By Emily
Following in the footsteps of a previous generation of many good and unique shiny Pokemon, the fourth generation hit quite a few flat notes. No Pokemon from the Sinnoh region was graced with a shiny event distribution, and for quite a number of monsters the color change is barely a few shades different. However, like with every generation, some do stand out and are very popular for one reason or another. Starting with legendaries, both Giratina and Cresselia have very unusual shiny colorations, and are two of my personal favorites.
Cresselia’s many blue colors and velvet purple give it more of a night time look, which of course is what the Lunar Pokemon should have. While Giratina’s yellow body and blue accents may make it look a bit less fierce than its normal form, the silver spikes and headpiece pull the look together into something original. When Giratina is in its Origin forme, the silver and blue really stand out on its more streamlined body, especially since the wings are much darker compared to its altered forme.
For the final Pokemon of the Sinnoh Pokedex, being a bright school bus yellow doesn’t exactly lend you any hint of power or greatness. Poor Arceus has a very bland shiny color which almost blends the gold accents on its body, resulting in one nearly monochrome character. At least for this character, adding a little color is as easy as making it hold an elemental plate.
With mythical and legendary Pokemon aside, some non-legendaries have very good shiny colors, like Gallade. The mix of blue and pink was great for the third generation Ralts line, and it hasn’t lost any of its appeal with Gallade. Adding silver to the spike on its head helps to show off the blue, though the colors do blend a little bit. Overall Gallade easily lands within the top ten shiny Pokemon from this generation, and possibly even the top five.
Gliscor gives it a good run for its money though, especially since the blue of its body contrasts especially well with its black wings. Of the Pokemon whose entire evolution line stays within the fourth generation, only two have particularly interesting shiny forms. Drapion’s mix of reds makes it look much angrier and fiercer than its normal purple colors.
With Lucario, the gold coloration gives it a much nicer look than the regular blue, even though gold is a somewhat common shiny color. Many other Pokemon from this region have shiny forms that are far too similar to their regular forms, with Gabite and Garchomp possibly being the worst offenders. Being just a smidgen darker does not look good on a Pokemon in general, and only with Platinum is the difference somewhat noticeable.
Froslass also has this problem, but with her the color issue is reversed; the shiny colors are only a little bit lighter than normal. What’s even worse for this Pokemon is that she is evolved from Snorunt, who has an excellent shiny color scheme. Following a generation that was crammed full of great shiny characters, it was almost expected for the Pokemon from the Sinnoh region to have somewhat lackluster shiny forms. But with Pokemon Black and White, players have another opportunity to discover the Unova region’s new shiny Pokemon.
Tags: Cresselia, Drapion, Gallade, Giratina, Lucario, Ralts, Sinnoh Region