Chaining for shiny pokémon

[Lawrence III_Fanatic]

Does anybody here use the Pokéradar to make chains and catch shiny pokémon? It is one of my favorite things to do in the Sinnoh generation. :D I love being able to construct entire teams of shiny pokémon with perfect natures (thanks to Synchronize) & good IVs (thanks to.. well, random chance. But miracles do happen!)

[Kurosakura]

I try, but whenever I get a good chain going on, I run into annoying Pokemon like Buizel. >_>

[Austrian ViceMaster Alex]

I've tried it once and was too stupid to get it to work really. I'm not that much a fan of shiny Pokémon though as they have such odd colours usually. It has nothing to do with me never coming across a single shiny Pokémon at all during hundreds of hours of playing. :P

[Shadow Wolf]

I went on chaining once with skarmorys, leading to the 42nd and the 43rd being shiny, and two other chains (Shinx and Aron), but I can't guarantee that the bigger the chain, the bigger the chances of a pokemon being shiny.

However, one thing I found out to have logic is that: if the chances of getting a shiny pokemon are 1/8192, then with the pokeradar, the chances are reduced to 1/2048 apr.

[Telume]

I got a Shiny Minun and Graveler this way XD And I got it on the first chain, I guess it depends on luck?

[Phoenixsong]

I've tried it but haven't really had the patience to get it to work. I think I prefer my chances with hatching eggs using the Masuda method (~1/200, iirc). Haven't gotten that to work yet, either, but again that's because I didn't try hard. And I don't have to pay as much attention to the game if all I'm doing is hatching eggs, so at least I can watch TV and not worry about stepping out of the patch of grass or missing certain kinds of sparkle or whatever.

I do have an excellent shiny Absol that someone else got by chaining, though. :P

[Lawrence III_Fanatic]

Thanks for the replies, everyone! :D

Possible wall-o-text approaching...

:eng101: :eng101: :eng101:

Kurosakura - Patience is definitely key in chaining. Even after refining my skillz and techniques, I find there are more failures than successes. Try to think of all the broken chains as "learning experiences"... as much as you may want to throw the DS/haet chaining & pokeyman for all eternity after losing a chain in the 30's.

Austrian ViceMaster Alex - D'aww, I'm sure you could get the process down with a bit of practice. :D I agree that some pokémon have absolutely rotten shiny colors.. but in my opinion, some look dazzling with their color changes. I guess I'm a sucker for the "special" look of shiny pokémon.


It has nothing to do with me never coming across a single shiny Pokémon at all during hundreds of hours of playing.

LOL! If it makes you feel any better, I have yet to get an actual WILD shiny encounter. Never had one. :| Unless you count a shiny Graveler back in G/S (which of course Exploded on the first turn.. I'm fairly certain I posted complaints about it on TPM when the whole thing happened. :v)

Shadow Wolf - Wow, nice work with your shiny Skarmory catches! :D


but I can't guarantee that the bigger the chain, the bigger the chances of a pokemon being shiny.

That is true, but only to a certain point. Once you get a chain in the mid/late 20s, your chances from the flat 1/8000-something chance start to get better. Once it's in the 30's you are really increasing your chances. Finally, at a chain of 40, your chances are all the way at 1/200 for encountering a shiny via radar. That is an amazing leap from 1/8000!!! Unfortunately the 'narrowing of chance' caps at 40. That means even if you had a chain at 75, or 100, it would still be the 1/200 chance like at 40. Though some people enjoy chaining to see how high it can go, most go through the tedious efforts to catch shinies. If that's the case, you want to stop increasing the chain when it gets to 40, and just reset (re-use) the pokéradar until a shiny patch shows up.

Telume - SCORE with getting those shinies on your first chains! There is a bit of luck involved with chaining, but as mentioned above, the higher a chain gets [up to 40], the more likely you are to run into a shiny pokémon. It is possible to get lucky early on in chains. "Early shiny patches" are a definite treat in the chaining world. Sometimes you'll get a shiny patch at a chain of 10 or under. Some people see shinies on a chain of 1-3. XD I have only had a few of those in my years of chaining.

Phoenixsong - Great to hear you have tried it.. too bad patience is getting to you. Also great to hear you are considering Masuda method hatching!! :D The success stories are constantly inspiring me to give it a try, but if memory serves me right you need the SID, which I failed to write down when I once obtained it for my Diamond cart.

So, I see there are some people who have tried and are at least aware of the whole thing. Is anyone interested in some "tips" or general guidelines/advice in working a chain up to 40? A few of you mentioned a lack of patience or what seems to be general frustration at the chains not working out. That happens with a LOT (or possibly all) chainers as they get adjusted to the bizarre regulations and finer details of things. I promise with some practice and encouragement, you can get to catching your own shiny pokémon.

I realize there are all sorts of guides and videos you can find online. But sometimes it's nice to just talk with each other and work through the methods. (PLUS.. It's funner than me linking to some guide and going "OK GOOD LUCK LOL!!!!111@")

I'll close this post with a list of shiny pokémon I have chained..

Caterpie, Psyduck, Machop, Farfetch'd, Krabby, Voltorb, Eevee, Togepi, Snubbull, Sneasel, Houndoom, Mightyena, Zigzagoon, Slakoth, Nincada, Skitty, Electrike, Absol, Beldum, Starly, Bidoof, Shinx, Budew, Cleffa, Jigglypuff, and Doduo!

This is just a basic species list.. I caught multiples of nearly all. (And when I say multiples it usually means 10+ of each, though there are exceptions lower and higher. My HIGHEST amount of shineys caught from one chain is currently 19 shiny Doduo!!) I have been chaining since 2007 and a while back I spent a LOT of time on Serebii (Yeah I know :what: ) working with "experts" on chaining methods and strategies.

[CuteLassJigglypuff]

I've tried chaining for shinies before but it was too hard. :(

[Mike Mysterio]

I can't get a chain over 12 going, but I've ran to three wild shinies in platinum. I did catch all of them...

[Kyuuketsuki]

I once ran into a shiny zubat just as I was leaving jubilife, but didn't save after I caught it and now it's lost :(

[Master Rudy]

Chaining is officially the dumbest, biggest, time wasting, pain in the ass I have every seen in this series so far. I have NEVER managed to get a chain past six or seven and more often than not it'll break before I hit five. Granted I'm sure some luck does play a factor. However when I read about people getting over 20 pretty frequently I can't help but feel a tad bit annoyed.

Seriously guys......is it something I'm doing that's fucking it all up?

[Number1ChanseyFan]

Chaining is officially the dumbest, biggest, time wasting, pain in the ass I have every seen in this series so far. I have NEVER managed to get a chain past six or seven and more often than not it'll break before I hit five. Granted I'm sure some luck does play a factor. However when I read about people getting over 20 pretty frequently I can't help but feel a tad bit annoyed.

Seriously guys......is it something I'm doing that's fucking it all up?



Well, to do chaining, you need to go to a reasonably big patch of grass, and there are certain squares that you should go to... I will try to give you a good description, my descriptions tend to not be good, but I will try my best to make it make sense... but anyways, if a good patch of grass does not rustle, then just wander around safe patches of grass for 50 steps until your radar recharges, and use it again, keep doing this until a good patch of grass rustles, your chain will not break doing this, but make sure you are constantly using repels. Anyways, all chains will break eventually for some unknown reason, even if you encounter the same Pokemon, the chain will break suddenly after a Pokemon encounter. The shiny rate does not increase after your chain gets to 40, so once you get your chain to 40, stop trying to increase it, and just look for shinies, which basically means that if you use your radar, and you don't notice a sparkling patch, recharge your radar, and use it again, don't bother increasing your chain anymore, because you will risk breaking it.

Anyways, here are the best squares to step on, in relation to where you are standing when you are using the radar. Again, if you use the radar and a good patch of grass doesn't rustle, just recharge the radar and try again, and make sure to always have a repel active.

The 8 squares immediately surrounding your character all have a low probability of extending your chain. All of the squares surrounding the low probability squares have a slightly higher probability of extending the chain, we'll call them moderate probability squares. Surrounding the moderate squares are good probability squares, and surrounding the good probability squares are the best probability squares, with an important exception. In the "best probability" squares, the squares that are in straight or diagonal lines (in all 8 directions) from your character have horrible rates, even worse than the squares surrounding your character, so be careful of them.