Introduced in Pokemon Gold/Silver, a Shiny Pokemon is a rare Pokemon that differs in color from a normal Pokemon and can be identified by the red star to the right of its sprite on the summary screen. The difference can be subtle (Shiny Leafeon are only a slightly lighter shade of teal) or dramatic (Shiny Gyarados are a brilliant shade of red, as opposed to normal blue). When they emerge from a Poke Ball in battle they're accompanied by a brief glittery animation that makes them appear to shine (hence the unofficial term "shiny" - there actually is no official term for these rare Pokemon).
There are no other differences between Shiny Pokemon and normal Pokemon; i.e. they don't have any stat boosts or other abnormal attributes. Because they're so incredibly rare and the differences between Shiny Pokemon and normal Pokemon are purely cosmetic, they're considered to be the ultimate collector's item for hardcore Pokemon fans.
So how rare are they? The chances of encountering a Shiny Pokemon randomly in the wild are a dismal 1/8192. Until Diamond and Pearl, there was absolutely no way of increasing these odds (except for the Shiny Gyarados that appeared in every copy of Gold/Silver). However, with the right tools and approach you can increase these odds dramatically.
The Poke Radar
Where to get it: Once you have completed the Sinnoh Pokedex, you can obtain the Poke Radar from Professor Rowan in Sandgem Town.
What it does: The Poke Radar is a tool that helps you find non-Sinnoh Pokemon that were previously unattainable in Diamond/Pearl. It can only be used in regular grassy areas (not tall grass), and cannot be used anywhere else - so forget about trying to use it in caves, while surfing, etc. The Poke Radar can also be used to help you increase your odds of catching a Shiny by allowing you to use a technique called "chaining," which basically involves battling the same Pokemon over and over. More on this later.
The Poke Radar Poketch application
Where to get it: Once you've obtained the National Dex, visit Professor Oak at Pal Park and he'll give it to you.
What it does: It helps you keep track of your Poke Radar chains. It shows you your top three highest chains, as well as the current chain you're working on.
Plenty of Super Repels or Max Repels
In order to use the Poke Radar correctly, you must eliminate the chance of encountering a wild Pokemon in a random battle. You only want to encounter Pokemon that appear as a result of using the Radar, because encountering any other Pokemon will break your chain. To prevent this, you must have a Repel in use at all times. Super Repels are cheaper per step, but if you have money to burn and you would prefer to use Max Repels, that's fine too.
This one is obvious, but make sure you have a good supply of Poke Balls. Make sure they're the appropriate type for catching the Pokemon you're going after. Plenty of Great, Ultra and Dusk Balls never hurt.
Before you start, make sure you have Pokemon in your party with tons of PP and strong moves to KO many Pokemon. Once you start your chain, you won't be able to go back to a Poke Center without destroying your hard work, so make sure you have strong Pokemon that can handle many battles without running our of HP/PP. It's also handy to have a Pokemon in your party that knows the move Super Fang or False Swipe so that when you find the Shiny, you won't KO it if it's at a lower level.
If you're looking for electric-type or steel-type Pokemon, it's also a good idea to have a Pokemon with the ability Static (electric) or Magnet (steel), because it will increase your chances of encountering other Pokemon of that type. Make sure the Pokemon with that ability is in the lead of your party though, or else it won't work.
Step 1: Choose which Shiny Pokemon you want
Pretty much any wild Pokemon that appears in grassy areas is a candidate for Shiny hunting, but some are easier to find than others. When you're first starting out, we recommend that you try for a "swarm" Pokemon, as these seem to be the easiest to chain using the Poke Radar. Once you've obtained the National Dex, talk to Lucas's/Dawn's sister in Sandgem Town and she'll tell you which Pokemon is swarming that day and where to find it.
Step 2: Find a good place to start chaining
You'll want to find as large a grassy spot as possible, preferably one that covers most of the screen. It's also a good idea to chain in an area without weather effects like rain, snow, or sandstorm, because this can make it difficult to see which patches of grass wiggle when you use the Poke Radar
Step 3: Create a chain
This is the tricky part. The theory is that the larger your current Poke Radar chain is, the higher your chances of encountering a Shiny Pokemon. So, creating a decent-sized chain is essential to catching a Shiny, but it's not easy if you don't have the right technique. Here's how to do it:
Register your Poke Radar so that you can use it by pressing the Y button. You'll waste a lot of time if you have to go into your bag every time you need to use it. This also prevents you from accidentally breaking your chain by using your bike (if you use the bicycle at any time while chaining, it will break your chain). Then, make sure the Poke Radar Poketch application is selected on the bottom screen.
Once you've found a good place and you're ready to start, use a Super Repel. Make sure you're paying full attention to the top screen, and then press Y to use the Poke Radar. You'll see a few patches of grass shake (anywhere from one to a maximum of four). Shaking grass comes in a few types, of which there are three that you need to be aware of:
Regular shaking grass patch: This grass shakes but it doesn't flash. Common Sinnoh Pokemon are found in these patches.
Flashing shaking grass patch: This grass shakes and flashes white a little bit. This usually indicates that a rarer (non-Sinnoh) Pokemon is in that patch, but any Pokemon could be found there.
Shiny patch: This type of grass patch always contains a Shiny Pokemon. It glows white twice.
To select a patch of grass, simply walk into it. This will start a battle with whichever Pokemon is in that grass patch. To start your chain, you must either KO or capture the Pokemon. If you run from battle or the Pokemon flees (or defeats your party) it will break your chain.
Once you've KOed the Pokemon, two things will happen. First, pay attention, because you'll see more patches of shaking grass as soon as the battle ends. Secondly, you'll see on your Poke Radar Poketch app that the Pokemon you just battled has appeared at the top center of the screen, with the number 1 next to it. That means that there is one Pokemon in your current chain.
To continue the chain, you'll need to select another patch of shaking grass that contains the same type of Pokemon as the first one in your chain. If you're chaining Growlithes and run into a Bidoof, your chain will break. So, how do you know which patch of grass to choose?
Here are some rules that we've found to be true ourselves through frustratingly tedious trial and error:
-Make sure you always have a repel in use. If you encounter any random battles, it will break your chain, even if it's the same type of Pokemon you've been trying to chain.
-Always choose the same type of grass patch throughout your chain. If you started with a flashing patch, continue to choose flashing patches.
-Only choose a patch if you saw all four patches of grass shake. The reason for this is that there may be a patch that shook off-screen that you didn't see, and so the patch that looks like it's farthest from you really isn't. In our experience, whenever our chain broke, it was usually because of not following this rule. Along the same lines, it's a good idea not to step into the patch of grass directly behind your character, because it's often hard to tell whether or not it shook.
-Avoid the edges of the grassy area at all costs! Never choose a grassy patch that appears on the edge of the grassy area (make sure the patch you choose is completely surrounded by other grass patches on all sides). You should never even walk into the grass around the edges, or you may notice your chain disappear from the bottom screen on your Poketch app. Very frustrating! Try to stay as close to the center of the grassy area at all times to avoid this.
-Like Dawn/Lucas said, always choose the patch of grass farthest from you, but only if it also meets all of the other qualifications, like not being near an edge. If the farthest patch away from you is not the right type of shaking grass, you'll need to reset the Radar and try again.
Resetting the Poke Radar: if none of the grass patches meet all of the requirements, you'll need to reset the Poke Radar. To do this, all you have to do is walk the amount of steps it tells you to when you try to use it. This can be tricky though, because it's absolutely crucial that you don't accidentally walk into any of the patches that shook when you used the Radar last. Be very careful! If you can't remember exactly where all of the patches shook, just walk back and forth until you're able to use the Radar again.
-Pay attention! If you look away from the screen or get distracted for even one second you may miss seeing which patches of grass shook. Then you have to leave it to chance when you make your next move that you're not walking into one of the patches that shook.
-Never ride your bike or leave the grassy area. If the grassy area you're chaining in is very large, don't go so far that all the patches of grass that shook go off the screen.
-By all means, take breaks whenever you need to, because it could take hours before you find a Shiny. Make sure your DS is charged enough and either leave it open or close it to put it in sleep mode. You can save your game whenever you'd like, but turning it off will erase your chain. We recommend taking breaks during battles or right before you reset the Poke Radar, so you don't forget where the shaking grass patches were and accidentally walk into one.
-Above all else, BE CHOOSY. If none of the shaking patches meet ALL of the above requirements, reset the Radar and try again! There is a high chance your chain will break if you don't follow all of these rules every time you try to build the next link in your chain. Because of this, you will probably be resetting the Poke Radar a lot more than you'll be choosing grass patches. Be patient and you will avoid the frustration of having your chain break, especially when you've already put lots of hard work into building a big chain.
Once you're satisfied with your chain, keep resetting the Poke Radar until you see a Shiny patch, and proceed to it carefully (even if it's on an edge). Using this method, you can continue resetting the Poke Radar and catch Shiny after Shiny on the same chain, as long as you're careful not to break.
Hmm that was long and i didn't write this
skip the first few paragraphs if you already know some things about shiny pokmon and the poke radar, have fun.
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