How to Shiny Hunt in Pokemon Go: Shiny odds, methods, and more
❘ Released: 2022-10-07T22:16:31
❘ updated: 2022-10-07T22:16:53
Hunting Shiny in Pokemon Go is pretty easy, but it can be even easier if you know the different chances and methods to find a Shiny Pokemon. Here’s everything we know about Shiny Hunt in Pokemon Go.
The main Pokemon games can be pretty brutal when it comes to shiny hunting. Players are dealing with base odds of either 1/4096 or 1/8192 and must use various – often time-consuming – methods to bring those odds down to a reasonable amount.
But this act of doing the same thing over and over until a different-colored sprite shows up has become an addictive hobby for Pokemon fans, and thankfully, Pokemon Go allows trainers to hunt on the go.
While Niantic’s Pokemon Go Shiny odds have not yet been officially announced, a community of players thoroughly tested the game’s mechanics to come up with a solid estimate for the base Shiny odds, as well as a set of boosted odds.
What are Pokemon Go Shiny Odds?
The base chances of finding a Shiny in Pokemon Go are 1/500. This means that most Pokemon encountered in the wild have a 1/500 chance of being shiny. However, there are some Pokemon that fall into different groups that have higher odds.
Medium rate Pokemon are rare spawns that have an increased chance of being shiny. Your odds are increased to around 1/125. However, according to The Silpth Road, this group of Pokemon is limited to Gible, Shinx, Meltan, and Galarian Stunfisk.
There is another group called Permaboosted Pokemon that have an incredibly low Shiny rate of about 1/64. This is a decent group of Pokemon, including Absol, Rockruff, Riolu, and more. Visit The Silph Road’s website for a full list.
So far, every Pokemon Go Community Day has had its Shiny odds set at 1/25. This could change in the future if Niantic wants to raise or lower the odds, but it’s safe to assume future Community Days will share those shiny 1/25 odds.
Pokemon Go Legendary Raid Odds
The highest chances of finding a Shiny Pokémon in Pokémon Go come from five-star raids. That’s because Legendary Pokemon have a 1/20 chance of being Shiny.
However, players must use Premium Battle Passes or Remote Raid Passes to battle in raids and they must find enough players to defeat these incredibly powerful Pokemon. Successfully defeating a Legendary in a Raid gives players the highest chance of finding a Shiny.
How to hunt shiny in Pokemon Go
Hunting Shiny Pokemon in Pokemon Go is actually pretty easy. When they open the app, a trainer just has to click on a Pokemon to see if it’s Shiny. If it doesn’t, exit the encounter and tap on the next Pokemon.
However, there are some Pokémon that are Shiny-locked (Pokémon that cannot spawn Shiny). This includes nearly all second and third stage evolutions, as well as a handful of first stage Pokémon. As a rule of thumb, most newly introduced Pokemon can’t be Shiny until later.
That being said, there are a few Pokemon that could actually be a Shiny Ditto in disguise. Here’s a list of all the Pokemon Ditto is currently using as disguises. These might be worth catching just to make sure you don’t miss any bruises.
Other Pokemon Go Shiny Hunting Methods
There are some hunting methods in Pokemon Go that help trainers find a Shiny Pokemon faster than normal. However, there is still a lot of luck involved with these methods.
The first is to fight and defeat the leaders of Team Go Rocket. These include Arlo, Cliff, Sierra and their boss Giovani. Using a Rocket Radar, players can battle these tough trainers and catch a Shadow Pokémon, but Shadow Pokémon from these team leaders have an increased chance of being Shiny: 1/62.5. However, the Shadow Pokémon must be in a currently available Shiny Form or it cannot be hunted.
We have already discussed the second method. Legendary Raids are by far the most reliable method of hunting as they offer the highest odds and are always accessible via the use of Remote Raid Passes. The problem with this is that players have to spend money on raid passes and team up with trainers strong enough to defeat the boss.
Finally, the best way to find Shiny Pokemon is during events. Whether Raid Day/Hour, Pokemon Go Community Day, Go Fest or Region Tours; Shiny hunters won’t want to miss these events. They often offer the best chance of getting dozens of Shiny Pokemon in a single play session, and you can keep track of what’s happening next by checking out the official Pokemon Go events calendar.