Pokemon Go’s new biomes are a nightmare for shiny hunters

Some popular shiny Pokemon seem to be playing tricks on players with their appearance, thanks to the biomes update in Pokemon Go.

Biomes are a welcome addition to Pokemon Go as players celebrate this feature amidst frustration with the avatar updates. While the new encounter backgrounds are a huge hit, everyone is having an unexpected problem with some fan-favorite Pokemon, especially Litwick.

Trainers hunting for the rare shiny Litwick in the wild are left scratching their heads as the updated biome and background lighting are making a regular Litwick look like its shiny version. What’s more, Litwick looks drastically different at night, with its entire body glowing up and baffling players even further.

A shiny spawn features sparkles once you encounter it on screen, but most have a quick look at the Pokemon and jump onto the next if the species isn’t shiny. This is proving to be a pain, even for those well-acquainted with the appearance of a shiny Litwick, as they get fooled into thinking it’s shiny at first glance, only to be left disappointed.

The same happened with user ‘throwupandaway71’ who posted on Reddit that the biome update has been giving several “false shiny alarms.” A player commented: “Keep seeing these Litwicks around with pure white flames then being mildly surprised when no shiny sparkles show up.”

While Litwick is the common ground, fans mentioned other Pokemon that have also been troubling them, such as Meowth, Castform Sunny Form, and Eevee at night. One even pointed out that colorblind players would have it more difficult, if not for the sparkles.

With several new Pokemon Go shinies releasing in Go Fest 2024, be sure to confirm the encounter before deciding to skip to the next species.