Summary
Shiny hunting has never been as easy as it’s been inPokemon Scarlet & Violet. From Outbreaks to Sandwich Powers, getting your favorite Shiny Pokemon can be done without evengetting the Shiny Charm. That being said, getting certain Pokemon to appear Shiny can be a little more challenging.
From those with subtle differences to those affected by the games' lighting, certain Pokemon are just easier to find Shiny than others. Whether you decide to pursue these Pokemon is entirely up to you, but for those looking for a challenge, here are themost difficult Pokemonto Shiny hunt in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet.
For best Shiny-hunting results, you’ll want to obtain the Shiny Charm for completing the main Paldea Pokedex. Youdo nothave to complete both DLC Pokedex additions to obtain the charm.
Updated on July 23, 2025 by Marissa Fiore: Pokemon is one of those franchises that never has a shortage of newcomers, especially when it comes to their mainline games. While the list of Pokemon added to Scarlet & Violet hasn’t changed since the release of the last DLC, time has illuminated more hard-to-catch shinies. We’ve added some more Shiny Pokemon you’ll have a difficult time finding in Scarlet & Violet.
15Anything In Caves
Boulders, Rocks, And Caves, Oh My!
Any player who has wanted to Shiny hunt a Pokemon found within the impressive and numerous caves of the Paldea region can testify to this firsthand. Trying to Shiny hunt in these locations can be rough. It has less to do with the Pokemon themselves, the lighting, or the color choices for the Shiny designs.
This has to do with some of the glitches and graphical challenges Pokemon Scarlet & Violet faces. Pokemon can get trapped behind the walls of the caves, outside of your reach. Even trying to throw your Pokemon in the direction of those trapped behind these boundaries doesn’t always work. This means it can either slow down your hunt considerably, if not lead to the most tragic of all fates, seeing the Shiny and not being able to catch it.
14Flittle
A Little Mon Making Things Hard
As many can guess from the cute play on the word little, Flittle is a tiny little Pokemon. In addition to that, the difference between a normal and a Shiny Flittle is the tiniest detail of its design. The Shiny version retains that yellow coloring around its head, but just under that is a layer of green instead of pink.
Then the brown color that makes up its lower half is different, but unless you are really good with color theory, it’s not noticeable enough to always cause players to stop in their tracks and realize what they’ve found: a Shiny diamond in the rough.
13Flabébé And Floette
Tiny Needles In Colorful Haystacks
If you look up how different these two Shinies look compared to their original color scheme, you might not see why these are such difficult Shinies to find and catch. It has less to do with the coloring of the variants and so much more to do with location and size.
These two Pokemon are so tiny. Mix that with the fact that they spawn in an area filled with flowers of all different colors and it quickly becomes hard to tell what’s flower and what’s Floette, what is body color and what is petal color. Be prepared to get close to the screen and squint.
12Charcadet
Shininess Is In The Eyes Of The Beholder
With the major differences betweenArmarouge and Ceruledge, you might think that there would be a pretty big difference with the Shiny and normal versions of Charcadet. Sadly, that’s not the case. Instead, you’re going to have to pay a lot of attention to a relatively small feature: its eyes.
If it’s Shiny, Charcadet’s eyes and the flames coming from it are blue instead of the usual red. However, in the big, ever-moving world, with you running by onyour Miraidon or Koraidon, it’s hard to spot unless you make a point to stare into the eyes of each one you pass.
11Flamigo
Blush And Bashful
Do you think they would make a Shiny Flamigo with white feathers? Or Gold? The buzzers would be sounding to say those aren’t correct. Flamigo’s Shiny form is just a slightly different shade of pink. Yikes.
While you might be able to put the two pictures side by side and say “Oh yeah, I see it,” it’s a different story when you are in the game. Between lighting changes, and how long you might spend fighting normal Flamigos, you’ll start to feel like you’re seeing things. Pink things. But is it the right pink?
10Special Breed Tauros
They Might Be Hunting You
The new forms of Tauros are, unfortunately, one of the new Pokemon that received a lackluster Shiny form. The only difference between the two is that a Shiny Tauros' face and mane will swap colors to reflect their typing, and this wouldn’t be a problem if Paldean Tauros' fur and mane weren’t practically the same color. This alone makes Tauros one of the hardest Pokemon to Shiny hunt, but getting a Shiny version of the other breeds is something else entirely.
TheBlaze and Aqua Breeds of Taurosare difficult to Shiny hunt for the same reason they are to encounter. They’re a rare spawn in a herd of ‘standard’ Tauros. Finding one of these rare breeds is already difficult enough as it is!
9Tatsugiri
A Tiny Shiny In A Big Ocean
Tatsugiri, these cute little pieces of sushi given life,were rated the sixth most popularPokemon in Scarlet & Violet. As such, many wish to add a Shiny version of these cute false dragons to their collection, but there are some difficulties with this.
For one, the Shiny forms of the Curly and Stretchy forms are the same color orange as the standard Curly form with only a few subtle differences. Secondly, if you’re intending to usethe Mass Outbreak mechanic, only the Curly form will appear in increased numbers. If you want the Stretchy and Droopy forms, you’ll have to Shiny hunt them using a different method. Finally, for some reason, Tatsugiri can know Memento in the wild, so hunt at your own risk.
8Wattrel
Catch It If You Can
Paldea’snew Electric-Flying typehas a subtle, but pleasant looking Shiny. The black feathers on its head and wings become lighter and gain a slightly purple tint to it. Additionally, the Shiny form’s body is slightly lighter, and its feet are a darker orange color. It’s not the easiest to spot from far away, but you’re able to see the changes. Sometimes.
At certain times of the day, both that standard Wattrel and its Shiny form can lookverysimilar, to the point that you wouldn’t notice from a cursory glance. Additionally, because Wattrel will fly away as soon as you get near them, the chances that you won’t see it before it flies away and despawns is high.
7Varoom
The Speediest Engine This Side Of Paldea
Though certainly far from perfect, some of the graphics in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet add neat visual touches to certain Pokemon and their environments, from how the sun and moon reflect off the water to how the light illuminates Pokemon, making this game feel more real. However, the lighting can be a problem for some Shiny hunters.
Alot of Steel-typesin the game, like Varoom, have reflective, gray bodies, but the ambient lighting makes them look gold, much like their Shiny. Upon closer inspection, you can tell if a Varoom is Shiny or not, but if you’re just walking by, there’s a chance you won’t notice, especially when they’re hurtling themselves at you at 50 mph.
6Mimikyu
Once more, Mimikyu is a Pokemon whose Shiny is affected by the lighting, making it one of the hardest Pokemon to Shiny hunt in Scarlet & Violet. Under normal circumstances, you’d definitely be able to notice a grayscale faux Pikachu walking around, but it’s different in Paldea.
In nearly every place that Mimikyu spawns, there are large trees present, which may cause immense difficulty in spotting Shiny Mimikyu when the Ghost-Fairy types wander under them. In the shade, a normal Mimikyu will look almost exactly like its Shiny variant. This is incredibly frustrating as it will have you second-guess every Mimikyu you see.
