For the August Community Day, we celebrate the original. Not the original Pokémon, mind you, that would be Mew according to the fiction or Bulbasaur according to the Pokédex. No, this is the first shiny, both in the main games and in Pokémon GO: Red Gyarados. Red Gyarados appeared in the Lake of Rage encounter in Pokémon Gold and Silver before shinies were a thing, and in honor of that, Shiny Magikarp and Gyarados were the first introduced in Pokémon GO back with the 2017 Water festival. Now, you’ve all got your chance to get one.
I spent a long, long time looking for my shiny Magikarp, and I finally got it at Chicago O’Hare, leaving Pokémon GO Fest 2019. You may well also already have one, because they’ve been around so long, but that doesn’t mean you should sleep on Community Day, because Gyarados is likely going to get more powerful pretty soon.
Niantic recently confirmed that Mega Evolution is coming to Pokémon GO, and the first evidence has even shown up in datamined code. This is a Dynamax-like ability that allows a Pokémon to achieve a final form for the rest of a single battle, less like a true evolution and more like a special ability. It’s cool as all get out, however, and it could really shake up both PvP and PvE battles, depending on how its implemented.
While we don’t know if all Pokémon with Mega Evolution will be made available at the beginning, it’s highly likely that Gyarados will be on that list, considering its status as a Kanto Pokémon and the fact that it will have just been in the spotlight this Community Day. And when that happens, you’re going to want a flashy, shiny, Red Gyarados to wave around.
So try to pay special attention to getting a good, strong shiny Magikarp this Community Day, and farm that candy to get enough to evolve and level it. Red Gyarados is awesome on its own, and it should be a part of any enterprising trainer’s collection. But Mega Evolution is set to make it more valuable, so make sure to get one.
