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Hunting For Shiny Pokemon, And How It Works

By Jill/Redterror117

With their release in Generation II, shiny Pokemon are always well sought after due to their rarity, and sometimes pleasing appearance. There are a number of people after all who prefer the colouring of a shiny Charizard over the normal colour. Despite the fact that encountering a shiny Pokemon is three times easier than encountering a Pokemon with Pokerus (shiny Pokemon in the wild having a 1/8192, versus the 3 in 65,536 chance that Pokerus holds), it is still a time consuming feat that most tend to give up on partway into the hunt. However a deeper analysis on how shininess is determined is key to improving a hunt.

Starting back in Generation II, the game’s data structure was more simplistic than its later generations. In order to obtain a shiny Pokemon in Gold, Silver, or Crystal, the Pokemon must have specific IVs; its Speed, Special, and Defense IVs must be all 10s, while its Attack IV has to be either 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11, 14, or 15. With the shiny trait being tied to the IV stat, it allowed the Pokemon to be transferred between Generation 1 and 2 without losing the valuable trait. This also meant that the trait could be more easily bred for, as IV breeding is more ‘doable’, rather than breeding for a semi-random trait. It is interesting to note as well that in the Japanese Crystal version, the ‘Odd Egg’ obtained in Goldenrod City has a 50% chance of hatching a shiny Pokemon. If you plan on getting a shiny this way though, make sure to save your game before obtaining the egg, as the moment it is obtained, the future statistics will be determined (so saving before gaining the egg will allow the player to try again if it does not produce a shiny Pokemon).

With the introduction of Ruby and Sapphire and the third generation, the original data structures were redesigned. And as a result, the shiny trait was no longer tied to a Pokemon’s IV value, rather than two different pieces of data: a Pokemon’s Trainer ID (which identifies the number of the original trainer), its Secret ID (which is not viewable through the game normally, unless a cheating device is used), and its Personality Value. For those unfamiliar with the Personality Value, it is what determines a Pokemon’s gender, Ability, Nature, and species specific oddities (the letter of an encountered Unown, the location of Spinda’s spots, and the evolution of Wurmple). With this change, the ability to breed specifically for shininess is removed almost completely, and instead relies on a specific formula :
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PokeHacks – Quartz

By Anonymous

Pokemon Hacks are, in this case, fan made games that may or may not have fan made Pokemon characters. The particular hack, Pokemon Quartz, is one of the most famous of these hacks, as it is one of the few to have been completed and contain an entirely original Pokedex. The game is a hack of Pokemon Ruby, meaning it visually resembles the game Ruby yet the similarities end there. The towns, buildings, story, and Pokemon are all original, though unofficial, being a fan made game.

I can’t say I’ve finished the game, but I’m already far enough along to say this: it’s fun and a whole new experience compared to a Pokemon game… and you should save often if you’re on a Mac, the emulators tend to crash. The game contains, as in the description, two hundred thirty-seven unique Pokemon to catch and another one hundred forty-nine to see. There is, also, a new home for the new Pokemon, the Corna region, which is essentially Hoenn, with some minor changes in each area. Furthermore, there’s a whole new set of baddies to handle in this version, whether it’s the nine, yes, nine, gym leaders or the Ambar Band, though referred to as the Band Ambar, as the creator’s native language is Spanish rather than English. The translation troubles appear a few times in the game, turned into a joke and noted a number of times. In fact, after saving the region’s professor, Baro, he begins speaking Spanish in frustration, saying not to mind what he says. Along with the technical changes, though, there are also the changes that truly set the game apart from its source.

From the script to the neighbor to Pokemon changes, it makes for an interesting time. Foremost, it should be noted the dialogue in the hack isn’t quite so rated E as the official counterpart. In fact, upon first meeting the neighbor boy, his womanizing nature is obvious, going so far as to call you “Babe” and daydream about officer “Jeni” not a few sentences later. I can’t say for sure on how a female counterpart will act, though from the game description (“…your new sexy neighbor Ran/J.Akira….”) I’ll assume it’s some flirty parallel to the boy’s dialogue. Much of the script follows that sort of pattern, the boy continuing to hit on the player and the Professor far from professional and even absent minded at times. In addition to all the curious interaction, there’s also, as mentioned before, a new selection of Pokemon. From the first encounter, it’s easy to see the spriter didn’t entirely agree with the looks of official Pokemon. In fact, all three starters, while still grass, fire, and water variations, are near identical eggs, cracked with eyes peeking out and colors corresponding to their type. Contrary to other eggs, fortunately, these eggs are capable of attacking and leveling. While strange, it is indeed convenient when one goes to save the professor. For those who are looking forward to spoilers, go ahead and Google, “Pokemon Quartz starters,” though I needn’t ruin it for the rest.
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