Shiny Pokemon variants were first introduced into Pokemon lore by Game Freak with the release of Pokemon Gold and Silver on the Game Boy Colour in 2001.
Although shinies are neither stronger nor better in any way than regular Pokemon, they are extremely rare to find, and prized possessions for anyone who catches them.
Pokemon Go creators Niantic implemented the shiny Pokemon mechanic into the game during the Water Festival Event, and nearly 100 shines can now be caught.
Here, Express.co.uk shares some tips on encountering shiny Pokemon in Pokemon Go.
How to catch shiny Pokemon in Pokemon Go
The Pokemon Go October Field Research update gives you an opportunity to encounter a brand new shiny Gen 1 Krabby and its evolution Kingler.
This update makes it the perfect opportunity to try and hone your shiny Pokemon catching skills.
The easiest way to catch a shiny is to follow Pokemon Go’s Field Research tasks – some of the tasks offer up the opportunity for a shiny to appear before you.
Niantic tweeted: “This October, completing certain water-themed Field Research tasks will reward Trainers with the opportunity to encounter the River Crab Pokémon, Krabby!
“Some lucky Trainers might even encounter a Shiny Krabby!”
Alongside following Niantic’s monthly tasks and challenges, encountering a shiny Pokemon is a matter of luck.
One trap to look out for is the fact shiny Pokemon do not look any different to their regular counterparts when viewed on the world map.
A shiny pink-tinged Murkrow, for instance, will look like its regular form until you tap on it to catch it.
Because of this, you may have already missed out on one or two shiny Pokemon simply because you felt they were not worth your time or you already had one too many of that particular creature.
This means you will have to spend more time tapping on every Pokemon that crosses your radar from now on.
Another problem is that shinies are unique to each player – one person tapping on a Magikarp might find a shiny but another person playing in the same area will likely find a regular one.
In some cases, the colours of shiny Pokemon might appear to incredibly close to regular ones and you might not know the difference at first glance.
The shiny version of the starter Pokemon Squirtle is slightly duller-looking and muted – a colour-scheme that is barely discernible from the original.
With these things in mind, you should also be on the lookout for Pokemon Go community days.
Pokemon Go community days turn up the shiny spawn rate to a certain degree, making it easer to enter one in the wild.
Between November 1 and November 5 for instance, Pokemon Go players in Taiwan will have an exclusive chance to catch a shiny Pinsir at the Safari Zone event.
This is only one of the many Pokemon Go events designed to help you fill out your Pokedex with your favourite Pokemon.
How many shiny Pokemon are there?
With the addition of the new shiny Krabby and Kingler, there are now a total of 99 shiny Pokemon to be caught.
The shinies include Pokemon from Gen 1 to Gen 3, with Magikarp and Gyarados being the first two shinies ever introduced.
According to the Silph Road, the odds of catching these shinies range from just 1/35 in raids to 1/450 in wild encounters.
Just remember to keep your eyes peeled, your fingers ready and your Pokeballs stocked.