What are the odds of finding a shiny Pokemon?

Shiny Pokemon are extremely desirable catches for players of any Pokemon game.

A shiny Pokemon is one that is colored differently from the fellow members of its species. These rare versions were first introduced into the games for Generation II. Calling these Pocket Monsters shiny originally comes from a term players made up to describe the animation shown and sound heard when first encountering one.

Since they are highly sought after makes one wonder, what are the odds of finding a shiny Pokemon?

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The odds of encountering a shiny Pokemon

Very rare but can increase by using certain methods

A shiny Wooloo in Pokemon Sword/Shield (Image via Nintendo)

Shiny Pokemon are even rarer to find than Brilliant Pokemon in Sword and Shield. Without taking any action to increase one's chances, the odds of seeing a shiny Pokemon in these games is a jaw-dropping 1 in every 4096 encounters.

However, a trainer can drastically increase these odds by using a variety of methods. All of the tactics used to tackle shiny Pokemon require a lot of time and effort. For some players of games in the Pokemon franchise, catching the shiny versions of mons is their primary goal. Throughout the history of Pokemon games there have been shiny Pocket Monsters that fans both loved and hated.

Check out these articles on: the Top 5 shiny Pokemon of all time and the Top 5 most underwhelming shiny Pokemon.

If you think the base probability rates of finding a shiny Pokemon are tough in Sword and Shield, when they first appeared in Generation II games the odds were 1 in every 8192 encounters. To be fair, in these games (Pokemon Gold, Silver, Crystal, Heartgold, and SoulSilver) a player was also guaranteed an opportunity at catching a shiny red Gyarados. This Pokemon is encountered at the Lake of Rage.

Battling a red Gyarados in HeartGold/SoulSilver (Image via Game Freak)

Trying to find shiny Pokemon is a challenge in the games that will likely always be included with every future generation to be released. Shinies are exceptionally elusive creatures, so if you're ever lucky enough to come across one, give catching it your best shot!