Version 1.1.0 of Pokémon Legends: Arceus just dropped, and the updated data includes a brand-new way to hunt and encounter Shiny Pokémon: massive mass outbreaks! Think of mass outbreaks of old, except many, many more of them ongoing at the same time. The Shiny chance of Pokémon encountered in massive mass outbreaks is slightly lower than regular old outbreaks, but there is one advantage! Certain Pokémon (including Spiritomb and the three starters) can appear in massive mass outbreaks. These Pokémon weren’t able to appear in normal mass outbreaks.
Massive Mass Outbreak Information
It’s important to note that you can only encounter massive mass outbreaks after beating the game and viewing the end credits. When you do, a new quest (#95, A New Anomaly). It involves Mai of the Diamond Clan, and she’ll take you to each region to investigate these massive mass outbreaks. As shown in the image above, you won’t be able to tell which Pokémon are gathering at specific spots. As you progress through this quest, her Munchlax will reveal its ability to scope out the type of Pokémon gathering. There’s a catch, though: he needs five Aguav berries to do so. You’ll be receiving plenty of these during your gameplay, so no need to worry about running out.
Once the Pokémon on the map reveal themselves, you’ll notice two icons that could potentially appear with them. One is an orange berry, which means you’ll receive an Aguav berry for each of the Pokémon you catch or defeat. The other is a sparkle, which does not indicate the presence of a Shiny Pokémon. Instead, it means a second horde will spawn after you catch or defeat all of the Pokémon in the initial outbreak. That second horde could contain the evolved form of the Pokémon, or be composed entirely of Alpha Pokémon. Be prepared, because a horde of Alphas is no joke!
With that being said, we’ve compiled a great way to Shiny hunt in massive mass outbreaks. Of course, due to their random nature, you can’t really choose which Pokémon to zero in on and Shiny hunt. As mentioned before, the odds of Shiny Pokémon appearing are slightly reduced compared to in normal mass outbreaks. Even with perfect Pokédex research and the Shiny Charm, your odds are only 1 in 216 at best (compared to roughly 1 in 128 for normal mass outbreaks). The 1.1.0 update patched out the old Shiny hunting method, so we’d recommend holding off on updating if you’d like to get a few more Shiny Pokémon using that method.
Shiny Hunting Guide
There are a number of Pokémon that were exclusive to space-time distortions in the previous version that can now be much more easily encountered via massive mass outbreaks. These include Rowlet, Cyndaquil, Oshawott (and their evolutions), and then Spiritomb (who was merely rare, not space-time exclusive). If you’d like to Shiny hunt one of these Pokémon, massive mass outbreaks are the method for you! Here’s how you’d go about farming them for Shiny Pokémon. You’ll need to have at least five Aguav berries; if you don’t have any, go to the farm in Jubilife Village and purchase a special berry harvest.
- Find a massive mass outbreak in a location you want to Shiny hunt in. Go to the area.
- Save in front of Mai. Afterward, pay five Aguav berries and check the map to see what Pokémon are gathering.
- If there are no Pokémon present you want to hunt, reload to your last save, return to Jubilife Village, and go back to step one.
- If there is a Pokémon you want to hunt, head over to the horde location and catch all of the Pokémon there. Bring Sticky Globs so you can calm aggressive Pokémon!
- If none of the hordes had a Shiny Pokémon in them, reload your save file and go back to step one. Rinse and repeat until your Shiny appears!
It’s important to note that Rowlet can only be found in the Coronet Highlands, Cyndaquil and Spiritomb in the Crimson Mirelands, and Oshawott in the Alabaster Icelands. If you’re targeting one of those Pokémon, we’d recommend looking out for massive mass outbreaks in their corresponding habitats. We’d also recommend earning Research Perfect on the Pokémon you’re trying to Shiny hunt, if possible.
Overall, this method is going to take a bit longer than Shiny hunting in your normal mass outbreaks. That being said, it’s going to be very helpful for those of you tracking down Shiny starter Pokémon. We all know space-time distortions are an absolute slog, so this works out much better! If you have any questions, feel free to join our Discord and ask as many as you want. We have plenty more guides available for Pokémon Legends: Arceus, and you can check those out below. Good luck!
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