Shiny Pokémon have been extremely popular within the Pokémon community ever since they were introduced. The trend continues in the latest installments, Pokémon Sword and Shield. Shiny Pokémon are Pokémon that have a different coloring than the original.
However, these Pokémon aren’t east to find. In Pokémon Sword and Shield, your chances of running into a shiny Pokémon are 1/4096. This means that every time you encounter a Pokémon, the game will roll a 4096 sided die and if it lands on that one, then you’ll have a shiny Pokémon. Your chances of finding a shiny Pokémon are extremely low but fortantly, the game has implemented some way to get those odds lower. Today, I’ll be talking about how to get shiny Pokémon through breeding. Also know as the Masuda Method.
Before we get into the process, there a couple of thing that you will need to do to guarantee your best odds.
- Get a Pokémon from a different region.
This is what the Masuda Method is built upon. In the games coding, if you breed two Pokémon from different regions together, you will increase your chances of finding a shiny Pokémon. For example, if you live in the United States and you breed one of your Pokémon with a Pokémon from Japan, you’ll have a better chance of finding a shiny Pokémon. Obtaining Pokémon from different regions isn’t as hard as you might think. The game has a “Surprise Trade” feature that allows players to randomly trade Pokémon. Do this for a couple of minutes and you’ll end up with a couple of Pokémon from a different region. To confirm if your Pokémon is from a different region, go into its summary and look at the upper right corner and there should be a three letter abbreviation there (see photo above for an example).
2. The Oval and Shiny Charm.
The Oval Charm is an item that increase the chance of your Pokémon producing an egg. Usually, your Pokémon will produce eggs after a certain amount of steps (it varies) but having the Oval Charm will increase the likelihood of your Pokémon producing an egg. To receive the Oval Charm, head to the Circhester Pokémon center and to the right of it, you’ll see a hotel. Head into it and go to the upper left and take the elevator. Head to the left and go into the room to find a character dressed in a police officer uniform. Note, you do have to beat the game before you can obtain the oval charm.
The Shiny Charm is an item that increase your chances of finding a shiny Pokémon. In order to obtain the charm, you need to complete the Pokédex which consists of 400 Pokémon. You’ll also need to have beaten the game. You can find the Shiny Charm in the same building as the Oval Charm, just a room down. Having the charm takes your odds from 1/4096 to 1 in about 1,365.
3. Find a Pokémon with the Flame Body ability
A Coalossal with the Flame Body ability.
The ability Flame Body can cause a Pokémon to gain the burn status affect if it comes in contact with the carrier. However, this ability has another affect, if a Pokémon with the ability is in the party with a Pokémon egg, the egg will hatch faster. This can turn into a huge time saver and it is highly recommended.
A Rolycoly.
One of the easiest Pokémon to find with this ability is Rolycoly. You can find RolyColy on route 3, level it up to level 16, and when it evolves, there’s a good chance it’s new ability will be flame body. Other Pokémon with the ability consists of Sizzlipede, Litwick, and Coalossal.
NOW WE CAN START!
Take your two Pokémon to the nearest Pokémon daycare center. In this game, there are two centers, one on Route 5 and in the Wild Area. Personally I use the one on Route 5 because the route is a long, straight path that makes for a good place to hatch eggs.
Run around a bit until you can get some eggs and hatch them until you get the shiny Pokémon you want. The process can feel a bit long and repetitive sometimes so try to do something else while you are hatching eggs. For example, I listen to music or watch something on Youtube while I am hatching eggs.
Since the games release, I have gotten one Pokémon through breeding but there will be more to come. Until next time, good luck on your shiny hunts.
The Beat @APU 