Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Player Scores Major Accomplishment After Over Twenty Years

One Pokémon player’s twenty-year-long quest has finally ended in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet, as they finally encountered their first Shiny Pokémon in the wild. It shouldn’t be surprising that it has taken someone this long to find a Shiny Pokémon, due to the meager chance of breeding one in the Day Care Center or meeting them in the wild.

Shiny Pokémon were introduced in Pokémon Gold & Silver as alternate color variants of existing Pokémon. This mechanic was introduced via the Red Gyarados as part of a scripted encounter in the story, but similar color palette swaps existed for all Pokémon. The only problem was that the chance of meeting one of these Pokémon was 1/8192, though this number was increased to 1/4096 in Pokémon X & Y.

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The Twenty-Year Quest To Find A Shiny Pokémon Has Ended

It’s not unheard of for a player to go through the entire mainline series and never encounter a Shiny Pokémon in the wild. This was the case for a PokémonScarletViolet Reddit user named Jupiter-Knight, who posted about their encounter with Shiny Zweilous, their first ever Shiny, even though they have played every game since Pokémon Red.

The commenters in the thread brought up how much easier it is to catch a Shiny Pokémon in the later entries in the games, which is true, as games like Pokémon Sword & Shield and Pokémon Legends: Arceus introduced mechanics that drastically increased the spawn rate for Shiny. And while Shiny Pokémon are more common in modern games, you still need to engage with the mechanics to increase the chances, which won’t happen on a casual playthrough.

The Pokémon Company has given away Shiny Pokémon in various events throughout the years, with some even being offered as early adopter bonuses in games. The Wild Area in Pokémon Sword & Shield also had events where the chances of a Shiny Pokémon appearing were drastically increased. Modern Pokémon fans have such an easier time acquiring Shiny Pokémon that catching one has lost some of its luster, especially with online trading making it easier to barter for one.

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The Redditor was lucky to get such a cool Pokémon as their first Shiny, especially as it will evolve into the awesome Hydreigon. In my case, I had to wait until Pokémon Sun & Moon before I encountered my first Shiny Pokémon in the wild, and it was a Shiny Magikarp, proving that even the luckiest player can still get a bad draw.