Bright hunting in Pokémon Legends: ZA has taken a hit as Shiny Pokémon have become harder to find in the game. Shiny Pokémon are highly sought after for their unique color palettes and have been a staple of the series since Gen II.
Unfortunately, several new features introduced in Legends: ZA have made it much more challenging to encounter Shinies, affecting the concentrated hunting efforts of players. However, once a Shiny Pokémon is found, the process becomes slightly easier.
It’s important to note that some Pokémon in Legends: ZA are shiny locked, meaning they never appear as Shinies due to the game’s programming. These include legendary, mythical, starter, and gift Pokémon. While it’s possible to find Shiny starters, the ones chosen at the beginning of the game will never appear as Shinies.
Legends: ZA’s autosave feature makes Shiny hunting even harder as it overwrites save files at critical points, eliminating the ability to manipulate RNG for Shiny encounters. This has frustrated many players who relied on resetting the game to increase the chances of encountering a Shiny.
On the bright side, Legends: ZA has made some aspects of Shiny hunting easier. The Shiny sound has returned, alerting players to the presence of Shinies, and the Shiny Charm increases their spawn chance. Additionally, once a Shiny Pokémon is found, it is less likely to despawn, allowing players more time to catch it.
Overall, Legends: ZA presents a new challenge for Shiny hunters, requiring a shift in strategy and patience. While the game’s changes may be frustrating for some, they add a new layer of excitement to the Shiny hunting experience. Players can still catch Shinies in older games and transfer them to Legends: ZA when Pokémon Home connectivity becomes available in 2026. Until then, the Shiny hunting meta will continue to evolve with Pokémon Legends: ZA.
