SHINY POKEMON

During your video game epic that is Pokemon, you may encounter a Pokemon whose color scheme looks different from its normal version. Congratulate yourself, for you have just encountered a shiny Pokemon.

A shiny Pokemon is like a trophy; while it is not any stronger than its normal version, the fact that you have one is pretty cool. The chances of finding a shiny Pokemon is normally 1 in 8192. That's a 0.0122% chance of finding one! Don't bother breeding for one either, as the chances of receiving a shiny egg are just as slim.

Shiny Slowbro

If you have time and want to go shiny hunting, here are some tips:

- Always carry Pokéballs with you. As previously said, you never know when you are going to come across a shiny. If you've found one, it would really be a bummer to not be able to catch it.
- Pokemon that have set locations are easier to find shiny. These Pokemon never change locations, so you'll always find THAT specific Pokemon, thus reducing wasted time. For example, the three starters (at the beginning of the game), Kyogre, Groudon, Rayquaza, etc.
- Looking for a specific shiny in the open wild is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Make that a really big haystack. Because you cannot control what you are going to encounter in the grass, sea, or cave, you never know which Pokemon that you run across will be shiny. Honestly, this type of shiny hunting isn't worth it; don't make Pokemon a tedious activity.
- If you run across one shiny legendary, you will always run across a shiny legendary. In other words, if you have found a shiny legendary that runs away, such as Latias or Latios, the Pokemon will remain shiny the next time you see it. If you run across a shiny Latios, don't worry that you'll never see him again; just battle him as usual, and make sure to save RIGHT AFTER the encounter.
- There are no tricks or cheats to get shiny Pokemon (excluding Action Replay), so if you've heard that if you fly to Celadon City five hundred times and push the truck off of the old man, you will get a shiny, don't believe it. Finding a shiny depends solely on one's determination and luck.

Shiny Xatu

PokeRadar

In Generation IV, the PokeRadar can be used to chain for shiny Pokemon. It's no easy task though; you need to build a chain of 40 Pokemon to increase your chances of finding a shiny Pokemon to about 0.5% or 1/200. According to the formula devised by pika from PokeGuide, this probability peaks at 40 Pokemon. If the PokeRadar detects a shiny Pokemon, the grass will sparkle with four stars.

Basics to Chaining

Start small! Easy Pokemon to chain for beginners include Shinx, Starly and Bidoof.
There are two types of patches, normal and flashing. Normal patches last longer than flashing ones. There are more Pokemon to be found in flashing patches than normal ones, namely Pokemon that are PokeRadar-exclusive.
Once your chain reaches 40, there is absolutely no need to go any further. The chances of a shiny appearing is at its peak now. Bringing the chain higher will not decrease the odds of a shiny patch appearing, however, it is undesirable to do so as it may break your chain.
You might need to "reset" the PokeRadar at certain times. Do this by walking 50 steps in non-shaking grass, being absolutely careful to be within the radar's range.
When looking for a shiny patch, it will often take a lot of Repels. Super Repels will save money in the long run, but if you can afford to use both Super Repels and Max Repels, it would be beneficial to the length of your chain. Standard Repels are not recommended, as they will only permit three resets of the Radar before another is required.
Never turn off your Nintendo DS during a chain, as this will cause your chain to break. Closing your DS lid and saving the game will do no harm to your chain (although you MUST leave your DS on), and this is what you should do if you wish to run your chain for a long period of time.
Saving your game after each caught shiny is a good idea.
Running from a Radar-induced battle will break your chain.

General Tips

Bring lots of Pokeballs! The last thing you want is to run out when you're still trying to catch shinies.
Don't look away from the screen while patches are shaking! It only takes one second to miss a patch, and end your chain. If you suspect that you may have missed a patch, reset the Radar (but try not to walk into any patches!).
All chains break for a reason. If you're not sure what caused your chain to break, go through these tips and see if you can find where you went wrong. Usually it's caused by going into a patch that is not a 4-away (covered later in this guide).
Before chaining your desired shiny, Use the Interactive Sinnoh Map to see potential chain breakers, such as ones that know Whirlwind or Roar.
Have high-levelled Pokemon that know moves such as False Swipe, Sleep Powder, Thunder Wave, etc. Having these Pokemon at high levels is preferred, so that they won't faint during the chain. Bring something with lots of PP too, so you can be that little bit faster reaching 40.
Use Pokemon abilities to increase your chances of getting your desired Pokemon. Attract Electric types with the ability Static. Use Pokemon with Magnet Pull to attract Steel Pokemon. If you want a Pokemon with a specific nature, bring a Pokemon of that nature with the ability Synchronize. Remember, your Synchronizer must be at the front of your party, but it can be fainted. Just make sure it has a high enough level to keep your Repels working!
Finally, if you're getting frustrated, take a break.

How to Chain

To chain, use the PokeRadar and go to either type of grass. It could take some time to find the Pokemon you would like to chain, so if it is not the one you're looking for, simply run from the battle and try again. More Pokemon can be found in flashing grass. Once you have found the Pokemon you wish to chain, defeat it. You have now started a chain of this Pokemon, and the chain is at 1, as the Pokétch App #20 will tell you. Obviously, 1 is not a high chain. When the grass shakes after the battle, go to the patch that is farthest away. However, there may not always be a "safe" patch.

To find a "safe" patch, firstly, we group the grass around you into four zones as follows:

A safe patch is a patch of grass in zone 4 that is not in the same row or column as your current location. The follow diagram shows the safe patches in a lighter shade.

However, multiple zone 4 patches which are in the same row or column, should be avoided! These red patches are not safe because although they are zone 4, and in the same row or column as one another. The yellow patch is safe because it does not share a row or column with another zone 4 patch.

Patches which are not surrounded by more grass in every direction are a hazard to your chain. Even shiny patches on edges could break your chain. It is estimated to be a 50% chance of breaking your chain, so be careful. These are not recommended if your chain is above 10.
Never walk directly up unless you are 100% sure that you know where the four patches are. The trainer sprite will obscure your view of the patch directly in front of you, and this could cause your chain to break.
The Step-counter Pokétch app is very helpful. It tells you how many steps you have taken, if you don't feel like counting them yourself. This can help to prevent wasteful use of your repels, since you will know when you have taken your 50 steps.
When resetting your PokeRadar, it is recommended that you stay in two patches. Going any further may cause you to walk into a shaking patch, or even worse, it may cause all of the shaking patches to go off your screen, breaking your chain.
When resetting, it is better to do so in the middle of the grass. This way, more patches will shake, and there will be more patches in zone 4.
If you found the grid above confusing, make a note of your current location, and a note of a good patch. Reset the PokeRadar in your current location each time, and go to the good patch when it shakes. However, be sure to have more than one useful patch if you can!

When your chain reaches 40 Pokemon, don't go into any more patches. Slowly and carefully, reset the radar, and walk to the center of the grass. Reset the radar until you find a shiny. Once again, do not enter shiny patches if they are on the edge of the grass! Do not enter any more patches unless they are shiny patches. They can continue your chain, but there's always the chance that they'll cause your chain to break, which is the worst thing to happen at 40.

Shiny Grumpig

Mechanics

For those interested, the exact probability of encountering a shiny Pokemon is calculated as follows. The game generates four random numbers ranging from 0 to 65535. These are represented as binary numbers, 16 bits in length. The bitwise operation "exclusive or" is performed on each of the numbers, resulting in a single binary number in the range 0 to 65535. If this number is less than 8, the Pokemon is shiny. Hence the probability of this occuring is 8/65536 or 1/8192.

Furthermore, the two trainer ID numbers (one visible appearing on the menu's trainer card, the other invisible and unknown to the player) makes up two of the four random numbers. While these values remain static throughout the entire game, the other two random numbers are calculated when you encounter the Pokemon in the wild, when you hatch a Pokemon, or when you pick up the Pokemon as a gift (as with the starters). Thus, shininess is no longer determined by Individual Values (It was in Gold, Silver and Crystal) and it is therefore possible to have a shiny Pokemon with maximum IVs.

Shiny Azelf

Now that you know more about the mystery of the elusive shiny Pokemon, your epic quest to catch them all will be that much more exciting. Who knows what your next wild Pokemon will be?