Shiny Detective Pikachu in Pokémon GO: Where is It?

Shiny Detective Pikachu is the number one Pokémon spawn elusively haunting players since the release of the movie. This phenomenon has recently been brought back to center stage with the launch and extension of the hat-wearing Pikachu event—focusing on giving players more time to catch Detective Pikachu, specifically.

So, what's the deal with shiny Detective Pikachu?

Shiny Detective Pikachu in Pokemon GO

There have been tons of rumors circulating about this variant of the hat-wearing mascot. Players have tried nearly every method to get this Pokémon to appear, including the "wait and switch" tactic, to no avail. Most doubt it's even real--and they're only half right.

According to serveral users and Niantic's own support service, shiny Detective Pikachu does exist in the game's traffic and coding, he just can't spawn. As the "wait and switch" tactic reveals, whenever players try to spawn it, the once-shiny Pikachu immediately swaps to a non-shiny detective. Therefore, he isn't available in the game to be caught.

This came to light after one Twitter user caused a flurry of attention by incorrectly stating that the variant had been confirmed via e-mail. This was a mistake on Niantic Labs' part which has since been corrected.

Unfortunately, it looks like we'll have to wait for the chance at a shiny Detective Pikachu. Perhaps Nintendo is saving it for the movie sequel?

Photo courtesy of Jack O'Dwyer.