Welcome to PokéCommunity! Register now and join one of the best fan communities on the 'net to talk Pokémon and more! We are not affiliated with The Pokémon Company or Nintendo.
From what I've heard, it usually takes around 10000 resets to get a shiny. Of course you could get it after only 10, but you could also reset a million times and still not get a shiny. But you should be prepared to reset for a long time.
No, you can just save in front of when you choose your starter Pokemon. If you breed you have to save before you get the egg, or get tons of millions of eggs and try hatching over and over resulting with your PC being full of eggs.