Pokémon Sword / Shield increases chances of Shiny Magikarp drastically: Here’s how to catch it now

Magikarp in the shiny variant is not red, but orange.

Shinys are known to be extremely rare in Pokémon games. The probability in Sword and Shield is just 1 in 4096. Thanks to a new event in Pokémon Sword and Shield, you now have an increased chance of a dazzling Magikarp. We explain how it works.

So now you grab a shiny Magikarp

The annual New Year event in Pokémon Sword and Shield has been running since January 1, 2022. This is a raid event that focuses on Magikarp. In other words: The chances of a dazzling Magikarp are only increased in Dyna Raids, not in the wild.

What is the probability? As Bisafans.de writes, you can find a level 5 raid with a Shiny Magikarp in the nature zone with a 2% chance. If you have started a Magikarp raid, there is a total of 8% chance that a Shiny is hidden behind the raid Pokémon.

The probability is basically still low, but it is significantly higher than for finding a Shiny Karpador in the wild.

How long does the event run? Until January 10th at 0:59 a.m. (German time).

How do I start the event? You can activate the new raids when you update the news from the nature zone in the menu under “Secret Gift”.

Shiny-Gyarados is one of the most famous Shinys with its bright red color.

The special thing about Shiny Magikarp is of course not only its bright orange color, but especially the fact that you can develop it (at level 20) into Shiny Gyarados – one of the most popular and iconic shimmering Pokémon of all. We remember: In the golden and silver editions we were able to find the red Gyarados in the Lake of Anger. At that time, the dragon Pokémon was probably the first Shiny ever for most trainers.

Also cool: You can upload your Shiny Magikarp (or Shiny Gyarados) to the cloud via Pokémon Home and use it to later transfer it to future Pokémon games.

All important information about Shinys in sword and shield can be found in this GamePro guide.

Which Shiny Pokémon do you own and which are you particularly proud of?