Pokemon Sun & Moon: Best Way To Get Shiny Pokemon

The Pokemon Sun and Moon fan community is voracious, and after endless hours of experimentation, they’ve discovered a way to essentially “predict the future” and see which Pokemon eggs will be shiny when breeding Pokemon. Basically, using this method, you’ll be able to see which egg will spawn a Shiny Pokemon while breeding. This makes it much, much easier to get shiny Pokemon — you’ll know exactly how many eggs need to hatch. This method also, essentially, locks you in for a future shiny.

Look, it’s really complicated so we’ll explain step-by-step below. This method isn’t too difficult, as long as you follow the steps exactly and come prepared — you’ll need a foreign Ditto, a trash Magikarp, a Shiny Charm, a Destiny Knot, and an Everstone. We’ll explain everything in the complete guide.

Best Way To Get Shiny Pokemon

Pokemon Sun and Moon actually generates Pokemon eggs (and the contents within) before you even begin hatching. Using a very specific set of steps, it is possible to pre-generate a Pokemon Shiny, using a Magikarp to breed simply for the speed. After reloading the previous save, you’ll find that breeding a Ditto and any other Pokemon will result in the exact same eggs.

For example:
- Breeding Ditto + Magikarp: The 50th egg hatches into a Shiny.
  - Reset without saving.
- Breeding Ditto + Any Other Pokemon: The 50th egg hatches into a Shiny.

The eggs will always match (except when breeding with genderless Pokemon, in that case, add +1 to the egg count after swapping Pokemon.) — that’s the essential part of this method. Magikarp breed very, very quickly — and breeding them “locks in” the random rolls for future Pokemon hatching from eggs. It’s very weird, complex, and simple all at the same time.

Requirements: The Essentials

Before you can begin the “swap breeding” method, you’ll need some essential items and Pokemon.

Pokemon You’ll Need:
1. Ditto (Foreign): To make this happen, you’ll need a foreign Ditto. Any will do — enter GTS and trade for a Ditto with a name in any foreign language, though Japanese is best. Foreign refers to any non-North American Ditto in GTS.
  - WARNING: Watch out for 5 / 6 IV Japanese Ditto — these are very likely hacked Pokemon. Hacked Pokemon will not work for this method.
2. Magikarp: Any Magikarp will do. They’re common in any body of water in Alola. The IV / nature doesn’t matter.
3. Goal Pokemon: The ‘Goal’ Pokemon is the species you want to generate a shiny for. This can be any Pokemon.

The foreign Ditto is the most important part of this equation. You absolutely must have a foreign, un-hacked Ditto. There are other ways to pull of this method, but using a foreign (Non-North American) Ditto is by far the easiest.

Items You’ll Need [REQUIRED]:
1. Destiny Knot: Equip on the Ditto (Foreign) — Available at the Battle Royale Dome (Fourth Counter) — Sold for 48BP.
2. Everstone: Equip on the ‘Goal’ Pokemon — Given by Ilima after re-battling him in the large house in Hau’oli City. Also available at the Battle Royale Dome (Second Counter) — Sold for 16BP.
Optional Items You Might Need:
1. Shiny Charm [OPTIONAL]: Only needed if you don’t use a foreign Ditto. Given by the Game Director in Heahea City after completing the Alola Region Pokedex (Excluding Mythical Pokemon).

Make sure to equip Ditto with a Destiny Knot, and equip your ‘Goal’ Pokemon with an Everstone. Magikarp does NOT need the Everstone equipped.

How to Breed Shiny Pokemon – Step-by-Step

Go to the Hatchery — this guide assumes you already know the basics of breeding. When you’re ready (Have Ditto, Magikarp, and your ‘Goal’ Pokemon all equipped with the right items.) wait outside at the ranch and begin at Step #1.

Save your game.
Deposit Ditto (Foreign, Destiny Knot Equipped) into the Nursery, then deposit Magikarp.
Run in circles to generate eggs. Collect 25-50 eggs.
- Enter the enclosed fence across the path from the nursery entrance, and spin while riding Tauros to quickly generate eggs.
- You can generate as many as you want. It helps to generate at least 30 to improve your chances of finding a Shiny.
Remove one of the Pokemon from the nursery to stop eggs from spawning.
- This is just a safety precaution. If you continue to generate eggs, you might pre-generate an IV/Shiny/Nature you want that you’ll miss.
Hatch all of the eggs you just collected.
- Spin with Tauros in the fence area to quickly begin hatching.
If you found a shiny, continue on to the next step.
- If you didn’t, repeat steps 1-5.
Take note of the egg that hatched into a shiny — for example, the Egg #25 since your last save hatched into a Shiny Pokemon.
Reset your 3DS without saving. This is very important.
Now begins the “Swap Breeding” Trick — Return to the nursery and deposit Ditto and your ‘Goal’ Pokemon.
- Make sure Ditto is holding Destiny Knot, and your ‘Goal’ Pokemon has an Everstone equipped.
Collect eggs up to the number where you hatched a shiny with Magikarp — in our example, it would be Egg #25.
- For Genderless or Single-Gender Pokemon: Add +1 to your number. For example, for a Genderless or Single-Gender Pokemon, we would hatch #26 instead of #25.
Hatch the egg. (Ex: Egg #25)
- When breeding Pokemon, simply refuse the eggs from the nursery you don’t want until you get the right egg.
- To make eggs hatch faster,
Enjoy your Shiny Pokemon.

This all sounds insane, but the mechanics are solid. This has been extensively tested, but there are still kinks in the works. Let us know if this weird method worked for you in the comments. Good luck out there, Trainers!

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