Pokemon
¤ Red and Blue
¤ Red and Green (Japanese)
¤ Blue Version (Japanese)
¤ Yellow Version
¤ Gold and Silver
¤ Crystal Version
¤ Ruby and Sapphire
¤ Emerald Version
¤ FireRed & LeafGreen
¤ Diamond and Pearl
¤ Platinum Version

Universal Information
¤ What is this section?
¤ Breeding Pokemon
¤ Evolution Methods
¤ Elemental Types
¤ Pokerus Infection
¤ Shiny Pokemon

Affiliates
¤ Amity Square
¤ Dark Eon Hideout
¤ Eevee's Headquarters
¤ Eevee's Mansion
¤ Jenviousity
¤ Lugia's Island
¤ Perfect Absolution
¤ Pokemon Battle Dome
¤ Pokemon Inferno
¤ Pokeshore
¤ PokeTech
¤ Pokeuniverse
¤ Pokemon Valley
¤ Sapphire Milotic
¤ The Spriting Shack

If you've never played a second generation Pokemon game, chances are you've never seen a shiny Pokemon. It's normal considering how rare they are. You have just a 1 in 8192 chance of seeing one.

Shiny Pokemon are just like regular Pokemon, except, colored differently. Sometimes the coloration is vastly different; red Gyarados, yellow Espeon, or a gold Steelix. Sometimes the coloration is just a shade or two lighter or darker; Torchic, Froslass, Articuno and Zapdos come to mind.

Every single Pokemon has a shiny variant, even ones that appear on the map such as Kyogre or Groudon. Pokemon that come from eggs, fossils, or gift Pokemon can be shiny. But since there is just a one in 8192 chance of those Pokemon being shiny, it's not likely that they will be shiny. If a shiny Pokemon is able to evolve, then that Pokemon will pass on its shininess.

When you encounter a shiny Pokemon in the wild, a small star animation will dance around the Pokemon and then a ping will sound. Since you can encounter one at any given time, it is wise to always carry around a few Pokeballs.

In Gold, Silver, and Crystal a shiny Pokemon has slightly better than average stats compared to a non-shiny Pokemon of that species. In games after those, shininess is nothing special. It does not affect the Pokemon in anyway. So essentially, a shiny Pokemon is nothing more than something to brag and show off.

It is possible for a Pokemon in Red, Blue, or Yellow to be shiny. All one would have to do is trade it to a later game to find out. This is possible because the shininess factor is determined by the individual values (IVs) of a Pokemon and the structure for determining these values in the two generations is the same. In later games, the factor for determining whether or not a Pokemon will be shiny was radically changed.

Although not officially shiny, it is possible to get alternative colored Pokemon in Pokemon Stadium and Stadium 2. The color alteration is influenced by the Pokemon's nickname. For example, a Mewtwo nicknamed "Psychic" will have a red tint to it's skin when sent into battle. There is nothing special about this coloration and is not an error in the game.