Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen Shiny Hunter Makes Devastating Mistake After 676 Attempts

A Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen player realizes their mistake too late after making an exceptional shiny find after just 676 attempts. Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen are not exactly your typical Pokemon games, at least not by current standards. These titles were released in 2004 and made their way to Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 just a few days ago, and they are mostly unchanged. This means that most of the original glitches still work, and unfortunately, it also means that finding and catching shiny Pokemon is an extremely long and potentially frustrating process.

Unlike modern games, Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen‘s version exclusives can only be traded locally rather than via online play, so completing a shiny Dex solo is virtually impossible. Not only that, but the games have a lower chance of finding shiny Pokemon, which is 1/8,192 instead of 1/4,096, and there are no odd-buffing methods like the Masuda Method for eggs or the Shiny Charm. What follows is that each hunt has to be full odds, and even then, you’d find two shinies in modern games in the time you can find one in FireRed and LeafGreen on average. As such, shiny starters are a prized possession.

Best Pokemon to Catch Early in Pokemon FireRed & LeafGreen

If you want to know which Pokemon are best to catch early in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen, this guide offers lots of info on must-have party members.

Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen Player Resets Ultra Rare Shiny Find

Twitter user @laurathelass shared a video on the platform showing her incredibly rare find of a shiny Bulbasaur while soft resetting at the very start of the game, only to immediately soft reset shiny Bulbasaur itself by accident. Normally, a shiny starter is a big deal because the process can be rather long and excruciating, and it prevents you from actually playing the game because you’re stuck in Professor Oak’s lab until you find yours. In this case, Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen‘s starters are not shiny-locked, and they can be found as shiny with a 1/8,192 chance. The Bulbasaur was found by @laurathelass after just 676 resets, which was extremely lucky.

Who’s That Character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Who’s That Character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Easy (7.5s)Medium (5.0s)Hard (2.5s)Permadeath (2.5s)

However, the poor Pokemon fan had just woken up when she found the shiny Bulbasaur, so between that and muscle memory, she soft reset the shiny she was looking for. This is a terrible loss, and while not irreplaceable, it can definitely hurt morale for the hunt (and subsequent ones), and it can take much longer to find another. Some fellow players have been stuck in the lab since launch, and shiny hunting starter Pokemon usually leads to this result even in other games. In the Gen 3 Kanto remakes, though, the odds are particularly bad for shiny hunting, and that’s why losing that Bulbasaur can be all the more shocking and frustrating.

Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen’s Fixed Encounter Shiny Hunts

Yet, this is one of the few “fixed” shiny hunts in the games. What this means is shiny hunts where you are guaranteed to get the Pokemon, so it’s just about the odds of making it shine, rather than also having to face the odds of a given Pokemon spawning. The full list of fixed encounters includes:

The starters in Professor Oak’s lab
Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen‘s Route 4 Magikarp, sold for 500 PokeDollars
Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen‘s Abra, Clefairy, Dratini, Porygon, Scyther (FireRed), and Pinsir (LeafGreen) from the Game Corner in Celadon City
Eevee in the Mansion
Hitmonchan or Hitmonlee in Saffron City’s Fighting Dojo
Lapras in Saffron City’s Silph Co.
Omanyte, Kabuto, and Aerodactyl from fossils in the Cinnabar Pokemon Lab
Articuno (Seafoam Islands), Zapdos (Power Plant), and Moltres (Mt. Ember)
Mewtwo in Cerulean Cave
Raikou, Suicune, and Entei
The Togepi egg in the Water Labyrinth

While the best fossil to pick in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen is usually up for debate, Omanyte is arguably a better choice. Regardless, all three fossils can yield shiny Pokemon, but you do have to reset them if they’re not shiny. On the other hand, the Togepi egg’s shiny odds are determined when the egg is obtained, so you should save before getting it and then hatch it. Still, much like the Bulbasaur @laurathelass lost, these are all 1/8,192 shiny hunts with no way of making them easier.