How to get Shiny Deoxys before Pokemon Bank closes
A little while ago, we wrote a big list of Shiny Pokemon that will become unobtainable after Pokemon Bank closes. Shiny Deoxys is one such Pokemon, and it’s only obtainable via a limited-time event in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen for the Game Boy Advance. If you’re looking to catch a Shiny Deoxys for yourself, we’ve put together a guide on how to hunt it prior to Pokemon Bank’s closure.
It’s important to note that Pokemon Bank does not currently have an announced closure date. Online services for Wii U and 3DS are set to end on April 8, but Pokemon Bank’s servers will remain open “until further notice”. That being said, we don’t expect them to be open for much longer than an additional year, if that. If there are any Shiny Pokemon you want to hunt in advance, now’s a great time to start.
How to hunt Shiny Deoxys
Shiny Deoxys is only available in Pokemon FireRed, LeafGreen, and technically Pokemon Emerald. If you’re looking to Shiny hunt Deoxys, though, we’d recommend steering clear of Pokemon Emerald. In Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen, the initial seed of the game is different every time you soft reset – which creates the possibility to encounter Shiny Deoxys. In Pokemon Emerald, the initial seed is glitched and remains exactly the same on every soft reset. This means that if you use Pokemon Emerald for your Shiny hunt, there’s a decent chance that you’ll never get your Deoxys because the initial seed creates the same Pokemon over and over. In short, stick with FireRed and LeafGreen for this hunt.
You’ll need to play through the game, defeating all the Gym Leaders and accessing the Sevii Islands afterward (you’ll need to obtain the Tri-Pass too). Deoxys is located on Birth Island, which you can only access via the Aurora Ticket event – you’ll have to get it in any way that’s convenient for you. Once you’ve obtained the ticket, use the boats in the Sevii Islands to get there. When you make it to the island, you’ll see a black triangle. Each time you talk to it, it will move somewhere else. Your job here is to get to it in the least amount of steps possible. After chasing it down a few times, it will move to the middle of the map. Stand in front of it, save, and get ready to Shiny hunt! From here, speak to the black triangle and then soft reset if you don’t see a Shiny Deoxys.
Deoxys appears at Level 30, so you’ll want to prepare a Pokemon with a sleep or paralysis-inducing move plus False Swipe. Unfortunately, Deoxys has Taunt as one of its moves, but only in Pokemon FireRed. This means that actually capturing a Shiny Deoxys is slightly easier in LeafGreen. Do keep in mind that your odds are a brutal 1 in 8192 in this game, but it’s still the only way to get a Shiny Deoxys. If you’ve got the time and patience, it’s definitely worth your time. We’d recommend catching Deoxys in an Ultra Ball or Luxury Ball to match its colors. Then, you can transfer it up to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet where it is usable in-game. If you do decide to go for this hunt, we wish you the best of luck!
