Memories of my Shiny Pokémon encounters
My personal memories of wild shiny Pokémon encounters from the early generations of Pokémon
Do you remember your first shiny Pokémon encounter? I’ve got plenty of memories of finding, catching, and fainting shinies, and even watching them run away in front of my very eyes! Shiny Pokémon have been a rollercoaster of emotions over the years, and I wanted to take this opportunity to share my stories of them.
Since their introduction in Pokémon Gold and Silver, shiny Pokémon have been an exciting addition to the video game series, especially when encountered unexpectedly. With odds of 1/8192 of finding one in the wild, these Pokémon were very rarely encountered in the Game Boy titles, aside from a few exceptions such as the Red Gyarados and event-based distributions. As the generations went on, they became easier to obtain, with the odds of discovering one randomly being reduced, and obtainable tools and tricks helping to give even better chances.
Pokémon Diamond and Pearl introduced chaining with the Poké Radar, and Catch Combos were added in Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee, both of which could significantly improve your chances of discovering a shiny. The best opportunity to obtain one of these special Pokémon is in Pokémon GO, with odds of around 1/500, which become significantly better during raids and community days, where I have found several during a three-hour session.
The Shiny Charm was introduced in Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 and has appeared in every generation since, obtained by completing the Pokédex. While its effectiveness differs between games, its purpose remains the same: to increase the chance of encountering a Shiny Pokémon, in the wild and when breeding. Last but not least is the Masuda method (a term coined by the community and named after co-founder and Game Freak composer Junichi Masuda), which was introduced in generation 4. By breeding two Pokémon with different languages of origin, you can increase the odds of the offspring being shiny.
My first ever shiny encounter in Pokémon Crystal was a Wooper in Union Cave. I remember that it was at night, and I was super surprised and excited to find it. I first learned about shiny variants of Pokémon on forums and in magazines, and I believe I found Wooper even before I had encountered the Red Gyarados for the first time. I vividly remember having a Poliwhirl in my team at the time that had Strength, which I thought would be enough to damage the Wooper…
Well, that plan turned out horribly, because the Strength attack fainted that Wooper in a single hit. I sat there gobsmacked in utter disbelief, my disappointment immeasurable. That moment has always stayed with me, and outside of Red Gyarados, it was my only shiny encounter in Pokémon Crystal.
My shiny luck changed when I borrowed a copy of Pokémon Sapphire from my friend Adam and found a shiny Zigzagoon. I was using the bathroom at the time, as I would often take my Game Boy Advance in there to play while I responded to the call of nature. I have no idea which route I obtained Zigzagoon from, but I was able to successfully capture it inside a Great Ball! Eventually, I traded it to my personal copy of Pokémon Ruby and evolved it into Linoone after it reached Level 41 and learned its final move, Belly Drum. For many years, I assumed I caught this on my own copy of Ruby, but after looking over some of my old chat logs from back then, I discovered that I had borrowed and eventually returned Adam’s copy of Sapphire to him. I even discovered the exact date I captured that Zigzagoon: September 28th 2004!
The next shiny I remember encountering was a Venomoth in Pokémon FireRed, which happened to be inside the Safari Zone, so unlike regular wild battles, it had a chance of escaping. Once again, I was using the bathroom, proving conclusively that playing Pokémon while on the toilet greatly increases the odds of finding shiny Pokémon, at least in my experience! While I don’t remember the exact details, I remember throwing mostly Safari Balls and bait, and that it felt like the fight lasted forever. Unfortunately, it decided to run away, and yet another shiny Pokémon escaped my grasp.
It would be a few years until I encountered another shiny Pokémon randomly in the wild, with Pokémon Platinum on the DS, where I was able to find a Rhydon in Victory Road. I can’t recall if this was on the way to the Elite Four or after beating them. Sadly, I no longer have my original game to confirm those details. I was sitting in my dining room at the time when the surprise encounter occurred. According to Pokémon HOME, I caught it inside a Dusk Ball, although I don’t remember this. Sadly, shiny Rhydon hasn’t seen much action outside of that initial encounter, but still lives on Pokémon HOME…
The last true shiny I encountered was a Golbat in Pokémon Sun on December 29th 2016. It had once again been some time since I had come across any shiny Pokémon, likely due to me playing Pokémon much less than I originally did, so it was a neat surprise. Just like my Rhydon in Pokémon Platinum, I caught it inside a Dusk Ball and off to the PC it went, never to be used again.
I’ve also managed to collect a lot of event shiny Pokémon over the years, as well as a substantial number from Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Pokémon Scarlet, and especially Pokémon GO. These days, discovering and capturing shiny Pokémon is commonplace, and they don’t hold the same excitement for me as they used to, so I don’t count them. Making these encounters super common has diminished the excitement almost completely. After watching some videos and streams from Pokémon fans, I am contemplating the idea of shiny hunting in older Pokémon games, something that appears to have a cult following. However, I'll always remember the magic of encountering full-odds shinies in those earlier games, because those moments, regardless of whether I was successful in capturing them or not, will continue to be some of the most exciting experiences from Pokémon.
try to catch the toothpaste (glalerian shiny linoone)