Best Shiny Hunting method in Pokémon Legends Z-A

One of the fan-favorite elements of the Pokémon franchise is the elusive Shiny Pokémon, a rare occurrence where a Pokémon takes on a different color scheme. Often, the chance of encountering one is around 1 in 4000, so Trainers everywhere are always looking for the best ways to find them.

Thankfully, Shiny Pokémon return in Pokémon Legends Z-A, and there are already a couple of ways to increase your chances of finding a sparkling little sidekick in the wild. It should be noted, however, that this is a preliminary guide, and details and methods might change as we get more time with the game after release. So, here are the best Shiny Hunting methods in Pokémon Legends Z-A so far.

How to find Shiny Pokémon in Pokémon Legends Z-A

In Pokémon Legends Z-A, Shiny Pokémon can just be encountered while wandering anywhere in the world where ‘mon spawn.

The standard rate for Shiny Pokémon is just over 1 to 4000, though this is not yet confirmed to be the same rate in Pokémon Legends Z-A. However, entering open areas can spawn up to ten Pokémon at once, or more. Right now, one of the best methods is just to enter, exit, and re-enter any area containing a Pokémon you hope to Shiny hunt.

One area in particular where this works very well is the rooftop found within Rouge Park’s Wild Zone. If you climb up to the rooftop, from there, you can hold down on the D-Pad to quickly move between the rooftop and the ground, constantly respawning Pokémon until a Shiny appears.

What this does is reset the spawns in the area, but if a Shiny Pokémon spawns, it won’t despawn until you either defeat it or watch it flee. So it’ll sit there and wait for you, no matter how far along in the game you go. Such is the power of autosaving.

You can also use the same method to reload areas by fast traveling to them to get Shiny Pokémon to spawn and do it multiple times until one eventually pops up.

Can you lose Shiny Pokémon in Pokémon Legends Z-A?

Importantly, in Pokémon Legends Z-A, Shiny Pokémon stay in the area they spawn until you encounter them, even if you leave that area and return. This means the only way to lose a Shiny Pokémon is to encounter it and fail to catch it.

While there is no way to disable Auto-Save in ZA, as the game always keeps Shiny Pokémon where they spawn, you can use the above method to quickly move between areas, and you can eventually have multiple Shiny Pokémon waiting for you. It might take some time, but it is possible.

Does Pokémon Legends Z-A have the Shiny jingle from Legends Arceus?

Yes, if a Shiny Pokémon appears in Pokémon Legends Z-A, an accompanying jingle also plays just like in Legends: Arceus, the Pokémon has visible sparkles surrounding it just like in Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu & Eevee, and when you select it, the Shiny icon will appear next to its name.

How to get the Shiny Charm in Pokémon Legends Z-A

The Shiny Charm returns in Pokémon Legends Z-A, though this time it’s not a case of just completing the Pokédex. To get the Shiny Charm in Legends ZA, you must complete Mable’s Pokédex requests all the way up to Level 50. This increases the Shiny rate and also rolls the Shiny chance twice, bringing the odds down from 1 in 4096 to 1 in 1024. Thanks to Serebii for the information.