Glamorous and Grotesque: The Best and Worst of Shiny Pokémon in the Galar Region
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Art by lyd.
Introduction
Ever since shiny Pokémon were introduced in Generation 2, there has been a lot of variety in the colors and designs used over the generations. Each region has had its fair share of glamorous shinies, but they've also had some quite grotesque shinies as well. The recent release of Pokémon Sword & Shield has brought us some new shinies to evaluate, so that's exactly what we will be doing here. Keep in mind that you are welcome to disagree with our selections; you can make your own list to share! Without further ado, let's see how some shiny Pokémon from the Galar region measure up!
The Best
Grimmsnarl
By Estronic
Grimmsnarl with its original colors really captures the dark, sinister feeling expected from a goblin. On the flip side, its shiny form transforms the deep midnight black covering nearly its whole body into pure snow white, though this doesn't mean that it's less intimidating now. In fact, Grimmsnarl's shiny form is arguably as metal and scary as its regular form. Its overall design contributes a lot to that feat; such a stern stance combined with such a blinding white somehow makes Grimmsnarl an incredibly terrifying piece of eye candy. Additionally, the hints of a strange poisonous purple may seem like an odd choice, but it overall contributes to making Grimmsnarl even more intimidating. I must admit, however, that Grimmsnarl's overall design and shape carry the fact that its shiny form is so good, but fortunately such a color palette wasn't wasted on some other Pokémon. It's pretty interesting how Grimmsnarl can go from being a sinister goblin to an eldritch horror with a simple color contrast.
Sobble
By deetah
As soon as the three starters of Generation 8 were revealed, fans were in love with the adorable Sobble. They call themselves the "Sobble Squad." Luckily for all the Sobble lovers out there, it happens to have an adorable shiny—the best out of all three starters. Its shiny is rocking a warm color palette, with a light lavender purple, pink, and blue, all colors that pair together splendidly. Sobble's shiny still gives it that adorable and innocent vibe that makes you want to say "aww" whenever you see it. Out of all the Pokémon, Sobble is a great option to represent these pastel colors, and it does so flawlessly because it's just so cute. It's funny how these colors look pretty bad on Inteleon, however, as you'll see later on. Kinda similar to how Inteleon went south as an evolution from Sobble as well... I'm seeing a pattern here.
Dracovish
By Estronic
Dracovish has a design so ugly that it's beloved by many, giving it a big edge over its fossil brethren, though its shiny form is definitely prettier by virtue of its great color choices. For the most part, Dracovish's shiny form may seem monotone, but the very slight additions of color mixed into the primary ones grant it life, whether or not Dracovish would appreciate staying alive or not. For its head, the grey seems to be mixed with just a dot of sky blue, but that's just enough to keep people's eyes on it, alongside the soothing purple in the mix. For its...body, if you'd like to call it that, the black and brown seem to be a more unique, lighter shade than what you'd be used to, though I can't put my finger on what exactly they did to the colors. Regardless, both of the colors complement each other well with both of them swirled up with the other. I also enjoy how they designed Dracovish's shiny form in a way that still portrays how it's not exactly put together correctly; in fact, you can say that for the other three Galar monstrosities fossil Pokémon, but I personally prefer Dracovish for its incredibly goofy yet charming design. As a funny fan favorite already beforehand, Dracovish's shiny form is the icing on the cake.
Gossifleur
By deetah
Gossifleur's shiny uses all pastel colors, which suit its design very nicely; I'd say even better than in its non-shiny form. Plus, who isn't a fan of cute pastel colors? Its regular form sports colors that are much brighter and bolder, so the pastel pink, green, and slightly blueish-tinted white are a very nice alternative, as they all complement each other extremely well and are pleasing to the eye. Personally, I think that the designs of flower-esque Pokémon allow for a lot of leniency on what colors work well in their shiny forms, as there are just so many different colors that they can flaunt and still look great in; Gossifleur is no exception to this.
Drednaw
By Estronic
How funny is it that Game Freak made Drednaw's shiny form basically an angry real-life turtle? Yeah, its design itself definitely has more cartoon elements than real life, though the color palette obviously takes inspiration from an actual turtle; however, the colors are much more vibrant and saturated, and Drednaw pulls it off fairly well. The swampy yet stylish green makes for a great choice of the main color, something such color has trouble doing, in my opinion. The sunny yellow of its jaw and belly also complement the exaggerated green, alongside the bright orange of its shell and, uh, horn? Yeah. let's call it that. It's interesting too that these colors alone feel like they were created for the sole purpose of being ugly, but they look really good on Drednaw's shiny form. Perhaps it's how the colors are basically exaggerations of the colors on a turtle, and the fact that Drednaw is based on one fits its ideals, or is it magic that these colors just happen to work well together? Either way, Game Freak made the right decisions here.
Honorable Mentions
Dragapult: Without a doubt, Dragapult is one of the most loved Pokémon of Generation 8, if not the most loved. Typically neon colors do not fit well on most Pokémon, but Dragapult manages to pull off this bright neon yellow and make it look really good. Other than that, this shiny does not have any other noticeable changes. In this scenario that's perfectly fine, however, as the neon yellow might not look good with any other color palette anyways.
Sirfetch'd: A fitting golden yellow for a shiny Pokémon design that's already good as gold in its regular form. Sirfetch'd definitely retains its elegance in its shiny form, but I can see how others might think someone just peed on it. Some may also not like how its leek is the same color, but I would be skeptical if a leek was a color other than green and white.
Sandaconda: While gray is typically a boring and dull color, Sandaconda's shiny form pulls it off. Does that mean Sandaconda is boring and dull? Pfft, of course not! With it being a snake, the gray looks very realistic on it. Game Freak didn't have to do anything drastic here, and they didn't; the subtle gray tones work perfectly.
Also, we feel the need to give a mention to shiny Wooloo here for having one of the most creative play on words that we've seen in shiny Pokémon, it being a black sheep!
The Worst
Cinderace
By deetah
Cinderace's shiny palette has to be one of the worst that has ever been created. Its fur is coated with unflattering shades of gray, yellow, and orange, and while they seem like colors that could potentially work well together because they aren't all that crazy, they have caused quite the catastrophe for Cinderace here. The white-on-gray really isn't doing it any favors either. This palette is a prime example of bad contrast. If Game Freak had elected for a much lighter shade of gray while keeping the orange and yellow, perhaps this would have turned out much differently. At least its non-shiny version sports a tracksuit with colors that work together. I don't think any soccer fans will be cheering for Cinderace in this state. No goal!
Inteleon
By Estronic
Things like Inteleon's shiny form keep me up at night. I'm stunned at the fact that Game Freak gets Sobble's shiny form pretty much perfect and then just throws it all away here. The pure white legs and hands are such an eyesore, especially with the ridiculous mash of colors throughout the rest of it. The dark blue looks horrible with the cyan slapped onto Inteleon's belly; just because they share the same base for their color doesn't mean it's guaranteed to look good. It can't get worse though, right? Nah, Game Freak is apparently color blind and spilled bright pink paint on Inteleon in the worse places possible. Like, seriously, you made its eyelids THAT color? Shameful. Inteleon's poor design unfortunately doesn't do it any favors either. Its shiny form quite literally looks like a used tube of toothpaste (dental hygiene is never ugly, though). If a shiny Sobble has to turn into this chaotic mess, then its constant crying is completely justified.
Boltund
By deetah
Boltund's shiny doesn't have many things going for it at all. In fact, it doesn't have anything going for it. Its sunny yellow coat has been tinted a puke-colored greenish-yellow, while the darker part of its coat has had its hue changed from a green tone to a red tone, which nobody really even notices anyways. I'm not sure why Game Freak opted for that green out of everything they could have chosen. I could see Boltund looking fantastic with a light blue or purple coat, or perhaps even a light chestnut brown. There are so many different options that Game Freak had here, and it seems to me that they took the worst one. Finding a shiny Pokémon is supposed to be fun, and nobody likes a puke-colored shiny!
Morgrem
By Estronic
Maybe it's just me and my dislike towards using bright neon colors to design things, but Morgrem's shiny form hurts to look at. It's an interesting case though, as Grimmsnarl basically uses the same colors but ends up being far better. So, what's the deal? The most logical thing I can think of is the fact that the color scheme on Morgrem is more evenly distributed, while the snow white on Grimmsnarl is clearly taking up most of it. Morgrem only has that same white in its edgy hairstyle, which mathematically should at least triple the ugliness of it. Its purple pants aren't helping it at all, and that certain shade of blue is just horrible when used in poor moderation. In the end, Morgrem ends up looking like a teenager that's trying to develop a new branch of emo, hiding the fact that it's failing miserably through a forced smile. At least it has something to look forward to when it evolves.
Snom
By deetah
Ever since Snom, the cute and harmless-looking Pokémon of Gen 8, was revealed, people have been captivated by its adorableness. Unfortunately for Snom and all those who adore it, its shiny is rather lackluster and disappointing. There is barely any noticeable difference in color between its shiny and regular form, with the hue of its body changed to be ever so slightly "duller." We have seen many shinies with only slight hue changes, but Snom takes it to a whole new level. If you happened to stumble upon a shiny Snom in the wild but were somewhat distracted and missed the sparkle as it appeared, you may very easily end up running from it without even noticing! Those who shiny hunt while keeping busy with something else know what I'm talking about. Game Freak couldn't have even made its ice spikes a different color, like maybe an icy purple or darker blue? I am very disappointed, and I know I'm not the only one!
Dishonorable Mentions
Stonjourner: Stonjourner's bland and lazy design is fitting considering its even blander and lazier shiny form. The only real change here is a basic color inverse between grey and, well, a darker grey. I'll cut Game Freak some slack this time, though, as I can't imagine Stonjourner looking any better with literally any other colors in existence.
Alcremie: Alcremie goes from having a cute, bubblegum pink in its normal state to a harsh, dark gray in its shiny form. Gray cream? Seriously, Game Freak? Gray is definitely one of the most unflattering colors they could have used for this design, as it doesn't fit well at all. While Alcremie does have many different color patterns that use many different colors, Game Freak still had an array of color choices they could have used over... gray. How unappetizing!
Galarian Darmanitan: When will Game Freak learn that neon green is a horrible color to use in pretty much any situation ever? Luckily for Galarian Darmanitan, the neon green shiny form curse was merciful this time, ignoring its main design points such as its marvelous forehead. At least you don't notice the change if you squint hard enough.
Conclusion
There you have it, the best and worst shiny Pokémon from the Galar region. Just like any other region, Galar has had its fair share of glamorous and grotesque shinies, from Gossifleur to Cinderace and Drednaw to Inteleon. We hope that you enjoyed reading this article, and happy shiny hunting in Galar!
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