Summary
PokémonGold and Silverwere released around the world between 1999 and 2000, and they introduced a small feature that has appeared in every single mainlinePokémongame that has followed. It quickly gathered a following and has a thriving community even today. This feature would also become the cornerstone of in-game Wi-Fi events and distributions — it’sa simple color palette swap for Pokémon, followed by a glisten at the start of battle. Shiny Pokémon, or Shinies, are highly sought after and extremely popular despite the fact thatthey don’t boast stat or performance boosts.
Every Pokémon from the 1025 that are available, as ofPokémon Scarlet and Violet, has its unique Shiny variant, despite some Shinies remaining unobtainable. Shinies have changed in appearance over the generations but remain faithful to their initial concept. They don’t have any distinct moves, IVs, abilities, or natures. However, they are exceedingly rare, with most players not encountering them. This isn’t necessarily the case nowadays, though, and some might feel that Shinies are becoming less valuable.
How To Find Shiny Pokémon
Or How They Find You
From Generation 3 onwards,Shiny Pokémon are determined by three numbers, two of which aren’t exposed to the player. This includes the personality value of the Pokémon (a number from 0 to 4,294,967,295), the trainer ID (TID) of the player (a 5-digit number), and the secret ID (SID) of the player (a hidden 5-digit number that was changed to 6 digits from Generation 7, onward.). The game assigns the trainer a TID & SID when a save file is created. A Pokémon’spersonality value is generated when the Pokémon is created.
These numbers are values created by the game’s pseudo-random number generator at different stages in the game.
A detailed explanation of the calculations used by the game to determine if a Pokémon is Shiny can be found onBulbapedia. To simplify the calculations, the chance to organically find a Shiny Pokémon is 1/8192, or 0.012%.Shiny odds were doubled in Generation 6to 1/4096, or 0.024%, giving the current base odds in modernPokémongames. Shinies are commonly distributed via Wi-Fi events at certain times of the year. These have been running for almost two decades. Furthermore, a humble & dedicated group has formed around the concept ofShiny Pokémon and obtaining specific ones, known as Shiny hunters.
Methods for Shiny hunting include random encounters, soft resets, the Masuda method, Pokéradar chaining, chain fishing, horde encounters, dexnav chaining, and SOS chaining.
Shiny hunters use different strategies to find their desired Pokémon. Most use the shiny charm added in Generation 5 that the player obtains upon completing the Pokédex. This increased the odds from 1/8192 to 1/1365.3, or from 1/4096 to 1/682.7 in Generation 6 and onward. After Generation 4,each game generally includes its own exclusive methodof Shiny hunting, likethe picnics inPokémon Scarlet and Violet, and methods fromX and Yonward being the most effective, since Shiny Pokémon are twice as common.
Shiny Pokémon Are Becoming Less Valuable
Shinies Are Increasingly Losing Their Charm & It’s Inevitable
The general established rule is that the newer the Pokémon game, the more common it is to find Shiny Pokémon. With the increasing number of Shiny Wi-Fi event distributions, more players have identical Pokémon. Events, while often used to celebrate a milestone or professional player,introduce Shinies that are otherwise hard to obtain. Additionally, the flat increase in odds means that, statistically, there are twice as many Shiny Pokémon post-Gen 6.
Generation 8 removed the national Pokédex. Since there’s many Pokémon in the newer generations, it’s harder for them to be categorized under a single national Pokédex available in one game.
The removal of the national Pokédex means that fewer Pokémon need to be registered to obtain the generous odds provided by the shiny charm. However,some unique hunting methods operate with independent values, likeBrilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl’s Pokéradar. This means that they don’t stack with the shiny charm but max out at a 1/99 chance. Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon implemented ultra space, or wormhole, hunting which can give the player a 1/3 chance of a Shiny.
What This Means For Your Shiny Pokémon
Shiny Pokémon Are Valued Based On Their Game
Having better Shiny odds means that more players get to experience the thrill and sudden rush that comes with encountering a Shiny Pokémon. However, it simultaneously turns themfrom a surprise into a novelty. Naturally, encountering an organic Shiny once every couple of years is breathtakingly special, but finding one every couple of hours slowly subtracts from the joy of finding them. On the other hand, this has given rise to individuals seeking to obtain every single Shiny Pokémon, aside froma few unobtainable Shinies.
Because there is an excess of Shiny Pokémon available to players, it feels likethey’re becoming less special by the day. Scarlet and Violet havemethods of guaranteeing a Shinywith enough time. Compare this to the Johto games and remakes, which both operate with full odds of 1/8192 with no effective method of increasing the odds, and the only guaranteed Shiny to obtain is the red Gyarados in the Lake of Rage. Every Shiny besides Gyarados in those games has a perceived higher value.
Shiny Pokémon will always be treasured by their trainers. The first time you catch one, or even the first time in a while, will always be special, self-defined, and an experience no one can take away. A surplus of Shinies will only continue to subtract from the Pokémon trading market, and it isn’t a trend that Game Freak can suddenly resolve overnight. If the next game reverts Shiny odds or removes features that provide better odds, there will still exist an absurd number of ShinyPokémonthat will make a first random encounter appear less magical.
