Shiny Pokemon have bedazzled millions of fans for almost as long as Pokemon has been a thing. The thrill of ultra-rarity can be intoxicating. Just ask any mobile gacha player. They'll know.
Of course, not all shinies are created equal. Some are sort of hideous if we're being honest here. Others are hardly changed at all, and that's even worse. And yet, there are more than enough amazing Shiny Pokemon around to craft a list like this one, where we focus exclusively on a single color category and revel in the greatness.
And yes, we know black isn't a color per science. But it's totally a fashion choice. Let's respect the runway here.
Updated on July 13, 2022, by Quinton O'Connor: The last time we gave this article a touch-up, neither Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl nor Pokemon Legends: Arceus had entered the picture just yet. Their arrival hasn't moved the needle much per our opinions, but they've opened the door to a fresh look at fanciful Shiny Pokemon nevertheless, with more fans than ever rearing and ready to dedicate the rest of their lives to those tiny, tiny odds.
13 The Tapus
The Tapu quartet, guardians of each of Alola's four islands, all have fairly striking appearances in their traditional form. Their shiny forms take it to the next level. Sure, some of their individuality exits the scene when they all use black as a secondary color, but the newfound unity, and the way black meshes with their primary color, gives the group something of a music band aesthetic that can't really be found elsewhere in the franchise.
12 Furfrou
Furfrou's elegance makes it one of Kalos' regional icons. You'll find Furfrou statues all over that country, and it's no wonder — "high culture" is a very Parisian thing, and Kalos if nothing if not French-inspired. The luxurious white coats of regular Furfrou can be done up in plenty of hairstyles. It's a whole thing.
Shiny Furfrou continues this in the perfect way, by swapping white for black and presenting a gorgeous twist on an already-pretty Po🔯kemon pal. Everything stylists can do to one Furfrou, they can surely do to another, effectively doubling that aforementioned elegance.
11 Dubwool
Ordinarily, Dubwool are white with streaks of black. They take the "everyman's pasture Pokemon" vibe of their pre-evolution, Wooloo, and amp it up with a bit of pizazz. Shiny Dubwool tilts the majority of its fur toward black, reducing the white to roughly the same amount of bodily real estate as black is normally allotted.
&q💧uot;The black sheep" shtick is hard to ignore. If only one would have appeared in a fওlock somewhere in-game so that we could all ogle its uniqueness just like in the bedtime stories.
10 Alcremie
Shiny Alcremie is, perhaps, the burnt version of its delicious whipped-topping cake sibling. Maybe that's unfair; surely, there are baked treats in the world that look similar to this charcoal-hued friend?
They say the happier an Alcremie becomes, the tastiꦆer its cream turns. A happy Shiny Alcr꧂emie, overjoyed by its singular appearance, could potentially produce the yummiest cream of all. A strange sentence, but a true one.
9 Sandygast
Sandygast is the pre-evolved version of Palossand, who features later in this list because it is 🌠simply epic. This little sandcastle Pokemon goes from normal sand-coloring to a spooky shade of black.
Its little spade also goes from red to yellow, and its eyes turn a bright shade of blue. As a Ghost/Ground-type Pokemon, you can bet it's all kinds of creepy, despite its cute appearance. Sandygast's Pokedex entry explains it was a sandcastle left behind by a child that then became possessed. There's a more villainous edge to Shiny Sandygast, so... was the abandonment trauma that much harsher?
Depressing thought.
8 Purrloin
Purrloin 🌄is normally a purple cat-like Pokemon with pink and yellow details, however, rather fitting for its Dark-typing, its Shiny variant goes dark and takes on a black coat with purple and yellow details.
There's just something about purple and black, right? Shiny Purrloins are the perfect choice for witches! Sadly, its evolution, Liepard, does not share the dark tones, switching to a browner shade that doesn't quite click.
7 Wooloo
Wooloo is the pre-evolved form of Dubwool, but it ranks higher on this list as it's far more adorable. Normal Wooloos have black skin and a mass of white wool, but the Shiny version of Wooloo has white skin and lots of fluffy black wool.
But who cares about our basic little written de🐓scription? Just look at that thing. Do you not want ten? Or perhaps ten dozen?
6 Palossand
Nice people hang around beaches for hours perfecting sandcastles. Shiny Palossand is a deep, dark hue, and it tends to be surrounded by ordinary sand. This means that, if Palossand were created by nice people, they would perhaps be not-so-nice, and willing to travel miles just to prove the poinꦺt.
But that's not how Palossand came to be. It evolves from Sandygast, of course, and it's a Ground/Ghost-type just the same. According to the Pokedex, buried beneath it are the bones of the victims it drained its life energy from.
Never go to the beach alone.
5 Manectric
Manectric is an electrically charged canine, who at times looks like tౠhe mascot for the 80s band Devo. They were notorious for sporting these red box-like hats that ca𝓡scaded down their backs in layers like a cake. Maybe you had to be there.
Manectric's a bit on the antisocial side, as numerous Pokedex entries can attest to, and honestly? The black coat better suits the shut-in vibe. It's sharp, too. Fashionable and empathetic.
4 Pumpkaboo
Pumpkaboo's typically got the whole orange thing going on, as befits a pumpkin-based Pokemon. But shove some black-and-purple in there instead, and well, you know what we said earlier about those two colors. They just work. And "it just works" is great for a Ghost-type, since even though the pumpkin look is far less clear, it's never been spookier than Shiny Pumpkaboo.
