Summary
- Shiny Fossil Pokemon range from excellent to lackluster, with unique color variations that can be hit or miss.
- Some Fossil Pokemon, like Kabuto and Kabutops, shine with vibrant green shinies, while others, like Shieldon, fall flat.
- Some Fossil Pokemon, like Arctovish, have unusual but striking shinies, while others, like Archeops, offer subtle color swaps.
A fan-favorite subgroup of Pokemon, the Fossil Pokemon have been around since the very beginning of the series. While the recent ancient Paradox Pokemon feel similar to the Fossil group, they are completely separate with no overlap. Unique from most other Pokemon in requiring an item to then turn into a member of the player's team, the wide variety of different ancient Fossil Pokemon also offers a wide array of different shiny palettes.
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With so many Pokemon to pick through, the range of quality for shiny Fossil Pokemon reaches mountainous highs and cavernous lows. From the usual victims of bad color swaps and barely changing from the base color, to perfect and drastic variants, the best shiny Fossil Pokemon stand far above the worst.
25 Carracosta
Deeper Watery Depths
One of the more forgettable Fossil Pokemon, Carracosta's shiny does nothing to help with its often ignored status. Falling into the category of bad shinies that most players dislike, this alternate variant only changes the saturation of the original's colors.
Turning only ever so slightly darker, the shiny Carracosta certainly does not appear at the top of any shiny hunter's list.
24 Tirtouga
Coastal Teal
Perhaps one of the more forgotten Fossil Pokemon, Tirtouga from Generation 5 offers a shiny swap that often appears with Water-types. Typically turning the watery shades to a new color of blue, Tirtouga's somewhat tropical teal fits right in.
While not a bad shiny by any means, the swap to a slightly lighter blue isn't as eye-catching as other options.
23 Archeops
Slight Saturation
The other half of the Tirtouga line, Archeops has many problems, even beyond it's middling shiny colors. Infamous for perhaps the worst ability in the entire Pokemon franchise, the completely subtle color swaps for its shiny form are like a cherry on top.
Simply shifting some saturation and the feather colors around, Archeop's shiny feels perfect given everything else it doesn't have going on.
22 Shieldon
Polished Metal
Found in the original Sinnoh games, as well as the remakes and reimagining , Shieldon is, unfortunately, the lesser of the Generation's two Fossil lines in the shiny department.
Barely noticeable, Shieldon's metal plate and body slightly change hues, with the top becoming more blue and the body becoming a brighter yellow. Compared to the options seen even within the Sinnoh fossils, this shiny is best left in the past.
21 Bastiodon
Steel Blue
Following in its first stage's steed, Bastiodon has effectively the same shiny as Shieldon, albeit tweaked ever so slightly to better fit this ancient steel monster.
In certain lighting, the color scheme for shiny Bastiodon gives its headplate a blue-black metallic look, and its yellow body is not quite as neon as Shieldon's, so the contrast works a bit better.
20 Lileep
Capturing The Grass Type
While not a terrible shiny in general, Lileep swapping the intriguing purple for a standard green, fitting the Grass-type, is not a bad swap, but it doesn't do much to catch they eye either.
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The green works well for the slightly alien, deep sea look of Lileep, but it's not a particularly special shiny fossil compared to others.
19 Cradily
Wild Tone Shift
Unlike Lileep, Cradily's already green body makes a colorful and bright swap to pink, completely betraying the Grass-type theme with its shiny design.
While the intense and unexpected shift is appreciated, the choice of pink, especially when accounting for Cradily's distinct head details, is certainly a choice.
18 Aerodactyl
Bright Pink Pterodactyl
One of the original five Fossil Pokemon, Aerodactyl's shiny form wasn't revealed until Generation 2, where this stony gray pteranodon monster turned pink.
Definitely a more unique color among Rock-types, shiny Aerodactyl may not reign supreme among the Kanto fossils, but the new palette intrigues casual players and shiny hunters alike.
17 Anorith
From Silver To Gold
Taking apparent inspiration from its partial Rock-typing, shiny Anorith's now brown-gold tones, instead of muddled gray, certainly improve this slightly odd ancient bug.
The shiny palette may be simple, but its effectiveness gives Anorith an edge over it's Hoenn competitor.
16 Armaldo
From Blue To Red
Much like its pre-evolution, Armaldo's tone shift is a logical flip between typically paired colors. Instead of silver to gold, Armaldo swaps its muddied blue for a light red.
For both a Rock-type and a Bug-type, the change to red is appreciated and makes for a fairly unique palette.