Since the release of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, many players have voiced their frustrations with the shiny Pokemon of Gen 9 compared to other generations. Shiny Pokemon were first introduced with Pokemon Gold and Silver, and since then, each generation has expanded the lineup of Pokemon shinies, with Pokemon Scarlet and Violet shinies causing a divide in the community.
Reddit user IWentRogue is among many Pokemon fans that aren't impressed by the shiny Pokemon introduced with Pokemon Scarlet and Violet because of Game Freak's design choices. Beyond retaining shiny Pokemon and Pokemon raids from previous installments in the franchise, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet also introduced Terastallized Pokemon as its primary gimmick, which replaced Pokemon Sword and Shield's Dynamax and Gigantamax Pokemon. Like with Pokemon in the Pokemon Sword and Shield Wild Area, shinies in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet have indicators prior to battle that alert the trainer that they're special, but many players think that more indications may be necessary.
The shiny Pokemon that IWentRogue points to in their Pokemon Scarlet and Violet post as lackluster designs are Charcadet, Staravia, Sunkern, and Maushold. Though the Sunkern and Charcadet have small noticeable details like the stripes on Sunkern's face and Charcadet's glowing eyes, Staravia and Maushold have almost no visible differences between the standard and shiny versions. According to IWentRogue, Game Freak should add a sparkle or other visual indicator to Pokemon like Staravia and Maushold in order for Pokemon fans to easily distinguish a shiny from the others, which may help other Pokemon Scarlet and Violet players as well.
Contrary to the terminology, many shiny Pokemon have unique characteristics which visibly distinguish them from their standard alternative, but some Pokemon Scarlet and Violet players have suggested that there aren't enough of these with Gen 9 shinies. When the average shiny Pokemon differs from its usual design, it has a drastic color swap like Eevee's change from brown to white or the normally orange Charizard turning a shade of charcoal. Garnering over 3,000 Reddit upvotes, IWentRogue has also gotten the opinions of some of the millions of early Pokemon Scarlet and Violet adopters.
While many Pokemon fans agreed with IWentRogue about some of the Gen 9 shiny Pokemon being underwhelming, others noted Pokemon like Blissey, Taurus, Tatsugiri, Wattrel, and Floette as other disappointing designs. As a few colorblind Pokemon Scarlet and Violet fans expressed their difficulties with telling many shiny and non-shiny Pokemon apart, some long-time fans of the franchise pointed out that the lackluster shinies aren't a new phenomenon.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are available now for Nintendo Switch.