Can Zorua and Zoroark be Shiny in Pokémon Go?

One of the most popular Pokémon species among Dark-type fans is Zorua, along with its evolution Zoroark. The Tricky Fox from Unova was first released with Generation V of the main series games, Pokémon Black and White, and got a Hisuian form in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Hisuian Zoroark is also featured in the animated mini-series Pokémon: Hisuian Snow, which launched in mid-2022.

Fans could feel the absence of these two foxes in Pokémon Go, especially when the first Unovan species were released in the game in 2019. Niantic finally added them as surprise spawns in October 2022—though a bug cut the party short. It seems like Zorua appears as a replica of your Buddy Pokémon, then transforms once caught, in a similar manner to Ditto. That is the mobile game’s spin on the Tricky Fox’s shapeshifting.

Now that they were briefly added to the game and should be returning soon, you might be wondering if a Shiny variant is also on the way.

Can you catch Shiny Zorua in Pokémon Go?

Unfortunately, Niantic is sticking to its regular strategy for this one. New species added to Pokémon Go tend to not have a Shiny variant available at launch as a way to make that content last longer. The idea is probably to not overwhelm players and make sure developers give them something new to look forward to with each event.

Zorua and Zoroark were released without their Shiny forms for now, but this is bound to change in the future.

Can Hisuian Zorua and Zoroark be Shiny in Pokémon Go?

The answer for these two specific variants is easier: the Hisuian forms of Zorua and Zoroark are not available in Pokémon Go yet. Niantic still hasn’t revealed any information about their launch because the original Zorua and Zoroark were only released recently, which means a Shiny Hisuian version is even more distant.