Shiny variants were first introduced in Generation II of the Pokémon games. They come in many hues, combinations of colors, and shades of grey. Some of the most popular shinies are actually grey, surprisingly, considering the fact that it’s usually thought of as a boring hue.
Despite the love for grey shinies, some of them are definitely better than others. Some adopt the grey in a beautiful shade that makes their design look stunning, while others combine grey with different colors to make a nice contract, like red and grey. Here are the best examples of grey shiny Pokémon, ranked.
10 Alcremie
Alcremie is a new Fairy-type Pokémon introduced in Generation VIII. The gimmick to it is that it can be several dozen different colors and styles, each considered a different form. These forms are based on flavors of ice cream with a certain “sweet” attached, like a berry.
All of these forms have a dark grey body when shiny. It makes for an interesting level of cohesion between all the forms and it looks striking against the colorful flavors and sweets. Its Gigantamax form also retains elements of the grey throughout the cake’s tiers.
9 Generation VIII Fossils
Staying in Generation VIII, there’s another set of gimmicky Pokémon. These are the Fossil Pokémon, and there are four of them. Each is a colorful abomination created by fusing together the wrong body parts of extinct Pokémon. They’re terribly ugly and hard to look at, and the colorful designs don’t help.
Luckily, their shinies are great. Each of the four Fossils turns completely grey and old-fashioned looking in its shiny form. This rids them of their terrible coloring and makes them look more “normal,” as much as is possible with these terrible creatures.
8 Eevee
Eevee is a fun Pokémon that is widely beloved. It evolves into eight different Pokémon, each with a single-typing and clear color palette that matches its type. One could arguably see Eevee as a blank canvas, upon which colors and typing are used to transform it into a new concept.
As a result, Eevee’s grey shiny form is perfect. It makes it feel like that blank canvas, more so than its normal brown coloring. It also just looks nice on its own, with the grey pairing perfectly with the white elements of Eevee’s fur collar and tail.
7 Cofagrigus
This spooky Ghost-type Pokémon was introduced in Generation V, evolving from the equally-scary Yamask. It typically has a yellow and blue color palette, mimicking the design of King Tut’s famous sarcophagus. Its Ghost-typing, and the fact that it attacks those who enter its tomb, may both represent the fact that many people believe a curse will fall on anyone entering certain Egyptian tombs.
Cofagrigus’ shiny form is a beautiful combination of grey and hot pink. The colors work surprisingly well together, providing something nice to look at and drastically changing its design away from its Egyptian influences.
6 Fennekin
Fennekin is the Fire-type choice of starter in Generation VI. When shiny, it swaps its pale yellow fur for a beautiful bluish-grey. The grey is striking next to the bright, vivid orange-red in its ears. The grey and red palette will follow through each of its evolutions, Braixen and Delphox, who also add in a bit of purple.
All three of these shinies are gorgeous, and the two elder evolutions adding purple is very captivating. It helps that Fennekin is so adorable to begin with.
5 Slugma
It seems like a lot of Fire-type Pokémon turn silver in their shiny forms. Why this happens isn’t clear, but it’s often very nice to see because the shiny forms are so great. Another Fire-type that becomes grey when shiny is Slugma, a Generation II Pokémon that is typically a dark orange.
Since Slugma is basically a pile of lava with eyes, the grey almost resembles a version of this Pokémon where the lava has cooled into a grey rock. It’s a great design and would have been great carried through to Magcargo, which is pink instead.
4 Trevenant
Trevenant is a tree-like Pokémon that was introduced in Generation VI. It’s a Grass/Ghost-type that’s typically dark brown and green. When shiny, the brown of its trunk and branches becomes a very light grey — almost white — while the green foliage becomes red. Like Fennekin, red and grey are a great design.
It gives off a vibe of being more ghostly than its original design, which is perfect for what it is. The contrast between the grey and red is also fantastic, making it very striking to look at.
3 Rapidash
Shiny Pokémon were first introduced in the Generation II games, Gold and Silver. There, Rapidash was a purple shiny. It retained mostly the same manila-beige on its body but its flames turned a vivid purple. For whatever reason, this was changed, and now Rapidash has grey flames when shiny.
Regardless of why it changed, it’s nice that it did, because grey shiny Rapidash is gorgeous. The grey flames are a very interesting look and make the Pokémon look more regal than it already did. It’s easily one of the best shinies in Generation I.
2 Metagross
If you make a distinction between silver and grey, Metagross might belong on this list. But, since silver is just metallic grey in terms of color, Metagross definitely fits. This Psychic/Steel-type was introduced in Generation III and is normally a dark blue with grey accents. When shiny, the grey accents become yellow and its blue body and arms turn silver.
It’s one of the best-looking shinies in the games and fits perfectly with Metagross’s Steel-typing. Its Mega Evolution form trades the yellow faceplate for blue, which is even more striking.
1 Ninetales
There might not be very many shinies that are more beautiful than Ninetales in any context, not just grey ones. This shiny is so stunning that it’s often considered one of the best by fans far and wide. The Fire-type is normally yellowish with orange tips on its tails.
When shiny, Ninetales becomes an absolutely-gorgeous shade of purplish-grey with indigo tips on its tail. It’s a breathtaking shiny that stands apart from almost all other shiny Pokémon. The Alolan form also takes on a shade of grey when shiny, although Kantonian Ninetales has a more drastic change from its original. If only all shinies could be this beautiful.
NEXT: Pokémon Sword & Shield: 5 Leaks That Were Way Off (& 5 That Turned Out To Be True)
