Pokemon Go players convinced Hoenn Tour Shinies have been disabled

Pokemon Go trainers and Shiny enthusiasts are convinced that certain new Shinies introduced during the Hoenn Tour event have been disabled.

Hoenn Tour, like the two Pokemon Go Tour events prior, filled out the Hoenn’s Shiny dex by adding the rest of the Gen 3 Shiny Forms to the game. These included Torkoal, Tropius, Relicanth, Gulpin, and Surskit.

In addition to their introduction, certain Gen 3 Pokemon had their Shiny odds boosted, making them easier to obtain during the Hoenn Tour. However, it seems that not every Shiny form from the event stuck around after.

According to research from a dedicated Shiny hunting group, a few of the new Shinies have not been seen since the event ended, leading them to believe they have been removed from the game.

Niantic

Have Shiny form been removed from Pokemon Go?

The report came from Reddit user leelychee, a member of the Pokemon Go Shiny Discord, who compiled a list of dates that certain Hoenn Shiny forms were last seen. “Based on the previous post on Shiny Surskit being turned off and fixed after the post, other new Shinies released during go tour Hoenn might be turned off too. Using the 30 March cutoff date for Shiny Surskit.”

The two Pokemon in question are Relicanth and Gulpin. According to leelychee, Shiny Gulpin was last reported seen on March 1. Shiny Relicanth was last seen on March 14. This has led them to believe that these Shinies may have been turned off by Niantic.

“Searching through Twitter and Reddit, there don’t seem to be any Shiny Relicanth or Gulpin caught in April 2023, and there is a chance that both might be turned off, ” leelychee wrote.

Go Tour Hoenn new shiny that might be turned off (Gulpin and Relicanth) by u/leelychee in TheSilphRoad

This wouldn’t be the first time Shiny forms were disabled in Pokemon Go. Over the years, Niantic has toggled various Shiny forms on and off. There are even events for certain Shiny Pokemon – Meltan in particular – that offer a window of time where that Shiny can be obtained.

It’s also possible that players haven’t been able to find these Shiny forms out of bad luck. The odds of finding Shinies in Pokemon Go is fairly low – albeit much higher than in mainline games – and it takes a fair bit of luck and dedication to find one.

While Niantic hasn’t publicly announced the Shiny forms of certain Pokemon being disabled, we won’t know for sure when they will return until a player is lucky enough to find one.