Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are among the handful of Switch games that got a technical upgrade on the Switch 2, and anyone who’s paid attention knows they are infamous for being absolutely busted on the original system. These games run like shit, are full of bugs, and that undeniable truth overshadowed what is otherwise a pretty great leap forward for the series in terms of ambitious open-world design. Now, on the Switch 2, you can run around the Paldea region at a smooth 60 frames-per-second, capturing critters to your heart’s content. However, the upgrade may have had an unintended effect on hunting Shiny Pokémon, the rare, alternative-colored monsters that are usually a time-consuming ordeal to find.
Shiny Pokémon are rare spawns you’ll find out in the wild that some players spend their entire critter-catching careers chasing. They’re not shiny, confusingly, but rather have a different color scheme than usual. Finding them is a badge of honor, a sign of tenacity, and sometimes they’re even cooler looking than the base form. Over the years, thanks to items like the Shiny Charm that increase the chances of them appearing, Shinies have become progressively easier to capture.
The more recent games have put Pokémon freely roaming in the overworld, rather than hiding them all in random encounters. This includes Scarlet and Violet, which let you see Pokémon in the field before you engage with them, which means if a Shiny is running around it’s easier to spot. Now, an effect of the improvements for the games on Switch 2 is that more monsters are able to show up on screen at once, and that means Shiny hunting just got a bit easier. Basically, more Pokémon appearing at any time means greater odds that the game might make one of them Shiny. Fans are reaping the benefits of the increased spawn rates, especially during Mass Outbreaks in which hordes of the same Pokémon show up in one area.
That probably sounds pretty normal, but some of the real Shiny hunting sickos are taking it a step further and pointing out how the Switch 2’s quicker loading times can also help you Shiny hunt for Pokemon you get through plot events. Finding a Shiny of a starter or legendary typically requires frequently resetting your game, reloading the moment over and over to hopefully trigger the special version. Now the Switch 2 can boot up a game a few seconds faster, it affects how long it takes to find one of the harder Shinies in the game.
While that all sounds like a net positive, some Pokémon fans are less thrilled. As Shinies have become easier to find over the years, some long-time fans have questioned if they’re still as valuable as they once were. (Not literally, you can’t sell them.) Nowadays, developer Game Freak is handing them out during events, and some view this technical improvement as just another value depreciation, while others argue that it’s Not That Deep.
I kind of fall in the same camp as those who say Shiny hunting had already become less special the more it became a “meta” people were engaging with, rather than a peculiar encounter we didn’t understand. But that’s what happens when you grow up and learn that video games are all code with systems designed by people, rather than the magical worlds into which we get transported as a kid. Either way, if you’re a big fan of Shiny hunting, it sounds like the Switch 2 is now the place to be.