If you’ve ever spent hours hunting shiny Pokémon in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, you know the struggle. The thrill of seeing a sparkly new ‘mon, only for it to despawn before you can even think about catching it, was a real punch to the gut. But, surprise, surprise!
The release of the Nintendo Switch 2 has changed the game in ways no one expected, not just improving the performance, but making those shiny critters easier to find. It turns out, the original Switch’s hardware limitations were not only frustrating the gameplay, but also shiny hunters as well.
The OG Switch was more like the ‘No-Go’ Switch
When Pokémon Scarlet and Violet launched on the original Nintendo Switch, players quickly realized that the game wasn’t exactly smooth sailing. Sure, we all loved the open-world vibes of Paldea, but with laggy frame rates, low Pokémon spawns, and occasional crashes.
Most times, it felt like you were playing the game on a potato. And, if you were into shiny hunting, the frustration only got worse.
The game couldn’t keep up with the number of Pokémon spawning in the wild, so not only did your chance of encountering a shiny feel like trying to win the lottery, but even regular ones would despawn faster than you could say “Poké Ball!”
The original Switch was simply not built to handle the game’s ambitious scope. And while we did get to explore an open world, it often felt more like a glitchy playground than a shiny hunter’s dream.
The odds of finding a rare shiny seemed astronomically low, and let’s not even get into how often Pokémon would disappear before you could even get close enough to trigger a battle. It wasn’t impossible, but let’s just say it wasn’t a joyride either.
Enter the Switch 2, and suddenly the whole game has been reanimated, literally.
The Switch 2’s glow-up made shiny hunting easier
Cue the dramatic music because here comes the Switch 2, and it’s nothing short of a glow-up. With its performance upgrades, the Switch 2 runs Pokémon Scarlet and Violet smoothly, and with stable performance, Pokémon spawn rates are better; the odds of finding that elusive shiny just skyrocketed.
Where before you’d be lucky to see a single Pokémon in a single encounter, now you’re greeted with Pokémon swarming you like a scene out of a Poké-dystopia. It’s a shiny hunter’s paradise!
With a glitch, players are reporting finding up to 7 shiny Flutter Mane in less than half an hour. To put that into perspective, on the OG Switch, you’d be lucky to find one in a couple of hours.
Yes, it’s making some players grumble that shiny hunting has become “too easy,” but let’s be honest, after years of struggling with 1/8192 odds, everyone could use a little extra sparkle in their life.
Thanks to the Switch 2, Pokémon hunting is now smoother, faster, and way more fun. So, get out there and catch ‘em all, because with the new hardware, the game is finally running the way it was always meant to be played. And who knows? Maybe you’ll catch your favorite shiny while you’re at it.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
