The World of Shinies

[Musicality]

Hey guys,

It's been a while since I've posted, but let's get into it regardless. This is taken from Bulbapedia:

A Shiny Pokémon (Japanese: 色違い differently colored or 光る shining), called Color Pokémon in Pokémon Stadium 2, also recognized as alternate coloration or rare coloration, is a specific Pokémon with different coloration to what is usual for its species. It is one of the many differences that a Pokémon can have within its species.

Under normal circumstances, a shiny Pokemon has a 1/8192 chance of spawning, and the odds do not change with each encounter, making it all the more elusive. This encounter rate can be reduced by other methods, such as Friend Safari, the Masuda Method (which involves breeding two Pokemon of different nationality), chain fishing, the Poke Radar and more. Even with these methods, the rate can still be at a whopping few thousand.

Which brings us to the topic at hand: Are you a shiny fan? Do you actively seek out shiny Pokemon through breeding or encounters (yours truly does). :p Why do we value shines so much despite them being no different from regular Pokemon? Do you like shiny Pokemon? Discuss away!

 

[Kenchiin]

I love shiny Pokemon. They are lovely.

Unfortunately some designs are horrible, for example the green Dragonite. I'd pay for a black Dragonite.

Well, I would pay for a black shiny version of every Pokemon to be honest LOL!


Regarding breeding, nope, I'm not really a hardcore fan to start breeding from left to right. Takes too much time.

 

[pkmin3033]

I don't mind shiny Pokemon. If I find one, I'll immediately go for it regardless of whether or not I'll use it because of how rare it is, but I don't actively seek them out...it's far too frustrating, and when I'm satisfied with just having the Pokemon, why bother? I find it quite ironic that I can spend hundreds of hours grinding in other games, yet the prospect of grinding for shiny Pokemon is one I find extremely distasteful...probably because the results are so few and far between.

 

[Arylett Charnoa]

I like shinies generally. They're exciting because they're so rare, and some shinies can look better than the regular color scheme. I think that's part of the reason why others value them as well. Just seeing a Pokemon design you've become so used to... be a different color? It's exciting. Most of the time though, because I'm so used to the regular design of Pokemon, I find shinies to just look jarring and incorrect.

Regardless though, if I happen to stumble upon one, I make sure I definitely keep it. The extremely few times I actually do. I mostly don't. And I don't really want to try to breed or go through those efforts because I can't be bothered to. All that work just to get a differently colored Pokemon? I'd rather it just appear out of nowhere and surprise me. It makes it all the more magical.

 

[Musicality]

I love shiny Pokemon. They are lovely.

Unfortunately some designs are horrible, for example the green Dragonite. I'd pay for a black Dragonite.

Well, I would pay for a black shiny version of every Pokemon to be honest LOL!


Regarding breeding, nope, I'm not really a hardcore fan to start breeding from left to right. Takes too much time.

I don't mind shiny Pokemon. If I find one, I'll immediately go for it regardless of whether or not I'll use it because of how rare it is, but I don't actively seek them out...it's far too frustrating, and when I'm satisfied with just having the Pokemon, why bother? I find it quite ironic that I can spend hundreds of hours grinding in other games, yet the prospect of grinding for shiny Pokemon is one I find extremely distasteful...probably because the results are so few and far between.

I like shinies generally. They're exciting because they're so rare, and some shinies can look better than the regular color scheme. I think that's part of the reason why others value them as well. Just seeing a Pokemon design you've become so used to... be a different color? It's exciting. Most of the time though, because I'm so used to the regular design of Pokemon, I find shinies to just look jarring and incorrect.

Regardless though, if I happen to stumble upon one, I make sure I definitely keep it. The extremely few times I actually do. I mostly don't. And I don't really want to try to breed or go through those efforts because I can't be bothered to. All that work just to get a differently colored Pokemon? I'd rather it just appear out of nowhere and surprise me. It makes it all the more magical.

Yeah, Shinies are definitely a lot of work, and it's not unheard of to grind a little over a thousand eggs most of the time so that they can get that coveted Shiny that they want. I'll try to shake this up a little by offering a perspective of a breeder/shiny hunter, or whatever you want to call these people that actively seek out shiny Pokemon.

One thing about breeding using the Masuda Method is that not only can you control the offspring's result nearly entirely, down to Pokeball and number of IVs and Egg Moves, it's chances are greatly increased than just finding them in the wild. The main reason why I hunted for shinies in the past generations and am going to start for a Charmander in XY is because it's absolutely my favoruite Pokemon. Shiny Pokemon can only be valuable to the OT, because so much hard work has been put in to get that flawless, 5IV EM Shiny that you worked so hard for.

 

[ZenonPrototype]

I am a massive fan of shinies, and often times, I will go above and beyond to find them. The PokeRadar has been a mainstay for me now, but I have caught about 7 of the types of Pokemon possible. I have many others, but those were via trading or breeding. It is a long and hard process, but I do it for bragging rights.

 

[Hiatus]

Yup, I love shiny Pokémon. Running into them always gives me a feeling of excitement and whatnot, considering how rare they are.

One of my most favorite shinies of all-time would likely have to be Metagross. It's got white-colored body, which, I believe, goes along with the Pokémon pretty nicely. Alongside, it also has a golden cross on its head, making it look even more nice! Due to similar reasons, I also like Ninetales' shiny form, as well as Gyarados. Another would probably have to be Roserade.

Personally, I'm not much of a huge fan of trying to run into shines. Although it could indeed be some fun quest to take yourself up to, but what ruins the fun for me is that it makes things seem artificial, so to speak, and not natural. Stumbling into shiny Pokémon accidentally is a lot more fun, as it catches you off-guard.

At the moment, I have about ten to twelve shines. Four of them were encountered by my own self, and rest were all handed-over to me by friends and acquaintances.

 

[Musicality]

I am a massive fan of shinies, and often times, I will go above and beyond to find them. The PokeRadar has been a mainstay for me now, but I have caught about 7 of the types of Pokemon possible. I have many others, but those were via trading or breeding. It is a long and hard process, but I do it for bragging rights.

I've tried the Pokeradar for a while now, but personally I'm not a huge fan of it. The first reason would be a limit on the Pokemoon you could catch, with no control over the details of a Pokemon is one of the huge disadvantages imo. I'm a perfectionist of sorts, and can't stand using Pokemon that I couldn't customize to the smallest minute detail. I'm sure there would be people who disagree though, to each his own, I guess. :p

The other gripe that I have with this method would be the intense concentration that's required. Shiny hunting, if you do it, is a tedious process, and having the stamina to find a few hundred spots of grass that all shake the same way seems to be a tall order. I just can't do it. ;_;

Yup, I love shiny Pokémon. Running into them always gives me a feeling of excitement and whatnot, considering how rare they are.

One of my most favorite shinies of all-time would likely have to be Metagross. It's got white-colored body, which, I believe, goes along with the Pokémon pretty nicely. Alongside, it also has a golden cross on its head, making it look even more nice! Due to similar reasons, I also like Ninetales' shiny form, as well as Gyarados. Another would probably have to be Roserade.

Personally, I'm not much of a huge fan of trying to run into shines. Although it could indeed be some fun quest to take yourself up to, but what ruins the fun for me is that it makes things seem artificial, so to speak, and not natural. Stumbling into shiny Pokémon accidentally is a lot more fun, as it catches you off-guard.

At the moment, I have about ten to twelve shines. Four of them were encountered by my own self, and rest were all handed-over to me by friends and acquaintances.

Metagross and Ninetales with those badass gray flames - goth ftw would definitely be topping my list. Charizard would also be there, because the black color really suits his whole fire lizard- destruction dragon theme.

I envy you lol. I've only encountered two shinies in the wild - Makuhita in RSE and Panpour in XY. Most of them would have the be through breeding, but I'm not one to complain. xD

While I agree that finding shinies in the wild would be a lot more "natural", so to speak, the reasons why I seek out shinies is to make that favoruite Pokemon of mine seem special, and having no control over the spawns, if any, defeats the main purpose for me.

 

[Emboar]

I like collecting shinies, but I usually collect them from trading. I never find shinies when I'm looking for them randomly, and I never go extreme with Masuda Methoding. But, I am obsessed with trying to find them on the GTS, as that is how I obtained 2 of my 7 shinies on X.

 

[Bgoldwax]

I only ever found 1 shiny and it was a shiny Zubat in Sapphire about 6 years ago, it evolved into a Crobat and is now sitting in my PC on Pearl along with 3 other clones of it. I;m currently trying to get a shiny Eevee by breeding in Pearl and I've hatched about 70 eggs so far with no luck. I also tried using the Pokeradar but my highest chain is a 24 and I don't have the patience or time to get a 40 chain.

 

[Musicality]

I like collecting shinies, but I usually collect them from trading. I never find shinies when I'm looking for them randomly, and I never go extreme with Masuda Methoding. But, I am obsessed with trying to find them on the GTS, as that is how I obtained 2 of my 7 shinies on X.

Yes, while not common, Shinies can be found on the GTS if you have the patience to look. I encountered a shiny Panpour at the start of Y, and immediately traded it away since I'm not really fond of the elemental monkey line. Netted me a nice JAP Xerneas in less than five minutes, giving me both version exclusives.

I only ever found 1 shiny and it was a shiny Zubat in Sapphire about 6 years ago, it evolved into a Crobat and is now sitting in my PC on Pearl along with 3 other clones of it. I;m currently trying to get a shiny Eevee by breeding in Pearl and I've hatched about 70 eggs so far with no luck. I also tried using the Pokeradar but my highest chain is a 24 and I don't have the patience or time to get a 40 chain.

Even if you're Masuda Method-ing, seventy eggs is really nothing. The chance of getting an egg even with Masuda Method-ing are still about 1/1365, so while it greatly reduces the rate, it requires considerable time and effort on your part too. I never made it to a chain of 40, the main reason being I could never concentrate for long periods of time, and usually got the wrong patch of grass after about twenty or so patches of grass.

 

[Aeroblast]

It depends. I like most shinies for the sake of seeing something different, but ones that have that yucky green theme to it (e.g. Espeon) I'm not particularly fond of.

 

[Hikamaru]

I'm not extremely dedicated in terms of collecting shinies, but it's always nice when you catch one and I've had a few random encounters myself.

I am quite OCD in terms of how a shiny should be colored. I usually only like shinies that have a notable difference with the colors between the normal colors and the shiny. And there's a lot of lazily colored shinies... *cough* Garchomp, Mega Audino, and loads of others I forget *cough*

I still don't get all the hate with green-colored shinies though, Espeon actually looks cool with that bright green shade. And Dragonite looks more like a traditional European dragon with its coloring.

 

[Musicality]

It depends. I like most shinies for the sake of seeing something different, but ones that have that yucky green theme to it (e.g. Espeon) I'm not particularly fond of.

I'm not extremely dedicated in terms of collecting shinies, but it's always nice when you catch one and I've had a few random encounters myself.

I am quite OCD in terms of how a shiny should be colored. I usually only like shinies that have a notable difference with the colors between the normal colors and the shiny. And there's a lot of lazily colored shinies... *cough* Garchomp, Mega Audino, and loads of others I forget *cough*

I still don't get all the hate with green-colored shinies though, Espeon actually looks cool with that bright green shade. And Dragonite looks more like a traditional European dragon with its coloring.

*coughbulbasaurcough*

Lazily colored shinies are aplenty. Most of them just have lighter or darker shades of their original color, and this results in a very subtle color change. Even Charmander and Charmeleon don't seem to be colored well. I would personally like shinies to have a hue that is completely different from its original color - notable successes have been Charizard, Greninja, and the like. The hate regarding green colored shinies is probably with regards to the shade of green. It's really glaring to the eyes if you take a look at it. I assume that maybe fans wouldn't like Pokemon to be associated with more RL themes, hence Dragonite et cetera.

 

[Aeroblast]

*coughbulbasaurcough*

Lazily colored shinies are aplenty. Most of them just have lighter or darker shades of their original color, and this results in a very subtle color change. Even Charmander and Charmeleon don't seem to be colored well. I would personally like shinies to have a hue that is completely different from its original color - notable successes have been Charizard, Greninja, and the like. The hate regarding green colored shinies is probably with regards to the shade of green. It's really glaring to the eyes if you take a look at it. I assume that maybe fans wouldn't like Pokemon to be associated with more RL themes, hence Dragonite et cetera.

It does have to do with the shade of the green. For example Swellow is OK, Salamence isn't.

I do also dislike shinies that have no differences. Garchomp is the worst offender, though its mega form does rectify it only slightly. (purple is a bit meh)

I still don't get all the hate with green-colored shinies though, Espeon actually looks cool with that bright green shade. And Dragonite looks more like a traditional European dragon with its coloring.

Just a matter of different tastes, really.

 

[Hiatus]

Metagross and Ninetales with those badass gray flames - goth ftw would definitely be topping my list. Charizard would also be there, because the black color really suits his whole fire lizard- destruction dragon theme.

Definitely agreed on Charizard's shiny form; it looks pretty stunning. It seems as if they had put some thought into the design themselves, as opposed to letting computer generate it automatically, similarly to how they do it with most other Pokémon. Black and red suits Charizard very nicely, I feel, and makes its shiny form special in several ways!

I wish they had done the same with Blastoise and Venusaur, and put colors by thinking carefully and whatnot. After all, they're meant to be equal, considering that they're all starters of Kanto, so why not treat them as such?

 

[Musicality]

It does have to do with the shade of the green. For example Swellow is OK, Salamence isn't.

I do also dislike shinies that have no differences. Garchomp is the worst offender, though its mega form does rectify it only slightly. (purple is a bit meh)



Just a matter of different tastes, really.

Garchomp was a horrible job shiny wise. It was infamous in DPP/Platinum for having absolutely no noticeable color change for it's shiny form even if you squinted at it, and was only different from the unique sparkle that comes with shiny Pokemon.

Definitely agreed on Charizard's shiny form; it looks pretty stunning. It seems as if they had put some thought into the design themselves, as opposed to letting computer generate it automatically, similarly to how they do it with most other Pokémon. Black and red suits Charizard very nicely, I feel, and makes its shiny form special in several ways!

I wish they had done the same with Blastoise and Venusaur, and put colors by thinking carefully and whatnot. After all, they're meant to be equal, considering that they're all starters of Kanto, so why not treat them as such?

They rectified the Charizard problem somewhat with it's two different mega evolutions, which look absolutely wonderful, especially Zard X. Zard Y wasn't too bad either, with a nice purple hue, but Gamefreak seems to be pretty selective on who gets the graphics designer's attention.

 

[pokem0nprincess]

I love them. I've gotten a few just from random encounters, and I successfully bred one using the Masuda method, but all in all (including the given shinies) I've only gotten like, 6.

 

[Powerserge]

I like a handful of the shinies, but I can't say I seek them out or anything. Just seems like a really big waste of time actively hunting for them. I get mine during trades just because, not even because I ask, haha.

At the end of the day, it's a feature that's cool, but not one I care that much about.

 

[Pendraflare]

I'm not quite as into shiny Pokémon as some others are (like the Trade Corner people), but I certainly welcome any shiny that I can find. I did MM for a shiny back in February, which worked out, and I do plan for another one in the not so distant future. But it is always a nice time when one just randomly pops out while you're doing something else.