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

Zubat Spotlight Hour Offers A Chance At Shiny Zubat In Pokémon GO

Who would have ever thought that Zubat, infamously known as a pest spawn in the main series of Pokémon games, would become one of the most coveted creatures in Pokémon GO? Players of the classic early generations of Pokémon will remember Zubat, the blind bat Pokémon, as the nuisance that would haunt them when walking into any cave. Players would rarely be able to take three steps in a cave before their screen would flash, indicating an encounter with yet another Zubat. The Pokémon was so ubiquitously known as a plague upon trainers that UrbanDictionary's main entry for the word "Zubat" describes it as meaning "An annoying person who keeps getting in your way when you are trying to do something or go somewhere." Ouch.

That reputation, however, has not carried over into Pokémon GO. As Niantic's hit mobile game made more and more generations of Pokémon available to players, some of the O.G. Pokémon, especially Zubat, became harder to find. Even during events where Zubat was highlighted, such as last year's debut Team GO Rocket event, which debuted the coveted shiny versions of Ekans, Koffing, Sneasel, and Zubat. While the other three have remained common spawns, Zubat is known as one of the rarest shinies in the game. Now, Niantic is giving players a chance to catch the elusive green Shiny Zubat in Pokémon GO with Zubat Spotlight Hour tonight from 6PM – 7PM, local time.

Pokémon GO Spotlight Hour events, which have previously featured Onix, Spoink, Pidgey, Taillow, and more, replace most of the game's spawns with the chosen Pokémon. With increased spawns of one specific Pokémon, trainers are able to focus on hunting that specific creature for a full hour, sometimes encountering more than 100 of one species. While Niantic has never published data on the shiny rates of Pokémon in the game, researchers over at the Silph Road calculate the standard, unboosted shiny rate at "roughly 1 in 450." These odds make the chance of attaining a Shiny Zubat during normal gameplay highly unlikely, which makes Zubat Spotlight Hour perhaps the most anticipated of all previous Pokémon GO Spotlight Hours.

In addition to increased Zubat spawns, the Spotlight Hour will feature double XP for trainers when they evolve Pokémon during the event. For those looking to get to level 40, currently, the highest level featured in the game, this will be a great chance to evolve random catches and reap the increased rewards. Zubat Spotlight Hour starts at 6PM. Good luck to those trainers playing, may you get your Shiny Zubat, and if you have any stress-flashbacks of your time spent lost in those dark caves back in the early days of Pokémon, just know that you aren't alone.

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