Fast Links
The unique Shiny Pokemon is a mainstay in the series ever since Pokemon Gold and Silver introduces diverse color palettes into the game thanks to the power of GameBoy Color. Although not all Pokemon are featured in Pokemon Legends: Arceus, you can still encounter the Shiny version of most available Pokemon. And just like in the other titles, you will need to abuse the game mechanics to efficiently find Shiny Pokemon instead of simply praying to the RNGod while playing it normally. Here’s the most effective method to hunt Shiny in Pokemon Legends: Arceus according to the community so far.
Shiny Hunting Method in Pokemon Legends: Arceus
Reddit user Pat-Man15 has made and compiled a rather comprehensive guide on how to hunt Shiny Pokemon. According to their observations, it takes about 1 to 3 hours “at the worst” to get a Shiny Pokemon with their method. Many YouTubers have made similar guides, but you can also read the step-by-step guide on Shiny hunting in Pokemon Legends: Arceus below:
- Disable auto-save to make sure it won’t mess up your Shiny hunting.
- Talk to the NPC at the Jubilife Village gate to know if there are any ongoing Mass Outbreaks. Open your map to find an Outbreak you want and save the game — but do not go there yet.
- If there are no Outbreaks you want (or no Outbreaks at all), go to one of the Wild Areas outside of Jubilife Village and sleep to pass time until something you want shows up. Don’t forget to save also.
- If you restart the game to generate new Pokemon spawn, you have to remember the spawn is generated only when you load areas between the Wild Area and Jubilife Village. With that in mind, don’t expect to find new Pokemon if you save while still in the Wild Area and restart the game.
- Once there’s an Outbreak you want and you have saved the game, go there, find the location, and mark it. Then check if there are any Shiny Pokemon amongst the crowd. If not, go back to Jubilife Village and return to the Outbreak horde again to reset the Shiny encounters.
- No need to be close enough to get the “You found the reported Outbreak” message. As long as you can see all four Outbreak Pokemon and see if there are any Shiny in the group, it’s good enough.
- Keep in mind when you finally find the Outbreak you want, going to any other maps other than the location of the Outbreak and Jubilife Village will remove the Outbreak.
- Like in any Pokemon games, Shiny hunting is a time-consuming effort just for bragging rights. Especially when this game has no multiplayer. So Pat-man15 reminds us all several things to consider to make Shiny hunting as efficient as possible:
- Certain Pokemon and its evolutions tend to show up in the same parts of a given Wild Area. Figure out the fastest way to get there.
- Consider Base Camps, Fast Travel locations, and vantage points to fly from to make your commute faster.
- You can pull up a list of Fast Travel points by pressing X on the map.
- Best to keep the in-game sound on because Shiny Pokemon let out a specific sound (and sparkle) when they spawn.
- Alpha Pokemon also have an increased spawn rate in an Outbreak, and they can spawn as a Shiny too.
- Shiny hunting works best in late/post-game when all areas and Ride Pokemon are unlocked. You’ll especially need Sneasler, Basculegion, and Braviary to climb, swim, and fly all over the areas.
- Always check if the Outbreak is still going on every time you return to Jubilife Village. Because the Outbreak Pokemon might change or even disappear altogether after 10 or your first visit. It can even stop when you arrived at the area. Simply put, how long an Outbreak will go on is determined by pure RNG. That’s why you have to make sure to manually save your game if it’s still there and after checking the status of the Outbreak on the map. If the Outbreak is gone, just restart the game.
- Now, once you finally spot a Shiny Pokemon, always save your game before trying to catch it. Who knows, the Pokemon might run away or KO’d itself.
Also, be careful when resetting Outbreaks for Alabaster Icelands. Twitter user Matt noted that the game could crash when you load areas around Alabaster Icelands.
Legends: Arceus can crash when going to Alabaster Icelands. The game hangs on the loading screen for a few seconds and then crashes. Make sure you save!
I've had it happen to me during the story when leaving Ancient Retreat, as well as when resetting Outbreaks… inconsistent? pic.twitter.com/zOeY51Yu9u
— Matt (@mattyoukhana_) January 31, 2022
Shiny Spawn Rates and Bonuses
Twitter user Anubis (@Sibuna_Switch) also has calculated everything you need to improve your rate of finding a Shiny Pokemon in Pokemon Legends: Arceus. As of version 1.0.1, the base rate of finding a Shiny is at 1/4,096. Getting the PokeDex Research to Level 10 will give you 1 additional Shiny roll, which means it doubles the chance of a Shiny to spawn. Meanwhile, Perfect PokeDex Research — completing all tasks for a species and getting stars on PokeBall — gives you a total of 4 Shiny rolls. Dropping the Shiny rate to 1/1,024.
You can push down the rate even further by getting a Shiny Charm that gives you 3 rolls. And Mass Outbreaks also give 25 rolls. So, with Perfect PokeDex Research, Shiny Charm, and Outbreaks, your Shiny rate can be as low as 1/128 (rounded down). 1 Shiny per 128 encounters. Not a bad odd, right?
They also added that all “static encounters”, as in non-randomly generated Pokemon spawns, are Shiny-locked. This means your starter Pokemon, Legendaries, Mythicals, and specific Pokemon encountered in Main and Side Quests cannot be Shiny.
Shiny hunters will enjoy Pokémon Legends: Arceus! Along with the Shiny Charm, many new mechanics can further improve your chances of finding a shiny from the base 1/4096 rate.
Here are your shiny rates as of version 1.0.1. pic.twitter.com/gw4dswDMHS
— Anubis (@Sibuna_Switch) January 27, 2022
And there you have it. Good luck with your Shiny hunting in Pokemon Legends: Arceus!
Related:
Pokemon Legends: Arceus – How to Mass Release Pokemon
Pokémon Legends: Arceus is now available on the Nintendo Switch.