Pokémon Legends Z-A shiny Pokémon guide

Welcome to Lumiose City! Feeling daunted by the amount of things to do, but want to get down to business catching Pokémon ZA’s shiny ‘mon? Us too, and this guide can help you out with all the intel on the new autosave feature, shiny rates, the Shiny Charm, and more. Shiny Pokémon are a fan favorite with their unique designs and unusual coloring – not to mention the sparkles – so it’s important you’re up to speed.

If you’re looking to find something else, we have all the info on Pokémon Legends: ZA Eevee and Pokémon Legends: ZA Pikachu evolutions and locations. Also, find some Pokémon Legends: ZA mystery gift codes, too, to buff your team and maximize your fun.

Where do I find Pokémon ZA shiny Pokémon?

The main way to find shinies is to look for them in the Wild Zones or in the few places Pokémon spawn outside of Wild Zones, such as rooftops and back alleys. You’ll unlock these zones as you progress through the story, and every one has at least five Pokémon species that are native to the zone. Naturally, some of the ‘mon there will be shiny if you play for long enough. Plus, thanks to the new autosave feature, you don’t need to stress if one spawns in a zone you haven’t unlocked yet. More on that shortly.

Pokemon ZA Shiny Mareep

You can get a guaranteed shiny with Side Mission 17, which is based around an encounter featuring a Shiny Mareep, so hey, that’s already one tucked under your belt. Now, go find yourself some more in the Wild Zones, okay?

What are the Pokémon ZA shiny rates?

Since gen five, Pokémon shiny rates have been chilling at a cool one in every 4,096 Pokémon. That remains the case for Pokémon Legends: Z-A, at least according to all the data we’ve seen so far. You can boost the rate to four in every 4,096, which evens out to around one in every 1,024, if you’ve got the Shiny Charm, which we touch on just a little further down this page.

What is the Pokémon ZA shiny autosave feature?

Pokémon ZA shinies have something that no other Pokémon game has yet to feature: shiny Pokémon never despawn in ZA, even if you close the game, die, or the day ends. Yep, that’s right – if you leave them completely alone, shinies stay exactly where they are. There is a hard limit of 10 shiny Pokémon across Lumiose City, though, so it’s not worth trying to hoard any more than that.

Shiny Pokémon that are day- or nighttime-dependent will despawn during the hours they’re not catchable, but will return when their time comes back around, so don’t panic if you can’t see one that you were waiting a while to catch. Plus, shiny Pokémon that spawn in areas you haven’t unlocked yet will stay there until you’re able to reach them – so just because you aren’t seeing them spawn, it doesn’t mean you won’t find them later down the line.

The one caveat is that there are some Pokémon that immediately flee if they spot you, such as Dratini and Abra. That factor, combined with Pokémon ZA’s autosave feature, means you have to be very careful attempting to catch some shinies, as with one wrong move, you could lose the chance to bag your new shiny team mascot.

Is there a Shiny Charm in Pokémon ZA?

A Shiny Charm allows players to increase their shiny drop rates, and Pokémon ZA’s Shiny Charm isn’t too difficult to obtain, though it does take some time. You have to progress through all fifty of Mable’s Research levels by completing research tasks. So, while there’s a little bit of grinding to do to get there, hopefully you’ll be having fun along the way before you start amassing your sparkly army.

In case you’re confused, a similar-sounding item, the Shiny Stone, isn’t actually related to catching shinies. It’s an evolution item that allows you to evolve Roselia into Roserade and Floette into Florges. You can find Shiny Stones littered around the city, and you can also pick them up from the Stone Emporium after the 39th Main Mission, but again, they won’t net you any new shinies; you’ll need the Shiny Charm for that.

That’s all the shiny info you’re going to need to catch them all in the new game, which is available on Nintendo Switch, alongside the Pokémon Legends ZA DLC. If you’re waiting for shinies to spawn and want some light reading, check out our Pokémon Legends: ZA review for our very own Connor Christie’s thoughts. Plus, we’ve got your back if you’re confused about the Pokémon Legends: ZA Kalos starters and the Pokémon Legends: ZA Kanto starters.