Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Masuda Method

In Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet there are normal Pokemon and there Shiny Pokemon. Normal Pokemon look as you would expect, but Shiny Pokemon look slightly different. Finding one of these illusive Shiny Pokemon usually requires a fair bit of farming and RNG to be on your side. One strategy to make Shiny hunting easier is called the Masuda method. The steps below will teach you how to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Masuda Method shiny hunt.

1. Get a Foreign Ditto

The first step to doing the Masuda Method of Shiny hunting is to acquire a Foreign Ditto. This means you need to get a Ditto that comes from a region other than the one you are currently in. To do this you will need to seek out someone that is willing to trade you a Foreign Ditto. Thankfully, for you and me, the internet is a very powerful place.

To trade for a Foreign Ditto you will want to use the Link Trade system through the Poke Portal (requires Nintendo Online). There is a community of players that have setup a Masuda Ditto Link code that players can use to try and snag a Foreign Ditto. The code you want to input is 4448 4448.

Once the code is inputted you will search for a trade partner. When a trade partner is found you will trigger the trade sequence. During this sequence you will want to offer up a Ditto for trade. Before pulling the trigger on the trade be sure to inspect the other person’s Ditto on offer. Look for the Region tag I’ve marked on the screenshot above. You want a Region tag not from the location you are in.

If the player is offering you the same Region Ditto you can cancel the trade and try with a new partner. To improve your odds of finding a Masuda Method Ditto try doing Link Trades during daytime in other regions. This may improve your chances of scoring the Ditto needed to continue.

2. Breed Foreign Ditto and Target Pokemon to Make Eggs

The reason you acquired a Foreign Ditto is simple. Dittos can breed with anyone. This is really good for players looking to get Shiny Pokemon that are hard to get Shinies for. Things like the 7 Star Raid Pokemon are just a few of the targets that come to mind.

Once you have a Foreign Ditto you want to breed with the Pokemon from your region that you are trying to get a Shiny for. To do this simply clear out your party and only keep the Foreign Ditto and the target Pokemon in your party. Go somewhere and Picnic. Wait around for the duo to breed and fill up the basket with Pokemon Eggs. Collect the Pokemon Eggs they make.

To further speed up the breeding process outlined above you can eat a sandwich to boost your Egg Level to 2. I personally like to use the Ultra Peanut Butter Sandwich since all of its ingredients are easy to get. It only requires the following:

• 1x Banana.
• 1x Peanut Butter.
• 1x Butter.
• 1x Jam.

The ingredients for this sandwich can all be bought from stores. The Peanut Butter, Butter, and Jam can be purchased from Artisan Bakery shops. The Banana can be purchased from Sure Cans.

Once you’ve gathered the ingredients complete the breeding process but eat a sandwich before you start. This will cause your Pokemon to churn out eggs more quickly during the Picnic.

3. Hatch Eggs Until You Get a Shiny

After you’ve created a bunch of Pokemon Eggs the next step is to hatch them. To do this you want to clear out your party so you only have one Pokemon in it. To speed things up make sure that Pokemon has Flame Body, which makes eggs hatch 2x faster. Fill the remaining 5 spots of your party with Pokemon Eggs then go to a location that is easy to walk around. Two good places are the circles in Artazon or Levincia. Summon either Koraidon or Miraidon and ride around until your eggs hatch.

If you don’t score a Shiny simply repeat the process of breeding and hatching until you do. To speed things up you can make a save right before the Picnic portion of the method and simply reload that save. This makes it possible to continually repeat the process without having to get ingredients or empty out boxes.

Masuda Method Odds

You may be asking yourself why players are clamoring to use this shiny hunting method. The answer to that is simple. The odds are really good when shiny hunting using the Masuda Method. This is especially true if you pair the method with the Shiny Charm. The odds are:

• Masuda Method Shiny Odds not using Shiny Charm: 3/2048.
• Masuda Method Shiny Odds using Shiny Charm: 1/512.

Both cases are much higher than other methods of Shiny hunting. This makes using the Masuda method a no brainer. If you can snag a Foreign Ditto you are all set to begin to use this method on any Pokemon you’d like to get the shiny for.

Thoughts on Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Masuda Method? Looking for a Foreign Ditto? Drop a comment below.