Pokémon GO Community Day is back, and while I don’t want to overhype it, this is probably the best one the game has had to date.
Why? The featured Pokémon is Charmander, and in addition to learning Blast Burn when Charmeleon evolves into Charizard today, a 110 damage, two bar fire move, the starter Pokémon is also available as a shiny.
That’s no surprise, given that a key component of Pokémon GO’s Community Day has always been to release whatever featured Pokémon is as a shiny as well, but this time around, that means players have the chance to secure themselves a shiny Charizard, which is genuinely my favorite shiny in the entire game. While most shinies may have barely noticeable color palate shifts, as you can see above, shiny Charizard is straight up black and red, the most badass color scheme you can put on a flying fire dragon. And today is your best chance to not only get one, but to make sure he evolves with the best fire move in the game.
How do you do it? As ever, it’s also about speed farming to maximize your chances at getting a shiny before the Community Day event ends. Those times are:
The Americas: 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM PT.
Europe and Africa: 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM UTC
Asia/Pacific: 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM JST
With about a 3-5% spawn rate for shinies during Community Day, unless Niantic has mixed things up this time, that means you should probably plan on catching anywhere from 20-35 Charmander before you snag a shiny one. Shiny Charmander is barely noticeable, just a little bit lighter than regular Charmander, so be sure to check your recently caught ones to see if they’re shiny or not. This will be your best chance to get him, because the shiny spawn rate will drop back down to 1 in 200 or so after this event ends.
Once you have one, don’t stop catching until it gets close to closing time, then you can evolve the highest IV shiny you catch for the Blast Burn/black shiny combo that will definitely now be one of the coolest Pokémon that you own. Granted, with the current rotation of legendaries there aren’t all that many that are super weak to Charizard (Articuno?), but you’re going to want to get this one-time only legend regardless.
As I write this, I’m seeing that Ho-Oh has also returned to the game as a legendary raid boss, and it’s also now available as a shiny, though I’m not sure at what spawn rate. It has a 100% catch rate if it shows up as a shiny though, and is also one of the better looking shinies I’ve seen.
Pokémon GO Community Day is either already going or will start soon in your region. Charge your battery, and get ready to farm Charmanders until you can secure yourself the best shiny in the game, and with a powerful move as well. Community Day continues to be awesome, and this is definitely my favorite one yet. And remember, there are additional bonuses like 3x Stardust and 3-hour lures, so be sure to take advantage of both.
Happy Hunting!
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