Shiny hunting is a beloved pastime for many Pokémon fans. Finding these rare critters with different shades and color palettes than their species’ default appearance is such an involved undertaking with secret math and other nonsense to contend with that some people spend hours looking for just one of these guys. Others spend even longer trying to find one of every ‘mon in the Pokédex. Pokémon Legends: Z-A is out today, and players have discovered the RPG has made one crucial change to Shiny hunting that has taken some of the difficulty out of this process, and while some fans are rejoicing, others are lamenting how much easier it’s gotten to capture these alternate-colored Pokémon.
When you enter Legends: Z-A’s Wild Zones, designated areas where wild Pokémon live and can be captured, typically every monster you encounter is refreshed when the game’s day and night cycle changes, your party is knocked out, or if you fast travel. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case for Shinies. Players have tested this on Pokémon they’ve found in the overworld, and it seems like, unless you defeat it in battle, Shiny Pokémon don’t despawn.
I found a Shiny Magikarp. I changed to nighttime to make it disappear and back to daytime and it was still there.
I fast traveled away and back and it was still there.
I had my character knocked out and came back and it was still there.
Enjoy pic.twitter.com/tA42rUM9iv
— SBCoop (@SBCoop89) October 15, 2025
LZA has special behavior to keep shiny Pokémon from despawning! This looks to be intentional. The game stashes up to 10 shiny Pokémon and keeps them from despawning if you leave the area.
Essentially, nonshinies are rerolled but shinies are not, as you can see here in this clip. pic.twitter.com/FHo3uqAR7R
— Anubis (@Sibuna_Switch) October 16, 2025
can confirm this too! 🤯
I thought i accidentally depsawned a shiny cuz the sound played after i was already walking up the stairs to a new area – went back down and it was still there!!
love that they added a shiny failsafe! this is HUGE#PokemonLegendsZA https://t.co/0OroFXjVuc pic.twitter.com/F6DG8XvvDk
— Junzz (@junzztv) October 16, 2025
This means that there’s now significantly less risk during Shiny hunting, as Legends: Z-A goes out of its way to make sure you have a chance to engage with these monsters before they disappear forever. It is still possible to lose out on a Shiny, though. If you knock it out or if you scare a skittish Pokémon off, that’s that. So some risk does remain.
As Shiny hunting has become easier thanks to items like the Shiny Charm, which increases their (still minuscule) spawn rates, longtime fans have stopped seeing collecting these rare Pokémon as a badge of honor, while others are just glad that they’ve become less frustrating to catch. Missing out on a Shiny can feel devastating, and fucking it up may lead to viral moments, but would you rather have a funny story or a Shiny Pokémon in your collection?
This isn’t just a quality-of-life update. It’s the death of a legend.
The thrill of finding a shiny was always magnified by the heartbreaking risk of losing it.
By removing the risk, they have guaranteed the reward. But they have also removed the story you would tell for the…
— CRISPRKing (@CRISPRKING) October 16, 2025
am i the only one that feels like this depreciates the value of a shiny? like what even is the point of them now
— Sara ✌️ (@itssaramuat) October 16, 2025
….. BRO pic.twitter.com/dEIyqDN8d0
— Ukena 😎 (@BigUkena) October 16, 2025
While this is new to Legends: Z-A, the game also brought back an old Shiny-hunting quality-of-life feature from Legends: Arceus that Scarlet and Violet did away with. Now, if a Shiny Pokémon spawns nearby, you’ll hear a short jingle to signal to you that it’s somewhere in your vicinity. It always felt weird that Scarlet and Violet skipped out on a feature that was especially helpful for colorblind players who might not be able to clock a Shiny at first glance, so it’s nice to see Z-A bring it back.
First Appeared on
Source link
