I’ve been revisiting some Pokemon games recently. I started a challenge to only catch shiny Pokemon in FireRed and LeafGreen, but it was too difficult because shiny Pokemon are so rare. So, I decided to try the same thing in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. Before I began, I planned a team based on the colors of my chosen shiny starter Pokemon, Chimchar. I usually pick Turtwig or Piplup, but this time I wanted the little monkey. Because shiny Infernape is gold and purple, I decided to build a team with those colors in Pokemon BDSP.
I wanted to start my team with Infernape, so my first goal was to find a shiny Chimchar. After that, I planned to hunt for a second shiny Pokémon on Route 205, the Valley Windworks, or in Eterna Forest, to complete my team which I envisioned as Infernape, Pachirisu, Kricketune, Gastrodon, Mismagius, and Purugly. Pachirisu and Shellos both appear on Route 205 and in the Valley Windworks in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, while Misdreavus is only found in Eterna Forest in Shining Pearl. Although Kricketot is available even earlier on Route 202, it’s a rare encounter, so I decided to skip hunting for it at the beginning to save time. With a plan set, I deleted my old save file and started my shiny hunt for Chimchar, expecting it to be difficult. However, the game had a surprise in store for me—a good one!
How I Got an Almost-Perfect Shiny Chimchar in Pokemon BDSP
Chimchar is arguably the best starter Pokemon in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, and throughout Generation 4, especially when considering how well it performs against Gym Leaders, the limited availability of strong Fire-type Pokemon in the Sinnoh region, and its stats. However, that wasn’t my main reason for choosing it. I initially thought about picking a different starter so I could later catch a shiny Ponyta. Ultimately, I liked the idea of building a team with a consistent color scheme, so I went with Chimchar. I expected the search for a shiny to take a very long time—possibly a month or more—but I started on May 11th with only about 15-20 resets because I didn’t have much time.
TopMob Quiz
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Results
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After that, I only managed about 60 more reset attempts on May 12th. It’s important to remember that finding a shiny starter Pokémon in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl takes significantly longer than in other games. Because there’s no way to do a quick reset, each attempt – going to Verity Lakefront, going through the dialogue, choosing your starter, and watching the battle animation – takes around two minutes. I realized this meant the process would take a considerable amount of time.
I had some extra time on May 13th and spent a couple of hours—probably between 120 and 150 attempts, though I wasn’t really counting—trying to find a shiny Chimchar, but wasn’t surprised when I didn’t succeed. I’m a night person, so I started playing around 11:30 PM, casually resetting the game while watching a video, expecting a long hunt like I’d read about in the Pokemon BDSP community. I braced myself for a seemingly endless streak of regular Starly encounters, but then, almost immediately after pressing the Home button to close the game, a pink Chimchar appeared! I had to look twice to make sure I wasn’t imagining things, but unbelievably, I found a shiny Chimchar in under 300 encounters.
In Pokemon games, a “phase” happens when you’re trying to find a specific shiny Pokemon, but you encounter a different shiny instead. For example, if you’re hunting for a shiny starter in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, and a shiny Starly appears (which you can’t catch), that’s considered a phase.
My Shiny Chimchar’s IVs are Incredible
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I was also incredibly lucky with my Chimchar’s stats! It had a Brave nature, which boosts Attack but lowers Speed, and perfect Attack IVs. While Jolly or Adamant natures are generally better for Chimchar in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, a Brave nature is actually quite good when you consider it could have been much worse, especially combined with those maxed-out Attack stats. I quickly checked its IVs by leveling it up, and here’s what I found:
- 18/31 HP
- 31/31 Attack
- 26/31 Defense
- 26/31 Special Attack
- 15/31 Special Defense
- 26/31 Speed
Individual Values (IVs) range from 0 to 31, and getting a combination of 15, 18, three 26s, and a 31 is exceptionally rare. I’ve never had such good luck finding a shiny Pokémon with perfect stats after so few tries. Considering the odds are 1 in 4,096, finding a shiny Chimchar in under 300 encounters was incredibly fortunate, and there’s even more to the story!
How I Got Shiny Misdreavus in Pokemon Shining Pearl
I was thrilled when I chose Chimchar as my starter Pokémon and didn’t think I’d need to focus on anything else for a while. However, I wanted to get to the Route 205 and Eterna Forest area quickly. This meant traveling through Oreburgh City, defeating the Gym Leader there in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, then heading to Floaroma Town to finish the Valley Windworks task. Thankfully, my Monferno, with a combination of Mach Punch, Power-Up Punch, and Ember (before learning Flame Wheel), made the journey surprisingly easy.
After finishing up those tasks, I needed to decide if I wanted to search for Pachirisu and Shellos, or head to Eterna Forest in Pokemon BDSP. I spent around 200-250 encounters looking for those two at Valley Windworks, but then switched to Eterna Forest. The benefit of Eterna Forest, especially with Cheryl, is that you can encounter two Pokemon at the same time. I was happy to find a Wurmple, Cascoon, or Dustox instead of a Misdreavus. Plus, Eterna Forest at night offers encounters with these Pokemon:
- Wurmple (20%)
- Cascoon (20%)
- Dustox (2%)
- Misdreavus (20%)
- Budew (19%)
- Buneary (19%)
I already had a lot of shiny Lopunny and Roserade from Pokemon Legends: Z-A while hunting for other rare Pokemon, so I wasn’t thrilled about getting another shiny Budew or Buneary. I was really hoping for Misdreavus, but I also didn’t want to spend too long searching. I’d have been happy with a Wurmple, Cascoon, or Dustox instead, and it was a bonus that Beautifly and Dustox would match my team’s colors.
I spent a few days changing the time on my Switch 2 to make it permanently nighttime in Eterna Forest, hoping to find a shiny Misdreavus. It worked! Not only did I get a shiny Misdreavus relatively quickly, but I also found a second shiny Pokémon after about 3,000 encounters – better than the usual odds. Because of a game mechanic in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, where every encounter is a double battle, the shiny odds are either 1 in 2,048 or 2 in 4,096. I was incredibly lucky to get two shiny Pokémon for my dream team so quickly, without any extended periods of bad luck, and I’m still amazed!
To evolve Misdreavus into Mismagius in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, I need to find a Dusk Stone. Right now, the only guaranteed way to get one is after progressing through the Galactic Warehouse. Otherwise, I can repeatedly use Pachirisu with the Pickup ability and hope they find one, but that’s not very reliable. The Grand Underground offers another chance, but it doesn’t become a consistent source until I reach Veilstone City.
What’s Next in My Pokemon BDSP Shiny-Only Playthrough
I don’t usually feel very lucky, but my recent playthrough of Pokemon Shining Pearl is proving me wrong. I started on May 11th, and within a week, I’ve already found two shiny Pokemon – out of the six I’m hoping to catch! I’m not sure what’s next, but I’m continuing my adventure and setting new goals. I could try hunting for a shiny Pachirisu or Shellos on Route 205, but I need to beat the Eterna City Gym in Pokemon BDSP first to be able to catch another one.
Things are going well so far, and I’ve had a lot of luck. While I’d love to think finding rare Pokémon will always be easy, I know that won’t last forever. I’m just taking it one day at a time, and right now, I’m heading to Eterna City in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.
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2026-05-21 15:05