Best way to find Shiny Pokémon in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

An open world, overworld spawns, and plenty of new ways to encounter Pokémon all culminate in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet being a Shiny hunter’s paradise. But how does one go about Shiny hunting in Scarlet and Violet? 

A Shiny Pokémon is a special type of encounter where a Pokémon can appear with different colors than you would normally expect to see. These are, however, extremely rare and only have a very small chance of occurring at any point while you play. 

Coming from the oddity that was Pokémon Legends: Arceus and the throwback of Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, Scarlet and Violet does take a few steps back while adding a few new mechanics to the pile. Thankfully, overworld encounters are still included among the things Game Freak carried over and Shiny Pokémon will show up, but they no longer have an audio or visual indicator.

A lack of indicators does mean noticing a Shiny Pokémon will be harder than in Legends: Arceus—especially for certain subsets of players—but you will still notice them without having to battle each Pokémon that spawns to check. 

Additionally, the base odds haven’t changed from modern Pokémon games, sitting at the usual one in 4,096 chance to encounter a Shiny per every encounter. Just like with most Pokémon games, there are ways to modify those odds to make it easier to encounter Shinies by using items or specific methods. 

It does take some work to set up most of these methods, but dedicated Shiny hunters can get the odds to tip in their favor with a little bit of luck and a lot of ingredients for Sandwiches in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. 

Best Shiny hunting methods and all Shiny odds for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet base Shiny odds and modifiers

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet follow the same base odds as every other Pokémon game to come out in recent years, with three distinct modifiers that can be applied to that initial one in 4,096 chance to find a Shiny. Along with the usual base rate, the usual Shiny Charm is in place as a post-game reward and a new mechanic for Sandwich making also applies. 

Related: All Shiny boost sandwich recipes in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Using the Sparkling Power Lv. 3—the max level you can get for this boost—obtained by using the correct Sandwich recipes you can greatly improve your Shiny odds. This is the full breakdown of Gen IX’s Shiny odds when it comes to regular encounters. 

• Base Rate
  • 1/4,096 encounters
• Sparkling Power Lv. 3
  • 1/1,024.38 encounters
• Shiny Charm active
  • 1/1,365.67 encounters
• Sparkling Power Lv. 3 + Shiny Charm active
  • 1/683.08 encounters

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Mass Outbreak Shiny odds

Mass Outbreaks make a return using a similar formula to Pokémon Legends: Arceus. However, there are some slight differences that make them a bit harder to manage while also having a few exploits players can use to further enhance the chance of finding a Shiny using the method. 

This is also once again the only way to achieve the absolute highest chance at a Shiny in the game via overworld encounters, a one in 512.44 chance—the same as the Masuda Method for breeding. You will need to clear at least 30 Pokémon in the outbreaks using the new Let’s Go mechanic to really make time fly while hunting, but here are the odds that are waiting for you. 

• Outbreak: 30+ Pokémon cleared
  • 1/2,048.25 encounters
• Outbreak: 60+ encounters cleared
  • 1/1,365.67 encounters
• Outbreak: 30+ Pokémon cleared + Sparkling Power Lv. 3
  • 1/819.60 encounters
• Outbreak: 60+ Pokémon cleared + Sparkling Power Lv. 3
  • 1/683.08 encounters
• Outbreak: 30+ Pokémon cleared + Sparkling Power Lv. 3 + Shiny Charm
  • 1/585.57 encounters
• Outbreak: 30+ Pokémon cleared + Sparkling Power Lv. 3 + Shiny Charm
  • 1/512.44 encounters

It is still nowhere close to Legends: Arceus’ bonkers one in 128.39 odds at their peak, but it is still worth noting. 

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Mass Egg and breeding Shiny odds

Breeding makes a return in Scarlet and Violet, though Eggs are now obtained through the new Picnic mechanic instead of DayCares and a few additional changes have been made to the feature and some Shiny odds.

• Base Rate
  • 1/4,096 encounters
• Shiny Charm active
  • 1/1,365.67 encounters
• Masuda Method
  • 1/683.08 encounters
• Shiny Charm active + Masuda Method
  • 1/512.44

The Masuda Method, named after long-time Pokémon franchise composer, director, and producer Junichi Masuda, utilizes two Pokémon from different real-world versions of the game to increase the Shiny odds from Eggs obtained via breeding—this time using the Picnic feature. So if you are a veteran Shiny hunter, absolutely nothing has changed with the best practices. 

Masuda Method here we all come. 

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Tera Raid Shiny odds

In potentially the oddest new addition, Tera Raids have an entirely unique and separate set of Shiny odds that can’t be impacted by the usual modifiers. 

The base Shiny odds in Tera Raids are actually slightly worse than the regular game’s base odds for overworld and Egg encounters. Additionally, Sparkling Power levels and the Shiny Charm have no effect on it at all due to the way its internal systems work. 

• Tera Raid base odds
  • 1/4,103.05 encounters 
  • Based on a 32-seed system that puts them at 1,046,775 out of 4,294,967,295 seeds being Shiny

It is likely Game Freak has plans to enable enhanced Shiny odds in Tera Raids in some way for future activations or events, but the base odds are still the worse in recent memory for the franchise.