The Holy Grail of all self-respecting Pokémon trainers, Shiny or Chromatic Pokémon are extremely rare. In this short guide, we explain how to maximize your chances of finding them in Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Purple.
To start this guide, we need to talk a bit about statistics. As in the majority of Pokémon games, Shiny (or chromatic) Pokémon are an extremely rare variation of a Pokémon recognizable by its shiny hue and the small stars that appear when you fight them. The spawn rate of a Shiny Pokémon is relatively fixed in the Pokémon games, and remains fixed at 1/4096. You have about a one in four thousand chance of running into a Shiny or Shiny Pokémon in Pokémon Scarlet and Purple as well. . Except that in this ninth generation of Pokémon games, there are three techniques that put together allow you to reduce these chances drastically.
The chromatic charms
The Chromatic Charm is a small item that allows you to reduce the appearance rate of a Chromatic Pokémon by three. It is available at the Academy in the laboratory of Jacques, the famous biology professor. Unfortunately, the Chromatic Charm can only be obtained once Paldea’s Pokédex has been completed, which will force you to capture or exhaustively study all Paldea’s Pokémon before you can wield this valuable item. We insist, the Chromatic Charm is a key part of this guide, since it allows to lower the appearance rate of Chromatic Pokémon by 1/4096 at 1/1365 on the whole game (except in teracrystal raids).
Picnics
Picnics are privileged moments allowing you to spend some time with your Pokémon. You will also and above all have the opportunity to prepare sandwiches there, granting you temporary bonuses limited to 30 minutes. Among all the possible recipes, eighteen allow you to benefit from the aura of brilliance, each being specific to a type of Pokémon. Consuming one of these sandwiches with a Level 3 Shiny Aura will approximately quadruple your Shiny Pokémon spawn rates.
The massive appearances
Massive appearances occur randomly on the map, and correspond to the arrival of a large number of similar Pokémon in the same place. These spawns occur in waves of 25 or 30 Pokémon, multiplying your chances of finding a Shiny (Chromatic) version of said Pokémon in the area. Especially since the appearance stat of a Shiny Pokémon during a mass appearance is increased by 1/4096 at 1/1365.
Combine the three methods
As you will have understood, catching Shiny or Chromatic Pokémon is above all a matter of increasing mathematical probabilities. In Pokémon Purple and Pokémon Scarlet, you can combine the three methods suggested above to maximize your chances of a Shiny Pokémon appearing. If you are lucky enough to have a Chromatic Charm, watch your map for mass spawn events. Go afterwards to the place of appearance, and prepare and consume a sandwich suitable for the type of Pokémon you want to find. Thereafter, you will have to spawn and despawn as many Pokémon of the same species as possible. To do this, you just have to go out and put away your picnic, which resets the area. If you follow all of these steps, your chance of spotting a Shiny Pokemon should be around 1/512. Repeat this several times and you should find your Shiny Pokémon!