Can Keldeo be Shiny in Pokémon Go? 

Pokémon Go is jumping back a few generations to focus on Unova for the first part of its Mythical Wishes season of content to introduce Keldeo to the game. But for many players, this just begs the question: can Keldeo be Shiny? 

Most of the time when a Pokémon is first introduced into Pokémon Go, Niantic doesn’t push it live with the ability to be encountered as a Shiny—meaning it has an alternative color palette to the one you would normally see. This is largely due to how the developers run the game from the content side of things, saving those Shiny Pokémon for special events or future drops to keep players coming back. 

This rule is doubly true for Legendary or Mythical Pokémon, with Keldeo falling under the latter umbrella. 

Can you catch a Shiny Keldeo in Pokémon Go? 

Unfortunately for Shiny hunters, Keldeo won’t be available as a Shiny during its first appearance. The Mythical Pokémon will be introduced in its Ordinary Form to Pokémon Go during the Mythic Blade event from Dec. 6 to 11 as part of a new Special Research story tied to the Mythical Wishes season. 

There will be plenty of Shiny Pokémon you can encounter during that event, including both Terrakion and Virizion in five-star raids, but Keldeo isn’t one of them. 

Just like with most Mythical Pokémon, this just means Niantic is holding it back until the Colt Pokémon makes an eventual return in a future event. Then, Shiny Keldeo should be available to capture once the Pokémon is made available outside of Special Research—potentially when its Resolute Form is also added.