How to Catch Shiny Galarian Ponyta in Pokémon GO

People just like unicorns. Maybe there’s some kind of pseudo-psychological reason behind it, but whatever it is, people just… like unicorns. They’re pretty and majestic, and in Galarian Ponyta’s case, super floofy. I don’t know about you, but I need more floofy unicorns in my life. Here’s how to catch a shiny Galarian Ponyta in Pokémon GO.

Previously, Galarian Ponyta’s shiny variant hadn’t been added to Pokémon GO’s PokéDex but recently, during the still-ongoing Luminous Legends X event, the game’s playerbase passed a very particular milestone: The entire Pokémon GO playerbase has collectively caught over 500 million Fairy type Pokémon. As a reward for passing this impressive milestone, Niantic implemented Galarian Ponyta’s shiny variant into the game in all of its green and beige-colored glory. 

How to Catch Shiny Galarian Ponyta in Pokémon GO

Of course, as with all other shiny Pokémon, catching a shiny Galarian Ponyta is a numbers game; there’s no single definitive way to obtain one, you just have to try a lot of different methods and hope you get lucky.

Your best method at the moment is to go hunting for Galarian Ponyta raids, which should still be floating around for the remaining duration of the Luminous Legends X event. Clear a raid, and you’re guaranteed an encounter with a Galarian Ponyta.

Besides that, Research Breakthroughs are a solid avenue. If you can complete seven days worth of Field Research Tasks during the month of May, that’s another guaranteed Galarian Ponyta encounter. Speaking of Field Research Tasks, there are also few you can get from spinning PokéStops that’ll get you encounters as well, such as “AR Mapping” and “Catch 15 Fairy type Pokémon.”

If all else fails, well, maybe you have a friend with an extra shiny Galarian Ponyta that they’d be willing to trade for, though if Pokémon players are anything like they were when I was a kid, don’t expect to get one without paying an arm and a leg.