Quick Guide to IV and Shiny Hunting in Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee
Disclaimer: while the games have just been released we are still culminating information about them. As such we will do our best to keep this post updated.
IV’s and Shinies: What are the Options?
There’s an absence of breeding in Let’s Go but that doesn’t mean we’re totally out of options here. So far we’ve been able to confirm the following methods for IV and shiny manipulation:
○ Chaining wild Pokemon as catch combos, i.e. catching the same species multiple times in a row.
○ Hard Resetting stationary encounters, i.e. legendary Pokemon, for nature, IV, and shiny manipulation.
○ The standard random encounter rate has been confirmed same as previous gens, 1/4096.
In Pokemon Let’s Go there is a chaining mechanic known as a Catch Combo. In order to start a combo you must catch Pokemon of the same species in a successive chain, i.e. catching another Caterpie directly after you’ve just caught one.
You must catch Pokemon of the same species, i.e. Caterpie-to-Caterpie. Catching a Metapod or Butterfree in the middle of a Caterpie chain will break the chain.
You can see how many combos you’ve gotten directly from the top left corner of the catch screen, and again highlighted in the Pokemon summary screen after a successful capture.
Photo cred: SMKGaming (Youtube)
The following scenarios will break a chain:
○ Catching a different Pokemon
○ The wild Pokemon flees from the capture screen
○ Fully closing the game and/or turning off the Switch
The following scenarios will NOT break a chain:
○ Encountering or accidentally running into a different Pokemon- you can run away from them without breaking the chain
○ Choosing to run away from a capture- even if it is the right Pokemon you’re chaining
○ Leaving the route, entering/exiting a cave, entering a house or shop, and trainer battles will not break a chain
○ Putting your game in sleep mode from the Switch Home button and leaving the Switch ON/docked to charge until you’re ready to resume
Remember that Razz Berries will help increase chances to capture a Pokemon and don’t forget to stock up on Pokeballs before planning a hunt. If you plan to hunt a rare spawn then make sure to have the appropriate lures on hand.
Here is a chart documenting the odds for both IV and shiny values as chain length increases. Please remember that these are not 100% guaranteed sets- as with anything in Pokemon these sets are based on RNG meaning each Pokemon spawn is a roll of the dice. These odds simply tell you the favor of the roll.
Once you reach a chain of 31 you have maxed the odds. If you are shiny hunting then there is no need to continue catching Pokemon after you hit a combo of 31, you could just run around and wait for a shiny to spawn in. If you are hunting IVs though, its a good idea to keep catching for a while to maximize your chance at getting something worthwhile.
Shiny Pokemon spawn as their shiny sprites in the Overworld so they are easily recognized. Do not mistake them for the red large or blue tiny spawns; shiny Pokemon will have a sparkling aura around them.
Also worth noting is the return of the Shiny Charm which can be obtained by registering the original Kanto 150 Pokemon in the Pokedex, Mew and Meltan do not count, and then visiting the Game Freak crew in Celadon City. You can catch, trade, or transfer in Pokemon from your Pokemon GO account in order to complete the Pokedex.
Hard Resetting Legendary Encounters //Shiny Locked Pokemon
As of right now the only known shiny locked Pokemon are your Partner Pikachu/Eevee and the event Mew from the Pokeball Plus (we will update as we learn more).
This makes it possible to Hard Reset Legendary pokemon to force re-rolls for nature, IV, and shiny values. Hard Resetting only works for stationary Pokemon and works very similar to Soft Resetting, its just that on the Switch we don’t have a button combination that forces the game to reset without fully exiting to the Home Menu.
This means you must save before a Legendary encouter OR cutscene, press the Home button and fully close the game, and then re-enter the game from your previous save.
You must enter the catch screen to check for shiny value. If you’re resetting for nature and IV rolls then you must catch the Pokemon in order to check. Like previous gens, it has been confirmed that Legendary pokemon are locked into 3-5 perfect IVs.
And there you have it. As I’ve said we’re still being bombarded with new info about Let’s Go but for now this is the most up-to-date guide we have. We will keep this post updated as we move forward. Hope you enjoy the games and happy hunting!
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