Image via Niantic

Can Tapu Lele be Shiny in Pokémon Go?

The Shiny version is really cool.

Although Tapu Lele might not be the best Pokémon to keep on your roster of battle Pokémon, many players enjoy the hunt for a Shiny version of the Tapu Pokémon since they aren’t that easy to come across. Some players will use it in battles, and others will just show it off to their friends, or try to catch many of them to trade and end up with a stronger, Lucky version of it.

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Tapu Lele made its debut in Pokémon Go less than a year ago, in March 2022. It first began appearing in five-star Raids, and since then, that has been the only way players have been able to encounter it. Even if it had been available as a Shiny, getting it in its alternate colors would have been difficult.

Can Tapu Lele be Shiny in Pokémon Go?

As of the Valentine’s Day 2023 event, Tapu Lele can be caught in its Shiny form. It will be fairly difficult to find it since it’s only available in Raids, meaning players will have to wander around to all of the five-star Raid locations to catch it. But the colors on the Pokémon are so good that it’s hard to resist hunting for it.

After the event, players might have a fairly difficult time finding the Pokémon. There is an ever-changing rotation of five-star Raids in the game, and the Tapu Pokémon aren’t usually in it. This makes it pretty hard to find the Shiny version unless it’s featured in an event.

What does Shiny Tapu Lele look like?

The fact that Shiny Tapu Lele looks so cool in its Shiny form is one of the reasons players may flock out to as many Raids as they can find to get it. The usually pink Tapu Pokémon drastically changes in its Shiny form.

In its original form, Tapu Lele has a pink shell with a black body and darker pink hair. Its shell has pink, white, and darker pink designs on it. In the Shiny version, Tapu Lele’s body and the white in its shell is the only thing that stays the same. The outer shell transforms into black, and the hair goes from a dark pink to a lighter pink, making it one of the coolest Shinies in the entire game.

How to easily get Shiny Tapu Lele in Pokémon Go

That’s just the thing, there is no easy way to get Shiny Tapu Lele in Pokémon Go. Typically, players at least have a shot of certain Pokémon spawning in the wild when it’s not tied to features such as Special Research or Raids. But Tapu Lele is a five-star Raid Pokémon that has to be in rotation for people to be able to catch it.

Events like the Pokémon Go Valentine’s Day event are where players will have the best chance at getting it. They’ll need to make sure they have plenty of Raid Passes since not only will they have to wait for the Raids to spawn in and hatch from Gyms, but they’ll also need a Raid Pass to access it. Although it’s likely not the hardest Pokémon to find Shiny in the game, it is nowhere near the easiest.


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Author
Jessica Scharnagle
Jessica has been an esports and gaming journalist for just over five years. She also teaches esports journalism at Rowan University. Follow her for all things gaming, @JessScharnagle on Twitter.