Shiny Pokemon Guide For Sword and Shield
I’ve always been a collector when it comes to Pokemon games. I’m sure Game Freak and Red and Blue are to blame for that part of my personality. When I pick up a new game I’m never too concerned for the story or the competitive aspect of it. It’s like the old slogan says, “Gotta catch ’em all!”. What collection wouldn’t be complete without some rare and shiny centerpiece. In the case of shiny Pokemon the shiny part is literal. So, here is the only Pokemon shiny guide you’ll never need. Forget all those videos or long winded guides.
The shiny was first introduced back in Gold and Silver. There was a point in the game when you would come across a red variant of Gyarados. Gold and Silver introduced alternate shiny variants (the shiny form) for every little monster. When they come on the screen they give off a little sparkly animation which fans refer to now as a Shiny. Since then having a shiny Pokemon has become the top goal for some collectors. This Pokemon Shiny Guide has all the information you’ll need in a clear, short and concise manner.
Finding A Shiny
So how does shiny hunting work? It’s not easy to get a shiny, but Sword and Shield make it as easy as it’s ever been. Your chance to run into a shiny version at face value is 1 in 4096. That’s a lot of Pokemon to make your way through. Luckily there are a few things you can do to improve your chance at encountering a shiny. Most of the shiny guide’s will focus on either the battle method or the Masuda method. This Pokemon shiny guide will tell you everything you need to know from battle to breeding, otherwise known as the Masuda method.
Hunting Your Pokemon
The first thing you want to do is increase your battle count with whatever little monster you want to get a shiny version of. Let’s use Growlithe as an example. Start by heading out to the wild area. Once here you’ll want to either KO or catch Growlithes. The more wild Pokemon you do the better your odds are. To max out your odds to encounter a shiny Pokemon, you’ll want to increase that battle count to 500. Once you’ve got your battle count maxed out you’ll want to max out your catch combos multiplier, which is easier than it sounds. All you need to do is catch 25 Growlithes in a row. You can run into other Pokemon but you’ll want to run away from them so as not to ruin your catch multiplier. You don’t have to worry about this for the battle count.
So, with a battle count of 500 and a catch multiplier of 25 what are your chances of finding a shiny? 1 in 682. You can further increase those odds by obtaining a shiny charm which you get when you complete your Pokédex and talk with an NPC in Hotel Ionia in Circhester. This increases your chances for a shiny encounter to 1 in 512. This also applies to raid boss battles which can in turn yield a shiny.
The Masuda Method
The other method for obtaining shiny is through breeding. Breeding takes a lot less effort to prep but relies just as much on chance. It’s my preferred method when it comes to being a shiny hunter. Breeding shinies is pretty simple. First, choose which shiny Pokemon you’d like, let’s use Growlithe again. You’ll want to get a male and female or a ditto and drop them off at the Pokemon Daycare on route 3. Here’s the key, you want each of these Pokemon to be from a different region in real life. If you throw a bunch of Pokemon out over the surprise trading feature this shouldn’t be a problem. You’ll know you have one when it has a tag in the summary. A German Growlithe has GER, a French Growlithe has FRE, etc.
Once you have your two Pokemon just ride your bike in circles outside the front of the Daycare. When the lady crosses her arms, talk to her to grab the new egg. Keep riding your bike until the egg hatches, rinse and repeat. If you can find a fire type Pokemon who has the ability Flamebody put them in your party and your eggs will hatch quicker than normal. The same odds apply here as with catching a shiny 1 in 682 or 1 in 512 with the shiny charm.
The Super Shiny Pokemon
That’s not all! There is one new edition to the shiny system in Pokemon Sword and Shield. Players are calling it the square shiny or the super shiny. 1 in 16 shiny Pokemon will enter the battlefield with an alternate shiny animation. Instead of the stars that bounce off it to indicate it’s shiny, there are square shaped sparkles instead. Otherwise, it’s exactly the same as any other shiny
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Feature Photo Credit by Game Freak