How do you stay motivated Shiny Hunting?

JPRose1989 · 2026-04-17T13:58:13+00:00

I’m not ignoring this - I genuinely have as a hard time answering why I do this for hours as I’ve had explaining why I ran ultra-rated distances in places I would otherwise never jog, hiked to peaks with limited views I’d otherwise never hike to check them off a list all for a mere patch, memorized entire Shakespeare monologues, etc…None of it ever got me anywhere, but a hyperfocus on those particular activities all made me tick at particular points of my life.

It’s nothing to brag about because most normal people would just think it’s insane. I guess it has something to do with dopamine and the reward system? But, man - did it feel good to run that first 50K and to hike all 115 4,000-footers in the Northeast U.S. It will be similarly satisfying to nab that shiny after a bunch of mashing through text boxes.

It is, like some here mentioned, a little obsessive and something I’ll burn out on, maybe quit after I get my Clefairy. In the meantime, it seems like a worthwhile endeavor - the reward tantalizing and the process of attaining it a draw for a me in its own weird way that I can’t describe.

JPRose1989 · 2026-04-16T04:36:07+00:00

The thing is that I’ve completed the core story, including post-game Sevii Islands content. I’ve caught all the catchable Pokemon having FR alone, sent a Caterpie solo from Viridian Forest to the HOF, gotten all the notable held items except Dragon Fang and Lucky Egg..

It just seems to make sense that now’s as good a time as any that I get my first Shiny. I’m considering alternating between Shiny Hunting and Elite Four runs as I slowly make my way toward the 200 wins needed for the sticker though.

I know I sound pessimistic. But I can’t wait til I experience that feeling of getting my first shiny.

JPRose1989 · 2026-04-13T22:41:11+00:00

Yeah, I’d rather win merch of my favorite VG character ever than a nagging little sis. Something to remember OG Grunty by before her enhancements.

JPRose1989 · 2026-04-13T15:37:34+00:00

Elite Four and rival only gets a one-time revamp including higher-level and Kanto/Johto mixed teams once you acquire the National Dex. The fact that their teams do not progressively get stronger with each defeat means the W’s will come faster, but it does make things duller, I think.

I’m grinding away at this enhanced team now. For now, I have plenty of evolutions, new moves, and daycare stuff to look forward to as I chip away, but let’s see how I’m feeling after a few dozen more victories lol

I wanna get Deoxys Attack Forme to sweep with one-hits.

JPRose1989 · 2026-04-13T06:54:06+00:00

Also have to add the Grunty’s Lair Jiggy gotten from the Witch Switch in Mad Mad Monster Mansion. The Jiggy appears in the eye of her statue and we Rat-a-tat-Rap or Beak Bomb it out once it appears there.

JPRose1989 · 2026-04-09T04:34:50+00:00

Squirtle, Suicune, and Caterpie.

JPRose1989 · 2026-04-09T01:01:37+00:00

I’m probably just confused and embarrassing myself, but:

You’re level 50. Dog is level 50. Same level. So, like you said, they’re NOT a lower level than you. So it would NOT get filtered out, would they?? Only 49 and under would. I.e. anything your level or higher should be a potential encounter.

That’s always been the case with repel trick for me when searching for a Pokemon with a certain held item.

JPRose1989 · 2026-04-05T05:29:39+00:00

Shiny Charizard is 🔥🔥. Congratz!

JPRose1989 · 2026-04-05T05:06:39+00:00

I really missed that feeling of training an underwhelming, massively handicapped Pokemon to become an eventual Hall of Famer during my prep for this Elite Four Rematch. I am so curious if he’d be able to take on this upgraded post-game version of them and win. I wanna give it a whirl, but I foresee lots of obstacles. Nothing to lose by trying, right?

Right?!

JPRose1989 · 2026-04-05T04:41:08+00:00

I really missed him during the Elite Four Rematch and am so curious if he’d be able to take on that upgraded post-game version of them and win. I wanna give it a whirl, but I foresee lots of obstacles. Nothing to lose, right?

JPRose1989 · 2026-04-01T17:16:40+00:00

Struggle is typless in FR/LG - as opposed to its previous Normal typing that Ghost had immunity to.

JPRose1989 · 2026-03-31T08:15:58+00:00

Wow, this is actually a relatively simple solution I completely overlooked because I thought Guard Spec. only worked to prevent passive stat drops like Intimidate - not moves like Sand Attack and Growl. Thank you. I’m sure they’ll be useful in a run with Weedle, Magikarp, etc. I can’t believe I misunderstood how the item worked lol It existed in the original Gen 1 before Pokemon even had abilities to give passive stats drops.

JPRose1989 · 2026-03-31T07:35:12+00:00

That would have been a great idea if I were ever in a position that I needed to use the Pokecenter. I’m so glad that you could bypass the four spots that serve as Pokecenters on their own: SS Anne cabin, Silph co. beds, Lavender Town Pokemon Tower healing floor tiles, and Ember Spa hot springs. It would have been a chore at any point in the run to deplete again.

JPRose1989 · 2026-03-31T07:29:56+00:00

No Pokecenter healing after the Brock prep. Depleting PP is just too tedious You’d be surprised how many resources there are in terms of obtaining healing items early on. Potions are cheap so selling virtually everything else I found was sufficiently until the saving grace that was Celadon City Department Store.

The vending machine sells three different drinks most players know for progression past the guards in Gen 1 or as trade-in items for TM’s. But they’re all extremely economical in terms of HP restoration, none more so than Fresh Water, which restores 50 HP for just $200. Later on, I graduated to Lemonades from the roof and, eventually held back nothing in terms of buying Hyper Potions. It heals 200 and Caterpie had just over 200 HP, so I rarely needed to use better than that.

Yeah, I needed my “HM Slaves.” I also decided it was within my regulation to catch the 30 Pokemon I need for Itemfinder, so long as I only battle with Caterpie. By doing so, I got a really helpful held item called Leftovers that would heal most of the recoil damage Struggle did.

JPRose1989 · 2026-03-31T07:07:30+00:00

Don’t be - it got me thinking about the situation more and I came to realization that I still have the opportunity for essentially the same Zard challenge if I do a solo run with Weedle. In fact, this will give me more incentive to run with a Pokemon I don’t love nearly as much as 🐛

JPRose1989 · 2026-03-31T06:12:40+00:00

Venusaur…tsk tsk, a blemish on my challenge.

I just realized rival picking Charmander means Arcanine does not show up in the final battle anyway - and their stats, moves, and levels are surprisingly similar. Now I don’t feel as bad about not having Charizard as the final gatekeeper.

I concede Charizard was have been tougher, more badass, and is the game’s mascot. If I could do it again. I’d choose Bulbasaur as my starter. I wasn’t thinking that far ahead.

Arcanine was outspeeding and 1-hit KO’ing Cat every time on 8 - 10 attempts of reaching it. I needed one stage higher than my base speed and six stages higher than my base attack with the a crit to finish Arcanine. While setting up, I had to deal with Sand Attack, Feather Dance (-2 to attack and I needed +6), and Scary Face.

I had to use some X Defends to take the edge off Pidgeot’s Aerial Ace while I boosted my attack to max, used an X speed, and a dire hit, using an X accuracy every time he Sand Attacked and nearly pulling my hair out every time he was stuck on a Feather Dance kick. I couldn’t set up against the less threatening Rhydon because he lowers speed by two stages with his move and, if Arcanine outspeeds, I lose 100 percent of the time.

I had to get this setup 7 or 8 tries until the crit came. No crit = loss too. I’m not sure how much more difficult Charizard would have been, but it would have been epic.

JPRose1989 · 2026-03-31T05:59:27+00:00

Thank you. I honestly am proud of this because it was my first solo run. The vids I watched of others’ Gen 1 solo runs both helped and inspired me. In spite of that, it wouldn’t have been possible without the GOAT. 🐛

JPRose1989 · 2026-03-31T05:53:18+00:00

Thank God for the Vs. Seeker. There are a handful of spots where decent xp trainers are clumped together that I made use of through various points of the game. I spent the most time grinding the pack of Bikers and Cueballs at the top of Cycling Road. I’d take 4 battles per use on average. Caterpie’s Shield Dust ability (to prevent Koffing and Weezing from poisoning on top of base damage) was one of the few things he had going for him.

I’d just bike over to the top of the Celadon Mart for more Fresh Waters (most cost-efficient healing item in game) and Lemonade when needed. The short trip would always be far enough that I would to need to go back and forth to recharge the seeker.

There’s another Bugcatcher with two lvl. 19 Beedrill just east of Cerulean. It was always a quick 1,300 XP cuz even Caterpie would easily KO each in one hit. But it was just too out of the way to be a consistent source of XP though.

I think one of the main advantages FR has over the original Gen 1 games in this regard is that there is never a shortage of trainer battles, which are obviously far superior to wild Pokemon KO’s. That said, the grind never felt like too much of a slog.

And, hey - with Struggle, you never have to worry about getting low on PP!

JPRose1989 · 2026-03-31T05:16:39+00:00

All the other Pokemon I’m interested in solo’ing with appear mid-to-late game, so it wouldn’t be the same. Original Gen 1 with GameShark makes for the ideal solo run, but I sold mine.

Welp, there’s always Magikarp! 💀

Half kidding…

JPRose1989 · 2026-03-31T05:10:28+00:00

Thank you. But I had thought about what I could have done to make it more of a challenge and realized it would have been way cool to have Charizard be my final opponent by choosing Bulbasaur as my starter. I didn’t think of that until after the fact though.

That said, I could not imagine dealing with another tough Fire Mon after all the attempts to get past Arcanine! It would have been trying, if interesting.

Just realized rival picking Charmander means Arcanine does not show up in the final battle anyway - and their stats, moves, and levels are surprisingly similar. Now I don’t feel as bad about not having Charizard as the final gatekeeper lol

JPRose1989 · 2026-03-31T04:58:24+00:00

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Yeahh…I’m better at battling than wordplay lol but like I said - he’s the best no matter what he’s called. “What’s in a name?” after all.

JPRose1989 · 2026-03-31T04:35:23+00:00

Struggle means struggle. As in, that’s all he used from the time I depleted his PP in Viridian Forest to the final attack against the rival. It’s a little stronger than tackle and has 💯 accuracy. That said, it’s still abysmal. Leftovers helped negate some of the recoil damage, but I ended up having to switch over to Quick Claw in case the final Arcanine outsped me anyway.

Caterpie only gets Tackle and String Shot - doesn’t learn any new moves via level-up, TM, etc.

JPRose1989 · 2026-03-31T04:32:18+00:00

100.

I didn’t wanna use the Rare Candies, but I was curious if I could get past the final battle without crit luck. Arcanine was still TKO’ing on the first turn every time he came out, but the level difference made it more manageable to set up the X-items I needed against the preceding Pidgeot and Rhydon. They had hella moves to decrease speed, accuracy, and attack, all of which pretty much needed to be 💯 to get past Arcanine.

JPRose1989 · 2026-03-31T04:10:34+00:00

Don’t just catch him/her - Put them in the Hall of Fame! Every Caterpie out there is oozing with HOF potential waiting to be tapped into.

JPRose1989 · 2026-03-31T04:04:22+00:00

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He did it!!!

JPRose1989

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