Shiny Pokémon are prized additions to any trainer’s game and in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon there are even more methods to obtaining these rare variations of Pokémon.
Of course, Shiny Pokémon don’t have any altered stats or move sets they just give a rare alteration to the color scheme but they are coveted by all trainers.
Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon retain some of the same methods to obtaining Shiny Pokémon as past games but there’s also a brand new method.
Here’s all the ways to get a Shiny Pokémon in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.
RANDOM ENCOUNTER
The most tried and true method to finding Shiny Pokémon. Just by exploring and walking through grass, water and caves you have a chance to encounter a Shiny Pokémon.
However, this is completely random and the odds of you encountering a Shiny Pokémon is very low. The odds to finding a Shiny Pokémon this way is 1 in 4096 from Pokémon X and Y onward. This is a slightly better chance than the 1 in 8192 it used to be.
SOFT RESET
There are certain parts of Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon that an encounter will be determined. This is namely when you choose your Starter Pokémon and encountering a Legendary Pokémon.
There’s a very slim chance to obtaining a Shiny Pokémon in these scenarios so if you don’t get a Shiny Starter or Legendary, you’ll need to soft reset.
Simply by pressing L + R + SELECT you’ll reset the game to your last save. In Ultra Sun and Moon , Legendary Pokémon aren’t shiny locked so when you are about to encounter them in the Ultra Wormhole (see below) save and soft reset until you get a Shiny Legendary.
MASUDA METHOD
This technique was named after the Pokémon developer Junichi Masuda who was the first to reveal this method. Introduced in Generation 4, the Masuda Method allows trainers to breed a shiny Pokémon with the stats, moves and abilities they want instead of searching the wilds for one.
How the Masuda Method works is you’ll have to breed two Pokémon who originate from different regions of the world. So your Squirtle from Japan and your Tyrunt from North America -- just as an example.
You have them breed until a Shiny Pokémon is hatched. The rate at which this happens is 1 in 1365.3 in Generation 5 -- and is even lower in Gen 6 and possibly in Gen 7 but no concrete number is known.
This method takes some patience but it definitely works to breed a Shiny Pokémon for competitive battling.
S.O.S BATTLES
Similar to Sun and Moon , S.O.S battles return and is a good way to shiny hunt. While there isn’t a concrete method found, a lot of trainers have figured out that ally chaining works and you’ll need an Adrenaline Orb, an item you can purchase early in-game. When you encounter a wild Pokémon use an Adrenaline Orb on your Pokémon and the wild Pokémon will call for help.
Here’s a flowchart of the steps needed to chain for a Shiny Pokémon.
Wild pokemon -> adrenaline orb -> call for help -> KO one of the two mons, doesn't matter -> call for help -> KO mon -> call for help -> KO mon -> ETC...
The method not only increases the chance of Shiny Pokémon encounters but each new Pokémon that appears will have a chance to get a Hidden Ability and have better EVs.
If you get a chain of 70+ defeated Pokémon, the chance of a Shiny Pokémon appearing rises to 1 in 1024 chance.
ULTRA WORMHOLE
In Ultra Sun and Moon , the Ultra Wormhole will allow for not only catching Ultra Beasts and Legendary Pokémon but to find Shiny Pokémon.
When flying through the Ultra Wormhole, the further you go the higher the chance of encountering a Shiny Pokémon. To go further, grab the orange orbs of energy to pick up speed and go further.
Going through a wormhole will put you in a new area with a Pokémon encounter. The Shininess of a Pokémon is determined here so we recommend you save at this point so if it is a Shiny Pokémon you can soft reset for the desired nature and IVs.
As for Shiny Legendary Pokémon, you can just soft reset them to be shiny like you would any other Pokémon in any other part of the game.
- Difficulty is challenging
- Post game is great
- New features and additions are welcome
- Story is muddled
- Not enough changes
