Shinies--Chaining vs. Masuda Method

Batbloodx

Stranger than you dreamt
Joined
Nov 26, 2009
Messages
893
Reaction score
26
For the past 4 or 5 days I've been trying continuously (when I'm not at school, of course) to chain/breed a shiny Swablu.

Of course, I've had no luck so far with either method.

Today and yesterday I've been chaining for hours on end, only for my chains to break miserably somewhere between 28 and 31. I've chained before and have never hit 40. Not once.

I've successfully chained a shiny Ralts once, but my chains were also breaking then, and they all broke at 24, which is ironically the same number on which I saw my first shiny patch.

Haven't seen one since.

I've also had beginner's luck with the Masuda Method, where I successfully hatched a shiny Mareep after about a box-and-a-half.

Again, I haven't since.

I've been following all the rules of chaining, down to the last detail, spent hours resetting to be sure, and still, still no luck. As far as the Masuda Method goes, I've got 4 boxes full of Swablus (which are up for trade, by the way, so don't hesitate to request one...) with no golden ones yet!

So this brings me then to this thread, where I have a few questions to ask, and answer whatever you may be wondering about. Also, which method you prefer--Chaining, or the Masuda Method.

And, I was hoping some of you could clear up a few cloudy areas to help me out.

Masuda Method:

1) I've heard that turning off your DS after hatching however many eggs resets your frames, thus, unless you're hatching continuously, your chances of finding that special Swablu are reset every time.

2) I've also heard rumors, though, that whether or not that Swablu is going to be shiny is determined as soon as you pick up the egg. So if that's true, does it even matter when/if you turn off your DS?

Are either of these myths true at all?

3) If I hatched Masuda Method Swablus on and off, would my chances of finding my shiny have increased from previous eggs? Does time (if you take a break and do something else, then come back, or if you didn't play Pokemon for a few days) play a valuable factor in potential shinies?

4) I understand that some people have gotten their shiny after only a few eggs, while others claimed to have hatched over 1 or two thousand eggs and have still never seen their shiny. Is there a general average? How many eggs should I expect to hatch before I see my yellow Swablu?

Chaining:

1) Why is it that although I'm following all the rules correctly, my chains keep breaking, where others find it so easy to chain? I've read countless guides, watched video after video, and I do everything right, it seems I just don't have the luck.

2) Does your SID have anything to do with how long your chain lasts? I've heard rumors, but it doesn't sound all that likely to me. Who knows, though.

3) Is it harder to chain Swablu at certain times of day?

4) How do you personally do it?

All I want is my shiny Swabu! This is becoming more of a time-consuming pain than I ever anticipated.

And I thought finding Feebas took patience.
 
How did you have the PC space? All mine are full, and I'm still hatching. -_-
 
It's so much easier to just RNG... of course, not everyone can RNG... but it's really easy to learn.
 
Masuda Method:

1) I've heard that turning off your DS after hatching however many eggs resets your frames, thus, unless you're hatching continuously, your chances of finding that special Swablu are reset every time.

Restarting yor DS will definitely reset the random number generator to a new starting seed. Still, if we assume true randomness (which we obviously don't have, but it's a good approximation), then it won't affect your chances.

2) I've also heard rumors, though, that whether or not that Swablu is going to be shiny is determined as soon as you pick up the egg. So if that's true, does it even matter when/if you turn off your DS?

Shininess is in fact determined as soon as the egg is generated; once your egg is in the daycare, the shininess/non shininess is locked in. (Along with the gender, ability and nature). IVs are set when you pick the egg up. Saving and turning the DS off after the egg has generated won't change the shininess.

3) If I hatched Masuda Method Swablus on and off, would my chances of finding my shiny have increased from previous eggs? Does time (if you take a break and do something else, then come back, or if you didn't play Pokemon for a few days) play a valuable factor in potential shinies?

Again, assuming the RNG is accurate, it won't make any difference.

4) I understand that some people have gotten their shiny after only a few eggs, while others claimed to have hatched over 1 or two thousand eggs and have still never seen their shiny. Is there a general average? How many eggs should I expect to hatch before I see my yellow Swablu?

There is indeed an average; using the Masuda method, the chance of a shiny is 1 in 2,048, or 0.049%. You can expect to hatch two thousand and forty eight Swablu before seeing your first shiny (that is, just over 68 boxes full). Of course, you might need to hatch a lot more, or a lot less.

Chaining:

1) Why is it that although I'm following all the rules correctly, my chains keep breaking, where others find it so easy to chain? I've read countless guides, watched video after video, and I do everything right, it seems I just don't have the luck.

Hm. Without seeing your methods, it's hard to tell; I know when I followed all the rules, I got to 40 without too much difficulty. Maybe you are just really unlucky.

2) Does your SID have anything to do with how long your chain lasts? I've heard rumors, but it doesn't sound all that likely to me. Who knows, though.

I've no idea, but I shouldn't think so.

3) Is it harder to chain Swablu at certain times of day?

Check Bulbapedia and see if Swablu appearance rates change over the course of the day. I would, but it's down or something.

4) How do you personally do it?

Stand in a patch of tall grass, making sure that there are five grass patches in
EDIT: My computer stopped taking input from the mouse and keyboard. Luckily I managed to find a USB mouse to save the post... Okay, continuing where I left off:

as many directions from you as possible. Oh, yeah, make sure you have the pedometer app on; it's definitely the most useful. And before you begin, stock up on Super Repels. (Get several hundred.) The first Pokémon in your party must be a high level one, and ideally capable of knocking out a Swablu in one hit, with a lot of PP. It wouldn't hurt to bring along some PP restoring Leppa berries just in case. If this is a patch of grass:

OOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOO

You'd want to stand where the asterisk is:

OOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOO
OOOOO*OOO
OOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOO

Now, activate the radar. It doesn't really matter where the first patch you enter is, so long as it's not on an edge; that is, it must have grass on all 8 sides. If it's not a Swablu, break the chain on purpose (run away until the music changes then come back), walk 50 steps, and start again. Make sure you make a note of how the grass shakes. Personally, I only chain on grass that shakes normally without shining, since it's quite easy to get the kinds of shine confused.

If you hit a Swablu, you want to use the Super Repel. Now, remember where the four patches of grass were that shook. If you can't remember, find two safe patches of grass and walk back and forth 50 times until the radar resets; then go and stand on the asterisk (making sure not to step in any patches that shook on the way) and activate it again. You only ever want to enter a patch that is four squares away perpendicularly, had the same kind of shake that you started with, and is surrounded by grass on all 8 sides. On our diagram, that means these patches:

OOOOOOOOO
O*******O
O*OOOOOOO
O*OOOOOOO
O*OOOOOOO
O*OOO*OOO
O*OOOOOOO
O*OOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOO

If none of those patches shook with the right kind of shake, reset the radar by walking back and forth between two safe squares 50 times and try again.

If one of these did shake with the right kind of shake, carefully make you way over to it and knock out the Swablu you find. Be very careful not to walk in any other shaking patches on the way; be expecially wary of the patch immediately above you, as it can shake and you might not see it behind your head.

After you've knocked out the Swablu, four more patches will shake. If you're lucky, one of these will be four away perpendicularly, surrounded by grass on 8 sides and the right kind of shake; but in general, and if you have any doubts whatsoever, make your way back to the asterisk, walk between two safe squares 50 times to reset the radar, and activate it again. Once more, pay especial care that you don't step in any shaking patches on your way.

Once your chain has reached 40 (the easiest way is if your lead Pokémon can one shot kill a Swablu and you can keep track of its PP, though you can switch over to the Pokéradar app to check), you don't want to enter any shaking patches any more. Instead, walk back and forth 50 times between two safe squares and activate the radar. If no shiny Pokémon show up (a patch of grass containing a shiny has a distinctive glow about it when it shakes), repeat.

Make sure your Super Repel is always active once you've started! Refresh it as soon as it runs out.

If you have a syncher, be careful; it might be too low level to scare enemeies away, even with repel active. If this is so, only switch to it on the square before you enter the shiny one; or I think having it in position one but knocked out might work.
 
Last edited:
Wow, your post was admittedly a lot more in-depth than had I expected to receive; but thank you! I appreciate you taking the time, and I'll be sure to read-through your chaining method again before I go back to chaining, and apply your ideas to my usual procedure. Maybe there's just something I haven't been seeing, but hopefully that'll help. Thank you again, though!
 
Please note: The thread is from 16 years ago.
Please take the age of this thread into consideration in writing your reply. Depending on what exactly you wanted to say, you may want to consider if it would be better to post a new thread instead.
Back
Top Bottom