do to attract more shiny Pokémon?
Not much, unfortunately. It appears to be random chance. Shiny Pokémon catch rates are set by developer Niantic, and they are typically only boosted during special events like Community Days or Safari Zones, or in Legendary Raids. There are no consumable items that boost shiny Pokémon rates.
Where can I find a list of available shiny Pokémon?
LeekDuck keeps a list of currently available shiny Pokémon. It’s a helpful visual guide that illustrates what all of the existing shiny Pokémon look like.
For more tips, check out Polygon’s Pokémon Go guides.
