The Galarian regional variants of the legendary bird trio – Articuno, Moltres and Zapdos – are three of the hardest Pokemon to catch in Pokémon GO. Naturally, this makes them some of the most coveted additions to any trainer’s collection, and they’re about to become even more desirable as their shiny variants finally make their Pokémon GO Debut during the Galarian Expedition event.
As well as being difficult to find on the map, the Galarian Legendary Birds also have incredibly low capture rates. Top all this off with sky-high escape rates, and chances are you’ll barely be able to land a single Poke Ball on them before they run away. Whether you have caught all three legendary or you have yet to find one, the arrival of their shiny forms provides another incentive to make a daily adventure incense and go bird-watching.
How to Find Shiny Galarian Birds in Pokémon GO
Make the most of your daily adventure incense
The only way to meet the Galarian legendary birds in Pokémon GO is to Use a Daily Adventure Incense. This can be found on the right side of the overworld map screen. Daily Adventure Incense will remain active for 15 minutes and can only be used once per day, so make sure you time your use wisely. The best time to use it would be when you will be on the move for at least 15 minutes, such as a commute to work or a walk around the neighborhood.
Although Daily Adventure Incense only lasts for 15 minutes, you can actually Extend this If you have an Origin form Dialga That knows the attack roar of time. This attack doubles as an adventure effect outside of battle that can pause the timer of things like incense for up to two hours, as long as you have enough candy and stardust.
Once you have consumed your daily adventure incense, it’s time to go out exploring. Based on my own experience using Daily Adventure Incense, You will get the best results by going as far as possible without stopping. Just like regular incense, you won’t get many spawns if you stay stationary. Try and plan a route that allows you to walk in a straight line, so you’ll cover as much ground as possible without going backwards on yourself.
As for the shiny variants of the Galarian legendary birds, they will make theirs Pokémon GO Debut during the Galarian Expedition event on Friday, October 4, 2024, 10:00 a.m. local time. Every Galarian Legendary Bird you encounter after this time has the potential to be Shiny, although the chances of finding Shiny Pokemon in general are very low. You will know if a Gallery Bird is shiny as soon as you enter the capture screen, as a shiny symbol will appear next to its name and their color schemes will be different.
How to catch Shiny Galarian Birds in Pokémon GO
Use Golden Razz Berries and land excellent throws
Finding a Galarian Bird is only half the battle, as you’ll need to figure out how to catch it. If you’re lucky enough to encounter a Shiny Gallery Bird, the good news is that they won’t escape the capture screen. This means you can throw as many Poke Balls as you want in an attempt to catch your Gallery Bird, without worrying about them running away like the non-shiny variants always do.
However, with such low capture rates, it is highly likely that you will run out of Poke Balls before you successfully capture them. In this case, you will have to run away and leave the meeting. To increase your chances of catching a galleon bird, throw ultra balls and remember Use Golden Razz Berries Or silver pinup berries before launching them. Landing a Excellent curveball throw Will also boost your chances of catching it.
Excellent curveball throws are tricky to pull off, so if you’re struggling to do so, focus on landing great curveball throws instead. These are a little easier to achieve and will still give you a boosted capture rate. Anything is better than missing the catch ring completely!
Unless you’re incredibly lucky, the only way you’ll be able to catch a Gallery Legendary bird is to Use a master ball. These are rare Poké Balls that offer a guaranteed catch of any Pokémon, but can only be unlocked by completing long-winded Special Research or Masterwork Research quests. There are only a few opportunities to get a master ball Pokémon GO Until now, and if you missed out on claiming these, there is no way to go back and get them now.
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Fortunately, there will be another chance to get a Master Ball during the Galarian Expedition event, where you can purchase a ticket for the Masterwork Research: Master Ball quest from the game store. This will cost $7.99 (or the equivalent in your local currency) and will reward you with a single Master Ball when it is completed. Be aware that Masterwork Research Quests are intended to be completed over many weeks, so there won’t be an instant reward.
What do the shiny galarian birds look like?
Back to their original Kanto color schemes
While the standard Galarian Legendary Birds have drastically different designs and color schemes from the original trio that appeared in the Kanto region, the shiny variants adopt the same color scheme as their OG counterparts. This means Shiny Galarian Articuno gets an icy blue makeover, Shiny Galarian Moltres is fiery orange, and Shiny Galarian Zapdos gets an electric yellow color scheme.
You can see the comparisons between the shiny and non-shiny Gallery Legendary Birds in the image gallery above. Encountering any version of the three rare Pokemon will be an exciting moment, but finding a shiny variant will no doubt top any Pokémon GO Player’s dream moments. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for a shiny Galarian Articuno encounter with my regular one.