For the most part, wild Shiny hunting is easier than ever in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet! All you’ve got to do is make a sandwich and run around for a few minutes until the Pokémon you’re looking for appears. However, if you’re trying to Shiny hunt Zorua, Zoroark, or Ditto, things are a bit more difficult — they disguise themselves in the overworld, and don’t appear Shiny until you encounter them. We’ve put together a list of tips to Shiny hunt these elusive Pokémon anyway, so let’s get right into it!
Sandwich Setup
First up, you’ll have to pick which of the three Pokémon you’d like to hunt: Zorua, Zoroark, or Ditto. From there, you’ll need to save first and then make the corresponding Shiny encounter sandwich. If you’d like to hunt Zorua or Zoroark, you’ll need to make a Dark-type sandwich (one Smoked Fillet, one Salty Herba Mystica, and one Sweet Herba Mystica).
If you’d rather hunt Ditto, you’ll need to go for a Normal-type sandwich instead (one Chorizo and two Salty Herba Mystica). You can only obtain Herba Mystica from five- and six-star Tera Raid Battles, so that’s why you have to be sure to save first — Herba Mystica are rare, so you don’t want to waste them. If you go the full thirty minutes without encountering a Shiny Pokémon, simply close the game and re-open it. You’ll have your Herba Mystica back and you can try again! Just make sure autosave is off before you try this.
As one last cooking tip, you can leave the top bread off the sandwich if you think you’ll have trouble balancing it. Instead, just drop the loaf of bread far off from the actual sandwich — that way your balancing act will stay put. This goes for any sandwich, too. Not just the ones we’re making here!
How to Shiny Hunt Zorua
If you’re going after the little guy, you’ll need to head to West Province Area 3 after you set up your Dark-type sandwich. This area is right outside Medali, if that helps! In this location, Zorua will disguise itself as Mabosstiff — but real Mabosstiff will spawn as well. You can easily tell if a Mabosstiff is fake; real ones will always spawn with Maschiff nearby whereas the fake ones (Zorua) will be all on their own. You can press ZL to zoom in on the Pokémon — if its name says Zorua, you can be sure it’s a fake Mabosstiff!
From there, you’ll want to auto-battle each Pokémon on-screen. If it’s not Shiny, your Pokémon will defeat it, which gives more Mabosstiff and Zorua the chance to spawn. It’s important to note that a Shiny Zorua will still disguise itself as a non-Shiny Mabosstiff — so if your Pokémon goes up to a normal-looking Mabosstiff and refuses to KO it, that means you’ve got your Shiny Zorua!
If you decide to Shiny hunt at night, Zorua can also disguise itself as Murkrow or Honchkrow in this area. Just like Mabosstiff, though, the real versions of these Pokémon always spawn in groups, whereas a disguised Zorua always spawns all by itself. That being said, real Murkrow sometimes spawn on their own — so you’ll either want to do this hunt during the day or check each lone Murkrow by zooming in with ZL or auto-battling them.
How to Shiny Hunt Zoroark
Shiny hunting Zoroark is rather similar to Shiny hunting Zorua. Whip up a Dark-type sandwich, but this time you’ll want to head to Socarrat Trail instead. Zoroark disguises itself as Mabosstiff and Honchkrow here as well. The real versions of these Pokémon are almost always in groups, so you’ll want to target the ones that are standing by themselves. Remember, zoom in with ZL or auto-battle them to be completely certain!
As a tip, only real Mabosstiff are seen in the wild laying down. Zorua and Zoroark disguised as Mabosstiff will only ever lay down if they’re directly under a tree. If you’re looking for Poké Balls that match Shiny Zoroark’s color scheme, try a Master Ball, a Heal Ball, or a Dream Ball. They’re all solid matches!
How to Shiny Hunt Ditto
Same concept as above, but with a Normal-type sandwich instead. Head over to the path leading to the lighthouse by Porto Marinada. Unfortunately, there’s no easy way to tell if the Meowth and Tandemaus here are actually Ditto in disguise. You’ll need to zoom in each Meowth and Tandemaus you come across or auto-battle and defeat each one of them.
If your Pokémon refuses to auto-battle a wild Tandemaus, you might not have found your Ditto just yet. It’s nearly impossible to tell if a real wild Tandemaus is Shiny thanks to its subtle color difference, so you might find one of those first. In that case, chuck a Premier Ball at it to match its color scheme!
Keep your chin up and continue running around and auto-battling Pokémon until you find the Shiny you’re looking for. We’d recommend watching YouTube videos or doing something else in the background, though Shiny hunting Ditto does require a certain degree of focus. If you’ve enjoyed this guide, we’ve got plenty more available — you can find those below. Happy hunting!
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