This is a guide for obtaining Shiny Pokémon in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet. It has become a little trickier to spot Shiny Pokémon this time around. However, if you’re an avid shiny hunter, you’ll be pleased to know there are ways to obtain Shiny Pokémon more easily!

Acknowledgements: Anubis

How to Find Shiny Pokémon¶

Shiny Pokémon, first appearing in Pokémon Gold & Silver, are extremely rare Pokémon that you may (or may not) encounter in the game.

They are called Shiny Pokémon because they sparkle at the beginning of battle. In addition, they are different color compared to Pokémon of the same species. For example, a shiny Eevee is silver-colored instead of brown.

There are generally two ways to obtain Shiny Pokémon, but neither of them are easy.

In the Wild¶

While exploring the Paldea region, any wild Pokémon can be shiny. Like in Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu & Eevee and Pokémon Legends Arceus, you can identify Shiny Pokémon while on the field. Unfortunately, there is no visible sparkle or chime sound like in past games so you will simply have to pay attention to the wild pokemon.

Just like past games, there will be a 1 in 4096 chance that a Pokémon will be shiny.

Via Breeding¶

Any Pokémon hatched from Eggs can be shiny, just like wild Pokémon. Likewise, the chance of the hatched Pokémon being shiny is 1 in 4096.

Pokémon breeding is a bit different in Scarlet & Violet, compared to previous games. There is no Daycare Center anymore; instead, you simply begin a picnic.

If there are Pokémon among your party that can breed with each other, you may discover Eggs when inspecting the picnic basket. After obtaining an Egg, place it in your party and, after traveling a certain number of steps, the Egg will eventually hatch into a Pokémon.

How to Increase the Chance of Finding Shiny Pokémon¶

By default, the chance of obtaining a shiny Pokémon is incredibly slim. However, there are ways to slightly increase the chance.

Shiny Statistics in Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet¶

Here is a quick run down of your chances for each category below.

Shiny Charm¶

The Shiny Charm is a key item that provides 2 additional chances for a Pokémon to be shiny, increasing the base chance to 3 in 4096 (roughly 1 in 1365).

Similar to past games, you can receive the Shiny Charm by completing the Paldea Pokédex. Once you’ve accomplished this herculean task, return to Naranja/Uva Academy and speak to Professor Jacq to receive it.

Sparkling Power (Sandwich Recipes)¶

One of the Meal Powers that you can get when crafting or cooking sandwiches (Sparkling Sandwiches) in picnics is Sparkling Power, which boosts the rate of finding Shiny Pokémon. Click here for all the Sparkling Sandwich recipes.

Sparkling Power Level 3 grants 3 additional chances for a Pokémon to be shiny, increasing the base chance to 4 in 4096 (1 in 1024).

Masuda Method¶

This is an obscure (for new trainers) but incredibly effective method of boosting the shiny rate, when hatching Pokémon from Eggs.

If you obtain an Egg between two parents who have a different language tag from one another, there will be 6 additional chances for the hatched Pokémon to be shiny. This increases the base chance to 6 in 4096 (roughly 1 in 683). (Logically, it should be 7 in 4096, but it’s a bit weird.)

For example, if you have an English Magikarp that belongs to you and breed it with a Japanese Magikarp or other Pokémon that can breed with the ’karp.

What’s the Highest Chance of Finding Shiny Pokémon?¶

Since some methods don’t overlap with others, there are two routes you can take to get the highest shiny rate.

If you’re hunting for a wild Pokémon, you’ll want to:

• KO 60+ of the same species in a mass outbreak.
• Have Sparkling Power Level 3 from a sandwich.
• Have the Shiny Charm.

This gives a total of 8 shiny rolls, for a 1 in 512 chance.

If you’re hatching Eggs, you’ll want to:

• Have the Shiny Charm.
• Use the Masuda Method.

This also gives 8 shiny rolls, for a 1 in 512 chance.

Both routes have their upsides and downsides. If you do the wild Pokémon route, it’s a bit bothersome to set up at first, but after scoring 60+ KOs, you can keep opening/closing picnics to quickly respawn Pokémon.

Meanwhile, if you decide to hatch Eggs, you have less work to do to get started, but it can be bothersome running around hatching Eggs and managing your surplus offspring. However, there are some Pokémon you can’t find in the wild easily (or at all) like the three starters.

If you want a shiny from a raid, you have to deal with the full 1 in 4096 odds. Sorry… But there’s generally no reason you’d have to do this.