Back in the day, Game Freak didn’t have the tech to do fancy shiny designs, resulting in a lot of glorified reskins. Many of which were green. And for whatever reason, there haven’t been many new green shiny Pokémon designs recently. So we’re going to have to trudge through some swampy ideas to get into the meat of this ranking. With that said, let’s see what we’ve got:
20. Stantler
Okay, we’re starting off pretty boring, but it is what it is. Stantler is one of those Pokémon that you know about but never used. I mean, a reindeer Mon’ designs itself. So it’s a shame that Game Freak hasn’t taken another crack at it since Gen II. And even Stantler’s shiny sprite leaves a lot to be desired. It’s one of those old-school total color shifts from one matte to another, in this case being brown to green. So at least it makes the list, right?
19. Ursaring
Ursaring is another total color reskin. Except this time, it has a slightly nicer shade of green. Yep. That’s all I got. If you’re a big fan of this bear you’ll like his shiny, otherwise he’ll likely blend right into the background.
18. Machamp
And again, we have a green reskin. Although Machamp gets some bonus points over the others for being an absolute unit. I mean, it’s one of the OG 151. So I have to put some respect on it, even if its shiny isn’t anything too special. Honestly, I can’t be too hard on Game Freak for all of these uninspired shiny reskins. The team was working with some seriously limited graphics back in the day, so we have to take that into consideration.
17. Skarmory
Now we finally have a green shiny that wasn’t simply dunked into a bucket of paint. Skarmory is a deceptively awesome Pokémon. Its wings are like razor blades, which makes the original red coloring that they have very questionable. When it’s shiny, that red is changed to green. It doesn’t make sense thematically. But it does look really cool, and at least it’s better than just slapping a new color all over it and calling it a day.
16. Mewtwo
You see, when you have shiny Gen I Pokémon like Mewtwo, it’s hard to justify the likes of Stantler and Machamp. It’s a change to green, but it’s done with a little bit of respect for the original design of the Pokémon. In this case, Mewtwo’s tail turns green. If you go back as far as Gen II, the shiny sucked. But as the games moved into 3D, it presented itself as one of the better shinies from the original Pokédex.
15. Buzzwole
I hate Buzzwole. It makes me feel very insecure about my body. I mean, this thing makes Machamp look like a noodle. The fact that it’s a giant bug that’s just full of muscles is a… strange decision. And not one I’m entirely comfortable with. Either way, we have to talk about the fact that its shiny is pretty cool looking. It’s not exceptional by any means, but it takes the rather dull red that Buzzwole typically is and turns it into an almost toxic-looking green. It almost makes the Pokémon look like it’s wearing a giant hoodie. Although maybe that’s just me having trauma-flashbacks to when I used to try and go to the gym.
14. Tangrowth
Both Tangrowth and Tangela deserve this spot because both of them have the same thing going for them: They look like “broccoli.” If you do catch my drift. The combination of the green color and the almost veiny-like body that both Pokémon have, prevents me from thinking of anything else anytime I see one. I’m not saying that you could smoke a Tangrowth or Tangela. But I am saying that I wouldn’t put it past some degenerates out there to try.
13. Flapple
Flapple is possibly my favorite Pokémon to come out of SWSH. I don’t even have any justification for my favoritism other than the fact that it’s a dragon apple. And let’s be honest: isn’t that justification enough? Who came up with this idea over on the Game Freak design team? Because I want to thank them for their service. The idea behind Flapple is so genius that I would never have been able to come up with it. What makes it even better is that when it’s normal, Flapple is a red apple. When it’s shiny, it’s a green apple (like a granny smith). I might have the same sense of humor as a 12-year-old, but I find the simplicity of that color change absolutely hilarious.
12. Salamence
Flapple is a funny and cutesy little dragon that turns green (like me after smoking Tangela) Salamence, on the other hand, is no laughing matter. Out of all the non-legendary dragon types we’ve seen over the years, Salamence has to be the most “dragony.” It’s not a bipedal like Haxorus, Garchomp, or Dragonite. But it’s also not inspired by mythology like Hydreigon. Instead we’ve got a dragon that actually looks like a dragon. And I appreciate that. Shiny-wise, Salamence is a green reskin. I can overlook this reskinned shiny, though, on account of just how incredible Salamence’s total design really is.
11. Decidueye
Is shiny Decidueye green? Maybe, kinda? Well, at the very least its hood goes to a darker shade of green when it’s shiny, so that qualifies it for this list. Decidueye, for my money, is one of the coolest Pokémon ever designed. It’s an assassin owl. That’s pretty much all the justification we need for liking this crazy bird. And it only gets cooler once it’s shiny, too, taking on a darker theme that makes it look like a Jungle Book version of Assassin’s Creed.
10. Roserade
Roserade must be in more of my favorite shiny lists than any other Pokémon in the franchise. The fact that it’s managed this while only having a slight modification to its shiny sprite goes to show how Game Freak doesn’t need to get crazy to design a good-looking Pokémon. In its shiny form, Roserade is the same shade of green. The only thing that changes is the color of its rose hands. Rather than blue and red, they become purple and black. Needless to say, this looks awesome and fits the theme of a poison grass ninja unbelievably well.
9. Chesnaught
Shiny Chesnaught has been steadily growing on me since I first saw it. I wasn’t a fan at first. But I’ve begun to really enjoy its design. There’s only one reason for my change of heart – and that’s the fact that I’ve realized shiny Chesnaught is meant to look like, well, a chestnut. It’s got a green shell and brown body, which is arguably how it should have looked in the first place. Regular-looking Chesnaught is no slouch in the design department. But there’s something special about the shiny variant that makes it oddly satisfying to look at and even more so to own.
8. Hydreigon
This is a shiny sprite that shouldn’t work, but does. It’s a three-headed hydra-inspired green and purple dragon. And it looks glorious. I mean, we’re all fans of Hrdreigon’s design (right?). It was one of the best-looking Pokémon to come out of Gen V. However, this color palette shouldn’t be as compatible as it is. I’m no art theorist, but there has to be something wrong there. The fact that this design genuinely confuses me is why it deserves such a great spot. You simply can’t forget this shiny.
7. Venusaur
Man, Venusaur really doesn’t get much love from Game Freak. It was the lowest-picked Gen I starter back in the day, and it’s even got the worst-looking shiny sprite. That’s not to say it’s bad by any means. But Charizard is one of the best shinies ever created, and Blastoise even appears higher on this list (spoiler alert). So it might be just how underappreciated Venusaur is that sparked my initial interest in the grass-type starters – which is a trend that I continued all the way up to SWSH, where I found Grookey’s final evolution woefully uninspired. Buy shiny Venusaur goes from having a blue body with a red flower, to being green with a yellow one. It’s a jarring change, I’ll admit. But it looks great. And is definitely unique enough to recognize as a shiny Pokémon.
6. Dragonite
I recently found out that, apparently, Dragonair/Dratini and Dragonite had two entirely different designers. If that’s true, it makes so much sense. Even the shiny sprites between the evolutions don’t make sense. Dragonair is this boring purple color while Dragonite becomes a green and purple menace. Wait. Green and purple. Why does a combination that shouldn’t work, look so fire on dragon types? I guess because Dragonite is the OG. It came before Hydreigon or Haxorus, so let’s show it some respect and appreciate just how dashing its shiny form looks.
5. Serperior
I consider Serperior to be one of the most underrated starters of all time. That goes for its shiny form, too. It does the snake design infinitely better than Arbok or Ekans, managing to look like royalty while also being I serpent (I see what you’re doing there, Game Freak.) The royal blue accents that Serperior gets when it’s shiny only adds to that smugness I love about it. Serperior is superior by name, and its shiny version makes sure you know that.
4. Blastoise
I told you that Blastoise would be rearing its bald head somewhere on this list. Despite the stark contrast in quality between shiny Charizard and the other Gen I starters, the trio continues to have the best collective shiny sprites out of any region. It’s not like any of them are doing anything crazy either. I mean, Blastoise gets a green shell. It’s an awesome looking almost camouflage-inspired green, though. Which works really well with the canons that Blastoise is concealed carrying.
3. Sceptile
There’s only one reason why shiny Sceptile is on this list, and it’s a good enough reason to give it the number three spot. Look at the dude’s eyes. He’s zooted. Shiny Sceptile is what you get when you let your Pokémon smoke too much Tangrowth. I mean, this can’t be an accident, right?
2. Espeon
Shiny Espeon conjures images of the Aliens from Toy Story. It might be because of my love for these guys that I like the design so much. It’s a simple reskin, which I’m typically quite harsh on. However, the shade of green that Game Freak used is absolutely stunning. And it works exceptionally well with the already extraterrestrial-like head that Espeon has. That might sound really rude, but still, this is a one-of-a-kind shiny. And if you’re going for green, you probably can’t get much better than this Eeveelution.
1. Noivern
Noivern is in my personal top five shines of all time. Granted, my top five is unusual by most people’s standards, but I think that I can argue a case for Noivern here. Not only is this Pokémon easily the most underrated dragon Pokémon to ever exist (although Dragalge is a close second), but it’s based off a bat. Just bear with me here. The bat design is awesome enough alone. But the shiny sprite that it gets is green and red. I’m not saying that it’s meant to make it look like a vampire, but that’s exactly what I’m saying. Shiny Noivern is like a gothic, vampiric, punk-rock dragon type. There’s no way a green-colored shiny that’s described by adjectives like that can be anywhere except the top spot on this list.
