Are Shiny Starters Locked in Pokemon Legends Arceus? – Answered

Shiny Pokémon are variations of normal Pokémon that look markedly different from their non-Shiny counterparts. Although their stats aren’t affected in any way, Shiny Pokémon are way rarer to find due to their abysmal encounter rate.

Because of their rarity, they are a favorite of Pokémon collectors everywhere. While each game has its own methods of increasing the odds of acquiring Shiny Pokémon, Pokémon Legends: Arceus utilizes the old Shiny Charm method the most.

Shiny Charm

The Shiny Charm is an item that was introduced several generations ago to the Pokémon franchise. Its main purpose is to increase the chance of encountering or hatching Shiny Pokémon.

According to what we know, the base rate for encountering a Shiny Pokémon is 1/4096. The rate is increased to 1/2048 upon getting all the research levels of the Pokémon in the Pokédex to 10, and it goes up to 1/1024 when fully researched. The Shiny Charm then further increases those odds to 1/585.

Because of such insanely low odds, the Shiny Charm is a major help in lowering those odds and getting the player one step closer to acquiring their favorite Shiny Pokémon! But what if the Shiny Pokémon that the player wants to acquire are Shiny versions of their own starter Pokémon? Is there a chance for that to happen? Lets find out!

Can you acquire Shiny Starter Pokémon in Legends: Arceus?

Unfortunately, acquiring Shiny Starter Pokémon can be a bit of a difficult task as compared to most other Pokémon. When the player initially chooses either Rowlet, Cyndaquil, or Oshawott at the start of the game, there is no chance for a Shiny version of those Pokémon to spawn.

There is a way for players to acquire their Shiny variants however, and that is only accessible post-game. After the space-time distortions start appearing and the player is in post-game, hopping into one of these distortions can lead to a starter Pokémon encounter, and although the chances of them being shiny are low, the chances still exist for an Shiny encounter in these distortions!