Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have introduced a brand-new concept called Paradox Pokémon: these are ancient and future forms of existing Pokémon, and their designs are absolutely off-the-rails! Most of them are also incredibly strong, so if you’re looking to Shiny hunt one, we understand why! We’ve put together a list of optimized Shiny hunting strategies for each individual Paradox Pokémon. If you’re ready to start tracking them down, then let’s begin!

Sandwich Setup

Paradox Pokémon can only be found in the wild. More specifically, they’re only present in Area Zero, a location in the Great Crater of Paldea. You won’t have access to this area until you beat the game, so keep that in mind before you try to hunt them down. Paradox Pokémon cannot breed or evolve, so you’ll need to track them down the old-fashioned way: wild encounters. Luckily, there’s an easy way to increase your odds other than the Shiny Charm: sandwiches.

For this guide, we’ll be using sandwiches that give out Sparkling Power Lv. 3 and Encounter Power Lv. 3. Each of these sandwiches requires at least two Herba Mystica. If you don’t have these already, you’ll need to grind for them — they occasionally drop from Tera Raid Battles with a difficulty of five stars and up.

We’d recommend saving before making your sandwich — the sandwich’s 30 minute timer may expire before you find a Shiny, which would waste your valuable Herba Mystica. If that happens, simply close the game and you’ll have your ingredients back. From there, you can make another sandwich and try again. As a reminder, you can’t set up a picnic in Area Zero, so you’ll need to make your sandwich elsewhere and then fly directly to the Great Crater of Paldea.

Ancient Paradox Forms (Scarlet)

You can only encounter ancient forms of Pokémon if you’re playing Pokémon Scarlet. There are seven of these to pick from, and they’re scattered around Area Zero in such a way that you cannot efficiently Shiny hunt two of them at the same time. You’ll just need to pick one specific Paradox Pokémon to hone in on instead. Here’s the list!

• Great Tusk’s optimal hunting area is just outside of Research Station 4. You’ll want to use a Fighting-type sandwich for this hunt, which requires one serving of Herbed Sausage, a Salty Herba Mystica, and a Sweet Herba Mystica. A great way to Shiny hunt Great Tusk is to teleport to Research Station 4 and check your surroundings for a potential Shiny. If you don’t find one, simply re-enter and exit the building to refresh your spawns. Great Tusk’s Shiny coloration would match a Dusk Ball, a Nest Ball, a Premier Ball, or an Ultra Ball. Plenty of options here!
• Scream Tail appears in abundance around Research Station 4. It’s the same deal as with Great Tusk: enter and exit the building over and over again until one of the surrounding Scream Tail spawns is Shiny. The Fairy-type sandwich requires a Tomato, a Spicy Herba Mystica, and a Salty Herba Mystica. A Heal Ball matches Scream Tail’s Shiny form perfectly!
• Brute Bonnet is one of the easiest Paradox Pokémon to hunt. Its optimal hunting area is right outside Research Station 2 on the grassy area! Use a Smoked Fillet, a Salty Herba Mystica, and a Sweet Herba Mystica to make a Dark-type sandwich. If you head toward the river area down the slope, you’ll find Bisharp instead — so try your best to stay in grassy areas. If you manage to catch Brute Bonnet in a Great Ball, that’s a perfect match for its Shiny form!
• Flutter Mane appears in the cave where Roaring Moon normally spawns. To get there, teleport to Research Station 2, exit the building, and take a right. Run down the slope and across the river to a tree in the distance and then check for a cave entrance behind the rocks. Flutter Mane is the only Fairy-type Pokemon in the cave, so use the same sandwich recipe we provided for Scream Tail. An Ultra Ball or Fast Ball matches Flutter Mane’s Shiny colors!
• Slither Wing’s optimal hunting location is on a downward slope after Research Station 1. Use the Fighting-type sandwich recipe we provided for Great Tusk, because a Bug-type sandwich will just spawn loads of Venomoth instead. The best Poké Ball to use here is an Ultra Ball, Repeat Ball, or Fast Ball.
• Sandy Shocks only appears on that rocky cliff right in front of Research Station 2’s exit. Use a Yellow Bell Pepper, a Spicy Herba Mystica, and a Salty Herba Mystica to make an Electric-type sandwich. Then, make your way to the base of the cliff and check your spawns. If there’s no Shiny, climb up the cliff and check there too. Then go back down the cliff and repeat! Sandy Shocks’ Shiny colors best match a Luxury Ball.
• Roaring Moon is by far the most difficult Paradox Pokémon to hunt across both Scarlet and Violet. You’ll need to make a Dragon-type sandwich (an Avocado and two sprigs of Salty Herba Mystica), because a Dark-type sandwich will attract too many Sneasel and Sableye to the area. Unfortunately, the Dragon-type sandwich still spawns Zweilous and Gible, so expect to find a few spare Shinies first. Roaring Moon’s Shiny form best matches a Dusk Ball, a Net Ball, or an Ultra Ball — a Friend Ball works great too, but it’ll be an incredibly tough catch.
• Walking Wake is currently unavailable to catch, let alone Shiny hunt. It was available in Tera Raid Battles for a limited time, but these encounters were Shiny-locked. You’ll be able to catch it again soon — don’t worry!

Very important: when you see your Shiny, save! For the most part, Shiny Pokémon persist between loads, so if you fail it, you can reload your last save and try again. None of these Pokémon can make themselves faint from recoil damage, but they can run out of PP if you take too long. Try bringing a dedicated capture Pokémon like a Gallade with Hypnosis and False Swipe or a Breloom with Spore and False Swipe.

Future Paradox Forms (Violet)

For the most part, hunting Pokémon Violet’s exclusive future forms is easier than hunting ancient forms in Scarlet. Unfortunately, there’s a catch: many future Paradox Pokémon have subtle Shiny colors that you might not immediately notice. Most of the time, the Pokémon’s Shiny form changes a part of its colors to a metallic gray. Keep a sharp eye for these!

• Iron Treads appears right outside Research Station 4. Teleport there, check your spawns, and then re-enter and exit the building to refresh them. The Steel-type sandwich recipe requires a Hamburger, a Salty Herba Mystica, and a Sweet Herba Mystica. A Premier Ball or regular Poké Ball matches Iron Treads’ Shiny colors well enough.
• Iron Bundle’s Shiny form is completely gray save for some blue in its eyes. You can find it on the downward slope after Research Station 4. Make an Ice-type sandwich with a Klawf Stick and two sprigs of Salty Herba Mystica. A Premier Ball, Net Ball, or Heavy Ball matches Iron Bundle’s colors perfectly!
• Iron Hands is another subtle Shiny. For this one, look at the triangle at the top of its head. If it’s gray instead of blue, it’s Shiny. You can find Iron Hands in cliffside areas near Research Station 1 or at the very bottom of the crater. Use a Yellow Bell Pepper, a Spicy Herba Mystica, and a Salty Herba Mystica to make an Electric-type sandwich. Catch Iron Hands in a Premier Ball or Ultra Ball to match its colors!
• Iron Jugulis appears outside of Research Station 4. Its Shiny colors turn its body completely gray, so it’ll be a bit more obvious when you’ve found it. The Dark-type sandwich recipe calls for a Smoked Fillet, a Salty Herba Mystica, and a Sweet Herba Mystica. A Premier Ball, a Great Ball, a Heal Ball, or especially a Heavy Ball would match Iron Jugulis’ Shiny colors.
• Iron Moth is kind of a horrible Shiny hunt. It appears on the downward slope near Research Station 1 and underneath the nearby overhang. It’s very difficult to spot this Shiny — you’ll have to look at the horns next to its head, and if they’re gray instead of red, that’s your indicator that you’ve found the Shiny. The Fire-type sandwich recipe requires a piece of Basil, a Salty Herba Mystica, and a Sweet Herba Mystica. Try catching Iron Moth in a Repeat Ball or Premier Ball to match its Shiny coloration!
• Iron Thorns only appears in the rocky area near Research Station 2. Teleport there, run straight ahead, and check your spawns. If there’s no Shiny, climb up the wall and check up there too. Then fall back down and repeat the process. Use a piece of Bacon, a Salty Herba Mystica, and a Sweet Herba Mystica to make a Rock-type sandwich. A Premier Ball or Nest Ball matches Iron Thorns’ colors well enough. This is one of the coolest Shiny Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet — you’ll notice it right away!
• Iron Valiant is the only Fairy-type Pokémon in the cave where Roaring Moon spawns in Pokémon Scarlet. Teleport to Research Station 2, turn right, and head down the slope and across the river. Run up to the lone tree and check behind the rocks to enter this cave. Use a Tomato, a Spicy Herba Mystica, and a Salty Herba Mystica to make a Fairy-type sandwich. Catch Iron Valiant in a Heal Ball, Premier Ball, or Love Ball for maximum match!
• Iron Leaves is currently unavailable to catch, and at the time of writing has never been available in it Shiny form. If that changes in the future, we’ll come back and update this post!

There you have it — locations for every single Paradox Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet! As mentioned before, you’ll want to save before you make a sandwich. That way, if you don’t find a Shiny Pokémon in 30 minutes (when the sandwich’s effects wear off), you can reset the game and try again with fresh spawns. You can technically hunt these guys in multiplayer with friends, but it’s rather difficult — we’d recommend trading Paradox Shiny forms instead, if at all possible.

If you enjoyed this guide, we have lots more available for the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet games! You can access a full list of them via the links below. You can also join our Discord server if you have any questions or want to possibly set up some trades. In any case, thanks so much for reading — best of luck with your Shiny hunting adventure!

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