Alright, here is my personal guide to chaining for Shiny Pokémon in Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum.
I know this may seem outdated, being Generation IV, and I also know that many people already know how to chain successfully. However, for anyone new to this, hopefully this will help.
First, I want to briefly mention some basics of chaining that aren't unique to my method.
- Register the PokeRadar
- Stock up on Max Repels (I prefer these to Super Repels; even though you get more for your money with Super Repels, I like the added length of a Max Repel when I am chaining); I have been in chains where it takes 100 to get to 40 and another 100 to find a shiny. While you shouldn't expect this many Repels to be needed, it can happen, so it's better to be safe than sorry. I have over 500 at all times, just so I don't have to keep buying them.
- Don't continue chaining when you get to 40. Once you are at 40, your chances have maximized (at 1 in 200), so start resetting for that shiny patch.
- Know the Pokémon you are chaining. You don't want to find the shiny only to have it Teleport, Roar, etc.
- Be familiar with the grid. Each time you reset the PokeRadar, a 1-away, 2-away, 3-away, and 4-away will appear.
- Only enter a patch of grass when you know where all four patches were.
-Don't get on your bike, and don't walk out of sight of the shaking patch. If you do, the chain will break.
- You can get multiple shinies from a chain; once you get to 40, keep resetting and get how many ever you want.
The two main tenets of my method are:
- Only ever go into the 4-away, and only go into the 4-away if it is the farthest patch away from you, steps-wise. I cannot stress this enough. This means that if the 4-away is five steps away (four steps in one direction, one step in another) and the 3-away is 6 steps away (three steps in one direction, three steps in another), avoid it. Also, avoid if both the 3-away and the 4-away are the same number of steps away- the 4-away needs to clearly be farther.
Some things to think about here: Only the 3-away patch can ever be farther away than the 4-away, so make it a priority to watch these two patches most closely. Also, if a patch is seven steps away, it is automatically the farthest patch available, since a 3-away can at most be six steps away. However, this doesn't automatically make it a safe patch, which I am about to get to.
- Watch the quadrants carefully. If there are ever three shaking patches in the same quadrant, avoid, even if everything else seems alright. For example, if the 1-away, 2-away, and 3-away are in the same quadrant and the 4-away is in another, avoid stepping into the 4-away and reset, even if the 4-away is the farthest patch. The same goes for if any other patch is the isolated one.
Some things to think about here: It is unclear which quadrant patches are in when they are directly up, down, left, or right from you. I take the conservative route and assume they are part of both. So if a quadrant has two patches clearly in and one on the border, avoid it as well, to be safe.
Sticking to these two main ideas is the focal point of my method. However, even when a patch meets both criteria, there may be an exception where you need to avoid the patch.
- If it is not surrounded by grass completely on all sides, avoid. Since there is a chance that the 1-away would have been in the spot that is not covered by grass, there is a chance that the chain will break, even if it is the Pokémon you are chaining. So avoid all edge patches or patches next to other obstructions.
- Avoid patches that are touching other patches. If a 4-away is next to, above, or diagonal to another patch, just reset.
- Avoid patches that are four steps away. While there is a chance that it is the farthest (if the 3-away is three steps away), it is best to avoid the 4-aways that are in the same row or column as you.
- Avoid patches that are eight steps away. While it seems to be a slam-dunk, as it is definitely the farthest away, avoid the patches that are eight steps away as well. This means only ever go into patches that are 5-7 steps away.
Don't be afraid to reset the PokeRadar. You will find far more bad patterns than good ones when chaining. Also, you don't have to play it completely safe for the entirety of the chain. Usually, I will enter just about any 4-away I see until I get the chain up to 15 or so, just to speed things up. My thinking? There's a decent chance that you can get it to 15 without really trying and if the chain does break, it didn't take that long to do anyway.
If you are chaining in a smaller area of grass, things can be slightly more difficult. Instead of resetting in the middle of the grass, move one step in another direction, maximizing the amount of 4-aways you will see that aren't on an edge.
These steps will help you get chains to 40 with more ease; however, sometimes you can enter a seemingly good patch and the chain will break. "Safe" patches are not 100 percent safe. That's just the nature of it. So while I can't guarantee you will get a chain to 40 every time you try, you will notice that they start coming with more frequency.
Hope this helps anyone that may need it!
