The 9 rarest shinies from Go Fest 2023 in Pokémon Go

Some of the harder-to-find shinies during the Pokemon Go Fest were Binacle, Fomantis, Joltik, Wurmple, Foongus, Shellos (both forms), Pawniard, Heracross, and Unown.

The rarity of certain shinies, combined with their small sprites and subtle colors, made it difficult to spot and capture them.

At its core, Pokemon Go Fest is a celebration of rare and shiny Pokemon that appear in abundance during the weekend festivities. Over the years, the event has evolved from a localized gathering to a global phenomenon, bringing together masses of people and Pokemon to enjoy the hunt for shinies.

The shiny rates in Pokemon Go are significantly better than in the main games of the series, with an approximate base shiny rate of about one in 500. For eggs, the shiny rate is about one in 125. Permanently increased shiny rates are one in 64. Lastly, the two easiest-to-find shinies are the Community Day Pokemon (one in 25) and the legendary raid Pokemon (one in 20).

Despite the fantastic shiny rates, an increased chance is by no means a guarantee, as these hard-to-obtain shinies clearly demonstrate.

9 Binacle

Binacle certainly had its time in the spotlight, especially during the water-themed hours on the first day of Go Fest. However, the increased attention didn't necessarily result in shinies, as this hard-to-find barnacle Pokémon was not encountered frequently.

Apart from reprogramming your brain to stop ignoring these creatures ever since they became available as Shinies, capturing this two-headed marine creature was quite a challenge. Although Binacle certainly wasn't extinct, it's more likely that you ended up with a shiny Marill or one of the older Water-type Shinies instead.

8 Fomantis

Fomantis' Shiny was not only difficult to come by, but its sprite was also somewhat small on the map and often got overshadowed by Lapras or another green Pokémon like Carnivine. The challenging Shiny rates alone are already a challenge, but missing out on Shiny checks because you didn't spot the spawn makes things painful.

If you focused exclusively on hunting the Grass-type Pokémon during the hour, you may have had a better chance of finding one compared to others. However, due to its rare spawn rate and small size, it was not easy to get your hands on this Shiny. It's not the rarest Shiny during its type-specific hour, but it's a very close second choice and quite scarce.

7 Joltik

Similar to Fomantis, Joltik is another small Pokémon that eludes more than anything else. Joltik and Fomantis have appeared in relatively equal numbers, and their Shinies also seem to be equally rare. The factor that makes Joltik even trickier than Fomantis is the coloration of its Shiny form.

Both Fomantis and Joltik have hard-to-spot sprites, but Joltik's Shiny form is considerably more subtle and leaves open the possibility of accidentally overlooking it if one is not attentive. The yellow coloration of Joltik sometimes makes it particularly difficult to see on a mobile phone under sunlight, posing real obstacles that you need to overcome during your search.

6 Wurmple

Wurmple was a somewhat unusual case during the GO Fest 2023, as it appeared in roughly equal, if not greater numbers than other wild Pokémon. However, according to reports, the purple caterpillar was even rarer than rare Shiny Pokémon like Fomantis.

Considering that Wurmple's Shiny form has been available for quite some time, and it is not a particularly rare Pokémon, it is strange that it rarely appears in its purple coloration. After years of availability, one would expect Wurmple to be a common Shiny, but it hardly spread its flawless Shiny vibes to anyone.

5 Foongus

Foongus is a triple challenge when it comes to the practical search for Shiny Pokémon. The spawn density of Foongus seemed to be rather scarce during the event, and it is also easy to overlook its sprite and mistake it for the central Pokéball button.

Even when actively searching, one must really stare at their phone and wait for sparks to determine if it is Shiny. The main difference between a regular and a Shiny Foongus lies in the color change of its hat from red to blue. If one doesn't wait for the Shiny animation or catch a glimpse of the back of its hat, they could accidentally run away – just like it happened to some of us.

4 Shellos (East & West)

Both forms of Shellos were present in decent numbers during the Go Fest Celebration, offering everyone the opportunity to obtain a rare Shiny, region-exclusive Pokémon. In terms of rarity, their Shiny rates were likely set to the same level as Fomantis and Joltik, but the trick here was to get one Shiny specimen of each form.

Nothing is more agonizing than missing out on a Shiny pink Shellos because you caught the other Shiny version. Fortunately, trading can alleviate this problem, but finding one Shiny specimen of each during the event period was certainly no easy task.

3 Pawniard

Pawniard could not spawn in the wild but was only available as an Incense spawn during the Pyrite Sands section of Pokémon Go Fest 2023. While it is challenging to obtain a Shiny Pokémon, usually one can find wild spawns by using the in-game Nearby list or third-party maps.

Unfortunately, the spawns of Pawniard were entirely dependent on chance and required two layers of luck. The first layer involved finding a Pawniard spawn, which could often be frustrating, especially after a series of Pachirisu appeared. Even if you were lucky enough to encounter a Pawniard through Incense, you had to hold your breath and hope for a Shiny specimen as an additional stroke of luck.

2 Heracross

Heracross, like Shellos, is a region-exclusive Pokémon that appeared globally as a Shiny in the wild, with its blue form being nearly ubiquitous. Due to its regional status, this Shiny Pokémon was highly coveted and intensely hunted during the weekend, but the chances of finding it were not particularly high.

Heracross was one of the most commonly reported Shiny Pokémon that trainers missed out on, despite their best efforts to find it among other spawns. In addition to its initial rarity, Heracross exhibits a significant visual gender difference, with a heart-shaped horn indicating a female specimen.

Finding a Shiny specimen was a challenge, but for those who wanted both, it was nearly impossible to find a set of two.

1 Unown

Shiny Unown A, D, I, M, N, and O were available during GO Fest 2023, marking the global debut of Shiny Unown M. Only Go Fest ticket holders who used Incense would encounter the Unown spawns at all, creating a similar situation to the Shiny spawn dilemma of Pawniard.

The spawns of Unown were about as rare as those of Pawniard, and you had no control over which letter would appear. Therefore, obtaining a shiny Unown M was nearly impossible due to the many layers of the random number generator (RNG) that had to align correctly in order to get your shiny Unown M.

If you are one of the fortunate few who have one, treasure it.