The guide to catching Shiny Pokemon

Every Pokemon fan knows what a Shiny Pokemon is. Even though they aren’t stronger, faster, or have any unique ability that a regular Pokemon has everyone dreams of having them. Some people have dozens that they breeded and traded with others and some get theirs from hacking or special gifts from Nintendo.

Although a free Shiny Pokemon sounds nice, it’s not as rewarding. Trust me, nothing is more satisfying than seeing your Shiny Pokemon hatch after hours of rage. Sadly, I didn’t learn the amazing shiny catching/breeding tricks right away when Pokemon X and Y came out so hopefully my trial and error will help you with your task.

Catching a Shiny

If breeding isn’t your style then maybe catching a shiny is right up your alley. Catching a Shiny Pokemon can used to seem impossible, but ever X and Y came along it has been easier as ever before since your chances of getting one has increased! There are few methods to choose from, so it’s best to try them all and see which one suits you the best.

Horde Farming

Horde farming is by far the fastest way of getting a Shiny Pokemon. All you do is attract a horde of Pokemon to appear. Since there is 6 Pokemon in a horde, you have a better chance of finding a shiny! All you need are the following:

• A Pokemon that knows Sweet Scent (I always use Oddish)
• A ton of Pokeballs
• PP restoring items

First you go to a cave or an area that has a patch of grass and have your Pokemon use Sweet Scent and a horde battle will begin. If you don’t see a shiny you can either flee or fight. All you have to do repeat this process until you find a shiny! Once you do, you must make all of the Pokemon (except of the shiny of course) faint so you can catch the shiny.

There are both pros and cons for the technique as there always is. Yes, you can increase your chances of finding a shiny, but there are only a few types of Pokemon that can be found in hordes, plus you have no control over IVs, so if IVs are important to you, you may want to consider breeding.

Chain Fishing

Before I explain what chaining is let’s go over what you need.

• A fishing rod
• A Pokemon that knows Suction Cups (Such as Inkay)
• Pokeballs (including Net Balls)

Chaining is hands down the most aggravating way to catch a shiny and is something that I don’t recommend if you are an impatient person who gets. Now you may be wondering what the heck is chaining?

Chaining is trying to catch the same over and over again without running into a different one. If you do you will break your chain! How can you prevent your chain from not being broken? You can’t with fishing. The higher the chain, the higher your chance of getting a shiny.

When chain fishing you must follow a very strict set of rules, which can be a pain.

1. Do not move at all! This will break your chain.
2. Do not get on your bike or roller skates. This will also break your chain.
3. Do not use in-game online features! Yes, this also breaks your chain.
4. Do not fail to reel in a nibble on your line. This counts as breaking your chain and is the seed of all fish chaining rage.
5. Do not turn off your game. People think they can save, quit, and pick up where they left off. That is not the case, your chain will break.

Luckily there are a few exceptions to these annoying rules.

• You can use your menu and heal Pokemon.
• You can run away from a Pokemon, unlike normal chaining.
• You can switch between rods without any penalty.
• Finding a shiny will break your chain. People think they can use an extremely long chain and catch dozens of shinies, this is false.
• You can have your Pokemon with Suction Cups faint, it will still have an effect.

It’s important to have a Pokemon with Suction Cups, the ability makes sure that you get a nibble every time you throw a line, which is a great way to prevent your chain from breaking.

Normal Chaining

This is the most rage-inducing method, but if you’re up to the test, this can be rewarding.

You make sure that you have:

• A ton of repels, if you don’t your chain will never make it to 2.
• A Pokemon that are effective against the type of Pokemon you want.
• PP restoring items.
• A lot of Pokeballs.
• A large patch of grass (7×7 at least).
• The Poke Radar.
• Make sure you unequip all of your key items except for the Poke Radar.

So first you must encounter the Pokemon you want. If you find a Pokemon you don’t want you must flee, if you find one you want you must defeat or catch it to begin the chain. If you flee from a Pokemon that you’re in the middle of chaining you will break your chain, you must catch of defeat every Pokemon you chain. 

Once you start your chain you must use the Poke Radar which will cause a few patches of grass to shake. Whether you continue or break your chain depends on what kind of grass you step on.

1. Do not go into a patch of grass that is within 3 patches away from you.
2. Do not go into grass that is along the border of the grass area.
3. Do not go into patches that shake next to one another.

There are 4 different types of shaking grass that must be noted in order to chain.

• Slow shaking grass is a trap, there is nothing inside and will break your chain.
• Normal shaking grass will contain a different Pokemon, so you must avoid them.
• Fast and loud shaking grass that doesn’t break any of the 3 rules listed above will contain the same Pokemon that you’re chaining.
• And finally, shiny shaking grass holds a Shiny Pokemon inside. Be sure not to step on a different shaking piece of grass that shook on your way to the shiny.

If you break your chain, I recommend that you go and heal your Pokemon before trying again so you can easily keep count of your chain. A chain with 40+ Pokemon will have a higher chance of catching a shiny. A chain of 21-40 will give you a shiny with 1 perfect IV, a chain of 41-60 Pokemon will give you a shiny with 2 perfect IVs and a chain of 61+ Pokemon will give you a shiny with 3 perfect IVs. 

Now that you’ve learned everything about catching Shiny Pokemon, you’re ready for action! So grab your poke balls and repels and get ready for a long, tiring, and rewarding process!

Have any questions? Comment below!