• Hi all. We have had reports of member's signatures being edited to include malicious content. You can rest assured this wasn't done by staff and we can find no indication that the forums themselves have been compromised.

    However, remember to keep your passwords secure. If you use similar logins on multiple sites, people and even bots may be able to access your account.

    We always recommend using unique passwords and enable two-factor authentication if possible. Make sure you are secure.
  • Be sure to join the discussion on our discord at: Discord.gg/serebii
  • If you're still waiting for the e-mail, be sure to check your junk/spam e-mail folders

Is using shiny methods unethical?

Pokenoob3.14

Lord of the noobs
I was just thinking, the point of shinys is rare random encounters. With all the methods for finding more shinies, and those people who hatch thousands of eggs, have shinies become no big deal? Or is it like steroids vs. the guy who trained? The guy with steroids will win, but who really deserves the trophy (shiny).

Just looking for input. Post your opinion.
 

725roy

ambivolent
I agree, many people collect shinies (I know I do,) but it isn't fair when people are actually LOOKING for shinies. I tend to like it when it happens randomly.
 

Meowth City

Staff member
Moderator
I really want a random encounter one the most. I have never gotten a single shiny ever through any method, so I'm currently SR for them on my White game.
 

GrassTypes.

Well-Known Member
I have never Caught an actually Shiny or had the chance too because I don't search for them . I have seen them in Battles though . In-Game Battles . Likeee I saw a Shiny Meowth while in a battle . weird huh?
 

Pokenoob3.14

Lord of the noobs
Also, just a side thing, could someone explain the shiny hunting acronyms please?
I know Re is random encounter, but whats SR and other stuff? thanks
 

Ememew

Emerald Mew
SR = Soft Reset (basically, saving in front of something and soft-resetting the game until it appears as a shiny). RE= Random Encounter. MM = Masuda Method (breeding with a foreign language parent to make shininess more likely). RNG = making use of the game's Random Number Generator to know when something will pop up shiny and turning on the game at the right time (there's more to it, but I'm not sure on the details. Though you can go here to learn more.).

Anyway, as to whether the methods are "ethical" well, MM (the one you mention in the first post) was included in the game intentionally to make shiny-hunting somewhat easier. It was also, if I remember correctly, actually revealed to the public by one of the game's producers, meaning the actual game-makers intended it to be used as an alternative method.

RNG is a little more controversial, but it's perfectly legal in that it doesn't require messing with the game code or anything. It's not hacking, but whether it's "ethical" depends on who you ask. It's technically what you do by accident when you find a random encounter only you know you're doing it instead of doing it by luck.

So I guess what I'm saying is that "shiny-hunt methods" as a whole are perfectly fine.
 
Last edited:

Eivui

Uses of Psychics
Also, just a side thing, could someone explain the shiny hunting acronyms please?
I know Re is random encounter, but whats SR and other stuff? thanks

SR I believe is Soft-Reset, you safe in front of, say, a boss or a gift-Pokemon giver, and reset (press L-R-Start-Select at the same time) to go to the title screen every time it isn't Shiny until it is.

MM-is Masuda-Method. Breeding two Pokemon from different countries has a slightly higher chance of a Shiny.

RNG is Random Number Generator, but I don't know what you do there.

But on Topic: I've only encountered two shinies, don't have either anymore, but I think if you want to do a special way of getting a shiny without cheating, go for it.

EDIT: Ninja'd.
 

manniezmoll

I'm a girl, dangit!
Also, just a side thing, could someone explain the shiny hunting acronyms please?
I know Re is random encounter, but whats SR and other stuff? thanks

SR= soft reset. when you press L & R & start & select all at the same time to reset the encounter. mainly used when the pokemon is in a specific spot, like virizion in the pinwheel forest.

MM= masuda method. if you use a foreign pokemon to breed, usually a ditto from a different language, it's supposed to cut the chance of hatching a shiny down to 1 in 1300 something instead of 1/8192, i think...

RNG=random number generator. i have no clue how to do this, but there's a thread somewhere here that explains it.
 

Moneyy

INACTIVE
Shiny finding methods make it easier to find shinies, but it is still hard. If you get a shiny using MM, pokeradar, etc. or just from a random encounter, you still deserve it.
 

Adeku

Formerly Torterra14
It's perfectly fine to MM, RNG, and RE to find shinies. I would only consider it unethical to use hacking as a means of encountering an catching shiny pokemon.
 

Electric

Well-Known Member
Well... no.

For example, the chances of finding a Cryogonal is 1%, therefore it's rare. To find it, you usually have to hunt for it, therefore you are using a hunting method of finding a particular Pokemon.

Pokemon games are about getting all of the Pokemon, so it's perfectly fine to do the above method with any Pokemon shiny or not. The same thing goes for SRing.

For RNGing, it's different because you have to understand all the seeds and such and although no cheating occurs, it's a different method used to find shinies via skill, not luck. It requires skill because you have to time it exactly correct to the like .01 second or something to get your shiny.
 

Battlestar

TRC Boss
I have only gotten 2 shinies by myself
1. Is a tentecool in SoulSilver when I was surfing
2. Was when I was hatching random eggs in my PC and got a Shiny Magikarp


However I have like 2 and 1/2 boxes of shinies, I love to collect them
 

Taodragon

Training Anaylst
Not really, because no matter what method you use, it's still going to take a lot of work and patience to get it. So once you do get one using those methods, it's just as rewarding as getting one at random.
 

Pokefan1023

Pokemon Breeder :)
I don't like RNG abuse at all. There's a reason it's called 'abuse' by so many sites...I wouldn't say it's necessarily unethical, and people who use it are not necessarily 'bad' or unethical people by ANY stretch. But I don't think it's great, and I would never use it myself. The Masuda Method and Poke Radar I think are perfectly fine, and I've been using them myself because they were specifically put in the game to make shiny hunting easier. I mean, Masuda himself programmed it into the game - why wouldn't he want us to use it? :)
 

TDawg

Well-Known Member
Well... no.

For example, the chances of finding a Cryogonal is 1%, therefore it's rare. To find it, you usually have to hunt for it, therefore you are using a hunting method of finding a particular Pokemon.

Pokemon games are about getting all of the Pokemon, so it's perfectly fine to do the above method with any Pokemon shiny or not. The same thing goes for SRing.

For RNGing, it's different because you have to understand all the seeds and such and although no cheating occurs, it's a different method used to find shinies via skill, not luck. It requires skill because you have to time it exactly correct to the like .01 second or something to get your shiny.
Lol I guess I have skill :p but anyways I don't see how methods would be unethical. Just hacking. That's a big no no.
 

AmusedMilk

Oh, hey, Big Zam!
Everything is ethical except cheating.
 

Zenotwapal

have a drink on me
Well... no.

For example, the chances of finding a Cryogonal is 1%, therefore it's rare. To find it, you usually have to hunt for it, therefore you are using a hunting method of finding a particular Pokemon.

Pokemon games are about getting all of the Pokemon, so it's perfectly fine to do the above method with any Pokemon shiny or not. The same thing goes for SRing.

For RNGing, it's different because you have to understand all the seeds and such and although no cheating occurs, it's a different method used to find shinies via skill, not luck. It requires skill because you have to time it exactly correct to the like .01 second or something to get your shiny.

Here's a point:
It requires a lot more skill to pull off a RNG then to hatch eggs out the arse.
It requires so much more effort (initially) to RNG than to hatch a million eggs (MMing) or to run around in countless circles in a patch of grass (REing) or to encounter a pokemon and mash a series of buttons to reset the games hardware (SRing).

Its much more rewarding to fine 3-4 shinies in an hour than to find 1 shinies in a year.
Hey look I just got one.
 
Top