Pokemon Player Experiences Tragic Shiny Loss

Pokemon Sword and Shield players have plenty of tragic stories when it comes to Shiny Pokemon losses, but sometimes a player can do everything right and still come up with nothing to show for it. Reddit user KingOfTheHill recently shared a heartbreaking encounter with a Shiny Stunky in the Nintendo Switch game where they were hunting for a Shiny Grubbin at the time, so they smartly had a Gallade with False Swipe in the starting position. As planned, the move immediately took Stunky down to just a single HP, which would typically make capturing it a simple matter. Unfortunately, the opposing Pokemon used Explosion, knocking itself out before it could be caught.

A video of the encounter can be found in the Reddit post embedded below:

Videos of Shiny losses are pretty common online, but this one really stings! Some of KingOfTheHill’s fellow posters insisted they would have used a Quick Ball to start, or perhaps a Repeat Ball, but neither of these offers any sort of guarantee. Short of using a Master Ball, it seems nothing could have absolutely prevented Stunky from knocking itself out, and this is a Shiny Stunky, not a Shiny Metagross; using a Master Ball wouldn’t have been worth it even if the player had one on hand. While KingOfTheHill can second guess their decision-making, this is one scenario where the player simply can’t blame themselves! Hopefully they’ll have better luck obtaining the Shiny Grubbin that has so far eluded them.

Shiny Pokemon have long been one of the most appealing captures for Pokemon fans. Introduced in Pokemon Gold and Silver, Shiny Pokemon do not offer any sort of advantages over their commonly colored counterparts, but their rarity makes for an exciting addition to any player’s collection. Some players spend countless hours trying to obtain certain Shiny Pokemon, while others will simply luck into them in the wild. It can be very frustrating when a Shiny encounter goes wrong for players, but the rarity plays a major part in the appeal!

Pokemon Sword and Shield is available now, exclusively on Nintendo Switch. You can check out all of our previous coverage of the game right here.

Are you a fan of Pokemon Sword and Shield? Have you ever had a heartbreaking encounter with a Shiny Pokemon? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!