There’s a lot that goes into Shiny Hunting, so learning these helpful tips before you start your pursuit of a Shiny Pokémon is a good idea.
Soft Reset (SR)
You’ll see a lot of different methods suggest you “soft reset” or SR. This is a quick way to reload your Pokémon game without having to power down your whole system. This will not erase or negatively harm your data unless you do so while in the middle of saving your game. It will just revert your progress to the point that you last saved.
Because of this, it’s important that you find a good spot to save your game before attempting to get any Shiny Pokémon that require resetting for it. Saving right before you pick up a starter Pokémon or talk to a Legendary Pokémon is best. Make sure that you do not save your game again before soft resetting!
You can perform a soft reset by pressing a specific button combination. Keep in mind that all buttons need to be pressed at the same time, so hold them in until the game resets.
- On Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance Pokémon games, press A + B + Start + Select to soft reset your game.
- On Nintendo DS Pokémon games, press L + R + Start + Select to soft reset your game.
- On Nintendo 3DS Pokémon games, press L + R + Start or L + R + Select to soft reset your game.
- For Pokémon Let’s Go!, there is no soft reset built in, so you need to press Home on a Joy-Con or Pro Controller, then X to close the software, and then reload it.
Shiny Charm
Introduced in Pokémon Black 2 & White 2, the Shiny Charm is an invaluable Key Item that permanently increases the chances of running into a Shiny Pokémon in most situations.
Obtaining it is no easy task, though: you need to complete the National Pokédex — minus any Mythical Pokémon such as Mew, Celebi, Jirachi, etc. — in Black 2 & White 2, X & Y, and Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire. By “complete”, that means Pokémon Caught, not just Pokémon Seen.
In Sun & Moon, Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon, and Let’s Go! Pikachu & Eevee, you only need to complete the Regional Pokédex to obtain the Shiny Charm. Again, this is excluding any Mythical Pokémon.
The chance of encountering a Shiny Pokémon while you possess the Shiny Charm is increased by +2 chances. What this means is that if there was a 1 in 4096 chance, it would instead become a 3 in 4096 chance, effectively tripling the base odds to 1 in 1365 instead.
It’s very helpful to have the Shiny Charm, but it’s also a lot of work to complete your Pokédex. You can pick up the Shiny Charm after completing your Pokédex by talking to the region’s Professor in Black 2 & White 2, X & Y, and Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, or by talking to the Game Freak Director in Sun & Moon (Heahea City), Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon (Heahea City), or Let’s Go! Pikachu & Eevee (Celadon City).