Gen 3 Shiny Hunting: Odds & Soft Resets in Emerald
Shiny odds of every method, soft-reset steps, Emerald’s timing trap and the best targets in Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald.
Every Pokémon in Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald is shiny at 1 in 8,192. No method changes that here, so the trick is to make each try fast.
Published
| First games | Method | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Ruby Sapphire Emerald | Wild encounter | 1 in 8,192 |
| Soft reset (legendary, gift, starter) | 1 in 8,192 | |
| Day Care Egg | 1 in 8,192 | |
| Diamond Pearl | Masuda Method (foreign-language parent) | 1 in 1,638 |
| Poké Radar chain of 40 | 1 in 200 per patch | |
| Black 2 White 2 | Shiny Charm | 1 in 2,731 |
| Masuda Method + Shiny Charm | 1 in 1,024 | |
| X Y | Higher base odds | 1 in 4,096 |
From X and Y on, the Masuda Method is 1 in 683, or 1 in 512 with the Shiny Charm. Gen 3 decides once whether each Pokémon is shiny, so all you control is how fast you get the next try.
How to shiny hunt the Pokémon you want
| Pokémon you want | How to try again | Save before |
|---|---|---|
| Wild Pokémon | Walk, Surf or fish for the next one | Not needed |
| Legendaries and one-time battles | Soft reset | Talking to it |
| Your starter | Soft reset | Stepping onto Route 101 |
| Gift Pokémon | Soft reset | Taking it |
| Day Care Eggs | Hatch new Eggs | Not useful: the Egg is already decided when the Day-Care man has it |
| Roaming Latios or Latias | Soft reset, then find it again | The TV news at home after the Hall of Fame |
| In-game trades | Never shiny |
Warning — Emerald: wait a different time before every reset. Emerald starts its luck at the same point every time you switch on. If you always press through in the same few seconds, you get the same few hundred Pokémon and may never see a shiny. Wait a different amount of time at the title screen and before you talk to it, from seconds to minutes. Ruby and Sapphire with a dead clock battery do the same.
Soft reset shiny hunting, step by step
1. Save right in front of it
Stand next to the legendary, or in the room before a gift, and save. Bring Poké Balls and a Pokémon that can put it to sleep: a shiny you knock out or that runs away is gone once you reset.
2. Reset with A + B + START + SELECT and vary your timing
Hold the four buttons to soft reset and load your save. How much your timing matters depends on the game and its clock battery:
| Game | Luck at power-on | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Emerald | Always the same | Vary your timing |
| Ruby or Sapphire with a working clock battery | Taken from the clock, new every minute | Nothing special |
| Ruby or Sapphire with a dry battery | Always the same | Vary your timing |
3. Watch for the stars: how to tell it is shiny
A shiny Pokémon enters battle with gold stars circling it and a chime, for a wild one and for your own when you send it out. Its colours differ too. For a gift, open its Summary: in Emerald the number at the top turns yellow; in Ruby and Sapphire, compare its colours.
Warning — Shinies that can get away: Electrode knows Self-Destruct and can faint itself. Roaming Latios and Latias flee on the first turn; a Master Ball is the safe throw for a shiny roamer.
4. Stars? Catch it before you save
No stars: reset and try again. Stars: do not save until it is caught.
Every legendary and gift you can soft reset for
Nothing you can catch or receive is shiny-locked; only Trainers’ Pokémon and in-game trades never are. Event Mew and Deoxys can be shiny too.
| Pokémon | Where | Only in | You see it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Groudon | Cave of Origin | Ruby | Battle |
| Groudon | Terra Cave | Emerald | Battle |
| Kyogre | Cave of Origin | Sapphire | Battle |
| Kyogre | Marine Cave | Emerald | Battle |
| Rayquaza | Sky Pillar | Battle | |
| Regirock | Desert Ruins | Battle | |
| Regice | Island Cave | Battle | |
| Registeel | Ancient Tomb | Battle | |
| Kecleon | Route 119 | Battle | |
| Electrode | Team Magma Hideout, Lilycove City | Ruby | Battle |
| Electrode | Team Aqua Hideout | Sapphire Emerald | Battle |
| Voltorb | New Mauville | Battle | |
| Sudowoodo | Battle Frontier | Emerald | Battle |
| Castform | Weather Institute, Route 119 | Summary screen | |
| Lileep or Anorith | Devon Corporation, Rustboro City | Summary screen | |
| Beldum | Steven’s house, Mossdeep City | Summary screen | |
| Johto starter | Birch’s lab, Littleroot Town | Emerald | Summary screen |
| Wynaut Egg | Lavaridge Town | When it hatches |
A Wynaut Egg needs about 5,400 steps before you know, so each try is slow.
Wild shiny hunts: how long each target takes
| Pokémon | Where | Chance it’s your target | Encounters per shiny, on average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wynaut | Mirage Island, on days it shows | 100% | 8,192 |
| Feebas | Route 119, its six tiles | 50% of bites | 16,384 |
| Bagon | Meteor Falls, back room | 25% | 32,768 |
| Absol | Route 120 | 8% | 102,400 |
| Ralts | Route 102 | 4% | 204,800 |
| The Pokémon of a TV mass outbreak | The route the TV news names | 50% | 16,384 |
Find the six tiles first with the Feebas guide, and check whether Mirage Island is showing today before a Wynaut hunt.
Gen 3 shiny hunting FAQ
- What are the shiny odds in Pokémon Emerald?
- 1 in 8,192 for every Pokémon, in Ruby and Sapphire too. Nothing in these games changes it.
- Does the Masuda Method work in Emerald?
- No. The Masuda Method arrived in Diamond and Pearl; in Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald an Egg is 1 in 8,192 like everything else.
- Can you soft reset for a shiny starter in Emerald?
- Yes. Save in Littleroot Town before Route 101, pick your starter and watch it enter the first battle. Vary your timing on every reset.
- Are there shiny-locked Pokémon in Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald?
- No. Every legendary, gift and starter can be shiny. Only Trainers’ Pokémon and in-game trades never are.
- Does a dry battery stop shiny Pokémon in Ruby and Sapphire?
- No. The luck then starts at the same point every time, as in Emerald, so vary your timing when you soft reset.
- How do you know if a Pokémon is shiny in Emerald?
- Gold stars circle it with a chime when it enters battle, and its colours differ. On its Summary screen the number at the top is yellow.
- Can roaming Latios or Latias be shiny?
- Yes. It is decided when the roamer is released after the Hall of Fame, so you must save before the TV news and find it again after every reset.
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