Shiny Pokémon are extremely rare and have different coloration than their regular appearances, luring many die-hard trainers to traverse regions in search of the elusive creatures. But finding a shiny starter or legendary in the wild may be unattainable in Pokémon Sword and Shield.
Dataminer Kaphotics revealed today that the starters—Grookey, Scorbunny, and Sobble—and the legendary Pokémon in Sword and Shield will not to appear as shiny in the overworld.
“As usual with models shown in the overworld, the legendaries and starters you can obtain in game are shiny locked,” the data miner said. “This prevents the model from showing up as shiny AND prevents the actual PKM you obtain from being shiny.
The sad news may upset fans who were looking forward to soft resetting their games until they landed the shiny starters. It seems that the only way players can land a shiny Scorbunny now is to breed it at Pokémon Day Care.
Nintendo and Game Freak employed the same shiny lock system for the starters in Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu and Eevee! It seems that the company is continuing its goal of having agency over the distribution of rare Pokémon through special events.
Sword and Shield launches globally this Friday, Nov. 15.
