They seem to pull off a fascinating combination of scientific and adorable. Just look at Blipbug! A lot of these designs are amplified by their shiny forms. With a ton of bold choices, the Bug-typing has some of my favorite shinies of all time. And without further ado, let’s take a look at the absolute best-of-the-best when it comes to shiny Bug Pokémon!
20. Wurmple
We’re starting with one of the most basic Bug Pokémon: Wurmple. In fact, it probably looks more like a bug than any other Bug-type. And its shiny form is equally basic. For the shiny, Wurmple was simply changed from pink to purple. I mostly like this because I feel it represents the main gimmick of Wurmple: having a branching evolution path. Wurmple evolving into Beautifly made sense to me, but I never really got Dustox. However, I can absolutely see shiny Wurmple becoming Dustox. It’s a nice homage and I really appreciate it.
19. Whirlipede
I have always said that purple and orange are my favorite color combination.
However, dark purple really works well with just about any of the brighter colors.
This can be seen with shiny Whirlipede.
Whirlipede’s purple shell is made even darker, but its red rings located around the shell are changed to a bright green.
While this isn’t the most drastic of changes, it does make it look a lot more interesting than it did before.
What was once a boring purple tire, is now a lot more exciting!
18. Ariados (Gen 2)
Ariados is a Pokémon that’s known for sneaking up on its prey, shooting them with web, and dragging them away. But doesn’t it seem a little brightly colored to be doing that? That’s why I like the shiny version of Ariados better than the original. …in Gen 2. Let me explain. Shiny Pokémon actually looked different than most shinies that we recognize nowadays. For example, shiny Charizard was actually purple in generation 2. In gen 2, Ariados was also made purple, but the purple lines on its legs were changed to a dark blue. This makes for an Ariados that was made specifically for nocturnal activity. And it’s because of that design idea that I think it deserves to be on this list.
17. Charjabug
Charjabug is a funny looking little Pokémon. Seriously, it looks like a bus and a caterpillar morphed together. And its shiny is equally hilarious. Instead of being all green, Charjabug is now all red. This makes me especially happy because now it doesn’t just look like a bus. It looks like one of those double decker busses from London. Charjabug is a silly Pokémon. And I love that its shiny makes it even sillier.
16. Sewaddle
Sewaddle is one of the cuter caterpillar-esque Pokémon out there, but that combo of green and yellow never really worked for me. Fortunately, the shiny form changes this. Instead of a green leaf with a yellow body, shiny Sewaddle gets a dark green leaf with a light green head. However, its mouth and little feet are turned to a deep orange. This is absolutely adorable and makes me love this little silkworm even more!
15. Genesect
Most would agree that Genesect was always one of the scarier-looking Pokémon. I mean, any time you take a living creature and attach a bunch of mechanical parts to it is going to make it scary. But how do you make Genesect look even scarier? Make it entirely red. This is a bold choice, but it really works here. It’s almost as if Genesect is furious at the scientists who did this to it and wants revenge. And if I saw this thing coming for revenge, I’d get the heck out of the way!
14. Spewpa
Spewpa has become one of the hidden gems for me in all of the shiny Pokémon articles I’ve written. While only a simple change is made, it has a drastic effect on the design. Spewpa, who normally has a black head and a white body, now has a white head and a black body. It’s almost as if it is wearing a duster coat, which is appropriate since Spewpa is the Scatterdust Pokémon. Seriously, this takes a Pokémon that I never cared about and made it look really cool to me. Well done, Game Freak designers.
13. Venonat
Venonat is one of the cuter Bug-types from the first generation. But it’s often forgotten. And that’s unfair! I think the reason is that Venonat (and its evolution Venomoth) look like pretty creepy bugs. What if Venonat was even cuter? I think its shiny form solves that problem by making its red eyes and mouth bright blue. This makes the bug seem less creepy and a lot more innocent. Seriously, when I look at the shiny form, I see a bug with cute little puppy dog eyes. Shiny Venonat just wants to be loved – and it deserves that love.
12. Dustox
As I write this article, it’s now autumn. And while there are a few Pokémon with seasonal gimmicks, there isn’t really a Pokémon that screams “fall” to me. Enter shiny Dustox! Shiny Dustox has its bright green wings changed to a shade of brown. While I would normally be against a change to a duller color, there’s something satisfying about this color combined with the red circles on the wings. It reminds me of a pile of leaves just waiting to be jumped into! Don’t jump onto Dustox, though. That would end poorly.
11. Araquanid
Even though Araquanid is from under the sea, it looks like a Pokémon that’s out of this world. This is mainly due to its angry expression, and the giant bubble around its head. And Araquanid’s shiny form makes it seem even more alien. Araquanid’s lime green legs are changed to a deep purple in its shiny form, and the blue bubble-things around its eyes are changed to red. All of a sudden, Araquanid is an extraterrestrial that’s invading the Earth. I absolutely love this and can’t wait for that movie to come out!
10. Buzzwole
I’m always a fan of a swole boy. And Buzzwole is probably the most swole Pokémon out there! It literally looks like just a bunch of muscles, and is constantly flexing. So how does the shiny form add to this? Well, I always thought that Buzzwole was just red all the way around. Little did I know that parts of it were a little bit darker. When it’s shiny, Buzzwole has these darker red parts changed to neon green. This is awesome – and suddenly makes Buzzwole look like it’s in an 80’s workout tape. And just like that, Buzzwole was never intimidating again.
9. Scizor
Scyther has always been one of my favorite Bug-types. Unfortunately, it has a pretty terrible shiny form. On the other hand, Scizor gives me the best of both worlds. Shiny Scizor has its red metal exterior changed to green. The same green as Scyther! I think this is a fantastic choice, especially since it always seemed weird to me that Scizor was bright red. I mean, Scyther isn’t red at all! If it’s meant to hide in the grass like Scyther in Pokémon Snap, then why make it bright red? The green coloring rights this error in my eyes, all while still looking awesome.
8. Caterpie
If you started Pokémon around gen 1 like I did, there’s a good chance that the first Bug Pokémon you ever saw was Caterpie. In fact, it may be the first Pokémon you ever caught. It’s a cute green caterpillar that evolves into the adorable Butterfree. However, if you ever saw Caterpie’s shiny, I’m sure you’d never want to evolve it. It’s a simple change: Caterpie’s green skin is turned yellow. But I don’t see yellow. I see gold. This makes shiny Caterpie the perfect trophy for a Pokémon trainer’s childhood.
7. Shuckle
Here’s yet another Pokémon whose shiny is incredibly simple. But it’s also a classic. All that happens is its rocky red shell is changed to blue. This is great, because all of Shuckle’s appendages are yellow, and these pop out a lot more with the blue than they do in red. But really, Shuckle is just an adorable Pokémon overall. You could make its shiny almost any color and it would make its way onto this list.
6. Orbeetle
Orbeetle is the newest Pokémon on this list (as of this writing). And much like Araquanid, it looks like it’s from outer space. However, this is clearly intentional here and its shiny form really emphasizes that. Orbeetle is changed from a bunch of different colors, to almost entirely purple and black. This is awesome – and makes this lunar lady bug look even more intimidating. But what really makes it look so scary is its gigantamax form. Gigantamax Orbeetle is literally a UFO, and the bright blue lights on its purple body are terrifying. Seriously, this thing looks like it’s something out of Independence Day, which is always ok to me.
5. Vikavolt
Ok, hear me out on this one. When I look at shiny Vikavolt I get a very distinct image in my mind. It may seem weird, but I promise I can justify it. Shiny Vikavolt reminds me of an XBox 360. It’s right there! Shiny Vikavolt is almost entirely white with neon green right inside its mandibles. It’s almost as if I could put a disc in there and start playing Gears of War. Heck, even its red face reminds of the XBox 360. Remember the red ring of death, anyone? If I’m the only person who sees this, ok. I’ll admit it might be out there. Either way, shiny Vikavolt looks freaking cool.
4. Heracross
Heracross is one of the strongest Bug-types ever. Seriously, don’t let its adorable exterior fool you. This thing is an absolute beast. Want proof? Look at its shiny form. Instead of being a blue hercules beetle, shiny Heracross is now a bright pink hercules beetle. What? That doesn’t seem scary to you? How would you feel if there was a bright pink bug that was almost 5 feet tall charging after you with its horn? Yeah, that’s what I thought.
3. Mega Pinsir
Pinsir has always been a cool-looking Pokémon, and its shiny is pretty good too. Its brown body is changed to a bluish purple in the shiny form, and the actual pincers are now yellow instead of white. But this really didn’t do anything for me for some reason… Then I saw its Mega Evolution. And it clicked. All of the previous changes are still there, but now there are orange and blue wings. These clash beautifully with the bluish purple. Plus, Mega Pinsir’s eyes are changed from yellow to a neon green, which also pops really well. There’s a lot going on with shiny Mega Pinsir and I love all of it.
2. Accelgor
Accelgor has always looked like it could be a cool Pokémon. However, the combination of blue, pink, and green aren’t necessarily the coolest combination. It actually makes it look like Accelgor is trying a little too hard. Thank goodness the shiny form is here to fix that! Accelgor’s shiny takes up the tried and true color combo of black and orange. Not only does this give Accelgor a great Halloween flair, but it also makes it seem more like a ninja than before. This is a great choice that improves on Accelgor’s design a lot. But there’s one shiny bug left that I think is even better.
1. Golisopod
In a few of my shiny rankings, Golisopod has wound up in the top 5. I think it’s time for it to be #1. Golisopod has always looked villainous – and it makes sense as to why. It’s the signature Pokémon of the leader of Team Skull, Guzma. However, its shiny form gives a completely different effect. Instead of being a pale green with details of purple and a darker green, shiny Golisopod is all white with details of red and blue. This makes shiny Golisopod seem like it’s a redeemed version of a regular Golisopod. And this is the same reflection that happens with Guzma. Sure, he starts off evil, but at the end of Ultra Sun and Moon he winds up helping you defeat Team Rainbow Rocket. And this noticeable change is why shiny Golisopod deserves to top this list.
