The Pokemon community is unhappy with the ease of shiny hunting in Legends: ZA DLC

Blind hunting has been a staple of the Pokémon franchise for almost as long as it's been around, but it hasn't always been easy. The earlier games had odds of 1/8192, compared to today's 1/4096, and there weren't necessarily specific methods to quickly chase them. This made the shinies feel extra special.

As time has gone on, Game Freak has introduced new ways for players to hunt down these elusive Pokemon, reducing the odds in the process, and Pokemon Legends: ZA's Mega Dimension DLC has taken things to the next level. While good news for many, these changes have upset parts of the shiny hunting community, making them feel that their hard work in previous games was not in vain.

Until Diamond, Pearl and Platinum, apart from some extremely awkward methods, players were stuck with the base rate of 1/8192. Diamond, Pearl and Platinum then introduced the famous Masuda method of breeding, and Poke Radar, which could reduce the odds to 1/638 and 1/200 respectively.

Black and White came and further lowered the odds of the Masuda Method, and Black and White 2 introduced Shiny Charm. Ultra Sun and Moon then drastically reduced the odds of shiny legendary encounters, and it continued to spiral to where we are today, with Mega Dimensions' combination of Shiny Charm, Sparkling Power, and the ease of refreshing spawns proving the perfect catalyst for abundant shinys. This has become a divisive issue among players.

Since the release of Mega Dimensions, several threads have appeared on the Legends ZA subreddit with players showing off their shiny moves. A recent thread featured a video of a player running through a Hyperspace Wild Zone with seven shiny dragon-type Pokémon (including three alphas), visible within the first 9 seconds. These have served as perfect breeding grounds for the divide.

Darkrai against a mysterious smoky background.

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A literal nightmare.

The thread, created by Mean_Violinist5759, was titled “It's disgusting how easy they made shiny hunting”, and they're not terribly wrong. One player commented, “Yeah it's not even a flex anymore,” while another added, “I loved the long hunt for shinys, always remember to reset for regidrago.”

Although some complained, many of the comments were overwhelmingly in favor of these new methods. “They've always been out of my reach, so I'm feeling great,” Manditobandito said. Another commenter added, “Thank God. I've never had time to hunt in my life. This will make it fun for me, finally.”

It was finally summed up by DryBones907, who, commenting on the RNG for spawning donuts, said: “The goal is still there and has more steps now beyond the Pokemon itself.”

I never had time to hunt in my life. This will make it fun for me, finally.

Personally, I'm all for these improved shiny prizes. It's one of the reasons Legends: Arceus resonated with me so well, and I enjoy wasting my evenings crafting monks and exploring the Hyperspace Wild Zones. It's a little frustrating that I spent so much time crafting the now-defunct spawn overloads or looking for things like Froakie and Fennekin in the base game just to have them be a dud now, but it sure feels more rewarding to get several shinys in an hour than potentially zero over several hours.