Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s Shiny hunting with Masuda Method offers players the best odds at encountering one of the coveted rare variants, but its effectiveness has been under debate since the new games’ release. The Masuda Method is a classic breeding strategy to boost the players' chances of obtaining a Shiny Pokémon with optimal chances in play. Theoretically, it consists of putting two Pokémon from different regions of the real world together to breed, with its offspring having higher odds of being a Shiny.
To make proper use of it, players can put a North America Charizard to breed with a Japanese Ditto, for instance, reducing the one in 4,096 odds down to one in 682.6. This is further reduced if players have Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s Shiny Charm, which lowers the previous odds down to one in 512.44. Despite the fact that Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s Shiny hunting Masuda Method offers the best possible odds for encountering Shiny Pokémon, a new technique in SV grants the same odds and is being preferred by many players.
Pokémon’s Masuda Method Has Become Obsolete In Scarlet & Violet
With the addition of Mass Outbreaks and sandwiches, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s Shiny hunting Masuda Method has become somewhat obsolete. Players do not need to spend time farming multiple eggs and then walking around to hatch them - a process that can take several hours, if not days, of work. With the proper Shiny sandwich recipe in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, players can boost their Shiny Pokémon encounter odds through the Sparking Power, preferably with a Level 3 Meal Power, according to Serebii.
Pokémon Scarlet & Violet's Best Shiny Hunting Technique
With that, players can use the Mass Outbreaks to encounter the desired Shiny Pokémon. Of course, players need to have a Shiny Charm and defeat 60 opponents or more in the Mass Outbreak to even equal the 1 in 512.44 odds granted by Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s Shiny hunting Masuda Method. Once that is done, however, players can start the actual hunt by triggering the Pokémon’s respawn in the area. With over 10 creatures spawning simultaneously in a Mass Outbreak, triggering their respawn and spotting a Shiny is faster - especially when players use Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s picnic Shiny exploit.
With the exploit, Trainers can quickly trigger all the Mass Outbreak Pokémon’s respawns over and over again until a Shiny appears. When compared to Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s Shiny hunting Masuda Method, this is less time-consuming, despite the exact same Shiny encounter odds. Having more Pokémon on the field with a chance of being a Shiny is effectively making better use of the odds since each one of them can be the treasured 1 Shiny roll in 512.44.
Of course, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s Shiny hunting Masuda Method is not completely useless. In fact, it is the only way of actually getting a few Shiny Pokémon, such as the Starter Pokémon lines, the offspring of Tera Raid event Pokémon, like Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s Dragon Tera type Charizard, or simply creatures that do not have Mass Outbreaks. While making use of the Mass Outbreaks, sandwiches, and picnics might be the most effective way of grabbing a Shiny Pokémon, the Masuda Method is the one and only way of getting a few Shinies in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.
Sources: Serebii, The Official Pokémon YouTube Channel
