Niantic Labs surprised Pokémon GO players last week when it announced the Water Festival in-game event, which increased the spawn rates of water-type Pokémon such as Squirtle and Magikarp, along with the ice-type Lapras.

However, upon the launch of the event, gamers were treated to another surprise in the form of a Shiny Magikarp.

Shiny Magikarp Caught In 'Pokémon GO'

Shortly after the Water Festival started, reports trickled in that Pokémon GO players were catching the shiny version of Magikarp. The shiny Magikarp appears normal on the Pokémon GO map, but upon tapping on it, it will be colored gold instead of its usual red.

The shiny Magikarp does not have any special abilities, nor is it more powerful compared to the normal Magikarp. The only difference that it has over its regular counterpart is its gold color, but that has not stopped Pokémon GO players from launching an all-out hunt for the first shiny Pokémon to be caught in the game.

The shiny Magikarp, however, is not the only such Pokémon that has been added to Pokémon GO. If players would evolve a shiny Magikarp using 400 Magikarp candies, they would receive a shiny Gyarados. Similar to the shiny Magikarp, the shiny Gyarados does not have any discernible advantages over its regular counterpart, with the only difference being its red color compared to the regular Gyarados' blue color.

Shiny Magikarp Here To Stay In 'Pokémon GO'

Players who have not yet caught a shiny Magikarp were scrambling to catch one before the Water Festival ended, on the assumption that the availability of the shiny Pokémon will also end after the event.

However, in a tweet by Niantic Labs through the official Pokémon GO account, it revealed the shiny Magikarp will remain in the game, and will still be out in the wild for players to catch. However, it is unclear whether the spawn rate of the shiny Magikarp will remain the same, increase, or decrease with the end of the Water Festival.

There was apparently no way to increase the chance of catching a shiny Magikarp while the Water Festival was ongoing, and it would become much harder to do so with the event having ended as the spawn rate of water-type Pokémon return to normal.

With the shiny Magikarp, and in effect, the shiny Gyarados, to remain in Pokémon GO even after the conclusion of the Water Festival event, it seems to be inevitable that the shiny versions of other Pokémon will soon arrive to the mobile game. How Niantic Labs will go about this remains to be seen, however. The developer might continue rolling out a handful of shiny Pokémon in succeeding events, or it might unlock the shiny versions of all the Pokémon currently in the game all at once.

The addition of the shiny Magikarp, with the expected upcoming entry of more of such Pokémon, to Pokémon GO will likely serve as a simple but effective way for players to remain hooked with the mobile game. Ever since shiny Pokémon were introduced to the franchise, players have gone to great lengths to catch them, and this trend, will likely continue into Pokémon GO.