Pokémon Sadness from Shiny Hunting

[Valzed]

Please don't make fun of me or laugh at me but until just recently I had never gone shiny hunting before. I had read about how hard it was and time intensive. I honestly didn't think I'd have the willpower to make a successful go of trying. I never wanted a ton of shiny Pokemon so the few I did want I usually bought from other players.

After Sc/Vi had been out for a while I started seeing posts about how shiny hunting in the new games was slightly easier thanks to the shiny hunting sandwich. After getting the Shiny Charm, I went to a website I trust that I've gotten great & accurate info from before. The site had a huge article about all the ways to shiny hunt in Sc/Vi. I looked over the different methods and picked one I thought I could handle. The method involved using the shiny sandwich and letting your Pokemon autobattle any of the Pokemon that spawned (of the Pokemon you're trying to find). The article said that your Pokemon would refuse to autobattle a shiny Pokemon. I thought that was great! If my Pokemon didn't battle a certain Pokemon then I would know it was shiny and I could swoop in to catch it.

I decided to go for a shiny Mimikyu as they're my favorite Pokemon. I grabbed a level 100 Pokemon so that it wouldn't gain any levels & make the game save. (I didn't have any other Pokemon out since I figured I wouldn't need any others.) I went to where the Mimikyu live, followed the steps & let my Pokemon go off autobattling. I knew it would probably still take a long time before I'd get a shiny so I was prepared to be at it for some time.

What I wasn't prepared for was how sad shiny hunting would make me. I ran around following my Pokemon as it autobattled Mimikyus. So many Mimikyu spawned! I'd never seen so many together at once. There were different sizes and they were all so cute! My Pokemon was just one shotting the little Mimikyu. Bam. Bam. Bam. By the time the shiny sandwich wore off my Pokemon had taken out well over a 100 Mimikyu. With each Mimikyu that went down I felt myself getting sadder and sadder. I couldn't figure out why I was sad at first. Then I realized that I wasn't sad because I hadn't found a shiny - I was sad because of all those Mimikyu that had been KO'd.

I stopped shiny hunting for the night. I wondered if maybe the website was wrong about my Pokemon refusing to autobattle shiny Pokemon. I reread the shiny hunting method to see if I had done something wrong. As far as I can tell I followed things correctly. If the website was correct about autobattling & I did everything properly then that meant that all those Mimikyu getting KO'd was what was supposed to happen when shiny hunting.

I still feel sad over all the Mimikyu my Pokemon fought. On one hand I feel silly that I feel so sad. The Mimikyu aren't real. My Pokemon I had fight them isn't real. It's all just pixels & programming, right? Right. Yet on the other hand... I still feel so sad. I can't help it. I thought I feel better after a day or two but I don't.

Has anyone else felt this way when they first started shiny hunting or am I just... odd? If you did feel this way, does it get easier? Also - just for my own knowledge - was the website right about Pokemon refusing to autobattle shiny Pokemon? I'm not sure I have it in me to try shiny hunting again.

I'm sorry this is so long. Thank you for reading.

 

[coffeeplant]

I don't feel like making fun of you at all, if anything, I think it's pretty wholesome that you got sad about defeating a bunch of Mimikyu. That being said, I never felt that way myself, but I did think it was pretty gruesome to defeat a bunch of 'mons while keeping one stuck in battle when SOS chaining in (Ultra) Sun and Moon. I can see where you're coming from. c:

Would the Masuda method be easier for you? All you'd need to do is trade for either a foreign Ditto or a foreign (Pokémon you want to shiny hunt for) and breed them with your own Pokémon. Then you could release the non shiny hatchlings into the wild and help repopulate some Pokémon species. With the shiny charm I think the Masuda method odds are 1/512. Something along those lines. It might take a while, but if it makes you feel better about shiny hunting, it might be worth it. (Plus it's such a cool feeling when a shiny hatches, it's one of my favourite methods of shiny hunting for sure! ♡)

Edit: Yes, that website was right. Your Pokémon won't autobattle a shiny. I haven't experienced it myself but I saw it in multiple videos/streams. c:
Oh, and about the Masuda method, you can also purchase egg power sandwiches to make it go faster without wasting your ingredients. Your Pokémon will lay more eggs for you to collect, basically.​

 

[Zerous]

I agree with coffeeplant ^^ I definitely think Masuda would be a better method. You can also wonder trade people a bunch of mimikyu's after if you don't want to release them.

Personally, I can relate to the guilt. (I even have guilt for selling my flowers in ac ). For the whole main story I basically never autobattled other than the star raids. I do have a bit of guilt still, but by doing it more it has definitely gotten easier and I can do it without much thought now.
(slightly off-topic, but Mimikyu is also one of my favourites! I'd love to get a shiny, they're so cute)

 

[Foreverfox]

I’m sorry that something that is supposed to be fun and happy turned out to make you sad that’s not good at all! If it makes you feel any better, I’ve never encountered a SINGLE shiny in any iteration of Pokemon game. Ever. Ever ever. I’d love to play together and shiny hunt with you

 

[Flicky]

Can also confirm that your Pokemon will refuse to battle a shiny! Mine refused to fight a shiny Revavroom, simply shaking his head when I kept trying to fight him. That was definitely one of the development team's better decisions.

I also kinda get where you're coming from. Mainly in Legends Arceus, when I see something like a little Chimchar running away and my character throws a Pokeball and you hear that SMACK against the back and the game tells you that he's dazed from the hit... I know it's just a game, but I do wish all Pokemon would want to fight you, like in most other monster hunting games.

 

[Snek]

I have randomly gotten different shinies without the sandwiches so I don't have a right to complain but I do understand. I have been trying to breed shiny Greninja for awhile now and its been brutal without a foreign ditto.

 

[Valzed]

I don't feel like making fun of you at all, if anything, I think it's pretty wholesome that you got sad about defeating a bunch of Mimikyu. That being said, I never felt that way myself, but I did think it was pretty gruesome to defeat a bunch of 'mons while keeping one stuck in battle when SOS chaining in (Ultra) Sun and Moon. I can see where you're coming from. c:

Would the Masuda method be easier for you? All you'd need to do is trade for either a foreign Ditto or a foreign (Pokémon you want to shiny hunt for) and breed them with your own Pokémon. Then you could release the non shiny hatchlings into the wild and help repopulate some Pokémon species. With the shiny charm I think the Masuda method odds are 1/512. Something along those lines. It might take a while, but if it makes you feel better about shiny hunting, it might be worth it. (Plus it's such a cool feeling when a shiny hatches, it's one of my favourite methods of shiny hunting for sure! ♡)

Edit: Yes, that website was right. Your Pokémon won't autobattle a shiny. I haven't experienced it myself but I saw it in multiple videos/streams. c:
Oh, and about the Masuda method, you can also purchase egg power sandwiches to make it go faster without wasting your ingredients. Your Pokémon will lay more eggs for you to collect, basically.​

Thank you for being so kind. Logically I knew my Pokemon would have to beat the Mimikyu but I just wasn't ready for how I'd react to seeing it.

The article I read did mention the Masuda method but I wasn't sure about surprise trading to try to get a foreign Mimikyu or Ditto. I had just seen a bunch of posts about hacked/genned Pokemon being sent through surprise trades and felt a bit nervous about trading. After realizing that fighting the Pokemon was not going to work for me I looked into the Masuda method more and read about a safer way to get a foreign Ditto. I'm going to get a Ditto & trying breeding for a Shiny.

Thank you for verifying the autobattle mechanic & the advice!

 

[Captain Jigglypuff]

I don’t shiny Hunt either. In fact I didn’t even come across one Shiny Pokémon in SV until two weeks ago when a Shiny Lechonk walked up beside my character which did catch me by surprise as I wasn’t even trying to get a Shiny. I was trying to get a Scatterbug after doing the Postcard thing in Go to see which Vivillion I’d get when I noticed how there was a pink Lechonk staring at me. I did catch it.

 

[Valzed]

I agree with coffeeplant ^^ I definitely think Masuda would be a better method. You can also wonder trade people a bunch of mimikyu's after if you don't want to release them.

Personally, I can relate to the guilt. (I even have guilt for selling my flowers in ac ). For the whole main story I basically never autobattled other than the star raids. I do have a bit of guilt still, but by doing it more it has definitely gotten easier and I can do it without much thought now.
(slightly off-topic, but Mimikyu is also one of my favourites! I'd love to get a shiny, they're so cute)

I think I'll enjoy breeding Pokemon more than battling them. I'll probably release a bunch of the Mimikyu I breed in the area where I fought them. It'll be like I'm helping rebuild the wild population.

I don't mind selling flowers in AC that spring up after it rains or snows but I had a hard time selling ones I had purposely tried to breed for. I had never autobattled in the main game either. I think my Sprigatito did it once on its own but that was it.

Mimikyu is my bae in Pokemon. I just fell in love with them the second I saw them. (If I get good at breeding shinies, I'll breed a shiny Mimikyu for you.)

Post automatically merged: May 8, 2023

I’m sorry that something that is supposed to be fun and happy turned out to make you sad that’s not good at all! If it makes you feel any better, I’ve never encountered a SINGLE shiny in any iteration of Pokemon game. Ever. Ever ever. I’d love to play together and shiny hunt with you

I really thought I'd done something wrong to have to KO so many Mimikyu. When I realized that I had done things properly & that was just how shiny hunting was I felt so bad. All those Mimikyu bashed just because of me. I don't think battling for shinies is for me. I'm going to give breeding a try. I'm sorry you haven't seen a shiny at all. I stumbled across a shiny Heracross in Violet while just walking around. That was the first time I had seen a shiny in any of the games I've played. (I did catch the shiny Heracross, btw.)

I'd love to play together. I'm not too sure about the shiny hunting though.

Post automatically merged: May 8, 2023

Can also confirm that your Pokemon will refuse to battle a shiny! Mine refused to fight a shiny Revavroom, simply shaking his head when I kept trying to fight him. That was definitely one of the development team's better decisions.

I also kinda get where you're coming from. Mainly in Legends Arceus, when I see something like a little Chimchar running away and my character throws a Pokeball and you hear that SMACK against the back and the game tells you that he's dazed from the hit... I know it's just a game, but I do wish all Pokemon would want to fight you, like in most other monster hunting games.

Thank you for helping confirm the autobattling mechanic! I'm glad to know that I got the correct information.

Oh my gosh... I haven't played Arceus and didn't know how shiny hunting worked in that game. I didn't realize the Pokemon would run & you'd have to smack them with a Pokeball. I'd probably break down in tears the first time that happened.

Post automatically merged: May 8, 2023

I have randomly gotten different shinies without the sandwiches so I don't have a right to complain but I do understand. I have been trying to breed shiny Greninja for awhile now and its been brutal without a foreign ditto.

I did come across one shiny while just out running around with no sandwich power. That was cool! While reading up about the Masuda method this morning I found out about an easy, safe way to trade for a foreign Ditto. There's a specific link code that will link you to others who are only trading foreign Dittos. The code is 4448-4448. I'm sorry if you already knew about the code. I just figured I'd pass along what I just learned.

Post automatically merged: May 8, 2023

I don’t shiny Hunt either. In fact I didn’t even come across one Shiny Pokémon in SV until two weeks ago when a Shiny Lechonk walked up beside my character which did catch me by surprise as I wasn’t even trying to get a Shiny. I was trying to get a Scatterbug after doing the Postcard thing in Go to see which Vivillion I’d get when I noticed how there was a pink Lechonk staring at me. I did catch it.

I'm going to give breeding a try but I don't know that I'll ever give shiny hunting by battling another go. My heart just isn't in it. That's so cool that you ran across a shiny Lechonk while just out & about. I don't play Go so I don't know what the Postcard thing is. I wish I could play Go as I'd love to have one of the Roaming Form Gimmighoul.

(Since I'm disabled & mostly home bound I didn't think I'd be a good fit for Pokemon Go. I can't actually do the "Go" part.)

 

[NebulaNights]

I totally understand this. I feel bad too knocking out all the Pokémon. That’s why I love doing the masuda method much more. Breeding can actually be very fun and very rewarding. Sometimes it takes a little bit, but just have some fun with it. ^-^

 

[Valzed]

I totally understand this. I feel bad too knocking out all the Pokémon. That’s why I love doing the masuda method much more. Breeding can actually be very fun and very rewarding. Sometimes it takes a little bit, but just have some fun with it. ^-^

It's nice to hear I'm not the only one who feels bads about KOing the Pokemon. I've enjoyed breeding Pokemon & hatching eggs in past games so I'm really looking forward to trying the Masuda method. I don't mind if it takes a long time. As long as I don't have to go wreck a ton of Pokemon I'm happy.

 

[Lancelot]

I am not asking this to take the piss or anything, just out of genuine curiosity. Do you feel sad when you play the main storylines? Cause most of it is battling?

 

[Captain Jigglypuff]

It's nice to hear I'm not the only one who feels bads about KOing the Pokemon. I've enjoyed breeding Pokemon & hatching eggs in past games so I'm really looking forward to trying the Masuda method. I don't mind if it takes a long time. As long as I don't have to go wreck a ton of Pokemon I'm happy.

The only time I feel a bit sad KO a Pokémon is whenever I replay RBY/FRLG and get to the Pokémon Tower and have to fight the Marowak Ghost. I feel bad because she doesn’t want to hurt you or your Pokémon and is only trying to scare you away to protect her baby. TR killed her which is why she’s angry and she seems to let those walk by her who she knows means no harm like Mr. Fuji. That’s why I feel like the Let’s Go games did a good job showing us a cutscene where Marowak calms down after seeing her baby one last time and that it isn’t harmed. It just feels so wrong being forced to KO the ghost of a Pokémon who was killed by the evil team and only acting hostile towards you and your Pokemon because the ghost doesn’t know that you mean no harm towards her or her baby.

 

[Valzed]

I am not asking this to take the piss or anything, just out of genuine curiosity. Do you feel sad when you play the main storylines? Cause most of it is battling?

The normal battling in the Pokemon games doesn't make me sad but there are differences between how I usually battle versus how the shiny hunting battles went. When I'm playing the main story I'm still trying to fill my Pokedex so I try very hard not to make the wild Pokemon faint so that I can catch them. I'm also normally using Pokemon who are about the same level as the wild Pokemon in the area I'm in. My Pokemon don't go through the main story one shotting every Pokemon they see. There are countless times the other Pokemon (either wild or with trainers) make my Pokemon faint. When I was shiny hunting the Mimikyu, my Pokemon was just running roughshod through the area one shotting every Mimikyu it saw. The Mimikyu had absolutely no chance to defend themselves or get a hit in on my Pokemon. At times the Mimikyu were even trying to run away but my Pokemon caught up to them and KO'd them. The encounters weren't real "battles". They were beat downs.

Post automatically merged: May 9, 2023

The only time I feel a bit sad KO a Pokémon is whenever I replay RBY/FRLG and get to the Pokémon Tower and have to fight the Marowak Ghost. I feel bad because she doesn’t want to hurt you or your Pokémon and is only trying to scare you away to protect her baby. TR killed her which is why she’s angry and she seems to let those walk by her who she knows means no harm like Mr. Fuji. That’s why I feel like the Let’s Go games did a good job showing us a cutscene where Marowak calms down after seeing her baby one last time and that it isn’t harmed. It just feels so wrong being forced to KO the ghost of a Pokémon who was killed by the evil team and only acting hostile towards you and your Pokemon because the ghost doesn’t know that you mean no harm towards her or her baby.

I've never played RBY or FRLG so the only time I encounter the Marowak in Pokemon Tower was in Let's Go Pikachu. Being a mom myself, the Marowak's story hit me hard. I was glad the Marowak & Cubone got to see each other again. I'm glad I never had to fight it in the other games. I would have been broken hearted if I'd had to KO it.

 

[Lancelot]

The normal battling in the Pokemon games doesn't make me sad but there are differences between how I usually battle versus how the shiny hunting battles went. When I'm playing the main story I'm still trying to fill my Pokedex so I try very hard not to make the wild Pokemon faint so that I can catch them. I'm also normally using Pokemon who are about the same level as the wild Pokemon in the area I'm in. My Pokemon don't go through the main story one shotting every Pokemon they see. There are countless times the other Pokemon (either wild or with trainers) make my Pokemon faint. When I was shiny hunting the Mimikyu, my Pokemon was just running roughshod through the area one shotting every Mimikyu it saw. The Mimikyu had absolutely no chance to defend themselves or get a hit in on my Pokemon. At times the Mimikyu were even trying to run away but my Pokemon caught up to them and KO'd them. The encounters weren't real "battles". They were beat downs.

Post automatically merged: May 9, 2023

I've never played RBY or FRLG so the only time I encounter the Marowak in Pokemon Tower was in Let's Go Pikachu. Being a mom myself, the Marowak's story hit me hard. I was glad the Marowak & Cubone got to see each other again. I'm glad I never had to fight it in the other games. I would have been broken hearted if I'd had to KO it.

Ah that makes sense! I was just trying to understand. Sounds like you're a really empathetic person
I'd definitely try masuda method egg hunting if you can deal with how long it sometimes takes. I think with how easy it can be to get shinies in the overworld now it will feel like more of an accomplishment when you finally get one.

 

[Captain Jigglypuff]

The normal battling in the Pokemon games doesn't make me sad but there are differences between how I usually battle versus how the shiny hunting battles went. When I'm playing the main story I'm still trying to fill my Pokedex so I try very hard not to make the wild Pokemon faint so that I can catch them. I'm also normally using Pokemon who are about the same level as the wild Pokemon in the area I'm in. My Pokemon don't go through the main story one shotting every Pokemon they see. There are countless times the other Pokemon (either wild or with trainers) make my Pokemon faint. When I was shiny hunting the Mimikyu, my Pokemon was just running roughshod through the area one shotting every Mimikyu it saw. The Mimikyu had absolutely no chance to defend themselves or get a hit in on my Pokemon. At times the Mimikyu were even trying to run away but my Pokemon caught up to them and KO'd them. The encounters weren't real "battles". They were beat downs.

Post automatically merged: May 9, 2023

I've never played RBY or FRLG so the only time I encounter the Marowak in Pokemon Tower was in Let's Go Pikachu. Being a mom myself, the Marowak's story hit me hard. I was glad the Marowak & Cubone got to see each other again. I'm glad I never had to fight it in the other games. I would have been broken hearted if I'd had to KO it.

When I first played Red when it had just come out, I was like many other players of Gen 1 who really didn’t think about what was going on in the Pokémon Tower with the Marowak ghost trying to stop you from reaching the top floor to speak with Mr Fuji. It just seemed like any obstacle in the game. But then I played FRLG as a twenty year old and I began to realize how depressing the entire situation must have been for Marowak and it sort of felt wrong that we had to KO it in order for it to calm down and leave the Tower. Marowak wasn’t really trying to hurt anyone or causing too many problems for the others inside the building as the Channelers were always a bit odd in the way they talked and acted. Marowak wasn’t making them act crazy as it was implied that the other spirits were the cause given in the original games one of the Channelers demanded blood from us. It makes sense that calming Marowak by letting her see her baby one last time and know it was still safe would be the best way to have her allow us to get to the top of the Tower. It is the only way to let her know that the Trainer wasn’t there to cause any harm and that they were friendly.

 

[CylieDanny]

Oh I've felt that way alot, whenever I grind up levels I always feel bad fighting all those innocent Pokemon just for a few levels.

I mean its part of the game, but thinking about how many Ive gone through makes me sad. Esspecially if their friendly Pokemon like in sword that run up to you.

 

[Valzed]

Ah that makes sense! I was just trying to understand. Sounds like you're a really empathetic person
I'd definitely try masuda method egg hunting if you can deal with how long it sometimes takes. I think with how easy it can be to get shinies in the overworld now it will feel like more of an accomplishment when you finally get one.

Thank you for understanding & for your kind words. I just started the Masuda method and I'm already enjoying it more. I think I'm better at being patient than battling. Of course that may change by the 500th egg. lol!

Post automatically merged: May 10, 2023

When I first played Red when it had just come out, I was like many other players of Gen 1 who really didn’t think about what was going on in the Pokémon Tower with the Marowak ghost trying to stop you from reaching the top floor to speak with Mr Fuji. It just seemed like any obstacle in the game. But then I played FRLG as a twenty year old and I began to realize how depressing the entire situation must have been for Marowak and it sort of felt wrong that we had to KO it in order for it to calm down and leave the Tower. Marowak wasn’t really trying to hurt anyone or causing too many problems for the others inside the building as the Channelers were always a bit odd in the way they talked and acted. Marowak wasn’t making them act crazy as it was implied that the other spirits were the cause given in the original games one of the Channelers demanded blood from us. It makes sense that calming Marowak by letting her see her baby one last time and know it was still safe would be the best way to have her allow us to get to the top of the Tower. It is the only way to let her know that the Trainer wasn’t there to cause any harm and that they were friendly.

I was an adult when the Pokemon franchise started. My son was really into it Pokemon though so I had knew about Cubone wearing it's dead mother's skull and thought that was a really sad story for a kid's show. My son thought it was cool & proudly told me he'd miss me so much if I were "gone" that he'd wear my skull. If my son had played Red & had to KO the Marowak I'd have been heartbroken. My son grew out of Pokemon & I started playing the games instead. lol! I'm so glad I didn't have to KO the Marowak in Let's Go. As a mom I totally understood how it felt.

Post automatically merged: May 10, 2023

Oh I've felt that way alot, whenever I grind up levels I always feel bad fighting all those innocent Pokemon just for a few levels.

I mean its part of the game, but thinking about how many Ive gone through makes me sad. Esspecially if their friendly Pokemon like in sword that run up to you.

I feel bad battling for levels as well. I normally only get my main party up to level 100 so I don't have to battle so many Pokemon. I sort of think battling to make the Pokemon stronger makes more sense though. (At least I tell myself that.) In nature stronger animals tend to live longer and do better which I think it how it would be with Pokemon if they actually existed.

 

[Flicky]

Oh my gosh... I haven't played Arceus and didn't know how shiny hunting worked in that game. I didn't realize the Pokemon would run & you'd have to smack them with a Pokeball. I'd probably break down in tears the first time that happened.

Yes, Arceus is considerably different since the character you have to look out for is your own trainer - Pokemon will attack a trainer if you don't send out any Pokemon to fight. All of your Pokemon can faint, but you won't be sent back to the camp (Pokemon Center equivalent in this game) unless your trainer is knocked unconscious. Some Pokemon will attack you regardless, but others (a lot of the 'cuter' ones), will run away from you on sight! There's also no egg hatching in this game, so Masuda method won't work here.

Speaking of which, good luck with your hunt! I hope you have better luck than I do with Arrokuda eggs, haha.

 

[Valzed]

Yes, Arceus is considerably different since the character you have to look out for is your own trainer - Pokemon will attack a trainer if you don't send out any Pokemon to fight. All of your Pokemon can faint, but you won't be sent back to the camp (Pokemon Center equivalent in this game) unless your trainer is knocked unconscious. Some Pokemon will attack you regardless, but others (a lot of the 'cuter' ones), will run away from you on sight! There's also no egg hatching in this game, so Masuda method won't work here.

Speaking of which, good luck with your hunt! I hope you have better luck than I do with Arrokuda eggs, haha.

Wow! I was thinking of checking out Arceus before the Sc/Vi DLC was announced. I'm really glad I didn't. I'm sure the story is fun & the game is challenging but I wouldn't have enjoyed smacking the Pokemn as they ran away. Wait... there's no egg hatching? How do you breed Pokemon?

I'm enjoying the egg breeding so far. I'm sorry you're not having any luck with Arrokuda. I hope you get one soon!