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The shiny hunting aspect of Pokemon games makes up both a large part of the community and a large part of the postgame fun. In Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, players are practically spoiled for choice when it comes to choosing what method to best hunt down the valuable off-color variants of popular Pokemon.
Between series staples and shiny hunting methods brand new to the Generation Nine games, the differences separating the best methods and the lesser methods are drastic. While the odds are generally around the same percent chance, especially when factoring in the shiny charm, some methods are actually engaging and some are effective, but miserable to sit through.
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5 Random Encounter Method
The Best Shiny Is The Random Shiny
While it’s not technically a method that players can instigate or actively improve the chances of, beyond the shiny charm, the random encounter method is nevertheless a valid technique for players wanting to find a slightly more difficult shiny Pokemon over those produced from sandwiches and eggs. Although the days of truly random encounters are long gone in Scarlet and Violet, finding a random shiny is still just as possible.
The process of finding a random shiny Pokemon can be expedited by other methods, such as resetting the environment and what Pokemon have already spawned in, but there is no greater feeling than riding around the Paldea region, or the land of Kitakami or the Blueberry Academy’s terarium, and simply stumbling upon a random shiny. It may not be the most effective method, but it is certainly an easy method to start.
4 Picnic Or Reset Method
The Fastest Way To See Hundreds Of Pokemon
Using the picnic table in Scarlet and Violet may seem strange as a way to find shiny Pokemon, but since opening the picnic table instantly despawns all Pokemon, it can let players see tens upon hundreds of Pokemon in a far faster time than simply driving around the map on Koraidon or Miraidon. This same effect can be achieved when riding in and out of towns, but the picnic table is the more versatile option, available practically everywhere.
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The picnic table method is best used in conjunction with other odd-increasing methods, as coupling a true shiny boost with seeing far more Pokemon than normal is a powerful combination. A great choice when using sandwiches, the picnic table method is simple but effective.
3 Sandwich Method
The Scarlet And Violet Staple
Introduced as the Pokemon interaction gimmick in Scarlet and Violet, making sandwiches is one of the best ways to find shiny Pokemon, specifically for how well sandwiches can specialize in spawning Pokemon of certain types. Beyond the additional bonuses sandwiches can bring, like increased odds for marks or altering Pokemon size, the resources available for building the better and effective sandwiches make this method fairly straightforward.
While getting the more valuable sandwich ingredients, being the various Herba Mystica, can be tricky for players that have trouble with Tera Raids, the usefulness of Herba Mystica sandwiches cannot be understated. Since the sandwiches affect literally every Pokemon beyond legendaries and static spawns in the game, any and every available Pokemon can have increased shiny odds.
2 Masuda Method
Impossible To Fail
The Masuda method is one of the oldest shiny hunting methods within the Pokemon franchise, and one of the few methods that is available in practically every single game. It may require having a Pokemon in a language foreign to the player’s game, and ideally a Ditto, but after that, breeding a shiny from the Masuda method is only a matter of time.
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While the Masuda method is simple, effective, and has a generally low bar to access, it is perhaps the least fun way to hunt for a shiny Pokemon. The Masuda method revolves around the player hatching eggs for hours and sometimes days at a time. This method is technically impossible to fail, since the hatched shiny is inherently caught and can only be lost if the player doesn’t save the game, but driving around in circles and cycling back to the picnic to make more eggs is far less engaging than fighting wild Pokemon.
1 Outbreak Method
The Easiest And Fastest-Feeling Method
Outbreaks in Scarlet and Violet are the perfect mix of engaging and effective for players to hunt with. Finding a certain Pokemon in outbreaks is the only tricky aspect of this hunting method, but once that specific Pokemon has started outbreaking, the player can essentially hunt as many shiny versions of that Pokemon as they want.
When using a sandwich during an outbreak, and having the outbreak at max shiny odds, this method is on-par with the Masuda method for shiny rates. While it is definitely more expensive and intensive to efficiently set up than just breeding Pokemon, it is far, far more engaging to drive around and battle wild Pokemon, keeping an eye out for the elusive shiny, than just driving in circles for an egg to hatch.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet
- Released
- November 18, 2022
