Pretty much anyone who knows anything about Pokémon will likely know just how difficult it is to find shiny Pokémon in the wild. Fortunately, Pokémon Legends: Arceus has made things a little easier for aspiring shiny hunters. It’s still hard, of course. Just not as hard.
Game Freak has taken a few measures to make encountering shiny Pokémon a bit more likely in Legends: Arceus, all of which we’re going to break down in detail here. Whether you’re in the market for an Umbreon with blue circles (one of the best shinies ever) or a Gengar that’s just a slightly different shade of purple (one of the most disappointing shinies ever), read on to learn everything you need to know about shiny Pokémon in Pokémon Legends: Arceus.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus — How to get the shiny charm
The Shiny Charm has become a pretty famous item in Pokémon games over the years thanks to the fact it drastically increases your odds of encountering shiny Pokémon. The base rate for bumping into a shiny in Gen 8 is one in 4,096, although with the Shiny Charm it can drop as low as one in 819 (thanks, Serebii).
To get the Shiny Charm in Legends: Arceus, you’ll need to reach research level 10 for every single Pokémon in the game. You don’t need to tick all of their research boxes, mind — once you’ve completed any ten tasks on their research page, they’ll count towards unlocking the Shiny Charm. In total, there are 242 species of Pokémon to catch and research in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. When you complete every research task for all of them, your shiny odds will max out at one in 585 — except for in very special circumstances.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus — What are mass outbreaks?
Mass outbreaks have been a thing for quite some time, although they’re a bit different in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. When you go to leave Jubilife Village, you might notice that there’s a mass outbreak of a specific species of Pokémon in one of Hisui’s various locales. If you go to investigate, you’ll see around four to ten Pokémon congregated in the area in question — all of which have an increased likelihood of being shiny.
With the Shiny Charm and all research tasks maxed out for the specific Pokémon in question, your odds for finding a shiny are one in 128, which is extraordinarily high. So, if you’re looking for that shiny Umbreon we mentioned earlier, you’d best get down to business — those tasks won’t research themselves!
Pokémon Legends: Arceus — Guaranteed shiny encounters
At the time of writing, we know of one guaranteed shiny encounter in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. If you’re in the market for a beloved pony with blue flames blazing along its back, check out our guide on how to get shiny Ponyta in Pokémon Legends: Arceus.
Written by Cian Maher on behalf of GLHF.
