If you’re an avid Pokémon player, chances are you’ve heard about shiny Pokémon. Shiny Pokémon are just like regular Pokémon, except they have a unique color scheme. They’re ultra rare to encounter in the wild (there’s a one out of 8,000 chance of running into one randomly), so they’re almost never found naturally within the game. However, there are plenty of ways to increase your odds of finding and capturing your own shiny Pokémon. You just need time, patience and a little know-how.
Here are five tips you can apply in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire to catch shiny Pokémon of your very own.
1. Get the Shiny Charm
One of the hardest items to acquire in Pokémon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire is the Shiny Charm. After you complete the National PokéDex (that means you catch every single possible Pokémon between every game excluding a few legendaires, a total of 718 Pokémon), you can go talk to Professor Birch in Littleroot. He’ll congratulate you and give you a Shiny Charm, which increases your chances of encountering shiny Pokémon in the wild by 300 percent. In other words, your odds of running into a shiny increase to about one in 2,730. Now, that’s still remarkably rare, but using the Shiny Charm in tandem with the following methods guarantees you’ll encounter a shiny eventually.
2. Get a Synchronize Ability Pokémon
Before you start hunting for a shiny Pokémon, it’s a good idea to get a Pokémon with the Synchronize ability. This ability makes it so any Pokémon you encounter has a 50 percent chance of having the same nature as the Synchronize Pokémon, so long as the Synchronize Pokémon is in the first slot of your party. This is great because you increase the chances of encountering shinies with the nature you want. Go to Route 102, catch a Ralts and breed it until it has the nature you desire for the shiny Pokémon you want to catch. Then, as you begin chaining, keep Ralts at the front of your party (it helps if it’s fainted and you have a stronger Pokémon in the second slot). With any luck, the shiny you run into will have the nature you want.
3. Use the DexNav
Shiny chaining is a method that dramatically increases your chances of encountering a shiny Pokémon. Here’s what you’ll need:
- A strong Pokémon with a lot of PP
- Tons of Super Repels
- The DexNav and at least one captured Pokémon of the species you want to chain
- A large patch of grass
Let’s say you want to chain for a Jolly Zigzagoon. First, you acquire and breed a Synchronize Ralts with a Jolly nature, faint it and put it in the first slot of your party. Then, in your second slot, you put a strong Pokémon with tons of PP (you’ll be fainting a lot of wild Pokémon). Then, go buy tons of Super Repels and Poké Balls. Finally, go to an area where Zigzagoon resides, preferably with the largest patch of grass you can find.
Now comes the hard part: Apply a Super Repel and, using your DexNav, search for a Zigzagoon. Unless your DexNav level for Zigzagoon is high, there’s a chance you won’t find one every time you search. Simply encounter Zigzagoon as often as you can until your DexNav level reaches about 30. At that point, you’re pretty much guaranteed to find a Zigzagoon each time you search for one.
When you search for Zigzagoon, you’ll see him appear somewhere in the area. Sneak over to it, engage in battle and either capture or faint it. As soon as you defeat it, search again. Continue to do this until you’ve done it about 20 times, applying Super Repels when prompted. At this point, your chances of encountering a shiny have increased from one in 8,000 to about one in 200. That’s a huge jump. As your chain climbs higher and higher, your chances of running into a shiny increase even more. Eventually, if you’re patient enough, you’ll find that shiny Zigzagoon, and, if you’re lucky, it’ll have the Jolly nature you’re after.
There are several things that will break your chain. Under no circumstances should you ever:
- Scare off a Pokémon by not sneaking
- Leave the area to one that doesn’t have the Pokémon you’re after
- Get on your bike, use the eon flute or fly
- Run from battle
If you encounter a Pokémon on the DexNav that isn’t the one you’re chaining for, you should encounter it, faint it and continue your chain as before. Your chain will not break if this happens to you.
4. Try Chain Fishing
If DexNav chaining is intimidating to you, try chain fishing. It’s easier than regular chaining, but only allows you to catch shiny Pokémon you encounter in the water. First, capture a Remoraid with the Hustle ability at the Battle Resort and evolve into an Octillery that has the Suction Cups ability. Faint it and put it in the first slot in your party. Then, find a route with the aquatic Pokémon you want to chain for. Find a fishing spot that’s nestled in a corner, like in the picture above. The more objects surrounding the fishing spot the better your chances are of encountering a Pokémon when you cast out. Suction Cups increases those odds even further. When you’re ready, throw out your line. Reel in when you see the exclamation points, capture or faint the Pokémon, then cast out again. Don’t move, save or anything besides casting out your line and fainting or capturing the encountered Pokémon or you’ll break your chain. After successfully reeling in a Pokémon every time you cast, you’ll eventually encounter a shiny. Congrats!
5. Use the Masuda Method
If chaining sounds too complicated, there’s one other way to get a shiny Pokémon with minimal effort: the Masuda method. If you breed two Pokémon that aren’t from the same region, the chances of the resulting egg being a shiny increases from the normal one in 8,000 to one in 1,638. That’s still pretty rare, but it’s certainly better than the regular encounter rate. The easiest way to apply the Masuda method is to capture a Ditto and put it on the GTS asking for another Ditto. Chances are someone from Japan or something will trade you one of their Ditto for yours. With a foreign Ditto, which can breed with any Pokémon, simply capture the Pokémon you want a shiny of and put them both in the daycare. Start collecting eggs, and hopefully you won’t go crazy before a shiny Pokémon hatches.
So there you have it: some easy tips to increase your chances of encountering shiny Pokémon. I hope they helped you. Now get out there and get some shinies, and keep it locked to Heavy’s Pokémon hub for more tips, tricks and guides.
Buy Pokémon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire here.
