Shiny hunting is a complex, time-consuming, worthwhile activity in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, but some Shiny Pokémon are the easiest to catch out of them all. The base odds of shiny hunting are 1/4096, but there are many ways to increase these odds and make Shiny spawns more frequent. Each Pokémon game has different Shiny hunting mechanics, but Pokémon Legends: Arceus is considered one of the easiest titles to find uniquely colored Pokémon throughout the wilds. Many in-game systems feature unique items or prerequisites to increase Shiny chances, but Pokémon Legends: Arceus has the most organic opportunities to do so.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus takes place in Ancient Sinnoh, also known as the Hisui region, where the player joins the Galaxy Expedition Team as a Survey Corps member. Players must catch, observe, and interact with hundreds of Pokémon species to record their data in the region’s first Pokédex. Pokémon Legends: Arceus offers five different free-roaming areas, including the Obsidian Fieldlands, the Crimson Mirelands, the Cobalt Coastlands, the Coronet Highlands, and the Alabaster Icelands. Each site features different environments suited to various species of Pokémon, encouraging players to hunt down unique specimens in their standard and Shiny forms.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus changed many traditional features from past Pokémon games, including standard gameplay systems like evolution and movesets. The most significant change with Shiny hunting in Pokémon Legends: Arceus is the Pokédex. Players must get to Research Level 10 for every species to acquire a complete record. This can be accomplished by catching, battling, defeating, or using the creature in combat, ensuring that players can utilize their preferred playstyle whichever way they please. When players reach Research Level 10 for a species, the Shiny odds increase, but they raise even higher as players surpass the level requirement and fill the entire page. Additionally, Pokémon Legends: Arceus gifts players a Shiny Charm once they’ve completed their Pokédex, further increasing the odds of encountering a strange colored creature. Despite these buffs, many creatures are easier to catch as a Shiny than others.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus Gives Players A Free Shiny Ponyta
The easiest Shiny Pokémon to catch in Pokémon Legends: Arceus is a Shiny Ponyta, which appears as part of a quest in the Obsidian Fieldlands. Unlike its standard form with orange and yellow flames adjourning its mane and tail, a Shiny Ponyta has bright blue flames that turn purple when it evolves. Players can obtain the Peculiar Ponyta quest from Yota in Jubilife Village and catch the guaranteed Ponyta in the Obsidian Fieldlands. Since Ponyta is one of the most coveted Shiny Pokémon in the franchise, given its simplistic but beautiful aesthetic, many Shiny hunters will be pleased with this inclusion and get a head start on completing their Shinydexes. While Ponyta is Pokémon Legends: Arceus‘ only guaranteed Shiny, many other species whose spawning rates are far easier to raise than the rest.
Early Pokémon Legends: Arceus Species Have A Higher Shiny Chance
Pokémon Legends: Arceus starts in the Obsidian Fieldlands, where players can catch creatures like Shinx, Starly, Bidoof, Buisel, and other traditional Sinnoh species that appear early in the game. These creatures serve as the game’s tutorial for catching and battling Pokémon. Obsidian Fieldlands’ simplistic environment provides players a more straightforward introduction to advanced mechanics like stealth, using food, using different Poké Balls, and more.
The three Pokémon players have a higher chance of catching a Shiny form for are Shinx, Starly, and Bidoof, who are the player character’s first targets when joining the Survey Corps. Additionally, players are likely to encounter these creatures while running around and collecting resources. The passive engagement players experience with these species makes them more likely to obtain Research Level 10 or completed Pokédex entries, especially if players include them in their parties.
Legends: Arceus Has Common & Rare Pokémon Spawns
Like most Pokémon games, there are common and rare spawns in Pokémon Legends: Arceus for different characters and creatures. Some species are exclusively nocturnal or only spawn when the weather is correct, but others occupy their spawn areas at all times (except during time-space distortions). Common Pokémon’s regular appearances and encounters with Pokémon Legends: Arceus‘ player character makes it easier for players to complete their Pokédex entries and possibly encounter Shiny forms. One example is the Crimson Mirelands’ Hippopotas, which spawns in the Sludge Mound area. Each muddy pool is occupied by multiple male and female Hippopotas that can become aggressive if players venture too near. Defeating them with Grass-type attacks or catching them without being spotted are simple ways to make exploring smoother and increase Pokédex information. Unfortunately, rarer Pokémon species are often highly desirable and obtain powerful evolutions that earn a spot in the player’s party. Unfortunately, their limited spawn makes their Shiny forms much more challenging to obtain.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus’ Mass Outbreaks Increase Shiny Odds
Mass Outbreaks aren’t a new gameplay mechanic in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, with the feature first appearing in Pokémon’s third generation. When players leave Jubilife Village, a member of the Security Corps informs them of a Mass Outbreak. The incident’s location appears on the Hisui region map, but players must search for the incident themselves. There are no ways to forcefully activate Mass Outbreaks, and these incidents are restricted to specific species in different territories. Pokémon that spawn during Mass Outbreaks raise their Shiny odds to 1/158, making their appearances much more likely. It’s recommended that players search which creatures spawn in Mass Outbreaks for their desired territory and whether the species they’re hunting for is liable to appear.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus’ Pokédex has 242 available Pokémon to catch and record, with 21 Shinylocked for the time being. While it’s impossible for players to obtain Shiny Legends: Arceus legendary Pokémon with the soft reset mechanic (or any mechanic), the mass collection of other monsters provides many other options for players’ Shiny teams. Thankfully, unlike other Pokémon games with Shiny hunting mechanics that require mindless grinds, Pokémon Legends: Arceus rewards passive and active hunting. Thankfully, Pokémon Legends: Arceus players are likely to receive rewards for their efforts much quicker than in other titles, increasing the title’s positive reception. Pokémon Legends: Arceus is now available exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.
