Here’s how to catch shinies in Pokémon Sword and Shield
- nov
- 19
It takes some work, but you can get a rare, unique-colored Pokémon.
For those of you that don't know already, shiny Pokémon are rare, alternately-colored creatures that appear in the Pokémon series. Sometimes shinies are super obvious, like the case of the sheep Pokémon Wooloo whose normal form has white fleece, but has a shiny variant with black fleece. However, others are far more subtle, like how a shiny Pikachu only has a slightly different shade of yellow. Your usual chances of getting a shiny Pokémon are 1/4096, which makes them super rare to come across. Fortunately, there are ways to make a shiny more likely to appear. Here's how to increase your chances of catching shinies in Sword and Shield.
Parry with steel
Pokémon Sword
Welcome to the Galar region
Pokémon Sword features new Gen 8 Pokémon, including an exclusive legendary. A familiar look and feel, brand new gameplay.
Guard and protect
Pokémon Shield
Welcome to the Galar region
Pokémon Shield features new Pokémon to tame and a legendary Pokémon exclusive to this version. There'll be plenty of things for trainers to explore and do that haven't been seen before.
A few things you need to know about shiny hunting
- Unlike Let's Go, Pikachu!, and Let's Go, Eevee!, you can't tell if a Pokémon is shiny when you're walking around. You must engage it in battle to tell if it's shiny.
- Unlike previous games, you cannot get a shiny starter. Don't try to soft restart your game. It will just be a waste of time.
- You don't have to worry about coming across a shiny Pokémon that's too high-leveled for you to catch in the Wild Area. The coding doesn't allow this to happen.
- When you come upon a shiny, sparkles and light emit around the Pokémon. You're going to want to pay attention for this if you're shiny hunting a Pokémon that doesn't look a whole lot different from its original coloring.
How to increase your chances of finding a shiny
Combo streak
If you played the Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! games, you might be aware of something called catch combos. This means that you fight and defeat the same Pokémon, say Nicket, repeatedly without fighting any others. Each time you catch the same Pokémon, the chances of finding a shiny increases. However, once you've fought a Pokémon 25 times in a row, the percentage can't go up anymore.
So basically, aim to fight the same Pokémon 25+ times in a row to seriously increase your chances of happening upon a shiny. This process can take hours to pay off, but it's fun flaunting that Pokémon once you've caught it. If you accidentally run into another Pokémon other than the one you're focusing on, run away. Keep in mind that accidentally catching another Pokémon will break your combo, and then you'll have to start your combo streak over.
Since the game is so new, there might be other things that we don't know that can influence your catch combos. For example, a Pokémon fleeing from you in battle could break the streak. We'll update when we learn more.
Total Pokémon fought
At the time I took this screenshot, I had fought Wooloo 616 times.
Another way to increase your chances is by having battled a Pokémon several times during your game. You can check to see how many times you've fought a specific Pokémon by checking your Pokédex. Your chances of finding a shiny increase incrementally when you've fought the same Pokemon 1, 20, 50, 100, 200, 300, or 500 times total. That means that the best way to increase your chances is by having fought the same Pokémon 500 times during the course of your game. That's definitely a lot, but for the serious shiny hunter, it's worth it. If you've gotten to the end of the game, you might have gotten close to that number. Otherwise, it will take a lot of work to battle a Pokémon that much.
Getting the Shiny Charm
If you're adamant about getting shiny Pokémon, then you'll want to get the Shiny Charm. This is a reward you recieve for completing the Galar region Pokédex. In order to do that, you'll need to trade Pokémon with friends or people online to get the version exclusive Pokémon not found in your game.
Once you have all 400 Pokémon, travel to Circhester and go to the first hotel you see in the city. You'll need to take the elevator to the top floor and then head to the room that's farthest on the left of the building. Enter the room and talk to the doctor. He'll give you the Shiny Charm, which will increase your chances of coming upon a shiny Pokémon.
Combining everything together
Of course, the best way to help you catch a shiny Pokémon is to do all of the above things. Capture the intended Pokémon 500 times total throughout the game, battle the same Pokémon exclusively 25+ times in a row, and have the Shiny Charm. When you do this, you're not guaranteed to find a shiny right away, but your chances of coming across one go way up.
Pokémon Sword/Shield give you extra rerolls to try to generate a shiny based on how many of the Pokémon you've ever battled, and how long your current encounter chain is. Shiny charm still gives +2 if obtained.
— Kurt (@Kaphotics) November 14, 2019
We're not sure what increments your chain counter, but this is it! pic.twitter.com/k5rX7tTcUf
For those of you who like to know percentages, the respected data miner, Kurt, did the work and figured out the exact catching percentages you get when you combine the number of Pokémon caught in a row with the number of Pokémon caught total.
Bling bling Pokémon
Now that you know some tips on finding shiny Pokémon, let the search begin! If you catch any shinies, be sure to tell us about it in the comments below! We'll be super excited to hear about it.
Parry with steel
Pokémon Sword
Welcome to the Galar region
Pokémon Sword features new Gen 8 Pokémon, including an exclusive legendary. A familiar look and feel, brand new gameplay.
Guard and protect
Pokémon Shield
Put up your shield!
Pokémon Shield features new Pokémon to tame and a legendary Pokémon exclusive to this version. There'll be plenty of things for trainers to explore and do that haven't been seen before.