Despite reports of crashes and glitches, Pokemon Home users can enjoy some benefits that other players cannot. Specifically, trainers who are bringing their Pokemon from previous games and platforms to Home have discovered that their Shiny Pokemon have new and improved appearances.
According to various social media posts, Pokemon Home developer Niantic has created new sprites for Shiny Pokemon for players to immediately tell the two variants apart. While previous mainline games and Pokemon GO primarily used subtle visual differences (from slightly different colors to a single red star next to the Shiny Pokemon's stats), Pokemon Home has made major visual updates to ensure that Shiny Pokemon cannot be mistaken for their basic counterparts.
Twitter user Steelix first noticed that the three types of Castform had received new Shiny sprites. Other social media users pointed out that Magearna had actually received a new shiny form. On the other hand, the Shiny Miniors, which were previously black, are available in all of Minior's original colors. While this Shiny Pokemon did not receive an entirely new sprite, Steelix pointed Minior's original colors do have a glowing effect that is not visible in the original Pokemon.
Although this is hardly the first time that Shiny Pokemon appearances have differed from the regular Pokemon's aesthetic, Niantic's Pokemon Home update seems to have created a mixed reaction among fans. While the cross-platform Pokemon host now unlocks 35 veteran Pokemon from previous generations in Sword and Shield, the service's several bugs and crashes have made diehard trainers ask why Niantic didn't devote more of its time to functionality.
Overall, the visual update does make sense. More casual Pokemon fans and newcomers might struggle to distinguish between the two Pokemon variants. By creating this distinction, Niantic has made the franchise more accessible to fans.
This new update shows that Niantic and the Pokemon Company are not afraid to take risks and experiment with their series. From Pokemon Home's version of Professor Oak to Pokemon GO's new Shadow Pokemon, the developers are not showing any signs of changing their approach. Despite nostalgic fans' hopes, this bold new direction might be for the best. Perhaps with previous complaints that Sword and Shield did not live up to its predecessors, the Pokemon games are due for some changes.
Source: Polygon