Pokémon GO – can you catch a Shiny West Sea Shellos?

Shellos was one of the first Pokémon I caught back in the Diamond and Pearl days. I never really thought it was possible to make a sea slug cute, but by gum, they found a way, and its evolved form, Gastrodon, became one of my standby Water types. Both iterations of Shellos have been available in Pokémon GO since 2019, but with the Space Ultra Unlock sending things topsy turvy, a lot more of them are now in circulation. As with any sudden surge of Pokémon, the question is obvious: can you catch a shiny West Sea Shellos in Pokémon GO?

To clarify, Shellos comes in two variations normally: the pink-colored West Sea Shellos, with little bumpy things on its head, and the blue-colored East Sea Shellos, with little finny things. Just yesterday, East Sea Shellos was the star of the weekly spotlight hour, so, in theory, that would’ve been a good time to catch a shiny version of that particular Shellos. Unfortunately, as of writing, neither incarnation of Shellos has yet received a shiny variant in Pokémon GO.

 Can you Catch a Shiny West Sea Shellos in Pokémon GO?

Some have assumed that Niantic have purposely dragged their feet on adding shiny versions of either Shellos because they’re normally locked to the west and east coasts of the United States. If such specific region-locked Pokémon got shiny variations, there’d probably be some… problems, to put it diplomatically. One would assume the Space Ultra Unlock would’ve been a good time for it, since both incarnations were widely available, but alas, no such luck.

For the time being, we can’t confirm when either West Sea or East Sea Shellos will receive their shiny versions. Perhaps next year, when it’s a little safer to travel.