Pokemon GO Player Finally Catches Super Rare Pokemon Variant After Nearly 9 Years of Playing

A Pokemon GO player has captured a rare variant of Machop after years of playing the game and shared their acquisition on social media. The Pokemon GO Pokedex expands constantly, adding new monsters for players to catch. Some regions such as Kanto already have all the critters available, with trainers finding them in the wild or at events.

Machop debuted in Pokemon GO in July 2016 along with the game’s launch. It was introduced alongside the other Kanto monsters, with its variants added over the years. Shiny Machop debuted in 2019 at the Battle Shodown event, while Shadow Machop was added in 2020 at the Team GO Rocket event. In 2022, Niantic brought players the shiny form of Shadow Machop during the Team GO Rocket Takeover, while regular and shiny Dynamax Machop debuted in 2024 in the Just My Cup of Tea event. Recently, one Pokemon GO player was lucky and got a rare variant of the classic Fighting-type Pokemon.

On the Pokemon GO subreddit, user Horro_ showed off the new addition to their collection: a shiny hundo Machop. The Kantonian monster was caught during the May 2025 Community Day Classic and draws attention for being shiny, having perfect attack, defense, and HP stats, and having a different background. During the event, the Pokemon appeared in the wild more often, and those who completed the research tasks released during the Community Day Classic had the chance to catch a Machop with a special background featuring the Might and Mastery season logo.

Pokemon GO Player Takes Years to Catch First Shundo

The OP celebrated the catch, as, according to them, this is their first shundo – a shiny Pokemon with perfect IVs – obtained in nine years of playing Pokemon GO. In the comments section, the other Redditors congratulated them on their acquisition, with one player showing they have a shiny Machamp. Another player commented they still don’t have a shundo despite being at Pokemon GO level 45, as it’s not uncommon for trainers to say that although they’re veterans, they still haven’t gotten a rare Pokemon.

For players who haven’t been lucky enough to get a special Pokemon like Horro_’s Machop, other pocket monsters will be available at upcoming events. Urshifu will be added to Pokemon GO on May 27 in the GO Battle Week: Final Strike event, while Crowned Sword Zacian and Crowned Shield Zamazenta will be at Pokemon GO Fest 2025 along with Gigantamax Rillaboom. GO Fest 2025 will also mark the return of Legendary Titans, which players will encounter in raids.