Shiny Hunting with Massive Mass Outbreaks

[wixi]

With the Daybreak update, shiny hunting with mass outbreaks has changed. What used to work has changed and I thought I would elaborate on how shiny hunting has changed. Although I have yet to play the update myself, I have done extensive research and will impart some wisdom as a seasoned shiny hunter.

(This thread will be updated with encounter tables when they are compiled)
(Additional information will also be added as more knowledge on Massive Mass Outbreaks develops)

The Old Mass Outbreak Method

I call this one MOM Hunting, or Mass Outbreak Method Hunting.
MOM Hunting is effective prior to the Daybreak Update, and its procedure is as follows:

1. Find a mass outbreak you would like from the map in Jubilife. Every time you leave and come back to the village there is a chance a mass outbreak will appear. If there is nothing you want, go to a camp of your choice and come back to Jubilife until you get something you want.
2. Once you get the outbreak you want, head to camp and turn off autosaves. Drop a "hard save" (manually save from the menu) and head to the outbreak zone. I pin its location on the map.
3. Either almost, but not totally, clear the outbreak or check the first set of Pokemon that appear and head back. I do the latter. If there is no shiny, return to Jubilife. There is a chance the outbreak will stay. If it does not, reset the game and immediately head back to Jubilife.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until you get your target.

Explanation for a Few Things + Odds

I mention in step 3 that if your outbreak doesn't stay, reset your game and immediately head back to Jubilife. Don't check the outbreak again. Well, you can, but it's a waste of time. Allow me to explain:

PLA utilizes seeds, as most other Pokemon games have done, as a way to determine the Pokemon spawning. Basically, a seed is a random number string that generates an infinite amount of Pokemon for an infinite amount of time. However, where most other Pokemon games generate their seed when you start up your game, PLA retains your seed even after you shut down and restart your game. This is why in PLA when you see a shiny, you can save your game and reboot and the shiny will still be there. On the seed you are playing on, your shiny was determined to be shiny, and the seed will not change until you go back to Jubilife. You can restart your game as much as you want, the shiny will always stay there.

This applies to mass outbreaks. Every Pokemon in that outbreak is predetermined by the seed, so if you don't find your shiny that time, it doesn't matter how many times you reboot the game. You will actually catch the exact same Pokemon every time because the seed determines everything about the Pokemon, not just shininess.

ODDS**+:

Base Odds				1/158
Base Odds	Research Level 10			1/152
Base Odds	Research Level 10	Complete Research Page		1/141
Base Odds	Research Level 10		Shiny Charm*	1/137
Base Odds	Research Level 10	Complete Research Page	Shiny Charm	1/128

*The shiny charm cannot be obtained unless you have Research Level 10 for all Pokemon
**Odds are rounded to whole numbers.
+Odds compiled from Anubis on Twitter

The New Massive Mass Outbreak Method

I call this method Massive MOM Hunting (Massive Mass Outbreak Method Hunting) It's a mouthful to say in its full, so I just shorten it to M-MOM Hunting.
Its method is as follows:

1. Enter the area where there is a Massive Mass Outbreak (Make sure you have 5 Aguav Berries beforehand)
2. Find Mai and give her 5 Aguav Berries so Munchlax can reveal the Pokemon in the Massive Mass Outbreak. Save your game prior so that if there are no targets you want to hunt, reset the game so you don't waste your Aguav Berries.
3. If the Outbreak has a Pokemon you would like to hunt, save the game.
4. Make your way around the area, hitting up each Massive Mass Outbreak. There's a shot you can run into a shiny, and if you run out of time (Massive Mass Outbreaks are on a timer) you can always reset and skip by the ones you already checked.
5. If you haven't found any shinies or would like to hunt a specific target, pin the location of your target on the map and clear that outbreak of them. Again, if you run out of time, you saved after all of the locations have been revealed to you, so you can always reset and refresh the timer.
6. If you didn't find a shiny and didn't find anything you wanted, head back to Jubilife. Rinse and repeat until you find something.

Information + Odds

Alternatively, you could save before giving your Aguav Berries to Mai. When the Pokemon are revealed to you, check out the stuff you want to hunt and make a mental note of their location on the map. Reset your game and pin the location you remembered. Bam. No Aguav Berries used at all. Get scammed, Mai.

There are two special kinds of Massive Mass Outbreak... outbreaks? Here's a picture below to provide an example:

(creds to this video for the screenshot)

Both of these outbreaks have a golden glow around them. These glows indicate that there is something special about the outbreak.

The Wurmple outbreak on the top has a berry in the top right corner. A berry in the top right corner indicates that these Pokemon drop Aguav Berries.

The Munchlax outbreak on the bottom has a little star in the top right corner. A star in the top right corner indicates that the second wave of these Pokemon (The Pokemon that spawn after you have caught the first four Pokemon you find) can be their evolved form, their alpha form, or a combination of the two.

ODDS**+:

Base Odds				1/316
Base Odds	Research Level 10			1/293
Base Odds	Research Level 10	Complete Research Page		1/256
Base Odds	Research Level 10		Shiny Charm	1/241
Base Odds	Research Level 10	Complete Research Page	Shiny Charm	1/216

*The shiny charm cannot be obtained unless you have Research level 10 for all Pokemon
**Odds are rounded to whole numbers
+Odds compiled from Anubis on Twitter

Should I Update?

Massive Mass Outbreaks provide lots of Pokemon that are difficult to find and catch, such as alphas, evolved Pokemon, and starters. However, the shiny odds are worse than regular Mass Outbreaks. That's not saying much, as from a veteran shiny hunter perspective, 1/316 are some grazy good odds, but it is still harder to find a shiny through Massive Mass Outbreaks than through normal Mass Outbreaks. Below I have compiled the pros and cons of updating:

PROS:

• More Pokemon, such as starters and alphas, are easier to find
• Odds of finding a shiny in general is much higher with more mass outbreaks in any given area

CONS:

• Shiny odds for any given outbreak are higher
• It is easier to hunt for a specific Pokemon rather than a slew of different targets
• When you refresh a seed by returning to Jubilife, Mass Outbreaks stay. Massive Mass Outbreaks do not.
• You are not restricted to a timer when MOM Hunting. M-MOM Hunting puts you on a timer

ADVICE FROM A SHINY HUNTER:

There are pros and cons to both MOM Hunting and M-MOM Hunting. Personally, I find MOM Hunting easier and more alluring than M-MOM Hunting.
MOM Hunting will still exist after the update, but some of its spawn slots will be taken up by Massive Mass Outbreaks.
If you have yet to update your game, hold off for a little bit and create a list of targets you really don't want to put too much effort into hunting but still really want. Popular targets like Zorua are much easier to hunt via MOM Hunting. Hunt those targets via MOM Hunting and then update your game, where you can generally hunt for targets you may not want as much.
Or, you could update and start M-MOM hunting right away or never update at all. Ultimately, you're in charge, but I would recommend taking care of a list of targets before updating.

That's all! Happy hunting!

 

[wixi]

UPDATE AS IT RELATES TO ALPHA SHINY HUNTING

Hey, everyone! I'm back with some newfound information on the mechanics of second wave spawns during Massive Mass Outbreaks.

I will be referencing this video a lot as the guy in it does a great job explaining the more technical side of things. For now I have yet to see this work (Because I have stuck to my old ways and not really try this stuff out) but the dude in the video does manage to get it to work, so take my lack of a shiny with a grain of salt. This is a working method.

Terminoligy used + Important Information + How to Scam Mai

TERMINOLIGY:

First Wave Spawns (FWS): The Pokemon that appear when you initially encounter an outbreak. Say, you encounter an outbreak of Starly in a Massive Mass Outbreak. The Starly you will initially encounter up to a certain point are considered FWS. Typically, outbreaks with multiple waves are exclusive to outbreaks with a golden glow around them and a star in the top right corner, but I have had multiple waves during outbreaks where that is not the case.

Second Wave Spawns (SWS): After clearing out the Pokemon in a mass outbreak, you will be encountered with one of two text boxes. One will say "The reported Pokemon seem to be gone" (Or something similar. I can't remember the exact wording.) or "A new hoarde of Pokemon seems to be appearing" (Or, again, something similar to that.) When the latter appears, the Pokemon that will spawn are considered SWS.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

This method is extremely time consuming and may not always yield a result. I would highly recommend you save this method for an alpha shiny you really really want.

It must also be noted that this method ONLY works on hostile Pokemon, or Pokemon that will imediately want to attack you and will willingly engage in multi-battles. Docile Pokemon that will not attack unless you have tried to catch them and failed are extremely finnicky and, as I like to call them, Pushover Pokemon, who will not attack you and will often flee battle, will not work at all. If you need a concrete example of what I mean, this method only works on Pokemon that behave like Shinx. It will not work on Pokemon that behave like Riolu or Eevee.
The reason why is it is integral these Pokemon are able to engage in multi battles.

HOW TO SCAM MAI:

Aguav Berries are hard to come across, so it makes sense you would want to scam Mai out of her berries and keep them for future hunts. The scamming method, which I may or may not have not elaborated on is as follows:

1. Save before leaving Jubilife. That way, if there are two MMOs you can check both for stuff you may want. This will be your only save anchor until you find something you want to hunt.
2. Give Mai your Aguav berries and see if there is something you want. If not, reset. If there was a second MMO you wanted to check, go there, give Mai your Aguav berries, check if there is something you want.
3. If there is something you want to hunt, reset, go back to the respective MMO (while also keeping a mental note of where your target is) and save. Git scammed biatch.

The Logic Behind the Method

As the guy in the video explains, MMOs have a unique way of spawning Multiple Wave Pokemon. The game will generate an entirely new set of Pokemon for the second phase when you try out combinations of catching Pokemon/KOing them at once in a multi battle. New stats, natures, genders (save for gender exclusive or genderless Pokemon), and even the chance to be shiny will all be generated in the second hoarde. They are all predetermined, but are revealed to you by testing combinations. By testing each possible combination of knocking out Pokemon and catching them/KOing them one by one, you generate new sets of SWS that each have the chance to contain a shiny. You don't need to know this information, per se, but it sometimes helps to understand why exactly this method is the way it is.

The Method

1. Find something you would like to hunt. It is easier to hunt for something whose outbreak icon has a golden glow and a little star in the top right corner of the icon. These outbreaks will always have a second wave. The second wave in question will always be comprised entirely of evolved forms, alphas, or alpha evolved forms.
2. If you would like to save time running back to the outbreak spot every time you reset, you can save near the outbreak spot. Just close enough so that the text "The Pokemon reported have been found" does not appear.

**This example follows what the dude in the video encounters, which is 10 normal Electabuzz and then 6 alpha Electivire. The alpha Electivires don't matter, but the fact that there are 10 Electabuzzes means we have 10 slots to work with. I will elaborate more in the table.

ROUND 1:

During your first round, you will catch all the Pokemon in the overworld or KO them one by one. Catch all the Pokemon in the second wave as well/KO them one by one. If you find your shiny, great. You're done. If not, proceed to Round 2.

ROUND 2**:

Reset your game, and upon returning to the oubreak, engage in a multi battle with two of the Pokemon. KO both of them. If more Pokemon decide to join in, that's fine. Just flee from the battle without KOing any Pokemon after you KOed those first two. Proceed like normal, catching Pokemon and whatever until the second hoard appears. No shiny? Round 3, baby.
**Each Round up until after round 4 you will just KO one more Pokemon in the big multi battle. Hence, I am going to skip Rounds 3 and 4 and go straight to Round 5, as things change. So, if you got your shiny in Rounds 1-4, awesome. If you didn't, move on to Round 5.

ROUND 5:

In this round, you will be KOing two Pokemon at once (Like in Round 2). Then, you will wait for the two new Pokemon to replace them to spawn. That way, you still have your pool of four Pokemon. Engage in another battle. Knock out 2 more, then go back to the overworld and check for a shiny.

ROUND 6+:

In this round, you can combine KOing up to three of the initial spawns and up to four of the new Pokemon that spawn in. Then, you can catch stuff like normal.
Please refer to the table below for more information.

The Table

(This table is technically not mine. It belongs to the video referenced above. If you would like to see the link again, here it is. I am using Austin's table of Electabuzz to demonstrate the different combinations you can use)

White text means you caught the Pokemon in the overworld or engaged in a 1v1 battle with it and knocked it out.

Red Text means you engaged in a multi battle and knocked the Pokemon out.

Blue Text means you engaged in a multi battle previously, waited for the new Pokemon to spawn, and then engaged in another multi battle and then knocked the Pokemon out.

This table quantifies the different combinations you can use in Rounds 1-10 when 10 Pokemon spawn before the second wave. You can do these in no particular order.

I am not colorblind, nor do I have any problems that may make it difficult to read this table. However, I have tried to make it as easy as possible for people with visualization or attention issues such as colorblindness or ADHD to read the table. If you're having trouble reading it, let me know!

Round 1	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Round 2	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Round 3	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Round 4	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Round 5	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Round 6	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Round 7	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Round 8	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Round 9	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Round 10	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10

For a more in-depth guide and even more potential combinations, please check out the video I have referenced like 40 times. That video was a major source of information and I highly recommend you check it out.

That's all! Happy hunting!

 

[TheMantyke]

If there is something you want to hunt, reset, go back to the respective MMO (while also keeping a mental note of where your target is) and save.

Just wanted to mention there isn’t much of a reason to leave this sort of thing to a mental note. Just hit the switch screenshot button and you’ve got all the spawns tucked away to do as you please!

 

[wixi]

Just wanted to mention there isn’t much of a reason to leave this sort of thing to a mental note. Just hit the switch screenshot button and you’ve got all the spawns tucked away to do as you please!

If you're hunting, like, one or two targets then it's quite easy to remember where stuff will spawn, but if you don't have a photographic memory like I do or are hunting a ton of targets then screenshots are advised.