Shiny Pokemon
The odds, where the roll happens, and what a shiny is and is not.
In short
- One in 4,096, rolled the moment a Pokemon comes into existence: encounter, hatch, starter, gift.
- A shiny is a colour. Its stats, ability and moves are those of any other Pokemon of its species.
- There is no Shiny Charm to buy yet, and no chaining; every roll is the same roll.
- Shininess survives evolution, trading and breeding into the next Egg's roll.
The roll
Every Pokemon is rolled for shininess exactly once, when it is created. For a wild Pokemon that is when the encounter is rolled, before the battle starts, so the Pokemon you are fighting is already shiny or not, and catching it does not change that. An Egg's roll happens at breeding and is sealed with the rest; a shiny parent quadruples the Egg's rolls, so one shiny parent is about 1 in 1,024 and two about 1 in 256. A starter is rolled when you choose it.
The base odds are 1 in 4,096. The engine supports extra rolls from a Shiny Charm, three rolls instead of one, which is about 1 in 1,365, but no charm is obtainable in Horos yet.
What a shiny is
A different palette and a mark on its card. The Pokédex records it separately. Nothing else: no stat, no ability, no move. A shiny Rattata is a Rattata.
Keeping it
Shininess is a permanent property. It survives evolution, trading, and holding the Pokemon in the PC for a year. The PC's search can filter to shinies, and the public leaderboards have a board for shiny hunters.