15 Best Black-Colored Shiny Pokémon Of All Time

Venom is cooler than Spider-Man. Shadow the hedgehog is cooler than Sonic the hedgehog. And Twisted Metal: Black is better than every other Twisted Metal game.

Why?

Because everything is better when it’s black.

This is also true of shiny Pokémon. Especially if those colors change to black. And in this list, I’ll be looking at which Pokémon are better off having gone to the dark side.

I’m adding one personal rule to this: a primary color of the Pokémon has to change to black. So there will be no Pokémon that are already black with new highlights (Sorry Umbreon, Luxray, and Zoroark).

With that out of the way, let’s find out why black is best!

15. Oricorio Baile Form

If there’s one color combo that I’m a sucker for, it’s black and red.

And if I see a red ‘mon, I want it painted black.

The Baile form of Oricorio nails this perfectly. Sure, all it did was swap the red and black of its normal design. But this captures an entirely different emotion.

Oricorio goes from a fiery latin dancer to a wiser and more mature Pokémon that still has that fire burning inside.

Because of that, I feel that Oricorio is the perfect Pokemon to start off this list.

14. Charizard

If you asked your parents what Pokémon they knew, they would say, “Pikachu!”

But if you asked for a second, Charizard would immediately follow.

And while many people would put Charizard as their #1, I respectfully disagree for two reasons.

One: Mega Charizard X pulls the look off better without being shiny.

And two: Charizard had an awesome purple shiny back in Gen 2 that I think looks a lot better.

That being said, this is still an awesome shiny.

13. Spewpa

While its evolved form is remembered for its awesome wing-pattern gimmick, Spewpa is easily forgotten.

But for some reason, this little thing stood out to me here.

Sure, its black head just palette swapped with its white coat. But it told a story for me.

Instead of a caterpillar in a cocoon, now I see a desperado in a dark poncho who has seen the worst that the wild west has to offer.

So while this may seem like the black sheep on the list, I freaking love it.

And speaking of black sheep…

12. Wooloo

It’s a black sheep! Look at how freaking cute this is!

*ahem* Sorry. I got a little excited there.

But can you blame me? Look at it!

Wooloo is already really freaking cute, but its shiny form gives you a chance to see its adorable little mouth. Easily one of the best Pokémon additions in Sword and Shield has got to be shiny Wooloo.

11. Sandygast

I always love it when a Pokémon’s design pays particular attention to the real world.

This is the case with shiny Sandygast. Its transition from regular sand to black sand actually represents the black sand beaches found throughout the world, including Hawaii, which the Alolan region is based off of.

Not to mention that the blue and yellow accents of the pebbles and shovel give the design a little pop! This all makes Sandygast a very cute and very interesting shiny.

10. Furfrou

If you look at regular Furfrou it just seems like the white fur was made black, and that’s all.

But the real fun comes with all the different haircuts you can give Furfrou!

These give the Pokémon a whole bunch of different looks. Plus, all of the bright color accents look a lot better on the black fur.

My personal favorite designs are diamond and dandy, which is good because Furfrou is one dandy of a shiny Pokémon.

9. The Tapus

I love everything about the Tapu Pokémon.

Tapu Koko, Tapu Lele, Tapu Fini, and Tapu Bulu are all powerful Pokémon that guard the four separate islands in the Alola region.

They’re designed after heads on a totem pole, and by changing their main colors to black, they each get more of a “charred-wood” look to them.

Not only does this make them look more battle hardened, but it causes their different details to pop more than in their original designs. Because the same effect is achieved with all four of them, I’m including them all on a spot here.

8. Hawlucha

I love wrestling and I love hawks.

So when Hawlucha was introduced I was stoked.

It really represented the high-flying luchador-style heroics from the likes of Rey Mysterio.

However, shiny Hawlucha does the exact opposite: combining black with dark purple and blood red.

This gives Hawlucha a much more serious tone fitting for a truly awesome fighting-type Pokémon. Also, shiny Hawlucha is one of the few shinies you can actually see in the anime.

It plays a villain in a local play, adding yet another one of my hobbies into a single Pokémon.

7. Decidueye

Decidueye has always had an awesome ranger or rogue-like vibe to it.

It’s a Pokémon that will hide in the woods and rob a rich man’s caravan in order to feed a poor local village. But with its shiny, Decidueye’s brown cape-like feathers change to black, and its face becomes a bright red.

This gives it a new air of mystery and helps Decidueye lean into its ghost typing.

Basically, you go from Robin Hood to Phantom of the Opera. And I am all for it.

6. Primal Kyogre

I thought the choice to give Kyogre and Groudon primal forms in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire was brilliant.

This shows how ancient and powerful these Pokémon truly are.

And shiny Primal Kyogre perfectly captures the mystery of the deep sea. Its black coloring combined with the golden light emanating from the lines around its body give off the feeling of a primordial creature that contains the wisdom of hundreds of centuries.

Shiny Primal Kyogre deserves to be a legendary Pokémon.

5. Rayquaza

One of my favorite Pokémon spin-off games is Pokémon Conquest.

And probably the coolest moment of this game was when you faced off against Nobunaga and his shiny Rayquaza.

I had never seen one before, and it was really intimidating! But swapping Rayquaza’s green for black helps support the idea that Rayquaza is the Pokémon in charge of the Hoenn region, and it will do anything to keep the peace.

Shiny Rayquaza is a Pokémon worthy of Nobunaga.

4. Mega Gardevoir

Mega Gardevoir gives off massive Cinderella vibes: beautiful and innocent.

I want to take her to the ball and give her the night of her life! However, her shiny form elicits a different response from me.

The white dress is now entirely black, and her hair has changed from that pastel green to an icy blue.

What was once innocent and sweet now seems almost mournful. However, there’s still a grace and beauty here that few Pokémon can match.

3. Pumpkaboo

Shiny Pumpkaboo takes me back to a simpler time.

A time when my mom would drop me off at the mall and I would meet up with friends, go to Hot Topic, and geek out about anime and The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Pumpkaboo’s black and purple shiny truly represents all of those kids in the late 90’s and early 2000’s who thought they were dark and broody, but were really just young and trying to find where they belong.

Plus, it’s one of the cutest shinies of all time.

2. Primal Groudon

Where shiny Primal Kyogre was mysterious, shiny Primal Groudon is just terrifying.

Primal Groudon was cool when it was red. But it felt like there was too much going on, and I couldn’t focus on all of the details. Changing its red skin to black really draws the eyes to the lava that’s coursing through its veins.

This gives Primal Groudon a greater sense of danger than any other Pokémon here.

Shiny Primal Groudon is a dormant volcano just waiting to erupt.

1. Haxorus

We started with black and red, and we’re ending with black and red.

I already thought that Haxorus looked really cool. In fact, it’s one of my favorite dragon types!

But Haxorus’ shiny goes from looking cool to being one of the most intimidating Pokémon in the game.

Its whole body is black and gray with only its claws and axe-like mandibles being blood red.

Haxorus now feels like a combination of a T-rex and a black knight.

And it is easily my favorite black shiny in all of Pokémon.