During the Pokémon GO Fest 2020 kick-off video, a shiny Unown is shown for the first time in Pokémon GO. While every Pokémon has a shiny variant, not every Pokémon's shiny form is available in Pokémon GO, and Unown was one of those Pokémon. The kick-off video revealed that Unown's shiny form has finally been added to Pokémon GO.
There are close to 900 different species of Pokémon each having their own shiny variant. Batches of new Pokémon are added to Pokémon GO over time, and their shiny variants are added simultaneously or at a later date. Unown is one of the Pokémon that was added to Pokémon GO without its shiny form. Niantic and Gamefreak rarely announce when new shiny forms are added leaving it up to the community document the additions. While it was not specifically mentioned in the kick-off video, shiny Unown's appearance is as close to a shiny addition being announced as players have seen.
During the Pokémon GO Fest 202o kick-off video uploaded to the official Pokémon GO YouTube channel, the CEO of Niantic John Hanke gives players a sneak peek at the Pokémon players can encounter during GO Fest. Hanke then shows his screen to display a few Pokémon he has caught, including a shiny Unown directly in the middle of his screen. Unown is a Pokémon that comes in 28 different varieties, each one symbolizing a letter of the alphabet as well as an exclamation point and a question mark. The shiny form changes the color of Unown from black to blue which is shown on Hanke's screen.
In addition to shiny Unown, Hanke's screen also shows new species of Pokémon that will be added during GO Fest. Rotom Wash is shown in the top left corner of his screen, as well as a Squirtle wearing a Pikachu hat peeking out from behind the "X" button at the bottom. And Unown is not the only Pokémon to have its shiny form added to the game. Since GO Fest officially started on July 24, 12 new shiny forms have been reported by players that were not previously available in-game.
The addition of shiny forms over time adds to the longevity of Pokémon GO and it is an exciting day for trainers when a new form is added. It is even more exciting when players are teased beforehand with a video like the one published to kick-off GO Fest 2020. Hopefully, Niantic will find a way to sneak more shiny Pokémon reveals in its videos in the future to give keen-eyed players more to look forward to.
Source: Niantic