Simply, post here to discuss shiny Pokemon you have caught in D/P/Pt/HG/SS!
You must follow these rules for the thread if you don't want to be infracted.
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Frequently-Asked Questions about Shinies
Check the main site’s Shiny Mechanics Page first
1. Q: Shiny Pokemon? What are those?
A: Shiny Pokemon first appeared in the Gold and Silver games for the Gameboy Color. Basically, they are alternately colored Pokemon (for example, shiny Charizard is black instead of orange).
2. Q: Wow! Are shiny Pokemon more powerful?
A: Unfortunately, no. The ONLY difference between shinies and regular Pokemon is the color. They’re pretty much just for bragging rights.
3: Q: How can I find a shiny Pokemon?
A: Every single catchable Pokemon that you find (Eggs, Gifts, Wild, etc) has a 1/8192 chance of being shiny. There are a few ways to find certain Pokémon as shiny quicker, but you still need to rely on luck. They are often called Masuda Method and PokeRadar Chaining.
4: Q: But I’ve seen over 10000 Pokemon in my game and haven’t found a shiny yet! That can’t be right!
A: 1/8192 is a probability. That doesn’t mean that after 8192 Pokemon, you will automatically find a shiny.
A good example of this is when you roll dice. You have a 1/6 chance of getting any particular number when you roll, such as the number 2. That doesn’t mean that you will roll a 2 in six rolls, or that your second roll will be a 2, etc.
The same goes for shiny Pokemon. You may find a shiny on your first try, or within a hundred tries, or maybe not until 10000 tries.
To delve in a bit deeper, picture that whenever you encounter a Pokemon, a random number between 1 and 8,192 is generated. Let’s say that the number 500 is the “shiny number.” If 500 happens to be the random number that’s generated, the Pokemon will be shiny. If the number is anything else, it will be a normal Pokemon. Nice odds, aren’t they?
5: Q: If I breed a shiny Pokemon, will the baby from the Egg be shiny as well?
A: Unlike in G/S/C, where you had a higher chance of hatching shiny offspring when the parents were shiny, this is NOT true for any of the later generation games. In the 4th Generation, almost every Pokemon has the same odds of being shiny. There is the exception to this rule, being the Masuda Method.
6: Q: What is this soft resetting/SRing thing I’ve been hearing about?
A: Soft resetting is when you press Start + Select + L + R to reset your DS (just like turning the system off and on, skipping the firmware screen). It’s helpful when trying to find a shiny of a Pokemon you can save in front of, such as your starter at the beginning, legendaries, etc. It's faster than turning the game on and off, and it's less stressful on the system/batteries. Save, see if the Pokemon is shiny, if not SR your game and try again. Just like finding any shiny, this depends completely on luck, but if you’re patient you should eventually get your shiny. Keep in mind that this could take hours or days with luck, and months and months without.
7: Q: What does a shiny _____ look like?
A: The Pokedex on the main site shows sprites of every Pokemon:
http://www.serebii.net/pokedex-dp/
8: Q: How do I know if I have a shiny Pokemon?
A: Besides the change in color, a shiny Pokemon will sparkle when it
comes into battle. There are also a couple changes on its summary page, which you can see on the main site’s shiny page (link above).
9. Q: When will I know if I’ve gotten a shiny starter?
A: When you’re choosing your starter, the game will show you a picture of each Pokemon. This picture will NOT show you whether that Pokemon is shiny or not. You will have to choose it and check its summary, or use it in battle, to find out if it’s shiny or not.
10. Q: Can I save before hatching my Egg, and reset until I have a shiny?
A: No. All of the Egg's values are set once you take it. However, you can save before taking it and have a chance.
11. Q: If my shiny Pokemon evolves, will it stay shiny?
A: Yes. Once shiny, always shiny.
If you have any other questions or think something should be added here, don't hesitate to PM me.
Masuda Method
Essentially, the Masuda Method consists of this:
1. You obtain a Foreign Pokemon [E.g. a German Ditto]
2. You breed your Pokemon with aforementioned foreign Pokemon.
3. The Game checks to see if one pokemon is foreign.
4. Thus, the chances of getting a Shiny Pokemon is roughly fourthed [supposedly 1/2048 instead of 1/8192]
Masuda's Official Blog.
PokéRadar Chaining
This can only be done in the Sinnoh games, (Diamond, Pearl and Platinum) as it requires a Key Item PokéRadar. You obtain it from Prof Oak when you receive the National Dex.
Quick guide:
Using Repel will be very useful here.
1. Use the Radar in the grass, patches of grass will react. (Different Music will also play.)
2. Step in to one of these patches.
3. You'll be in a battle with a Wild Pokémon. Faint/Catch it.
4. The Grass should react, again, as you leave the battle. If the music is the standard Route music your chain is now over
5. Enter the farthest away patch that reacted.
6. Another Battle happens. Faint/Catch it.
7. Repeat.
The chances of a shiny increases every battle in the chain, up to 40th battle. After this 40th battle, you've increased your chances to 1 in 200 for the next Pokémon to be shiny, about 40 times easier, for the length of the chain.
Credit @ Ellie
EDIT by Big Nutter to Match add 4th Gen Details to FAQ
You must follow these rules for the thread if you don't want to be infracted.
- All general Serebiiforums Rules and DP Rules, of course.
- You may not go offtopic in this thread at all. This is discussion of and questions about shinies only. This means no talking about your favorite ice cream flavor or which Pokemon is the coolest, or anything like that. This also means none of the ever-annoying "congrats" or "good luck" messages. If you feel the need to say that to someone, do it on their profile.
- This is for all 4th gen shinies - don't talk about other games like Ruby or White.
- No "semi-legit" (aka still hacked but makes people feel better about themselves) or "hacked" shinies. No one can stop you from cheating to get Newmoon Island on your Pearl, but don't share it with us. Don't post here saying you got a cheated Oak's Letter to get a shiny Shaymin or something.
- No posting unless you've actually obtained a shiny. "Targets" overran the last thread and many of them either were never completed or took weeks to complete so that the poster posted over and over again about the same shiny. Not anymore. None of this "I'm going to start SRing for Cresselia today" or "I've hatched 580 Magbies and no shiny yet" or the even worse "I have a SECRET target and I SRed 5784905689403 times for it" or something.
- For chains, you may only post once your chain is completed. If you get 10 shinies in a chain, we don't need 10 posts.
- Chaining discussion in general goes here
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Frequently-Asked Questions about Shinies
Check the main site’s Shiny Mechanics Page first
1. Q: Shiny Pokemon? What are those?
A: Shiny Pokemon first appeared in the Gold and Silver games for the Gameboy Color. Basically, they are alternately colored Pokemon (for example, shiny Charizard is black instead of orange).
2. Q: Wow! Are shiny Pokemon more powerful?
A: Unfortunately, no. The ONLY difference between shinies and regular Pokemon is the color. They’re pretty much just for bragging rights.
3: Q: How can I find a shiny Pokemon?
A: Every single catchable Pokemon that you find (Eggs, Gifts, Wild, etc) has a 1/8192 chance of being shiny. There are a few ways to find certain Pokémon as shiny quicker, but you still need to rely on luck. They are often called Masuda Method and PokeRadar Chaining.
4: Q: But I’ve seen over 10000 Pokemon in my game and haven’t found a shiny yet! That can’t be right!
A: 1/8192 is a probability. That doesn’t mean that after 8192 Pokemon, you will automatically find a shiny.
A good example of this is when you roll dice. You have a 1/6 chance of getting any particular number when you roll, such as the number 2. That doesn’t mean that you will roll a 2 in six rolls, or that your second roll will be a 2, etc.
The same goes for shiny Pokemon. You may find a shiny on your first try, or within a hundred tries, or maybe not until 10000 tries.
To delve in a bit deeper, picture that whenever you encounter a Pokemon, a random number between 1 and 8,192 is generated. Let’s say that the number 500 is the “shiny number.” If 500 happens to be the random number that’s generated, the Pokemon will be shiny. If the number is anything else, it will be a normal Pokemon. Nice odds, aren’t they?
5: Q: If I breed a shiny Pokemon, will the baby from the Egg be shiny as well?
A: Unlike in G/S/C, where you had a higher chance of hatching shiny offspring when the parents were shiny, this is NOT true for any of the later generation games. In the 4th Generation, almost every Pokemon has the same odds of being shiny. There is the exception to this rule, being the Masuda Method.
6: Q: What is this soft resetting/SRing thing I’ve been hearing about?
A: Soft resetting is when you press Start + Select + L + R to reset your DS (just like turning the system off and on, skipping the firmware screen). It’s helpful when trying to find a shiny of a Pokemon you can save in front of, such as your starter at the beginning, legendaries, etc. It's faster than turning the game on and off, and it's less stressful on the system/batteries. Save, see if the Pokemon is shiny, if not SR your game and try again. Just like finding any shiny, this depends completely on luck, but if you’re patient you should eventually get your shiny. Keep in mind that this could take hours or days with luck, and months and months without.
7: Q: What does a shiny _____ look like?
A: The Pokedex on the main site shows sprites of every Pokemon:
http://www.serebii.net/pokedex-dp/
8: Q: How do I know if I have a shiny Pokemon?
A: Besides the change in color, a shiny Pokemon will sparkle when it
comes into battle. There are also a couple changes on its summary page, which you can see on the main site’s shiny page (link above).
9. Q: When will I know if I’ve gotten a shiny starter?
A: When you’re choosing your starter, the game will show you a picture of each Pokemon. This picture will NOT show you whether that Pokemon is shiny or not. You will have to choose it and check its summary, or use it in battle, to find out if it’s shiny or not.
10. Q: Can I save before hatching my Egg, and reset until I have a shiny?
A: No. All of the Egg's values are set once you take it. However, you can save before taking it and have a chance.
11. Q: If my shiny Pokemon evolves, will it stay shiny?
A: Yes. Once shiny, always shiny.
If you have any other questions or think something should be added here, don't hesitate to PM me.
Masuda Method
Essentially, the Masuda Method consists of this:
1. You obtain a Foreign Pokemon [E.g. a German Ditto]
2. You breed your Pokemon with aforementioned foreign Pokemon.
3. The Game checks to see if one pokemon is foreign.
4. Thus, the chances of getting a Shiny Pokemon is roughly fourthed [supposedly 1/2048 instead of 1/8192]
Masuda's Official Blog.
PokéRadar Chaining
This can only be done in the Sinnoh games, (Diamond, Pearl and Platinum) as it requires a Key Item PokéRadar. You obtain it from Prof Oak when you receive the National Dex.
Quick guide:
Using Repel will be very useful here.
1. Use the Radar in the grass, patches of grass will react. (Different Music will also play.)
2. Step in to one of these patches.
3. You'll be in a battle with a Wild Pokémon. Faint/Catch it.
4. The Grass should react, again, as you leave the battle. If the music is the standard Route music your chain is now over
5. Enter the farthest away patch that reacted.
6. Another Battle happens. Faint/Catch it.
7. Repeat.
The chances of a shiny increases every battle in the chain, up to 40th battle. After this 40th battle, you've increased your chances to 1 in 200 for the next Pokémon to be shiny, about 40 times easier, for the length of the chain.
Credit @ Ellie
EDIT by Big Nutter to Match add 4th Gen Details to FAQ
Last edited:
