Although Pokemon Sword and Shield has been released for quite some time now, players consistently wait for new features as the developers roll out its two-part Expansion Pass. With Isle of Armor already released a few months ago, players are still waiting for the Crown Tundra.
The second DLC guarantees the addition of new Legendary Pokemon like the Galarian forms of Zapdos, Moltres, and Articuno as well as new areas for everyone to discover. Pokemon players have known what’s mostly in store for the Crown Tundra expansion since a few months ago. However, bits of new information constantly work their way into the public.
In the beginning, Pokemon Sword and Shield fans were hyped to learn that new versions of classic Legendary Pokemon such as Registeel from the Hoenn region and Articuno from the Kanto region, would be making a comeback into the game. Now, avid fans have been treated to an even more interesting detail.
SHINY VARIANTS ARE KANTONIAN COLORS! from PokemonSwordAndShield
According to a leak posted by @CentroLeaks, the Shiny forms of Galarian Moltres, Galarian Zapdos, and Galarian Articuno have been revealed. What’s specifically intriguing about their shiny variants is their impressive design.
A usual Pokemon fan complaint usually concerns the fact that too many shinies are plainly color swaps of their original versions. This is because of the way in which Shiny Pokemon forms were automatically determined during the first main games, but regardless, Shiny Pokemon fans usually are criticizing the fact that a huge number of Shiny Pokemon have basic designs.
While some Shiny Pokemon forms are stunning, such as the full coal-colored Charizard, most Shinies are simply just a lighter or darker version of its original form (Shiny forms of Pikachu, Poliwag, Bulbasaur, etc.) or even just have the color green (Scizon, Tangela, etc.)
Now, this new group of Shinies is certainly notable because the classic Legendary bird trio suffers from one of the above-mentioned traits – Shiny Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno are impressively lackluster. Luckily, the Shiny Galarian Legendary bird trio not only sports unique colors but also serves as a tribute to the original Legendary birds.
As fans of the original versions are knowledgeable, the Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno located in Kanto have differently typed from their counterparts in the Galar region. They also look completely different.
As a nod to the iconic Legendary trio, Nintendo has made the Shiny variants of Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno look like their original Kanto designs. That is, Shiny Galarian Articuno will be sporting the same exact color palette as the original Articuno from Kanto, and so on and so forth.
Although exciting, veteran Pokemon trainers have also been quick to remind eager fans: it is still unsure if Nintendo or The Pokemon Company have chosen to “Shiny Lock” the said Pokemon. Shiny Lock is usually performed on ultra-rare or otherwise extremely valuable Pokemon that are encountered inside the game as it considers the Pokemon unobtainable as a Shiny.
Whereas fans would usually be able to save the game before encountering a rare Pokemon, and soft reset their console until it will appear in their Shiny form, they would never triumph with a Shiny locked Pokemon.
