Posted in: Games, Mobile Games, Pokémon GO | Tagged: Niantic, pokemon, pokemon go

Is Shiny Galarian Ponyta Missing In Pokémon GO?

Has Shiny Galarian Ponyta been removed from Pokémon GO? What began as a Reddit discussion has led to a response and resolution from Niantic.

Here's how it began. On the popular r/TheSilphRoad subReddit, where Pokémon GO players discuss news, datamines, and research relevant to the game, user u/SupportGoddess posted the following:

If you have proof of a shiny Galarian Ponyta (claimed and) caught from a research breakthrough after May 18, 2021 10:00 a.m. please come forth with pictures (preferably with journal entry showing the research breakthrough claim)! Last known valid reports are from May 17th. […] The pretty pony is still available from the research breakthrough and probably should have boosted rates so no evidence of a shiny strongly suggests it's erroneously been turned off. Even if it's full odds, there should be enough evidence by now, but there is none.

Indeed, no reports came in. This led to the confirmation that Shiny capabilities had indeed been turned off for this Pokémon. However, that was not supposed to be the case. Now, it is very unusual for Shinies to be removed from the game after their introduction, with the only examples being mistaken releases (Shiny Abra at GO Fest pre-Community Day) and Shinies obtained through specific events only (Shiny Meltan, Smeargle, and Unown). Not only does Galarian Ponyta not fit the bill, but Niantic had also previously said it would remain Shiny after the event.

It was clear that a mistake had been made, and trainers had been claiming their Galarian Ponyta Research Boxes for a week thinking there was a Shiny chance.

On May 24th, confirmation came in that Shiny Galarian Ponyta was appearing again. It is once again safe to claim your Research Breakthrough. On top of that, Niantic has updated their Known Issues pages with confirmation that there will be more ways to encounter Galarian Ponyta soon to make up for this mistake. They wrote:

Galarian Ponyta could not be encountered in its Shiny form. Resolved. To make up for this issue, we will be adding additional opportunities to encounter Galarian Ponyta (TBA).

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