Can Blacephalon be Shiny in Pokémon Go?

Rare Pokémon aren’t hard to come by in Pokémon Go if you time things right, though some, like Ultra Beasts, appear less frequently than others. So when a creature like Blacephalon decides to drop from a wormhole, you might be wondering if you can catch a Shiny. 

Shiny Ultra Beasts are among the rarest Pokémon in the franchise, and they are even harder to encounter in Pokémon Go due to how Shiny odds work. Blacephalon is one such example because it has limited availability when it does appear in the game, meaning only certain players have a chance to catch one. But if you want to try and Shiny hunt the Fireworks Pokémon, here’s everything you need to know. 

Can you get Shiny Blacephalon in Pokémon Go?

Blacephalon is another Legendary-adjacent Pokémon that Niantic did not put into the game with its Shiny right away. It first appeared in Pokémon Go on May 23 as part of the Ultra Space Wonders event.

While Ultra Beasts aren’t technically Legendary or Mythical Pokémon, they are about as rare as them in Pokémon Go. Blacephalon, just like most other Ultra Beasts only appears through five-star raids featuring Ultra Wormholes—and only at limited times, typically during events. It also only spawns in the Western Hemisphere, while Stakataka is Eastern Hemisphere-exclusive. 

With the potential this Fire/Ghost-type has as an offensive force, those limitations will require some players to search for specific Remote Raid invites, just like with Celesteela.