I wrote a guide. I'd be happy if you used it, cause it's win.
Eclipse’s Shiny Hunting Guide
So, you’ve heard all about it on teh interwebz. Shiny hunting. “Wtf,” you think to yourself. “I thought the chance of encountering a shiny was one in eight thousand, one hundred and ninety-two?”
Well, yes, normally it is. BUT. There is something unique to the fourth generation games that makes it way easier to get shinies, simply by raising the chances that you will find one.
This something, ladies and gentlemen, is called chaining.
Oh, chaining. One of the most goddamn frustrating things in the games. I’m not going to like to you, chaining virgins, you will often feel like chucking your DS at the wall, or else stomping on it. I would suggest you to refrain from doing so; it will only add to the frustration later when you say: “Gee, I’ve calmed down a bit. I might go chain that pokémon again. Wait, I can’t!” After realising this, you will turn into the Hulk and destroy the world.
Witty tangents aside, I ramble. Basically, chaining is a process of getting the same pokémon over and over again in the wild. If I were to chain a Houndour (which is only possible in Platinum, by the way), I would find one Houndour using the Poke Radar, then another, by choosing the appropriate patch of grass. (I’m assuming you know what the Poke radar is and how it works, if not, look it up.)
By the way, you can only chain outside in grassy areas, no caves or water.
So, now you know the basics, I’ll tell you what you need.
- The Poke Radar. Duh.
- A lot of Max repels. And I mean a lot. Like, 300. You won’t use all of them in one go, most likely. (Repels and Super Repels work as well, but you go through them quicker and have to reapply them more often, which can often break your concentration.)
- Pokeballs of some description, to catch the shiny with. I prefer Luxury balls, as such pretty pokémon deserve pretty balls. Wait… that came out wrong.
- A powerful pokémon with heaps of pp. I tend to use a pokémon that has at least one move with 30PP.
- A powerful pokémon with False Swipe. You can find powerful Scyther above the Resort Area in Diamond, or else the move False Swipe can be taught to other Pokémon.
- If the pokémon you wish to chain is an electric type, head your party with a pokémon with the ability Static. Likewise with Metal Pull with steel types. If this pokémon is too weak to take down the pokémon you’re going to chain, faint it.
- Some pokémon require special pokémon in order to make them easy to catch. For example Houndour has the move roar, which will break your chain if it gets used on you. It’s best to bring a pokémon with soundproof into a situation like this. Do some research on the pokémon you’re going to chain before you start; they might be an easier way of doing things than you’ve planned.
- Poketch App. 20 (Pokeradar app) is extremely useful. It shows you your highest chains, as well as the pokémon you are chaining at the moment. Also, when you go into battle with a pokémon that will break your chain, the icon showing the pokémon you were chaining will disappear the moment you step onto the patch. This gives you an early warning to reset your game.
So first of all find a pokémon you want to chain. Usually the swarming pokémon is good, or Shinx, as you can use Static to make things a lot easier. Any electric pokémon or steel pokémon work well, especially if they are the only pokémon of that type in the area you’re going to chain in. Now, go find a place where that pokémon is available. Find a large patch of grass that covers most of screen, but preferably not all of it. Walk into the middle of the patch, use a repel, and save. Remember to have the Pokeradar app. up to tell you how your chain’s going along. Also register the Pokeradar, it makes this way easier. Don’t use your bike at any point during this, coz it won’t work.
Now, we begin. Hit the Y button (You did register the radar like I told you, didn’t you? Yes? Good.) to use the radar, and you will be all like “OMFG! The grass patches shook!”
Indeed they did, my friend. Pokémon’s such an awesome game, even the grass patches can’t help but get their groove on. There are three types of shaking grass patches. The first is the plain shake. It just shakes like normal, no stunning visual effects or anything. No white flashes like some of the other grasses. This is my second favourite grass type, because I always know how to distinguish it from the others. Usually common pokémon are found there, but if you’re patient enough, you eventually might find a rare one in there.
The next type is the flickery grass. Well, I call it that, so shut up. Flickery grass really boogies on down, shaking really fast and letting off a white glow. I don’t like using this patch of grass, because it confuses the hell out of me. I’d recommend plain grasses over flickery ones, because they’re more trustworthy.
And now we come to my favourite: Shiny grass. Yep, if you see this, get really freaking excited. There is a shiny pokémon in that patch of grass. It glows a lot more noticeably than flickery grass, and has that same three-star design that used to signify a shiny on the status screen back in the Johto days (It looks like this, only goldish:
) flicker twice, brightly. It’s pretty hard to miss, but still watch carefully. Also, when you find one, approach it carefully, and watch you don’t accidentally step in some other random grass, coz that would really suck.
So, now that I’ve rambled about the groovy grass for a bit, you’ll know which one to pick.
HOWEVER. It gets difficult.
After you’ve picked your first patch of grass, there are some strict rules to apply to what you do next in order to keep the same pokémon appearing. I will now introduce you to the Ten Commandments of Chaining.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF CHAINING.
1. Thou shalt never enter the patch of grass behind thyself. Alas, a wretched demon (i.e. a Bidoof) may be lurking within, and because thy body blocketh the view of this grass patch, thou hast no way of being aware of this.
2. Thou shalt only choose a shifting patch of green when thou can see four of them shaking.
3. Thou shalt only choose a patch of grass that shakes in the same way as the first one thy stumbled upon.
4. Thou shalt never move out of the area that was showing on the screen when thy reset the radar or thou shalt perish.
5. Thou shalt only choose a patch of grass which is at least 4 patches away from thineself.
6. Thou shalt never choose a patch of grass which lurking on a corner, for within lurks a demon (i.e. a Bidoof.)
7. Thou shalt never choose a patch of grass that stands beside another, for within also lurks a demon (i.e. thy mother.)
8. Thou shall always remember to spray a repellent before thou uses the poke radar, or a demon shalt steal thy soul (i.e. you will run into a normal wild pokémon and break your chain)
9. Thou shalt never let a pokémon flee from thee, and thou shalt never flee from a pokémon.
10. Above all else, thou shalt not enter a patch of grass if there exists in thy mind any doubt of its integrity.
I really need to stress that last point. If the grass looks a bit dodge, reset the radar. Don’t get cocky or lazy and enter unsafe grass, it’s a bad habit to get into and your chain will eventually break.
Just follow these rules, and you will get the hang of it. A lot of people who are new to chaining can sometimes only get chains of about 8 or so. You need at least 20 to have a good chance of finding a shiny, and even that takes a long time. I’m personally not a very patient person, so I raise the chain to 40, which maxes out the probability of finding one. When you get the chain up to here, stop chaining, and just keep resetting the radar and reapplying repels until you find a patch of shiny grass.
If you need to take a break while chaining for whatever reason (wether it be that you need to pee, are hungry, or the world is about to end) do it while in battle with a pokemon, or when you're about to reset the radar. That way you'll keep your place.
And yes, chaining is extremely difficult. It’s like a sport. Some people are naturally gifted at it, others aren’t (myself included). But even those who aren’t good at it can practice heaps and get decent results. Hey, I’ve gotten around ten shinies from it, and I’m a complete idiot, so that’s proof. It gets extremely scary when your chain starts getting high and you’re afraid it will break, I personally get extremely sweaty hands and my heart goes boonta, but when you finally get that shiny, it’s a feeling like you got when you beat the elite four for the first time: pure elation.
And believe me, the shinies are worth it. They look friggen’ badass.
All the best luck on your shiny hunting endeavours, and if you need any more help, you know who to ask.
