Pokemon Go player catches world’s first Shiny Jirachi
A dedicated Pokemon Go player has grinded the Jirachi Masterwork Research tasks since Hoenn Tour Las Vegas, earning the achievement of being the world’s first Pokemon Go trainer to catch Shiny Jirachi.
In 2021, Pokemon Go introduced Masterwork Research challenges which allow players to complete difficult tasks to earn an encounter with an incredibly rare Shiny Pokemon. Access to the Masterwork Research is sold for a limited time around massive events, so once it leaves the Item Shop, it’s gone for good.
But what makes these Pokemon so rare? Well, the Pokemon featured on Mythical creatures that can’t be obtained in modern games, and Shiny hunting them is either impossible (when attempted legitimately) or requires a very convoluted hunting method.
When Shiny Jirachi was shown as the grand prize for completing the 2023 Masterwork Research, players knew this could be their only chance to obtain one. But due to the nature of Masterwork challenges, it was expected to take several months – or even years – to complete.
NianticWorld’s First Shiny Jirachi in Pokemon Go
In the mainline games, players are expected to use a Nintendo Gameboy Advance, a Nintendo Game Cube, a Pokemon Colosseum Bonus Disk, and a copy of Pokemon Ruby/Saphire to hunt Shiny Jirachi, and it can take thousands of resets that can take around a minute each to complete before the Jirachi shines.
And in Pokemon Go, it’s not much easier. Those who bought the research during the Las Vegas event must catch at least 1660 Pokemon, maintain a minimum daily streak of 33, and trade with players several times. But the challenges are even harder for players that didn’t go to the in-person event.
So, for a player that really put the pedal to the metal, the soonest a player could have obtained the Shiny Jirachi is ~33 days from February 18. And on March 20, thepokegohunter_ reported the World’s First Shiny Jirachi in Pokemon Go.
When asked how they knew it was the first, OP stated, “Well, in theory, you can’t 100% prove it to be the first, but it’s the first reported on any social media site. I would also assume that if someone else actually got it before them, they would waste no time to flex it online.”
One fascinating part of this achievement was that thepokegohunter_ beat out Niantic before they could update the capture screen background. A new background for the Shiny Jirachi encounter was found inside the files of a future update, but the player was able to encounter the Jirachi before that update went live.
