Pokemon Scarlet And Violet: The 10 Best Pokemon To Shiny Hunt Before Legends: Z-A (2024)

With Pokemon Legends: Z-A slotted as the next game in the series, the active focus on Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is set to end sometime in 2025. While the game will still remain online, buyable, and playable, it's fair to assume a large portion of players will jump to Z-A as the main Pokemon game to play.

For most players, shiny hunting tends to become the main activity in modern Pokemon games, and Scarlet and Violet is no exception. Now that the second Legends game is on the horizon, players interested in getting the most out of the Paldea games should definitely look to shiny hunting for more gameplay content. While there are hundreds of options for shiny hunting, a select group of Pokemon stand clear above the rest.

10 Applin

Shiny Cosmetic Detail

While Applin is a Galar, Sword and Shield-native Pokemon, the two extra evolutions found in Scarlet and Violet make it a prime candidate for shiny hunting. Between the excellent shiny colors for Dipplin and Hydrapple, the convenient ways to hunt Applin, and the bonus detail for players with either evolution, this tiny wyrm in an apple is a perfectly rewarding hunt.

With shiny Applin turning from red to green, spotting it in either Kitakami or Paldea is fairly easy. Since it's a Dragon-type, it's even easier to single out spawns using sandwiches, and finding the evolution conditions isn't much hassle either. As a special bonus for players with a shiny Dipplin or Hydrapple who know the move Syrup Bomb, the syrup seen in the move animation will be the same gold color as the shiny dragons, instead of the usual red.

9 Sinistea

A Rare Drink

For players that started with Scarlet and Violet, the gimmick with Sinistea and Polteageist may not be immediately obvious. However, the chance of finding a shiny that has odds estimated to be close to one in a million is hard to ignore.

Sinistea, and its evolution, have two forms: the common phony, and the rare antique. Since the antique trait cannot be bred down, as assumedly that would be a "reproduction" and therefore phony, players looking for the rare pink teacup have to hunt it the old-fashioned way. Thankfully, the antique form of Sinistea can outbreak without any phony forms mixed in, making it far easier to actually obtain this somewhat legendary shiny.

8 Poltchageist

The Newest Rare Drink

See Also

Which Pokémon Are ‘Pseudo-Legendary’ - and Why10 Strongest Non-Canon Dragon Ball Forms, RankedParis Olympic Games: An Opening Ceremony of Blood and Tears

A convergent species of Sinistea,Poltchageist and Sinistcha have the exact same gimmick, only with different names and different shiny colors. The counterfeit and artisan forms are essentially the same as the phony and antique ones, with the same odds. Only now, spotting the shiny from the standard is trickier.

While Sinistea turns baby pink instead of blue, Poltchaegist turns a deep, dark green instead of black. Conceptually, the difference would be obvious, but thanks to Scarlet and Violet's lighting system, players should rely on the Let's Go function more than their own eyes to spot this shiny.

7 Eevee

Popular For A Reason

An unofficial secondary mascot for Pokemon, the Eevee line, known by most players as Eeveelutions, is a popular and plentiful source of shiny hunting. Famous for its many evolutions, catching one shiny Eevee is rarely enough for shiny hunters; a total of nine shiny Eevees is necessary for a complete set.

Since Eevee can be found in several locations throughout Paldea, is easy to create eggs for, and often appears in event raids, players will have no shortage of shiny hunting options for this popular Normal-type.

6 Disguise Pokemon

A Test Of Patience

For an ultimate test of patience and perseverance, shiny hunters wanting a shiny with a story should look no further than hunting Ditto, Zorua, or Zoroark in the overworld. Since the gimmick for these three Pokemon revolves around them disguising themselves as other Pokemon, players wanting a disguised shiny will have to check each and every Pokemon they see, since the real shiny isn't visibly shiny until its true form is revealed.

Since all three Pokemon only have one type, being Normal or Dark, it's impossible to single out only the target species with sandwiches. Only the most dedicated shiny hunters will attempt this, but it makes for an impressive shiny reward.

5 Paradox Pokemon

Past And Future Rarity

One of the most popular and art-inspiring groups of Pokemon added to Scarlet and Violet, hunting down a favorite or even every Paradox Pokemon in either version is a great shiny collection goal to have.

For players with access to friends with the alternate game version, collecting every single Paradox Pokemon as a shiny is an even grander challenge and cherry on top for shiny hunters. Given the competitive power of some Paradoxes, like Iron Hands and Flutter Mane, it may add a little flair to the remaining competitive formats for Scarlet and Violet.

4 Iron Valiant And Roaring Moon

The Powerful Paradoxes

Perhaps the pinnacle of each group of Paradox Pokemon, Roaring Moon and Iron Valiant offer incredible power and great shiny forms. With both Pokemon making up for the lackluster pseudo-legendary of Paldea, players wanting the best of the best from Area Zero should look no further.

With Roaring Moon borrowing its shiny colors from shiny Salamence, and Iron Valiant turning pure silver, these striking shiny Pokemon perfectly encapsulate the aspects of the Paradox theme, and since these Paradox Pokemon aren't quite as easy to obtain as the rest, dedicated shiny hunters will have to put in a little extra effort.

3 Paldea Starter Pokemon

A Classic Choice

While many players already started and finished this hunt within the first few days of Scarlet and Violet's release, shiny hunting each of the Paldea starters is a classic choice for rounding out a shiny Pokedex. With foreign Dittos or starters readily available, hatching a shiny starter is even simpler.

Since Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly all have the same step requirement for hatching. At a little over 2500 steps, hatching should be the quickest part of the hunt, with actually making eggs taking up the bulk of players' time.

2 Kalos Starter Pokemon

Preparing For Legends: Z-A

Thanks to the Terarrium in the Blueberry Academy, starter Pokemon of all kinds are available across the game's various biomes. For players wanting to start Pokemon Legends: Z-A with a shiny version of the original Kalos starters, hunting down Chespin, Fennekin, and Froakie is crucial.

For players who don't want to try and narrow down the starters from other Pokemon of the same type when using sandwich powers, the Kalosian starters, thankfully, can appear in mass outbreaks. After the outbreak has been found, finding each of the visibly different-colored Pokemon is only a matter of time.

Getting The Most Out Of The Game

With plenty of promoted mass outbreaks occurring and being scheduled around real-world holidays for Scarlet and Violet's three different maps, looking for the rest of the future mass outbreaks is a great way to engage with the remaining celebrations in the first Generation Nine games.

While the events for the rest of the summer have been announced, it wouldn't be surprising if more events take place around Halloween or the games' anniversary, and might just repeat from the previous year. Much like Sword and Shield, the best way to enjoy Scarlet and Violet up to the very end will be with these promoted events, and catching the shiny Pokemon they supply will be the only remaining challenge for some of the game's most dedicated players.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

RPG

Systems

Platform(s)

Switch

Released

November 18, 2022

Developer(s)

Game Freak

See at Official Site