Guide – How to Shiny hunt every starter Pokémon in The Indigo Disk

It’s been a couple weeks since the release of The Indigo Disk expansion for Pokémon Scarlet & Violet. It’s safe to say that by now a lot of players have wrapped up the story and are focusing on other objectives, like Shiny hunting. In particular, Shiny hunting the returning starter Pokémon has been a subject of interest for many. That being said, some of them can be more than elusive, and are difficult to separate from other Pokémon of the same type using a sandwich. Fortunately, most of them have ways to be hunted efficiently as soon as they are unlocked, which if you haven’t done already, you can learn how to do in our catching starter Pokémon guide!

Note: Special thanks to Serebii for all of the Shiny Pokémon renders used in this guide.

 

How to find Shiny Kanto Starters in The Indigo Disk

 

Starting with the first Pokémon ever to be in a Pokédex, Bulbasaur can be found abundantly with a Grass Sandwich on the rocky plateau above the Torchlit Labyrinth in the Coastal Biome. To reach this location, fly to the Coastal Outdoor Classroom and climb up the mountain immediately south.

Everyone’s favorite fire lizard, Charmander, can be found readily in the Savannah Biome. In order to not encounter Litleo or Magby when using a Fire Sandwich, stay near the area just west of Savannah Rest Area 1, southeast of the muddy area nearby.

Lastly for Kanto is Squirtle, and this one is difficult. It can be found in the water around the southern half of the Canyon biome, which appears darker on the map than the water more to the north. Unfortunately, there are many other Water-type Pokémon that spawn here as well, so if a Shiny Squirtle is the goal, it is probably best to try and get a Mass Outbreak for it instead.

 

 

How to find Shiny Johto Starters in The Indigo Disk

 

The Johto region’s first starter is another tough one, Chikorita. It can be found around the lower areas surrounding the raised plateau in the center of the Coastal Biome, however other Grass-types like Exeggutor and Deerling are far more common, so a Grass Sandwich will prove somewhat ineffective. One of the better locations for hunting it is the small island north of the Coastal Plaza, but Exeggutor still spawns here as well, so once again, Mass Outbreaks are definitely recommended here.

 

 

Off to a bad start, off to an even worse start, Cyndaquil is one of a few Pokémon on this list who only appears in one very specific location. In this case, it will only appear in a tiny cave in the Polar Biome, the entrance to which is shown above. It is a fairly small space, and it may be advised to defeat the Stellar Duraludon in there, but at the very least Cyndaquil will be the only Pokémon appearing with a Fire Sandwich.

To finish off Johto we have Totodile, who is in a similar situation as Chikorita. Totodile can be found in the deep water pools of the Savannah Biome. The larger of the two is best for this, which can be found directly east of the Savannah Rest Area 2. Unfortunately, Bruxish and Dewpider also live here, so a Water Sandwich will leave you more likely to find one of those two than Totodile.

 

 

How to find Hoenn Starters in The Indigo Disk

 

After the hassle that Johto was, Hoenn thankfully starts off easy. Treecko can be found en masse in the central area of the Canyon Biome that resembles the Nature Preserve from Pokémon Black 2 and White 2. Make a sandwich with Grass-type Encounter Power and you’re all set!

Torchic unfortunately shares its circumstances with Cyndaquil. Torchic only can be found in a small cave at the base of the mountain in Polar, as shown below. Similarly to Cyndaquil, a Fire Sandwich will cause only Torchic to appear, alongside the singular Tera Ghost Metang who shares that space.

 

 

Wrapping up Hoenn is Mudkip, who is fairly straightforward to hunt. With a Water Sandwich active, heading into the Torchlit Labyrinth in the Coastal Biome will yield nothing but Mudkip. The entrance to the Torchlit Labyrinth is right next to the Coastal Outdoor Classroom, so getting there is pretty easy as well.

 

 

How to find Sinnoh Starters in The Indigo Disk

 

Sinnoh begins with possibly the easiest hunt so far. Turtwig can be found all across the Canyon Biome, barring the Nature Preserve area mentioned in the Treecko section, and the eastern and southern edges. Flying to the Canyon Rest Area and making a Grass-type sandwich should be all that is needed to find this Pokémon Shiny.

Chimchar is simultaneously very easy and also a bit difficult in a way. It can be found all over the mountain in the southern half of the Polar Biome, however, it shares this territory with Scorbunny from Galar. There is no good way to separate them, but they should both appear fairly readily.

Piplup finishes off the Sinnoh trio with another troublesome hunt. The Water-type penguin, as expected, appears in and around the water in the northern half of the Polar Biome, alongside many other Water-types like Seel, Seadra, and Lapras. These other Pokémon will be much more common than Piplup, so it is advised to use a Mass Outbreak for this Pokémon if possible.

 

 

How to find Unova Starters in The Indigo Disk

 

It has been a long time since the Unova Starters were easily accessible, let alone able to be hunted in the wild. Unfortunately, Snivy remains difficult; it resides only in the northeastern-most corner of the Savannah Biome, and overlaps entirely with another Grass-type, Exeggutor. Once again, a Mass Outbreak is definitely recommended for this one.

Fortunately for Unova fans, Tepig is actually very easy to Shiny hunt! It can be found across the eastern and southern edges of the Canyon Biome. No other Fire-type Pokémon share this area, so a sandwich will do the trick.

At risk of sounding like a broken record, it’s sad to say that Oshawott shares the exact same circumstances as Piplup from earlier. They appear in the exact same area, in and around the water in the Polar Region, and both get outnumbered by other Water-types. This calls for a Mass Outbreak if this is who you want to find Shiny.

 

 

How to Find Kalos Starters in The Indigo Disk

 

With possibly one of the best Shiny variants of any starter, it’s a good thing that Chespin is incredibly easy to hunt. All that needs to be done is to travel to Chargestone Cavern in the Canyon/Polar Biomes and make a Grass-type Encounter Power Sandwich. There will be nothing but Chespin running around before you know it!

Unfortunately, it can’t all be easy, and Fennekin makes it complicated. Fennekin appears on the western border of the Savannah Biome due north of the Savannah Plaza. Coincidentally, this is also where Magby and Magmar reside, so a Fire Sandwich will not be especially helpful. As with others, it’s best to find a Mass Outbreak for Fennekin.

Thankfully, the burden ends with Fennekin, because Froakie is almost as easy as Chespin. All that needs to be done is to make a Water Sandwich near the Coastal Plaza and the grass will be hopping with little blue frogs. Be sure to stay on the grass and not travel to the beaches though, as other Pokémon like Popplio will begin to spawn there.

 

 

How to find Alola Starters in The Indigo Disk

 

Starting off Alola strong, Rowlet is surprisingly straightforward to isolate for Shiny hunting. This comes down to Rowlet’s secondary Flying typing, which allows it to be separated from wild Deerling. Head to the southwestern-most corner of the Savannah Biome and make a Flying Sandwich, and there should be nothing but Rowlet waddling around. Be careful to stay in this far corner however, as just a bit north and east of this there are other Flying-type Pokémon who can appear as well.

Keeping the trend going, Litten is also incredibly easy! Litten shares the exact same territory as Turtwig, that being the majority of the Canyon Biome barring the southeastern edges. Head over to the Canyon Rest Area and prepare a Fire-type sandwich, and that should be perfect.

For the first time so far, all three of Alola’s starter Pokémon are very simple to find Shiny. Popplio, as foreshadowed in the Froakie section, can be found all across the beaches in the Coastal Biome. The beach south of the Coastal Rest Area is the largest, and allows the player to stay away from the water and only see Popplio when using a Water Sandwich.

 

 

How to find Galar Starters in The Indigo Disk

 

Finally comes the Galar starters. Grookey resides around the Coastal Rest Area in the Coastal Biome, and on the beach due south of it. Bellossom also calls this area home however, so they will appear commonly as well. It should still be pretty doable to find a Shiny Grookey, even if you might find a Shiny Bellossom in the process.

If you’ve been reading all of the sections so far, you’ll recall that Scorbunny completely overlaps in territory with Chimchar. Head up to the mountain in the Polar Biome and make a Fire-type Sandwich and both will be wandering around readily. It isn’t possible to separate them, so it will just be a two-for-one Shiny hunt with the pair.

Last but certainly not least is Sobble. Sobble resides in the shallow muddy areas of the Savannah Biome, but not the deeper water mentioned in the Totodile section. The best of these muddy areas can be found immediately west of the Savannah Rest Area 1, and with a Water sandwich only Sobble should appear. That being said, it can only spawn in the water, so while it is isolated, you may find that less appear overall than some other isolated hunts on this list.

 

 

More Pokémon Scarlet and Violet guides

 

Looking for more help with Pokémon Scarlet and Violet? Check out our other guides!

 

 

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