How to get more shiny Pokémon in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Shiny Pokémon aren’t actually shiny — rather, they’re Pokémon that come in different colors than their typical forms. Finding these in the wild are pretty rare; around 1 in 4,096 Pokémon found are shiny. Still, there’s long been a huge community of Pokémon players dedicated to understanding and breaking down the process to make it a bit more approachable.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet continue the tradition of shiny hunting. There’s even a tracker in your character profile dedicated to how many you’ve battled. What’s more, in The Pokémon Company’s ninth-generation game, shiny Pokémon are visible in the overworld, meaning you’ll be able to pick them out from a crowd instead of entering hundreds of blind battles. Catching a shiny Pokémon is no different than any other Pokémon. Increasing your chances for them to spawn in the first place is the biggest challenge.

How to increase your shiny Pokémon spawn rate

Dedicated Pokémon players have already figured out how to increase spawn rates for shiny Pokémon, and the first method involves Pokémon outbreaks. According to Shiny Pokémon expert Sibuna_Switch, you can increase your shiny spawn rate by clearing Pokémon out of outbreaks — clearing 30 to 60 Pokémon increases the rate to 1/2,048, while clearing more than 60 brings that shiny rate to 1/1,365, according to their math.

Odds get better when you include other methods, like using a Shiny Charm or eating a shiny boost sandwich. Putting all these together after clearing more than 60 Pokémon from an outbreak can increase your chances to 1 in 512.44 Pokémon — much better odds than what you start with.

You can see the full chart embedded with the tweet below.

How to get a Shiny Charm

Here’s the thing. To get a Shiny Charm, you’ll need to complete your Paldea Pokédex, according to popular Pokémon database site Serebii. There’s no way to get past that — it’s a lot of work. But for shiny hunting, it’s worth it. After you complete your Pokédex, go visit Mr. Jacq at the academy and he’ll give you the charm.

None of us here at Polygon have completed our Pokédexes just yet, so we can’t confirm this information.

How to make a shiny sandwich with sparkling power

You can start making sandwiches at the beginning of the game, but sandwiches with Sparkling Power are another story. Sparkling Power sandwiches require the use of Herba Mystica, and sometimes a bunch of it. We’ve only found Herba Mystica from five-star raid battles — and it doesn’t always spawn there.

Regardless, you’ll have to combine different flavors of Herba Mystica with different ingredients to increase shiny rates for Pokémon types. Pokémon experts have already started breaking down recipes to get optimal sandwiches, as seen below,

Sandwiches with more ingredients are denoted with higher level buffs, so you’ll want to keep stocking up on Herba Mystica if you’ll be doing a lot of shiny hunting. Sandwich effects only last for a half hour, so use those 30 minutes wisely.

How to get shiny Pokémon from eggs

You can still get shiny Pokémon from eggs, and the way to increase your odds here is using something called the “Masuda method.” You breed Pokémon like you normally would: In Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, that means having two compatible Pokémon in your party while picnicking and hoping an egg spawns in your basket. The Masuda Method adds one caveat — the Pokémon used must be from different country versions of the games, so a Pokémon from the English version of the game paired with a Pokémon from the Japanese version of the game, for instance.

Sibuna_Switch’s handy chart says this brings the shiny rate to 1 in 683. If you’re using a Shiny Charm and the Masuda Method, it’s a 1 in 512.44 chance. It’s not clear if pairing this with a Sparkling Power sandwich will make any difference. However, if you use an Egg Power sandwich, you increase the rate of egg spawning; the first time I used an Egg Power sandwich, I got five eggs in my basket within seconds of consuming it.