Shiny Pokémon are one of the rarest Pokémon you can find in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. They can spawn around the entirety of Lumiose City. They appear larger in size, have a shiny aura and a spawn sound, but finding them requires time and commitment. This guide will explain in detail what Shiny Hunting is and the fastest way to obtain Shiny Pokémon in Pokémon Legends: Z-A.
Shiny Hunting Explained in Pokémon Legends: Z-A
Shiny Hunting is done throughout the entirety of Lumiose City, especially in Wild Zones in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. Shiny Pokémon have a spawn rate of 1 in 4096, and they’re larger in size, have a shiny sparkle aura around them, and have a Shiny icon beside their name. Up to 10 Shiny Pokémon will remain on the map at a time, and the best part is that these Shiny Pokémon do not despawn, which means if you fast travel or do some other activities while they’re spawned, you can get back to them at any time.
However, if you fail to catch the Shiny Pokémon or knock it out, you’ll lose your shot at obtaining it. This is why saving your progress before catching a Shiny Pokémon is extremely important. Once you manually save your progress, you can retry the battle if you fail to get the Shiny Pokémon in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. There are auto-saves in this game as well, but manually saving is more reliable. However, you can’t load back to the last save and save-scum Shiny Pokémon.
Shiny Pokémon also have conditions under which they appear, such as weather effects and time of day. Once you get close to them, a distinct shiny chime will play, which indicates that a Shiny Pokémon is nearby. You have to figure out which one it is. Both regular and Alpha versions of a Pokémon can have a Shiny variant.
You can increase your odds of hunting Shiny Pokémon by using the Shiny Charm, obtained by completing Mable’s Research, which increases the spawn rate from 1/4096 to 1/1024, but that will take a lot of time. It’s not possible to complete all of Mable’s Research early on. The most basic way to catch a Shiny Pokémon is to check for them in Wild Zones, then rest on a bench and advance the time of day, or fast-travel to another location, then come back to check once again.
This will refresh the spawns in those specific regions. There’s a guaranteed way to obtain a certain Shiny Pokémon during Main Mission 017, where you’ll catch a Shiny Mareep in Wild Zone 1 while progressing the mission. However, there’s a faster way to increase your chances of spawning any Shiny Pokémon.
Fastest Way to Hunt Shiny Pokémon in Pokémon Legends: Z-A
The fastest way to hunt Shiny Pokémon in Pokémon Legends: Z-A is to look for them in areas that are connected to doors or stairs that transition into a loading screen. This is the best method to farm Shiny Pokémon in the game as of now. To explain how this works, let’s take the example of Wild Zone 3, located in Rouge Plaza.
Inside this Wild Zone, there’s a large tower located to the left. Entering this tower triggers a loading screen, which takes you to the top of it, and similarly, descending from the tower also triggers a loading screen to get you down on the ground. This is very helpful for Shiny Hunting in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, as loading screens will reset the spawn for Shiny Pokémon. Here are the steps you need to follow to have the highest chance at spawning a Shiny Pokémon:
- Head inside Wild Zone 3, and enter the giant tower.
- Once you’re at the top, exit down the tower.
- On the ground, check for Shiny Pokémon in the Wild Zone.
- Repeat this process until you can score a Shiny Pokémon.
There are roughly 10 Shiny Pokémon that can spawn in this area, and doing this process will increase your chances of obtaining every one of them. Always remember to create a manual save before you catch a Shiny Pokémon. If you’re lucky enough, you’ll get the majority of them in a short amount of time in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. Alternatively, you can try this method by going AFK too. Tie a rubber band to your controller’s movement button to move downwards, then start the process until you can spawn every Shiny Pokémon in the Wild Zone.
Hover over Wild Zones to find out which Pokémon you have already caught, and which ones you haven’t, to target the Shiny variant of your favorite Pokémon. The more you progress through Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the more areas and Wild Zones you’ll unlock and the more chances you’ll have to obtain Shiny Pokémon.
