Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl: How To Catch Shiny Pokémon

In Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, there are over 400 Pokémon available to find around Sinnoh once you've unlocked the National Pokédex. If you're lucky, you may even find a shiny. Some of us, however, intentionally go shiny hunting to try to find our favourites in their rarest form.

In this guide, we explain exactly what shiny Pokémon are and how to catch them in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.

Read More: Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl: How To Get Pikachu

What Are Shiny Pokémon

Shiny Pokémon are essentially just an extremely rare version of your usual Pokémon. They will have their own unique colours different to that of the normal Pokémon, and have a shiny animation that emanates from them in battle. For many, shiny hunting is an obsessive hobby, with players spending hours upon hours trying to find the shiny variant of their favourite Pokémon, and so forth.

In Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, here are your chances of catching a shiny Pokémon:

• Base Chance: 1 in 4,096 encounters.
• Grand Underground with Diglett Bonus: 3 in 4,096 encounters.
• Shiny Charm: 1 in 1,365 encounters.
• Breeding via Masuda Method: 1 in 683 encounters.
• Masuda Method with Shiny Charm: 1 in 512 encounters.
• Poke Radar and a 40 Chain: 1 in 99 encounters. A 40 Chain is when you encounter the same Pokémon 40 times in a row; it's chance to appear as a shiny will increase dramatically after that.

The Masuda Method, for those who are unfamiliar, is when players use breeding to increase their chances of getting a shiny. This involves breeding two Pokémon from games of different languages, and increases the chance of a Pokémon being shiny.

How To Find and Catch Shiny Pokémon

First and foremost, you cannot see a shiny Pokémon in the overworld in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. You will only see if a Pokémon is shiny by using the Poké Radar or by engaging with it in battle.

Additionally, the colour variants of some shiny Pokémon aren't too different from their original form. For example, a Pikachu shiny is only a slightly darker form of yellow, so, be certain to keep an eye out for sparkle animations in battle. Finally, hunting for shiny Pokémon is not a light task, it can take hours, days, or for some less lucky, weeks. So, have a little patience if you're committing to getting that favourite Pokémon in its shiny form.

Diglett Bonus of The Grand Underground

As you run around the corridors of the Grand Underground in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, you'll encounter multiple Digletts. By running over them and their pink sparkles, the counter under your map in the upper-left corner of your screen will increase. Once 40 Digletts are collected, the Diglett bonus begins. This bonus will ensure that you get shiny statues from the digging mini-game, but also increases your chance of encountering a shiny Pokémon in the Hideaways. The bonus lasts four minutes, and the chance of encountering a shiny is only increased to 3 in 4,096; so, this is not the most effective way of shiny hunting, but still something worth attempting ads you roam the Grand Underground anyway.

The Poké Radar and 40+ Chain

Shiny Pokémon is very much all about chance. If you know exactly which Pokémon you'd like as a shiny, your best bet is getting your hands on the Poké Radar, battling that Pokémon as many times as possible to get a chain going. Then, your chances will be increased massively once you have reached 40 in that chain. It's a long process, but it works.

You'll get the Poké Radar after becoming the League Champion, completing the Sinnoh Pokédex, and speaking with Professor Rowan in Sandgem Town to acquire it. The Chain Counter Pokétch app will also assist with counting your chains; this can be acquired after becoming League Champion, completing the Sinnoh Pokédex, then entering the Ramanas Park building.

Breeding via Masuda Method

The Masuda Method explained above is another way to increase your rates of getting a shiny Pokémon dramatically. If you can acquire yourself a Ditto of another language through trading, then you'll have no problem completing this method of breeding for shinies. If you have your own Ditto, try trading it with someone else in another region for their Ditto, then it's a win for all shiny hunters. Then, all you need to do is drop off your chosen Pokémon and the Ditto at Solaceon Nursery, breed it, and hope you can hatch a shiny! Again, this may take hours of time and multiple attempts before it works.

That's about all there is to know when it comes to hunting for shiny Pokémon in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. Good luck, and don't forget to have a lot of patience as you start hunting! If you need some downtime after a long, unsuccessful chain or as you wait for an egg to hatch, check out how to win Super Contest Shows or how to get your hands on all legendary Pokémon across Sinnoh.