Shiny Charmander- Masuda Method

    So I finally did it. After 2 generations and 450+ eggs, I hatched a Shiny Charmander using the Masuda Method. The Masuda Method increases the odds of getting a shiny in Gen VI to 3/2048. to use the Masuda Method, you must breed two Pokemon from two different countries.

 I bred my Charmander like so:

Charmander(Female) U.S
Everstone
Lonely Nature

Moveset:
Scratch
Growl
Flare Blitz


and


Dragonite(Male) Japan

Moveset:
Outrage
Dragon Dance
Earthquake
Thunder Wave

    That gave me Charmanders with a Lonely nature (Attack up, Defense down) and the egg moves Dragon Dance and Outrage. I'll then EV train Attack and Speed, and give it a Charazardite X.

Chain Fishing

    Since Pokemon X and Y came out, I've amassed a fair amount of Shinies through trading (see sidebar). One of which was a shiny Relicanth, who I got from a friend. The way he obtained this (along with a Whiscash, which he refuses to give up) was through Chain Fishing.

    Chain Fishing is one of the several new mechanics in Pokemon X and Y that increase the odds of finding a shiny. To do this, one must fish in one spot and not move. The player must reel in a Pokemon every time they cast their rod, and if they mess up the chain resets. Much like chaining through the Poke Radar, which returned in X and Y, the odds of finding a shiny increases every time a Pokemon is added to the chain.

    A good method to chain fish is to put a Pokemon with Suction Cups or Sticky Hold in the front of the party and give it a Smoke Ball. This insures that you will hook a Pokemon every time, and that you can run away every time. My friend hooked his Whiscash after a chain of 10, and his Relicanth after a chain of 5. Note that this effect does not stack with the Shiny Charm (confirmed through personal experience).

The Shiny Charm

    In the games Pokemon Black Version 2 and Pokemon White Version 2, a new key item was introduced: The Shiny Charm.

    The Shiny Charm can only be obtained by completing the National Dex. To complete the National Dex, you must catch every non-event Pokemon in the game. The Pokemon not needed to complete the National Pokedex are Mew, Celebi, Jirachi, Deoxys, Phione(Pre Gen 6), Manaphy, Darkrai, Shaymin, Arceus, Keldeo, Meloetta, and Genesect.

    The Shiny Charms triples the odds of finding a shiny, making it a whopping 3/4096 chance of finding a shiny. This effect sadly does not stack with other enhancers(Masuda Method, Chain Fishing, Chaining, etc), but still makes ordeal of completing the Dex worth it. I actually completed the National Dex on Pokemon X yesterday, and I look forward to experimenting with its effects.

Pokemon X and Y's ridiculous shiny odds

    In the new Generation 6 games, there were many, many new mechanics. Other mechanics got altered. Among those was the odds of encountering a shiny. Since the Generation II games, the odds of finding a shiny have been 1/8192. But in X/Y, they have been beefed up to 1/4096, doubling the chances of getting a shiny.

    Among the new shiny odds, there are a plethora of new ways to get shinies, expanding from the classic Chaining and Masuda Method.