I remember when I was a kid, my older brother showing me a blue Psyduck in his copy of Pokémon Silver. He told me it was a “Shiny” Pokémon, a super rare occurrence where a Pokémon has a different color scheme. He then showed me a Red Gyarados. A few years later, I encountered a green Zubat in Mt. Moon while playing Pokémon FireRed. Even though Golbat isn’t my favorite, and isn’t the easiest to use in those games, you better believe I took that little green guy all the way with me to the Elite Four. How could I not? I was lucky enough to find a Shiny!

Now fast forward to the recent release of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. The franchise has been hiding Shiny Pokémon in their games for over two decades, and they’ve never been easier to find than in Scarlet and Violet. Many players have dubbed themselves “Shiny Hunters,” and devote most of their gameplay towards trying to obtain a specific Pokémon’s Shiny form. This is largely due to the games slowly introducing more and more methods of encountering Shiny Pokémon. Today, Shiny Pokémon have never been so abundant within the community.

So if Shiny Pokémon are so common nowadays… are they still special?

Back in Gold, Silver, and Crystal, it wasn’t uncommon for you to go the whole game without seeing a single Shiny (aside from the Red Gyarados which you encounter as part of the story). Shinies were an amazing stroke of luck granted to you from the Poké-gods themselves! Most players would hold on to their Master Ball, which had a 100% chance to catch whichever Pokémon it was used on, in case they ran across a Shiny Pokémon just to make sure they could get it. But now, it seems some trainers are catching Shiny Pokémon left and right.

From Generation II through V (Gold, Silver, and Crystal, as well as every GBA and DS game), the exact odds of a wild Pokémon being a Shiny was 1/8192. Miniscule! You could beat the game three to four times without finding a single one! Encountering one felt like a once-in-a-lifetime experience. However, a popular method of finding Shiny Pokémon was discovered in Diamond and Pearl that made Shinies easier to get by breeding your Pokémon with a Pokémon of a different language origin you obtained via trade. Using this method (dubbed the Masuda Method by fans, after Junichi Masuda, Game Freak co-founder) multiplies your chances by 5. Black 2 and White 2 introduced a new item called the Shiny Charm, which effectively tripled your chances of finding a Shiny. Oh, and these can stack.

Once Pokémon came to the 3DS with X and Y, those odds were increased from 1/8192 to 1/4096. Later, in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Mass Outbreaks were introduced, where a certain species of Pokémon is incredibly common in the overworld. During Mass Outbreaks, the odds of finding that Pokémon’s Shiny form were greatly increased as well. Slap on the new Sparkling Power you can get from making specific sandwiches in Scarlet and Violet, and you can lower your rate of finding a Shiny of a certain type to about 1/512 if you do it right. Mathematically, Shiny Pokémon can now be sixteen times more likely to show up than they were originally intended back in Gold, Silver, and Crystal. Add on the fact that you can see Pokémon in the overworld without needing to wait for an encounter, and it starts to become evident that Game Freak is trying to make Shinies easier to find.

Oh, and you can soon transfer your Shiny Pokémon from Pokémon Go Community Days to Scarlet and Violet with Pokémon Home, so that’s even MORE Shiny Pokémon for you.

Now, a Shiny Pokémon is a Shiny Pokémon. They’re still cool to have and show off. And if you’re willing to put in the effort to find the Shiny Charm (by completing the Pokédex) and jump through the other hurdles like breeding or sandwiches, then sure, you deserve it. Most players may not even know the extra tips and tricks you can do to increase your odds, so to them, Shinies are still as rare as ever.

But at what point are Shiny Pokémon no longer special events? Have Shiny Pokémon just become another tally mark to keep track of? Let us know your thoughts in the comments, or join us on the Boss Rush Discord and share your experiences with Shiny Pokémon!

Featured Image: The Pokémon Company