Pokémon come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and colors, and on top of being many in number, each Pokémon has an alternate color that it can appear as known as "shiny." Whether their variant color is an improvement or not, Shiny Pokémon are very rare and take an extreme amount of luck to find. Because of that, they are often sought after by trainers.

RELATED: The 10 Best Shiny Pokémon Forms

The Pokémon anime has also seen its fair share of Shiny Pokémon making appearances across its long run, a lot of which end up being one-offs, and some are much stronger than others. While some Shinies get their time to shine and be as powerful as they are rare, others have proven to be not very effective.

10 The Boss Pikachu Is Tough, But Not As Tough As Ash's Pikachu

Shiny Boss Pikachu, Pokemon

Besides Ash's Pikachu, quite a few Pikachu appear in the anime from time to time, and during the Sun & Moon seasons, one enthusiastic trainer named Pikala caught a whole bunch of them in the Pikachu Valley, including a Shiny one with a pompadour that's regarded as "The Boss."

The Boss Pikachu admittedly isn't the weakest Shiny to appear in the anime, as it was tougher than the average Pikachu and able to use Volt Tackle and Catastropika, but it lost to Ash's Pikachu when they battled. Since the strength of Ash's can be inconsistent, it makes Boss Pikachu on the lower end of strong Shiny Pokémon.

9 Ditto 2 Could Transform Into Anything But A Stronger Shiny

Ditto and Shiny Ditto become friends in Pokémon.

During the journey through the Sinnoh Region, Ash and friends meet a trainer named Narissa who not only cosplays as Elite Four member Flint but also owns two Dittos, one of which was Shiny. Like any Ditto, Ditto 2 is able to transform into any Pokémon it sees, though, sadly, this includes the Pokémon's lack of Shiny color.

During a battle with Ash's Infernape, Ditto 2 was able to mimic its appearance and moves, but it was only a pale imitation. Despite its best effort, Ditto 2 lost the battle to Infernape rather quickly.

8 Horacio's Charjabug Was Pretty Weak Before Evolving

Shiny Charjabug, Pokémon

Over the years, there have been a lot of three-stage Bug-Type Pokémon, and typically, the second-stage form isn't exactly the strongest, such is the case for a Pokémon like Charjabug. In the anime, Sophocles ends up clashing with the arrogant Horacio in a Charjabug race, believing his Shiny Charjabug would win.

RELATED: 10 Times Pokémon Disappointed Fans

Despite Horacio's boasting, his Chajabug only really had its equipment to rely on, as it was pushed to its limits and couldn't even finish the race, losing the race to Sophocles' Charjabug. It later go on to evolve into a Vikavolt, where it would race Sophocles Vikavoltonce and fair a little better but still lose.

7 Goh's Voltorb So Far Only Knows Self-Destruct

Goh's Shiny Voltorb, Pokémon

With the goal of catching every kind of Pokémon out there and then Mew, Goh has managed to rack up a lot of Pokédex entries over the course of Journeys. Goh's even managed to catch incredibly rare finds such as a gigantic Golurk, Suicune, and even a Shiny Voltorb too.

Goh found and chased this Voltorb in Vermillion City before eventually catching it, though, sadly, as far as battling goes, not much can be said about the strength of this blue Voltorb. It also doesn't help that its only confirmed move is Self-Destruct.

6 The Pink Butterfree Has Never Been Seen In Battle

butterfree leaves Ash in Pokemon

Strangely, there were Pokémon with alternate colors before Shinies were even a concept for the Pokémon world yet, and some of them were way different than the official Shiny variants. One of the most notable examples is the pink Butterfree that appears in the episode "Bye Bye Butterfree."

In the episode, Ash's Butterfree tries to court the pink Butterfree, and while he's unsuccessful at first, he does eventually prove himself after saving her and a bunch of other Butterfree from Team Rocket. Not only is it unclear how strong the pink Butterfree actually is, since she's never seen in battle, but she also doesn't have any confirmed moves to speak of.

5 The Shiny Phantump Is Stronger When With Its Friends

Shiny Phantump, Pokémon

A Shiny Phantump appeared in the XY episode "Making Friends and Influencing Villains!," where it was separated from its fellow Phantump after an encounter with Team Rocket. Without its fellow Ghost-Types backing it up, it was rather timid and frightened by nearly everything and everyone.

This Phantump seemed to be not all that strong by itself, but more effective in a group. With the help of Bonnie, the Phantump was able to gain a little confidence and managed to lead an attack with the other Phantump to repel Team Rocket, so at least it managed to be strong in spirit.

4 Shane's Psyduck Was All Flash, No Substance

Shiny Psyduck, Pokémon

Just like with the Pokémon games, the anime also has trainers who covet Shiny Pokémon. In the Journeys episode "Raid Battle in The Ruins!," Ash and Goh meet a trainer named Shane Seeker, who wants to complete his Pokédex exclusively with Shinies after his first Pokémon was a Shiny Psyduck.

RELATED: Pokémon: 10 Times Water Types Didn't Live Up To Their Potential In The Anime

During the Raid Battle with a huge Golurk, Shane sends out his Psyduck to battle it, a good choice considering the typing, but it was still beaten quickly. Shane's Psyduck may have a flashy appearance, but when it comes to strength in battle, it fell short.

3 The Shiny Shuckle Was Helpful, But Only Outside Of Battle

Shiny Shuckle and Bellsprout, Pokémon

During Ash's Johto journey, he and his friends come across a man who makes medicine with the help of his many Shuckle, one of which was a Shiny Shuckle that made a special medicine for Pokémon obedience. Like any other Shuckle, the Shiny Shuckle had some tough defense with its hard shell and the Shuckle juice it produced was extremely effective, but that's about all that can be said about it.

While the Shuckle proves itself to be rather helpful in the pursuit of medicine, it sadly isn't as potent when it came to defending itself, and, as such, got temporarily nabbed by Team Rocket during the episode.

2 Mimikins Was An Actual Ghost And Couldn't Interact With Anything

Mimikyu floats in the air Pokémon

While Ghost-Type Pokémon are a common occurrence in the Pokémon world, spirits of the departed have been proven to haunt the world along with them from time to time. One actual ghost was also a Ghost-Type and a Shiny Pokémon too, and that was Acerola's Mimikyu, Mimikins.

Being a real ghost, Mimikins had the ability to fly and pass through solid objects while also having a presence that could attract Ghost-Type Pokémon to it. However, while Mimikins shares a strong bond with Acerola, it's clearly not her strongest Pokémon as it's not seen in battle as much as her Shuppet and Gengar.

1 There Have Been Several Shiny Magikarp That Appeared In The Anime

Shiny Magikarp Jumps, Pokémon

Surprisingly, there have been quite a few Shiny Magikarp that have appeared in the Pokémon anime. While all of them end up making one-off appearances across the series, they are strangely the most recurring Shiny Pokémon (behind Ash's Noctowl).

All that being said, even a Shiny Magikarp is still a Magikarp, which means they're all about as pathetically weak as the rest of them. One Shiny Magikarp was the reigning champ of the "Magikarp High Jump Competition" in one episode. However, Goh's gigantic Magikarp was able to jump into space, far surpassing it.

NEXT: 10 Shiny Pokémon That Look Exactly Like The Original