It's not a mystery Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen can be unforgiving games at times, and this translates to their Switch and Switch 2 ports as much as the originals. There aren't many differences between the current Nintendo Switch version of the Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen and the Game Boy Advance games, with some changes for the better, such as the removal of the Roar bug for Legendary Beasts after the game. Yet Gen 3 Kanto remakes sport the lowest and most punishing shiny odds in the franchise at 1 in 8,192, while having no Masuda Method and no Shiny Charm.
This isn't necessarily a bad thing in itself, as some fans prefer the gate as it makes more sense when you get a shiny Pokemon. To me, this line of thinking makes sense, and theoretically I would subscribe to it. However, I love shiny Pokemon a little too much for me to feel all fine and dandy with a grind that can require you 70 hours or more to find a single shiny starter in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen because I don't have the luxury of endless free time. I found my shiny starter motor after 43 hours of soft reset, and to think I even got lucky makes me miss Gen 9 and ZA quite a lot.
Say goodbye to these 46 Pokemon in FireRed and LeafGreen on Switch
Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen on Switch and Switch 2 will force you to say goodbye to 46 Pokemon that you won't be able to get.
Why Pokemon Legends: ZA, Scarlet and Violet are better than Fire Red and Leaf Green
I didn't count how many soft resets for Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreens shiny starter I had to endure, but I got my Squirtle after about 43 hours. I spent about 40-41 hours looking for Charmander, actually, and changed it a few times just to ease my brain, but I ended up with a shiny Squirtle instead. I love all three Kanto starters, so no problems whatsoever, but the fact that I had to switch targets every now and then to keep from going crazy is a huge red flag. Averaging about 27 seconds per reset with my turbo controller, I saw at least 5,700 starts before I found my Squirtle.
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Easy (7.5s) Medium (5.0s) Hard (2.5s) Permadeath (2.5s)
It's worth noting that a new video from YouTuber Papa Jefe, in collaboration with well-known data miner Anubis/@Sibuna_Switch, showed that optimizing the timing too much for shiny hunts in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen can be counterproductive, as you end up seeing fewer unique Pokemon. It's quite possible that, with my 27 second resets, I saw up to 40% identical Pokemon in total, which would mean I wasted up to 17 hours.
Thing is, 1 in 5,700 is amazing luck, actually, considering it took many people over 10,000 or even 20,000 resets for a single shiny start. After all, 1 in 8,192 is a mathematical average rather than a rule. To address the elephant in the room: yes, it felt more gratifying and rewarding than finding a shiny Pokemon in Legends: ZA or Scarlet and Violet after reaching odds as high as 1 in 512 with means such as Sparkling Power donuts or sandwiches, mass eruptions and so on. But if I have to sit here and say, “Yeah, it was worth it to spend 43 hours to get a shiny Squirtle,” I'm sorry, but I can't do that.
Pokemon Legends: ZA, Scarlet and Violet's Shiny Odds compared to FireRed and LeafGreens
Pokemon Legends: ZAs monk recipe allows incredible shiny odds if you get Sparkling Power Lv. 3 and you have a Shiny Charm, which you can get by completing 50 level tasks from Mable. Likewise in Pokemon Scarlet and Violetyou can combine Mass Outbreaks with sandwiches and a Shiny Charm to increase your odds even more. And if you're wondering how much better it is, here are the numbers:
- Pokemon Legends: ZA and Scarlet and Violet has blank base odds of 1 in 4096. That alone means you could theoretically find two shinys in modern games for every shiny in Gen 3 Kanto remakes.
- Pokemon Legends: ZAs Mega Dimension DLC lets you make donuts with Ansha, and if you combine a Sparkling Power Lv. 3 monk with Shiny Charm, you can get odds as high as 1 in 585, which means about 14 times more likely to find a shiny than in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen. Or, if you want, you can get 14 shinys ZA for every shining in Fire red and leaf green.
- Pokemon Scarlet and Violets sandwiches also come with Sparkling Power Lv. 3, and you can combine it with a Shiny Charm and defeat at least 60 Pokemon from a Mass Outbreak to get shiny odds as high as 1 in 512. That means you're 16 times more likely to find a Shiny this way than in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreenor that for every shiny you find in the Kanto remakes you can find 16 in Gen 9.
However, that's not even all there is. Then Pokemon Legends: ZApp. and Pokemon Scarlet and Violets world spawns are visible, you don't have to spend time encountering every single Pokémon in tall grass or sifting through static encounters soft-resetting them every time a Pokémon isn't shiny. This is also a major factor in how long it can take you to find shinys, and to be honest, I can't really overlook it.
Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen Vs. Legends: ZA and Scarlet & Violet
Yes, it felt very good to find that shiny Squirtle in it Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreenand I'm still riding that high after over 24 hours. But from a time perspective, it's a hunt I can justify doing once in a blue moon. While it's a great feeling to find a rare shiny you've been looking for for so long, it can't beat the efficiency of finding one 14 or even 16 times faster.
On top of that, these are always mathematical averages we're talking about, so even with super high odds, you might not land your shiny Pokemon ZA or Scarlet and Violet after 40 hours, and then you still get that dopamine boost when you finally do. What follows is that I still think it was a good thing to move away from 1 in 8,192 base odds in modern games, especially when society moves much faster than it used to in the early 2000s, and when video games demand your undivided attention more and more often.
- Released
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September 7, 2004
- ESRB
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All 10+ / Mild fantasy violence, simulated gambling
- Multiplayer
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Online Multiplayer
