How To Find Shiny Pokémon In Pokémon Scarlet & Violet

Shiny Pokemon have always grabbed the attention of players. They are rare variants of Pokemon that have different colors. Each Pokemon has a shiny version, which is extremely hard to encounter under normal circumstances. If you are wondering how to find shiny Pokémon in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, look no further. Here, we have covered all the known methods to boost your chances of finding shiny Pokemon.

How To Get Shiny Pokemon

Like other entries in the series, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet has shiny pokemon that the player can catch. Usually tho, the chance of encountering a shiny pokemon is pretty low. In fact, it is so low that we have figures to represent the encounter rate. Without any modifiers, the base encounter rate for shiny pokemon is around 1 in 4096. That means that for every 4096 pokemon you encounter, one of them has the chance to be shiny in nature.

But players have found ways to increase those abysmal odds. It was only natural that a player base as dedicated as the Pokemon franchise would find ways around these odds. The community has put a lot of effort into understanding the mechanics surrounding shiny pokemon and also how to make it more favorable for most players who want a shiny pokemon in their team.

Here, we will discuss all the ways that you can utilize to increase your odds of encountering a shiny pokemon. 

Differences From Other Titles

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet title is slightly different from its predecessors when it comes to the overall game design. This, in turn, also affects how players approach the topic of shiny pokemon. Since the game is following more of an open-world approach now, players can see shiny pokemon out in the wild. This affects the topic of how to find shiny Pokémon in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

This is a huge deal since players do not have to reload save files after starting an encounter in the hope of resetting the odds. They can just see whether or not the pokemon is shiny directly from the overworld. This cuts down on a lot of time since players no longer have to engage hundreds of Pokemon either, just to see if it is shiny.

In addition to this, the game also keeps track of shiny pokemon for you. It tells you how many shiny pokemon you have encountered in your playthrough, thanks to a tracker in your character profile. It is worth noting that this tracker will only update the pokemon that you fight, not the ones that you do not interact with.

Outbreaks

Outbreaks are something fairly new that has been added to Pokemon games recently. It is a special occurrence where a certain type of pokemon spawn in an area in huge numbers, as the name suggests. There is no need to worry if you haven’t encountered an outbreak yet. Players can just go to their maps and look for the outbreak symbol. It is represented by a symbol of the pokemon with a red background that glows ominously.

Once you have located the outbreak, you can travel to that spot and follow our guide. For this method to work, you need to fight more than 60 pokemon. That is obviously a huge number when you look at it. But thanks to the new mechanics in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, the battle times are cut down by a lot. Players have access to a new mode called Let’s Go Mode, which they can trigger by pressing R when they are out in the open world. 

What this does is that it summons the first pokemon from your party into the overworld. They will follow alongside you in this mode, and more importantly, they will challenge wild pokemon on their own. When you are in this mode, battles will finish automatically depending on the type and level of your pokemon. This makes the fighting really trivial, and you can plow through herds of pokemon within a short amount of time.

After defeating multiple pokemon in this way, we now have a significant boost to our shiny encounter rate. Thanks to one of the community members from Twitter, we know the exact figures that represent this change. If we clear more than 60 pokemon, our new shiny encounter rate will be 1 in 1365. This is significantly less than what we originally had at 1 in 4096.

It is important that you clear more than 60 pokemon in outbreaks. Because if you clear less than sixty, the resulting bonus will only be 1 in 2048. This is quite a lot more as compared to the rate you get after clearing sixty pokemon.

This is where the important part comes in. After defeating the Pokemon, you need to find a spot where you can set up a picnic. Then pack it back up again. What this does is essentially reset the spawn for all of the pokemon in the outbreak. It is an iteration of reloading a save, but this time it is much more convenient. You can go and see the outbreak after packing up your picnic to see if any shiny pokemon appeared. If not, you can repeat this step as many times as it takes. 

Once you repeat this enough times, you are very likely to encounter a shiny pokemon. Keep in mind that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet do not feature the iconic sound effect that signified a shiny encounter. You will have to keep your eyes peeled to spot a shiny one. In addition to that, some shiny forms are very similar to their normal counterparts, so you will have to keep that in mind. Stay alert at all times to maximize your chances of catching a shiny pokemon.

Without a doubt, this is the easiest method that you can follow to catch a shiny pokemon without getting into the other stuff to boost your chances. But if you want to maximize your efficiency, then you can stack the other methods on top of this one so that you have more chances of encountering a shiny pokemon.

Shiny Charm

Shiny charms are an easy way to heavily increase your odds of encountering a shiny pokemon. To get a shiny charm, you will have to complete your Paldea Pokedex, which is admittedly not an easy task. Once you have completed the Paldea Pokedex, go to Mr. Jacq and talk to him. He will award you with a shiny charm for completing the Pokedex. 

It will take players a lot of time to complete their Pokedex, which is why the shiny charm has a huge effect on the odds. To put it into perspective, we have some figures that explain the odds. If you equip the shiny charm, your chances of encountering a shiny pokemon shoot up to 1 in 1365. Keep in mind that this is without the outbreak method that we discussed earlier. This rate will apply to normal pokemon in the overworld.

If you decide to couple this method with the outbreak method, your chances of encountering a shiny will become 1 in 819. This is a massive improvement and will surely bring you closer to getting the shiny pokemon of your dreams. It is worth noting that the chances become 1 in 819 only if you clear sixty or more pokemon in an outbreak. 

Shiny Sandwich

Sandwiches are items that provide buffs to pokemon. The buffs provided depend on the type of sandwich itself. Players can make sandwiches with sparkling power that increase the odds of finding shiny pokemon. The key ingredient for these shiny sandwiches is Herba Mystica. Aptly named, players can only find these rare ingredients in raids. And even in raids, there is a chance that it might not spawn, so it is a very sought-after ingredient. 

In case you do have it, you can combine it with some other ingredients to create a shiny sandwich. Thanks to another member of the community over on Twitter, they have listed all of the combinations that you can use to create shiny sandwiches. You can check them out here, but for your convenience, we have also listed them here. Here are all the recipes that give shiny sandwiches:

• Normal: 1 Chorizo, 2 Salty Herba Mystica
• Fire: 1 Basil, 1 Sweet Herba Mystica, 1 Salty Herba Mystica
• Water: 1 Cucumber, 2 Salty Herba Mystica
• Grass: 1 Lettuce, 1 Salty Herba Mystica, 1 Sour Herba Mystica
• Flying: 1 Prosciutto, 2 Salty Herba Mystica
• Fighting: 1 Pickle, 2 Salty Herba Mystica
• Poison: 1 Noodle, 2 Salty Herba Mystica
• Electric: 1 Yellow Bell Pepper, 1 Salty Herba Mystica, 1 Spicy Herba Mystica
• Ground: 1 Ham, 2 Salty Herba Mystica
• Rock: 1 Jalapeno, 2 Salty Herba Mystica
• Psychic: 1 White Onion, 2 Salty Herba Mystica
• Ice: 1 Klawf Stick, 2 Salty Herba Mystica
• Bug: 1 Cherry Tomatoes, 2 Salty Herba Mystica
• Ghost: 1 Red Onion, 2 Salty Herba Mystica
• Steel: 1 Hamburger, 1 Sweet Herba Mystica, 1 Salty Herba Mystica
• Dragon: 1 Avocado, 2 Salty Herba Mystica
• Dark: 1 Smoked Fillet, 1 Sweet Herba Mystica, 1 Salty Herba Mystica
• Fairy: 1 Tomato, 2 Salty Herba Mystica 

These various flavors of Herba Mystica are combined with various other ingredients to make shiny sandwiches. The type of shiny sandwich dictates which type of pokemon gets a boost in shiny rate. Keep in mind that these buffs only last for thirty minutes, so make the most of that time.

If you have a sparkling power of level 3, then the boost in the odds is incredible. Your chances of encountering a shiny pokemon become 1 in 1024. This is without any other method stacked on top of it. If you combine this method with the outbreak method, then your odds go up to 1 in 683.

This is amazing, but that’s not where it stops. If you combine all three methods that we have discussed so far, then your odds of encountering a shiny pokemon go up by a lot. Using all three of them will net you a rate of 1 in 512. 

Eggs

Encountering them in the wild isn’t the only way how to find shiny Pokémon in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Players can also hatch shiny pokemon straight from eggs. This method is one that has been prevalent all throughout the pokemon games, and for a good reason. It doesn’t require as much active work, and players can play the game while the eggs hatch.

Historically, this method is referred to as the Masuda method. We will cover this method in more detail now. First, we need to understand how breeding works in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. You need to have two Pokemon that are compatible with each other present in your party. Then you can just go to a picnic and wish that an egg magically appears in your basket. 

A good thing about this method of breeding is that you can do it while you are hunting shiny pokemon through the outbreak method. This is where the Masuda method comes in. It requires you to breed the pokemon, but the pokemon need to have a special quality, which is that both pokemon must belong to different country versions of the same game. 

What this means is that one pokemon must be from a region like the European region, and the other must be from a different region, let’s say the Japanese region, for the sake of this example. You can do this by trading pokemon with your friends in the game.

If you follow the Masuda method, your odds of finding an egg for a shiny pokemon skyrocket. The odds come out to be 1 in 683. If you pair this method with the shiny charm, then you can further improve your chances and bring them up to 1 in 512. This is nearly the same as using the previous three methods in conjunction.

Tera Raids

While this method is not nearly as efficient as the previously explained methods, it is still worth mentioning. If you do not want to go through all the hassle and are still wondering how to find shiny Pokémon in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, then look no further. This method doesn’t require you to do a lot of extra steps just to encounter a shiny pokemon. 

Just like the Dynamax raids from Pokemon Sword and Shield, the tera raids in this game boost the player’s chances of encountering a shiny pokemon. The chances of coming across a shiny pokemon have increased, even if they are still nowhere near as good as they were with the earlier techniques. This increase in the odds is only for the pokemon that you battle in the raid itself and not for other pokemon.

Summary

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is the latest entry in the Pokemon franchise. It has revamped the classic formula and shifted to more of an open-world approach. Fans have welcomed this change as it makes the adventure of being a Pokemon master a lot more exciting. 

Shiny pokemon have always been an object of fascination for players. Some have entirely different color schemes, while some have subtle differences from their original counterparts. They feel special, which they are, and also add a lot of charm to the pokemon. They add a factor of rarity to all pokemon alike which is why they are so cherished in the community. We have covered all there is to know about how to find shiny Pokémon in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet and discussed all the various methods in detail.

Hopefully, this guide helped you in regards to finding shiny pokemon. While you are here, check out some of our other guides, like Pokemon Scarlet And Violet: Money Farming Methods. In case you are new to pokemon games, be sure to check out our guide on Tips & Tricks. If you are wondering how to obtain the starter pokemon, then check out How To Get All Starters guide.

If you are a returning player of the franchise and wondering what happened to fossil pokemon, then be sure to check out our guide on Pokemon Scarlet And Violet: Fossils & Their Fate. 

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