2026 Shiny Hunting Bingo

[terashards]

it's a pretty common tradition in the shiny hunting community these days to make a bingo card of shiny hunts for the next year around new year's. it's a way of planning out future shiny hunts and it gives you something to mark off as the year goes by, and even celebrate when you "get bingo". i figured i'd bring this tradition to the bulbagarden forums if anyone was interested!

here's mine for 2026! i'm bringing back two old "dream team quests" (DTQs) i started in brilliant diamond and leafgreen forever ago, in the third and fifth rows respectively... and i'm finally starting my "crystal" DTQ as well (in airquotes because it's actually multiple games), which is the first row + ninetales. the rest is random stuff i thought sounded cool to fill in space. the icons in the corner denote the gen i am hunting in (though i used the same gameboy icon for both gens 1/2...)

Spoiler: full size image (very large)

if you'd like to make your own you can either make your own template or use the one that i made for my own:

Spoiler: full size blank version (large)

you can also make a "tic tac toe" board which is 3x3 instead of 5x5 if 5x5 is too large for your tastes.

if you post your bingo board here i would recommend putting any really large images in a spoiler tab for the ease of browsing for other users, though it isn't mandatory. and if you don't want to make a bingo card, still feel free to share what kind of hunts you want to get up to in 2026!

 

[Mialentia]

Oh, a thread for this!

I already posted this on my shiny hunting blog, but here's my bingo. Looking forward to hunting more next year!

Spoiler: Bingo Sheet

 

[TeamCapumon]

I...I'm sorry. I'm not sure what possessed me to make this. I was like "wow this is such a cool resource, I wish I had a use for it but i dont plan my hunts out far enough in advance" so i thought of the one hunt im looking to do and...

 

[terashards]

I...I'm sorry. I'm not sure what possessed me to make this. I was like "wow this is such a cool resource, I wish I had a use for it but i dont plan my hunts out far enough in advance" so i thought of the one hunt im looking to do and...

if you hunt two noibat in every game that it's in (so that one can be evolved into noivern per pair) that's two in xy, two in oras, two in sm, two in usum, two in swsh, two in sv, and two in za. that's 14 noibats. if you separate the sets of games into individual games (like both x and y instead of xy as a group) that's 26 noibats. that's enough to fill the entire bingo board with 1-2 extra depending on if you kept the free space or not.
i am now expecting you to do this and if you don't complete it by the end of 2026 something terrible will happen (JOKING)

 

[TeamCapumon]

if you hunt two noibat in every game that it's in (so that one can be evolved into noivern per pair) that's two in xy, two in oras, two in sm, two in usum, two in swsh, two in sv, and two in za. that's 14 noibats. if you separate the sets of games into individual games (like both x and y instead of xy as a group) that's 26 noibats. that's enough to fill the entire bingo board with 1-2 extra depending on if you kept the free space or not.
i am now expecting you to do this and if you don't complete it by the end of 2026 something terrible will happen (JOKING)

i meant i was going to hunt a singular noibat in ZA specifically (hence the ZA sprite) but this is really funny. does it count if i get 24 noibats in ZA specifically

 

[terashards]

i meant i was going to hunt a singular noibat in ZA specifically (hence the ZA sprite) but this is really funny. does it count if i get 24 noibats in ZA specifically

you're on thin ice but i'll accept it

 

[TeamCapumon]

you're on thin ice but i'll accept it

YAY

 

[WholesomeCryptid]

I'm someone who's only shiny hunted very casually using the shiny charm in SV and ZA, but still i'd like to do a couple of hunts this year at least so i thought i might as well toss my hat into the ring. It was fun thinking up different pokemon id like to do hunts for even if a couple (like suicune and ho-oh) are more wild pipe dreams than actual plans that i currently have. The Lati twins are definitely next in line to be hunted though hehe~

Spoiler

 

[falinksedin]

I think I got literally 0 on my 2025 bingo card due to mostly just playing other games, and what time I did spend on Pokemon was just VGC stuff, but I think we're gonna be so back in 2026.
Lunala is provisional since if I got a shiny Lunala I'd want her to be 0 speed for TR shenanigans so if Champions doesn't add the rusty bottle cap or something similar I might rethink her. Also all the masuda ones are 5IV with specific natures and genders.

 

[Zinkling]

this was fun!!! the gen 3 ones will be rng manip, while the others will be soft reset, masuda, etc.

Spoiler: full size

edit: actually i'm a nerd so i'm gonna break down each of them

Spoiler

charizard: firered starter rng
silvally: sun soft reset
kyurem: white soft reset
latias: emerald rng
groudon: emerald rng
mewtwo: firered rng
raikou: colo shadow rng
tyranitar: colo shadow rng
reshiram: omega ruby soft reset
zekrom: alpha sapphire soft reset
tyrantrum: z-a alpha hyperspace hunt
rowlet: sun starter soft reset. hope to evolve into hisuian decidueye
skeledirge: scarlet masuda method (love ball)
raichu: emerald safari zone rng
torterra: diamond starter. i might actually try to learn gen 4 rng for it
deoxys: emerald rng
dialga: diamond soft reset, or rng if i learn it
palkia: hgss event soft reset (maybe. lord help me.)
giratina: same as dialga
oshawott: white starter soft reset
darkrai: platinum soft reset
shaymin: platinum soft reset
arceus: platinum unreleased event soft reset
delphox: z-a overworld hunt
greninja: x starter soft reset

 

[Wyrmfemme]

Disclosure: I am not a Shiny Hunter, I dabbled in it when I was younger with whatever CurrentGen was (SoS-Chaining, Ultra-Space Ride (my pesonal favourite), Whatever the method was in SwSh (all I got out of it was a Galarian Yamask), Outbreaks in ScarVi). But, I've been, "doing" a challenge my friend Stella issued to me like, 2 years ago at this point: only using Shinies to beat Legends Arceus. That challenge then evolved into "Shiny Hisui Yuri Run" aka, only using Pokemon/Regional Forms New To LA, but shiny, and also all girls.

And I have been in the Cobalt Coastlands for. A while.
But this year, with the help of finally being on ADHD Meds again, I will conquer it. No matter how stacked the odds are against me (Why do only 3 Hisuian Growlithe & Female White-Striped Basculin spawn per zone-in to the Coastlands!?)

 

[da man/man]

Drumroll

Is this finally the year I get, Chandelure, Magnezone, Ribombee, and Spidops?? STAY TUNED!

Alright but seriously, I kind of just want whatever shinies happen by chance... BESIDES THESE, I NEED THESE. I will have Chandelure and Spidops by the end of the year, trust me.

Spoiler

 

[terashards]

raikou: colo shadow rng

yo i'm going to be teaching myself colosseum rng pretty soon for this exact reason! good luck with that (i am personally dreading going to get raikou specifically because uh. yeaaaah... the RNG noise...)

everyone has really fire targets!!

 

[Zinkling]

yo i'm going to be teaching myself colosseum rng pretty soon for this exact reason! good luck with that (i am personally dreading going to get raikou specifically because uh. yeaaaah... the RNG noise...)

everyone has really fire targets!!

colosseum rng can be pretty tricky with certain targets but honestly that makes it even more rewarding imo! idk if you've heard of CoPilot but it's a HUUUGE help if you're doing retail!! there's a guy on youtube called Alex-RNG that has a whole series teaching how to rng each pokemon with it!

 

[terashards]

colosseum rng can be pretty tricky with certain targets but honestly that makes it even more rewarding imo! idk if you've heard of CoPilot but it's a HUUUGE help if you're doing retail!! there's a guy on youtube called Alex-RNG that has a whole series teaching how to rng each pokemon with it!

yeah i should be good! i have a friend who's really experienced with colosseum RNG who sent me a bunch of resources (including the brand new spiffy copilot software)
thank you so much though! and yeah i'm excited because most other RNG manipulations are too easy for me now and therefore kinda boring lol i want something to challenge me again (though i dread it at the same time LOL)

 

[Mothmallow]

Let's see how well I hold to this, I'm prone to shiny hunting adhd haha. I tried to get a good mix of simpler and harder/more complicated ones

Spoiler: Potential eyestrain? I like pink

Spoiler: Explanations

• Alpha eevee or eeveelution, either Legends game
• Isle of Armor respawning trade; one of the few in game trades that can give a shiny. Zigzagoon preferred but I'll take any
• Brilliant Pokémon in SwSh, which have slightly increased shiny odds but themselves are rare
• Alpha scolipede in Z-A
• Minccino, specifically in Sword
• Any Wild Zone 20 alpha in Z-A
• Alolan Raichu, any applicable game
• Gigantamax Alcremie, specifically caught WITH Gmax factor from a raid or Dynamax Adventures
• Sableye through Carbink SOS chain in Ultra Moon
• Necrozma through Dynamax Adventures
• Any distortion exclusive in Arceus
• Azumarill or Marill, specifically in Sword
• Milcery, Masuda method in Sword
• Garden pattern Vivillon in Z-A
• Golurk in Z-A
• Wurmple in Arceus. Has evaded me for FAR too long...
• Houndoom in Z-A
• Morpeko in Sword
• Scizor, specifically AS a Scizor from hyperspace in Z-A
• Chandelure in Z-A
• Catch combo Beedrill in Let's Go
• XS size Espurr in Z-A
• Wooloo
• Masuda Method Galarian Zigzagoon
• XS size Toxel in Z-A