Pokémon GO: How To Find (& Catch) Shiny Litleo and Shiny Espurr
Both Shiny Litleo and Shiny Espurr have been added to Pokémon GO as part of its Lunar New Year celebration. From February 1 to February 7, Pokémon GO players will have an increased chance to get Lucky Pokémon in trades. There's also an increased chance of becoming Lucky Friends with another player. This will guarantee that the next Pokémon traded between the two players will be a Lucky Pokémon. These are a new species of Pokémon exclusive to Pokémon GO that will only take 50% of the required Stardust to power up. This makes them incredibly useful allies.
There's even a way to get a Hisuian Voltorb in Pokémon GO during this month. It made its debut in the recently released Pokémon Legends: Arceus as a Grass-type variant of the classic Voltorb. It's common for Pokémon GO to do tie-in events with their other Pokémon properties. However, the two big Pokémon additions for this event are Shiny Litleo and Shiny Espurr. Shiny Pokémon are handled differently in Pokémon GO than they are in the mainline games. Shinies are typically added to the game later than the base form Pokémon. Both Litleo and Espurr have been available for capture for months, but this is the first time their Shiny forms are available in Pokémon GO.
Both Shiny Litleo and Shiny Espurr will remain in Pokémon GO after the Lunar New Year event is over. However, the player's best chance to find and catch them will be before February 7. Pokémon spawns will alternate after this date, making it more difficult to find them in the wild. The odds of finding a Shiny Pokémon in Pokémon GO are one in 500. Trainers will need to be extremely lucky in order to find them.
Litleo will appear in the wild more frequently during the Pokémon GO Lunar New Year event. Players can an Incense or Lure Module to increase the spawn rate of nearby Pokémon. The more Litleo that appear, the higher the chance one of them will be Shiny. It will also appear in one-star raid battles, as a reward for completing research tasks, and from hatching some 7 km eggs.
Just like Litleo, Espurr will appear in one-star raid battles, but it will not appear in the wild. Players should participate in as many raid battles as possible to catch Shiny Espurr in Pokémon GO. Raid battles offer a higher chance of encountering a Shiny than random encounters do. Espurr can also appear from completing research tasks.
Litleo had a dedicated Spotlight Hour earlier this month. That would have been the player's best chance at finding its Shiny form. But, ultimately, locating these colorful variants takes time and patience. There is no guarantee that either of these Shinies will appear, but that's what makes the hunt so exciting. Since both Litleo and Espurr have gendered variants, trainers should aim to capture two Shiny versions of each one. This would complete the evolutionary line for both of these Pokémon GO species.
Pokémon GO is available now on iOS and Android.