Parissong's Shiny Pokémon Journal

[Parissong]

Hey everyone. I've been shiny hunting ever since I got my copy of Pokémon Platinum, where I saw my cousin show me her "sparkly Buizel" from her own copy of Platinum. After realizing that there's a chance to encounter such wonderfully rare Pokémon, I went on my own way to find some. Of course, my eight year old self did not fully grasp Pokéradar or how to optimize it, but I eventually ran into a golden Shinx, and marked my first shiny Pokémon! unfortunately I lost my DS so goodbye Shinx and other Pokémon I miss you all dearly ;-;

Now that I have a firmer understanding of shiny hunting, I'd like to keep a journal of my shiny hunts so far on Pokémon Ultra Sun on my handy dandy red 3DS XL. Not only will I be showing you all my shiny Pokémon, but I'd like to share my methods of preparation, how I got them, and any tips/tricks to look out for when going for these Pokémon in particular. Some of them can be real pieces of work.

I hope you will enjoy reading through my logs and gain some insight from them. I will ensure to keep them concise and succinct.

Who's your favourite shiny Pokémon? My favourite is personally Altaria — it looks incredibly regal in its gold/white palette and I think really amplifies its cute personality. I especially love it in its Mega Forme, since the white clouds around it really buff it up and make it seem rather intimidating!

Please feel free to post yours below and look forward to the first entry!

look how adorable and cute this is!

 

[Parissong]

Understanding the Method: SOS Chain Hunting

The method I am going to be primarily using is the SOS Chain Method. This is a method exclusive to the Alola games, as Pokémon there are more conducive to calling allies to the battle if they are in one. And guess what kind of Pokémon they can call too? That's right, shiny Pokémon! By keeping the SOS chain going (which means to ensure an ally Pokémon keeps getting called), our chances of encountering a shiny increases! Think of it like horde battles from Gen 6 games, but now on more of a queue. This is a really good guide I encountered, and I recommend to you all for a quick read. I am just going to highlight things here, so this is more comprehensive.

So with SOS chains, there are two things to take note of! These are quite crucial to know and fundamental if you want to do well in shiny hunting with the SOS chain method:
1. Not all Pokémon call for allies. Some Pokémon will call allies, and some will not. Obviously, those that do not call for allies cannot be shiny hunted this way (with some exceptions!), and can be verified with this convenient list!
2. Some Pokémon call for allies more than other Pokémon. This is commonly referred to as ally call rate. Based on a multiple of 3 (with 3 being the least likely to call an ally, and 15 being the most likely to call an ally), this will show you how likely the Pokémon will get an ally to respond and enter the battle. Those with higher ally call rates will make the shiny hunting process faster and overall more streamlined, while those with lower ones will be longer and sluggish. You can also check this out with this convenient list!

This covers the fundamentals of SOS hunting. The primary goal here is to keep the chain going until you get a shiny Pokémon to be called, at which point you can go ahead and catch them! Sounds simple enough right? That's because it is!

However, one thing I want to share with you is multipliers. Even with a call rate of X, you can bolster this with the use of multipliers to further increase the chances of an ally Pokémon being called. So this means even if the Pokémon has a very low call rate, there is hope! This is a comprehensive list of them, but I will highlight some.

• The lower a Pokémon's health is, they feel more in danger, so they will be more likely to call for an ally.
• Using an Adrenaline Orb will make them nervous, and more likely to call an ally.
• Hitting the called ally with a supereffective (SE) move will make the caller scared, and more likely to call for an ally.

So all in all, by keeping the target Pokémon in a state of suspense and danger, the better your odds will be for them to call an ally and the more streamlined your shiny hunt will be!

Before we end, remember that breaking the chain is a very real risk, so be on your guard! The chain will be broken if:

• Target Pokémon faints (and nobody else is with them, so it ends the encounter)
• Target Pokémon faints and their ally has a call rate of 0 (so they won't call for more allies, thus ending the chain)
• Catching the Pokémon (for obvious reasons)
• Fleeing the battle (for also obvious reasons)

With all this in mind, now you're all done the SOS Chain Hunting crash course! Next up, our party of shiny hunting Pokémon!

 

[Parissong]

SOS Shiny Hunting Team: Part 1

All right, it's time to get into the team that I use to SOS hunt! Knowing everything that we covered in the aforementioned section, there are two main principles that I formulated this team around:

• The team is able to force the calling Pokémon into an endless loop
• The team is able to maximize the multipliers of SOS calling to streamline the shiny hunt

With both of those principles in mind, it is extremely difficult to encapsulate all of them into one single Pokémon. After all, Pokémon only have four move slots! Therefore, it is better to take this approach with multiple Pokémon. In my experience, the optimal number is to have two Pokémon. Let me introduce you to my team and a brief rationale behind them, their movesets, etc.

Shiny Hunter #1: Alolan Exeggutor ("The team is able to force the calling Pokémon into an endless loop")

• How does Exeggutor-A force them into an endless loop? By using the move Bestow to give the calling Pokémon a Leppa berry and using the move Skill Swap to give the calling Pokémon the ability Harvest will ensure the calling Pokémon will always replenish their PP and never KO themselves.
  
  
• Why Exeggutor-A? In addition to getting the aforementioned two moves, it is easiest to do since one can obtain a hidden ability Exeggcute on Exeggutor Island with a bit of SOS chaining (which serves as practice). Obtaining a Leaf Stone to evolve it is also straightforward via PokéPelago.
  
  
• Any alternatives? The best alternative would be Trevenant, who can essentially do the same thing except with the move Trick instead of Bestow. However, since Phantump evolves via trade, I figured this one is easier. You are going to need the hidden abilities of either one of them anyways.

Exeggutor-Alola @ Leppa Berry
Ability: Harvest
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe (optional spread to maximize speed and bulk)
Jolly Nature (also optional)
- Bestow
- Skill Swap

So how does this work? Let me illustrate to you:

• Turn 1 | Exeggutor-A uses Skill Swap to give the Pokémon you designate as the SOS Caller Harvest. The opposing Pokémon attacks.
• Turn 2 | Exeggutor-A uses Bestow to give the same Pokémon the item Leppa Berry. The opposing Pokémon attacks.
• Turn 3 | Exeggutor-A switches out into your main shiny hunter.

So what does this all translate to? This means that as the SOS chain goes on, the ally Pokémon (who would be alive all this time) will slowly run out of move PPs. The point of this Exeggutor is to ensure that they never will run out of moves and use Struggle, a normal-type attack that every Pokémon uses when they have no other moves. The problem isn't the damage, but the recoil damage equal to 25% of maximum HP. Since the ally Pokémon will most likely be at red HP (>20%), this will knock them out and end the chain.

But with the Leppa Berry restoring 10PP to a random move with no PP left and the Harvest ability allowing the ally Pokémon to regain the Leppa berry, you do not need to worry about breaking the chain! This is a lot of preparation, but it will pay off in the end and streamline the shiny hunting process altogether while minimizing the chance of your chain breaking.

Looks like draconic coconut trees are pulling through! I really thought it'd be nothing but a meme, but it is such a good way to start the hunt! Stay tuned for Part 2 where I will go over our main shiny hunter.

 

[Parissong]

SOS Shiny Hunting Team: Part 2

Okay! Let's pick up where we left off. Onto the second part of the team!

Shiny Hunter #2: Smeargle ("The team is able to maximize the multipliers of SOS calling to streamline the shiny hunt")

• How does Smeargle maximize the SOS multipliers?He does it in a variety of ways, such as:
  • Keeps their health low via False Swipe, increasing the ally call rate
  • Super Effectively hits ally via the damaging move against the species of the Pokémon hunted, increasing the ally call rate
• Why Smeargle? Via Sketch, it can learn any move and is just an all-round good Pokémon for the job of customizing the perfect shiny hunter
• Any alternatives? Not really, but you can change shiny hunters to a Pokémon so long it is able to fulfill the same roles.

Smeargle @ Leftovers (residual healing is good)
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe (optional spread to maximize speed and bulk)
Jolly Nature (also optional)
- False Swipe (keep the ally caller at red HP)
- Soak (remove immunities and removes STAB if non-water type to tank better)
- Spore (keeps Pokémon asleep to have an easier time catching)
- Super Effective Move against Pokémon (KOing called allies to maximize multipliers. Make sure it's 60BP or less to get Technician-boosted!)

Using Smeargle is rather intuitive, but let me demonstrate one for you!

Scenario: I am shiny hunting Feebas at Brooklet Hill. My Smeargle knows the move Spark to hit allied Feebas super effectively. My Exeggutor-A has already set up as well. (Refer to previous post) I will continue the sample battle from there!

• Turn 1 | Exeggutor-A uses Skill Swap to give the Pokémon you designate as the SOS Caller Harvest. Feebas attacks.
• Turn 2 | Exeggutor-A uses Bestow to give the same Pokémon the item Leppa Berry. Feebas attacks.
• Turn 3 | Exeggutor-A switches out into your main shiny hunter, Smeargle. Feebas uses Splash.
• Turn 4 | Smeargle uses False Swipe, bringing Feebas to red HP. Feebas uses Splash.
• Turn 5 | Trainer uses an Adrenaline Orb to make Feebas nervous. Feebas uses Splash. Feebas summons an allied Feebas (Feebas #2).
• Turn 6 | Smeargle uses Spark on Feebas #2, hitting it super effectively and knocking it out. Feebas uses Splash. Feebas summons an allied Feebas (Feebas #3)
• Turn 7 | Smeargle uses Spark on Feebas #3, knocking it out. Feebas uses Splash. Feebas summons an allied Feebas (Feebas #4)
• [Continue doing this! You are maximizing odds of ally call rate if you continue this string of KOs. Do not be afraid to restore Smeargle's move PP with Leppa Berries if Feebas does not call an ally that turn]
• Turn 100 | Trainer uses a Leppa Berry on Smeargle to restore its move PP. Feebas uses Splash. Feebas restores 10PP to Splash with its held Leppa Berry. Feebas harvests a Leppa Berry with its ability Harvest. Feebas summons an allied Feebas, it's shiny!
• Turn 101 | Smeargle uses Spore on Shiny Feebas. Feebas attacks. Shiny Feebas is asleep.
• Turn 102 | Smeargle uses Spark on Feebas. Feebas is knocked out. Shiny Feebas is asleep.
• Turn 103 | Trainer uses a Pokéball on Shiny Feebas. 1... 2... 3... and caught! Hooray! The shiny hunt is over!

As you can see, Smeargle helps streamline the shiny hunt process overall. It maximizes the ally call rate and allows you to get to max shiny odds quicker and in a move leisurely manner. Of course, shiny hunts are all about stamina and endurance! Do not be discouraged but also know the time investment!

With this, you now have the tools to start SOS shiny hunting. Hooray! Look forward to the first journal entry of my shiny hunt! Got any guesses who it was?