The hardest Shiny Pokemon to get, ranked

Today, we’re listing off some of the hardest Shiny Pokemon to get. Most of these are from games prior to the Switch generation, but can still be transferred over to modern games.

At the time of writing, Pokemon Bank is still open for business – at least for those who’ve already downloaded it. In the past, we’ve discussed easy Shiny hunts you can do on DS and 3DS-generation Pokemon games. But how about some of the most difficult? Indeed, all of the Pokemon games prior to X and Y have a decreased Shiny rate of 1 in 8000 (roughly), which means there are plenty of tough and time-consuming Shiny hunts to do before Pokemon Bank eventually closes. Get ready for some tough hunts!

8. Ash Cap Pikachu

You may be wondering how this is possible. It’s an event, after all, and event Pokemon are Shiny locked. The answer is that you’re given a partner cap Pikachu in Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, and due to an error, it is possible to receive it Shiny (1 in 4096 even with Shiny Charm) if you soft reset. This wasn’t intentional, so the Shiny version actually looks completely identical to its normal counterpart. This is despite regular Shiny Pikachu being more of an orange color – indeed, Shiny Ash Cap Pikachu retains the exact same color. Other than being a complete slog, this isn’t the hardest Shiny Pokemon to get, but we figure it’s worth a mention with Pokemon Bank potentially shutting down soon.

7. Dynamax Adventures Zygarde

At the time of writing, this is the only way to obtain a Shiny Zygarde without events. It’s also the only way to catch it in a Premier Ball, which happens to match its colors. Dynamax Adventures Zygarde is a force to be reckoned with. It takes around 15 to 20 minutes to even get there, and if you’re playing by yourself you’re not even close to guaranteed to win. Zygarde can use Land’s Wrath to absolutely decimate your team, and since Dynamax Adventures use rentals, you aren’t guaranteed to have a team that can beat Zygarde either. The best way to go about this is to play with other trainers, and to use the same route over and over (reset the game if there is no Shiny you want to keep). This does eventually start costing Dynite Ore, though, so make sure you have plenty of it before you start. We actually have a guide on how to effectively Shiny hunt Zygarde – you can check that out here.

6. Sun & Moon Starters

Pokemon Sun and Moon are known for their lengthy cutscenes, and the same applies to Ultra Sun and Moon, too. Saving as close to picking a starter as possible still nets you a three to four minute reset time thanks to the extensive cutscenes. And with 1 in 4096 odds, this hunt takes a long time thanks to all the talking. Shiny-only playthroughs of Sun and Moon have quite the tedious task at the very beginning! Luckily, you can hunt them much easier via breeding and mass outbreaks in Scarlet and Violet. But if you want them at the start of Sun and Moon, you’ll need to put the time in.

5. Authentic Sinistea or Poltchageist

Introduced in Pokemon Sword and Shield, Sinistea is perhaps one of the hardest Shiny Pokemon to get thanks to its authentic form. If you don’t know this already, 1 in 100 Sinistea are “authentic”, which means they have a gray chip on the underside of the cup. The same goes for Poltchageist, who was introduced in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’s DLC. These Shiny hunts are made somewhat easier thanks to mass outbreaks in Scarlet and Violet having a chance to be 100 percent authentic, but the chance is still exceedingly rare. And if you’re hunting in Sword and Shield, there’s no way to increase the odds that your Sinistea is authentic. As a side note, an easy way to determine if a Sinistea is authentic is to try to evolve it with the Chipped Pot item. If it works, it’s real! Likewise, Poltchageist is Artisan form if it can evolve with the Masterpiece Teacup as opposed to the Unremarkable Teacup.

4. Roaming Pokemon in older generations

This is kind of a cop-out since we’re lumping a bunch of Pokemon into one, but Pokemon like Mesprit, Cresselia, and the Legendary birds in generation four all count here, among others. To Shiny hunt these Pokemon, you need to save just before they start appearing in the wild. For example, you’d need to save in Mesprit’s cave before talking to it. It’s even tougher if you have defeated the Pokemon – in HeartGold and SoulSilver, you’ll need to save before defeating the champion in order to get a fresh roaming Latias or Latios, for example. Then you need to actually track down the roaming Pokemon, which can prove bothersome at best and tedious at worst. These hunts are possible in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl as well, where they’re slightly easier thanks to the increased Shiny odds. Still, roamers remain some of the hardest Shiny Pokemon to obtain.

3. Honey Tree Munchlax

This hunt is possible in Pokemon Diamond and Pearl and its remakes, but it’s more difficult in the former thanks to the decreased Shiny rate. Every time you slather a tree with honey, a Pokemon will appear on it after a few real-time hours. You would have to save in front of the tree, check it, and hope that it’s Munchlax. Problem is, Munchlax has an exceedingly low spawn rate on honey trees, and is in fact the rarest encounter by a mile (1 percent). Also, you have to save in front of the tree so that you can soft reset for a Shiny. The species of Pokemon at the honey tree does not change when you reset the game, so if you don’t encounter Munchlax you will have to pick a different honey tree and wait a few hours. Generation four Munchlax is absolutely one of the hardest Shiny Pokemon to catch!

2. Sinjoh Ruins Dialga, Palkia, or Giratina

In Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver, you can trade over an event Arceus to unlock an event in the Sinjoh Ruins that spawns a Level 1 Dialga, Palkia, or Giratina – your choice. This is a standard Shiny hunt for the most part; you’re gifted the Pokemon and you simply have to check your party to see if it’s Shiny. Unfortunately, there is an extremely long unskippable cutscene that happens directly before this. It’s somewhere in the ballpark of two to three minutes straight, and you have to watch it every single time you reset the game. Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina aren’t the hardest Shiny Pokemon to obtain, but they might be if this were the only way to get them yourself!

2. Manaphy

If you’re deep into Shiny hunting, Manaphy being at the top of the list probably doesn’t surprise you. Technically speaking, Manaphy isn’t supposed to be Shiny, ever. The only reason it’s available is due to a coding error in the fourth generation of Pokemon games. You’ll need to obtain the Manaphy Egg gift from Pokemon Ranger first, and then transfer it to Pokemon Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, or the like. The game will ensure that the Manaphy Egg cannot be Shiny – but only for the save file to which it was transferred. Every Egg has a Shiny value, and each save file has its own Shiny value too. If the two match, the Egg will hatch Shiny (that’s a very quick explanation of the mechanic, at least). To make that Manaphy Egg Shiny, you’d have to trade it to a generation four game with a matching Shiny value, which of course is impossible to determine without external tools. This means to pull off the hunt legitimately, you’d need a second game. Make a new save file, progress until you can trade, do so, and then hatch the Egg – without Flame Body, since you’ll be in the beginning of the game. And no Bicycle, either. If it’s not Shiny, reset, trade the Egg back, and repeat. Though you could pre-hatch the Egg to make things a little easier, this is still an extremely time-consuming Shiny hunt. This makes Manaphy one of the hardest Shiny Pokemon to get, since this is the only way you can get it.

1. Pokemon Colosseum Jirachi

In a similar vein to Manaphy, Pokemon Colosseum can only give Jirachi to a generation three Pokemon game once per save file. This means if you want to hunt it, you’ll have to erase your save file, play the game until you have a Pokedex, and then receive the event and check if it’s Shiny. Not to mention, the Pokemon Colosseum game and bonus disc (the latter of which distributes the Jirachi) are extremely expensive online. Pokemon Channel also distributes Jirachi in PAL regions, which could be even more difficult to obtain. Either way, it’s a 1 in 8000 chance and the resets take forever. This makes Jirachi one of the hardest Shiny Pokemon to get outside of events!

There are probably difficult Shiny hunts that we didn’t include on the list. Some honorable mentions include Shaymin, Darkrai, and Arceus (who are event-exclusive, the former two of which being time locked and currently unobtainable), the full odds Regis in Sword and Shield, the Shiny Deoxys and Mew events from the third generation, and Shiny Celebi from Pokemon Crystal on 3DS Virtual Console.

What do you think is the hardest Shiny Pokemon to catch? Feel free to let us know in the comments down below.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are probably the easiest Shiny hunting games in the series, and you can check out the official site for the games here. Happy hunting!