GRcade Pokémon Shiny Hunters Club!

Welcome to the Official GRcade Pokémon Shiny Hunters Club or OGPSHC for short!

This is a space where members can share their shiny hunting triumphs, stories of failures and advice about the dark arts of hunting slightly different coloured 'Mons!

Any game that you can obtain shiny Pokemon on is welcome here, from Pokémon Go to Sword and Shield and everything in between!

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I'll start off, here are a couple of my more recent shiny triumphs!

Ninetales and Butterfree were caught in Let's Go Eevee, and Moltres and Grimsnarl were caught doing 'Dynamax Adventures' in Shield!

Both games I have the shiny charm to help boost my odds!

I've just started to get into this myself! I've always been the sort of person that played through the 'story' of Pokemon and then stopped, but lately been really putting the hours into Ultra Moon to try and build a living dex, and just through playing so much of it, I've started to get in more of the shiny hunting stuff. The only Shiny I've ever stumbled across during normal play in all the games (other than ones I may not have noticed) was a Zubat in Omega Ruby. However I did end up with 2 Shiny Clamperl in Ultra Moon from SOS chaining without even realizing it was a shiny hunting method (I just wanted Gorbyss and Huntail), and a Heliolisk and Medicham from the Ultra Wormhole things. And the Shiny Gyarados you get in Gen 2. I actually have 2 of those from playing Crystal and Heart Gold.

I started Let's Go last week mainly just to use it for shiny hunting, and so far have an Arcanine and Nidoking. I don't have the shiny charm yet, missing the Bellsprout and Ekans line, as well as an Alakazam. I should be able to transfer them from Go, it's just a case of waiting for them to show up in that game.

I'm also using SOS chaining and Masuda method breeding in Ultra Moon to go for some others. Thankfully I do have the shiny charm in that one.

I only have a very basic knowledge of Pokémon... but good luck, shiny hunters!

Thinking about it, I did enjoy Let's Go (playing for around ten hours, iirc) and it's a game I'd like to re-start and have a proper go at. Maybe even attain a shiny Pokémon one day.

That's awesome to hear you've gotten into shiny hunting! I've really only put "serious" effort into it since Let's Go Eevee, I found that style of hunting very fun, plus it added to the experience seeing the shinies pop up in the wild, then there's the mad dash to get it before it despawns!

Apart from the Red Gyarados in Gold back in the day, the first full odds random shiny I ever encountered was a Rattata while playing Pokémon Silver on the 3DS, 1/8000+ chance! The only thing was, it was at the beginning of the game... BEFORE you are given Pokeballs! Words can not describe how devastated I was, and to this day it makes be feel a little sick thinking about it!

The next full odds encounter was on Let's Go Eevee, I ran into a shiny Fearow while doing my first playthrough, that was a very pleasant surprise!

After that I had a full odds random encounter with a shiny Sandaconda while trying to complete my Dex in Shield.

When it comes to actually hunting, I've caught a Weedle, Caterpie, Vulpix and a Chansey in Let's Go after obtaining the charm. On Shield it's been dynamax dens with the charm. I have tried MM on an Alolan Vulpix, but have up after 850 eggs, I do want to give it another pop though, I'd consider it a real achievement if I can get a shiny through that way! I also want to try the KO method which I haven't tried before.

Love that there's so many ways to hunt in these games!

jawaX wrote:I only have a very basic knowledge of Pokémon... but good luck, shiny hunters!

Thinking about it, I did enjoy Let's Go (playing for around ten hours, iirc) and it's a game I'd like to re-start and have a proper go at. Maybe even attain a shiny Pokémon one day.

It's probably the easiest game to get a shiny in, so a great place to start! There are a few games that have certain methods with ridiculously good odds, but they usually need you to get quite far in the game and offer a limited selection of Pokemon. In Let's Go, just catch 31 in a row of a specific type of Pokemon will give you a 1 in 341 chance of a shiny appearing. And unlike other games, you don't have to keep encountering and hoping. You can just stand in place and watch pokemon spawn and despawn until a shiny appears. If you complete the pokedex to obtain an item called the shiny charm, and use a lure, you can even bring the odds down to 1 in 292.

It's always worth going for the lowest evolution forms as they are easier to catch. In Let's Go, every 10 of a species you catch (doesn't have to be in a combo, just total), makes that species a little easier to catch. Trying to combo 31 Charizard is going to be a lot tougher than 31 Charmander for example, and you don't want one to run or it breaks your combo. To be safe, you can run yourself if it breaks out from 2 balls and your combo stats intact.

GrinWithoutaKat wrote:(Lets Go is) probably the easiest game to get a shiny in, so a great place to start!...

Yeah, as a Poké noob I found it to be pretty cool.

GrinWithoutaKat wrote:...There are a few games that have certain methods with ridiculously good odds, but they usually need you to get quite far in the game and offer a limited selection of Pokemon. In Let's Go, just catch 31 in a row of a specific type of Pokemon will give you a 1 in 341 chance of a shiny appearing. And unlike other games, you don't have to keep encountering and hoping. You can just stand in place and watch pokemon spawn and despawn until a shiny appears. If you complete the pokedex to obtain an item called the shiny charm, and use a lure, you can even bring the odds down to 1 in 292.

It's always worth going for the lowest evolution forms as they are easier to catch. In Let's Go, every 10 of a species you catch (doesn't have to be in a combo, just total), makes that species a little easier to catch. Trying to combo 31 Charizard is going to be a lot tougher than 31 Charmander for example, and you don't want one to run or it breaks your combo. To be safe, you can run yourself if it breaks out from 2 balls and your combo stats intact.

Woah! I think it'll be some time before I go down that shiny road, Grin! I think I got to the third gym battle before but I'd start afresh to re-learn the controls and familiarise myself with how things work. Thanks for the shiny info!

Pokémon Go has sort of cheapened shinies with how much they're focussed on in that game/community and being so much more common. Especially now you can transfer them to the main games with Home.

I once fainted a shiny legendary dog in Silver

Me and a friend once pretended to steal a shiny Charizard Pokémon card from another friend back in my school days. It was part of a series of pranks we undertook during which time we called ourselves "Team Rocket".

I was clearly a right twat at school!







"And nothing has changed since" etc.

Edd wrote:Pokémon Go has sort of cheapened shinies with how much they're focussed on in that game/community and being so much more common. Especially now you can transfer them to the main games with Home.

Yea there's a certain level of magic that's been lost with how easily accessible they are on Pokemon Go, Edd. Personally I still get a real pop when I encounter one at random, even in that game!

Even games like Let's Go and the Dynamax Adventures in Sword/Shield have made shinies so much more common but I'm all for that, it's more of a case of when a 'mon will shine, rather than if, but there's still the excitement of not knowing when! It's very much about the journey!

OrangeRKN wrote:I once fainted a shiny legendary dog in Silver

Aww that sucks Orange! Was it by accident when trying to catch it? Was this a recent thing or when you were a kid?

I've known people who, back in the day when shinies were not really known, thought there game had glitched when a shiny popped for them, and would reset their console thinking there was a problem!

Jenuall wrote:Me and a friend once pretended to steal a shiny Charizard Pokémon card from another friend back in my school days. It was part of a series of pranks we undertook during which time we called ourselves "Team Rocket".

Haha Jenuall and how did your friend react to that?! I remember the hype back in the day, if someone pulled a shiny Charizard they were basically hailed as a god of the playground!

The Doom Spoon wrote:

Jenuall wrote:Me and a friend once pretended to steal a shiny Charizard Pokémon card from another friend back in my school days. It was part of a series of pranks we undertook during which time we called ourselves "Team Rocket".

Haha Jenuall and how did your friend react to that?! I remember the hype back in the day, if someone pulled a shiny Charizard they were basically hailed as a god of the playground!

Not well at all, he was understandably upset!

One of those times where you do something and instantly realise that you've one to far

My Shiny Pokemon Adventures:

Caught a shiny Onix in Fire Red, was my first shiny encounter ever.
Launch day for Black, barely started the game and BAM caught a shiny Pidove.
Started getting into competitive more with BW so wanted to make a comp team with perfect stats and some I wanted shiny cause sometimes they just look cooler, so I used RNG manipulation to get a few guaranteed shinies like Ferrothorn.
Encountered a shiny Graveler in Y whilst playing in the front row during a uni lecture. I almost gasped out loud in surprise.
Soon after encountered a shiny Psyduck in a horde battle.
Unexpected shiny pokemon are a nice surprise, but I realised that actually trying to breed/find one through various methods was still entirely dependent on luck no matter the method and just a massive waste of time, and I found out how easy it is to just hack competitive pokemon in, so I've got a few hacked shiny mon too.
And the rest, as they say, is history.

Jenuall wrote: Not well at all, he was understandably upset!

One of those times where you do something and instantly realise that you've one to far

Haha I can imagine! Pokémon Cards were serious business on the playground, many friendships were made and broken over them!

Jezo wrote:My Shiny Pokemon Adventures:

Caught a shiny Onix in Fire Red, was my first shiny encounter ever.
Launch day for Black, barely started the game and BAM caught a shiny Pidove.
Started getting into competitive more with BW so wanted to make a comp team with perfect stats and some I wanted shiny cause sometimes they just look cooler, so I used RNG manipulation to get a few guaranteed shinies like Ferrothorn.
Encountered a shiny Graveler in Y whilst playing in the front row during a uni lecture. I almost gasped out loud in surprise.
Soon after encountered a shiny Psyduck in a horde battle.
Unexpected shiny pokemon are a nice surprise, but I realised that actually trying to breed/find one through various methods was still entirely dependent on luck no matter the method and just a massive waste of time, and I found out how easy it is to just hack competitive pokemon in, so I've got a few hacked shiny mon too.
And the rest, as they say, is history.

Random encounter shinies are awesome, I genuinely pop when it happens! I think the actual shiny hunting process is all about the journey, it's the knowledge you know it will happen, you just don't know when, but when it does shine it's a great feeling!

I think it all depends what you want to get out of it really!

The Doom Spoon wrote:

OrangeRKN wrote:I once fainted a shiny legendary dog in Silver

Aww that sucks Orange! Was it by accident when trying to catch it? Was this a recent thing or when you were a kid?

Back when I was a kid and playing Silver for the first time! (Well, possibly not for the first time - but when it was the latest game still!) It was pure random chance, which looking back must have been some crazy odds. I did recognise it as a shiny at the time and was trying to catch it. I intended to damage it down to red health for the catch but my pokemon landed a critical and it fainted. Absolutely tragic

Pretty sure that was the only shiny I saw in the game other than Red Gyarados.

I’ve run into a few in my time playing Pokémon,

Gold/Silver - easy and numerous Red Gyarados.
Heart Gold/Soul Silver - ran into a shiny Pidgey just after I got given my first lot of Poké balls luckily.
Black/White - ran into a shiny Tynamo.
Sun/Moon - ran into a shiny Smeargle early in the game.
Pokémon Let’s Go - shiny Metapod was my only shiny find in this
Sword/Shield - ran into a Siglyph and Bronzong in the wild, got quite a small amount from the dynamax adventures though (Doublade, Dragonair, Alolan Marowak, one of the Tapu). Got really lucky and hatched a shiny Charmander after about 5 to 10 eggs too.

OrangeRKN wrote: I intended to damage it down to red health for the catch but my pokemon landed a critical and it fainted. Absolutely tragic

That's absolutely gutting Orange! I always find crits happen at the worst times sometimes! Like when you know you need to survive a hit and you should so as long as they don't crit.. then BAM! You're back at the Pokecentre!

That's the good thing with the Dynamax Adventures, every Pokémon is a guaranteed catch, meaning you can throw any ball you like! I tend to throw Premier Balls at the legendaries for that reason, meaning I have my shiny Moltres in one which is cool!

Robbo-92 wrote:Gold/Silver - easy and numerous Red Gyarados.
Heart Gold/Soul Silver - ran into a shiny Pidgey just after I got given my first lot of Poké balls luckily.
Black/White - ran into a shiny Tynamo.
Sun/Moon - ran into a shiny Smeargle early in the game.
Pokémon Let’s Go - shiny Metapod was my only shiny find in this
Sword/Shield - ran into a Siglyph and Bronzong in the wild, got quite a small amount from the dynamax adventures though (Doublade, Dragonair, Alolan Marowak, one of the Tapu). Got really lucky and hatched a shiny Charmander after about 5 to 10 eggs too.

Wow Robbo you've had some luck! Haha I always feel sorry for anyone who come across a genuine random encounter shiny Magikarp in the G/S/C HG/SS games, no one would believe them!

Yea I plan to start spending more time focused on hunting in Shield where I'll do mostly Adventures, always cool to see what you might come across! I also want to start either a MM or KO hunt too, just to go for something specific, just haven't decided what yet!

From other posts I've seen in threads I understand you've played quite a lot of Pokémon recently, are you specifically focusing on shiny hunting now?

Shiny charm obtained in Let's Go! I'll be starting with a Ponyta hunt this evening.

GrinWithoutaKat wrote:Shiny charm obtained in Let's Go! I'll be starting with a Ponyta hunt this evening.

Awesome and congrats! Ponyta is such an awesome shiny, I look forward to hearing how it goes!

Also, I hopped into a random D-Adventure (wayhey!) this morning and it turned out to be Ho-Oh, only one of my favourite legendaries.. then this happened at the end!



The Fire Turkey shined for me! Also happens to be one of my favourite shinies too!

The Doom Spoon wrote:

GrinWithoutaKat wrote:Shiny charm obtained in Let's Go! I'll be starting with a Ponyta hunt this evening.

Awesome and congrats! Ponyta is such an awesome shiny, I look forward to hearing how it goes!

Also, I hopped into a random D-Adventure (wayhey!) this morning and it turned out to be Ho-Oh, only one of my favourite legendaries.. then this happened at the end!



The Fire Turkey shined for me! Also happens to be one of my favourite shinies too!

Oh I'm so jealous of that!

I only just got a Switch, so not played Sword/Shield yet, and not at all familiar with the raid stuff. Is it something where the Pokemon are rotated around each week/month like in Go? And do you really need to be doing it with others? I was going to maybe wait a little bit before playing shield to try and avoid potential Pokemon burnout, but don't want to miss out on some potential shiny hunting by playing it after everyone has moved on to the next game.

GrinWithoutaKat wrote: I only just got a Switch, so not played Sword/Shield yet, and not at all familiar with the raid stuff. Is it something where the Pokemon are rotated around each week/month like in Go? And do you really need to be doing it with others? I was going to maybe wait a little bit before playing shield to try and avoid potential Pokemon burnout, but don't want to miss out on some potential shiny hunting by playing it after everyone has moved on to the next game.

In regards to the Dynamax Adventures, I was going to try and explain them, but Serebii can do it much better!

https://www.serebii.net/swordshield/dynamaxadventures.shtml

This has become a very viable way of shiny hunting, I think people will be doing it for a while, so I wouldn't worry about missing out. You can play them solo too, the NPC fills in the gaps and are not bad to work with, they've made better decisions than some randoms I've played with before!

EDIT: There's no rotation, all Legendaries are available although some are exclusive to certain games, there aren't many though and teaming up with someone who has the other games gives you access.