PokéBonk guide
How to get shiny Pokémon in PokéBonk
A shiny on screen isn’t a shiny in your collection yet. Here’s every step between the sparkle and the save, with the numbers the game uses.
1. Get a shiny to appear
Play Classic mode. Each new zone rolls once for a natural shiny (8–16% depending on Luck, ×1.5 with the Shiny Charm) and once more for a classic shiny. A successful roll spawns the shiny 40–420 seconds into the zone. A Dawn Stone from your bag guarantees one in zone 1.
Shinies are announced with a banner and a light beam above the Pokémon, with its distance shown.
2. Find it before it flees
A natural shiny spawns 18–32 metres away and leaves after about 120 seconds (150 seconds with the Shiny Charm). Head towards the beam as soon as you see the alert – circling where you are is the easiest way to miss one.
3. Weaken it
Shinies have 2.5× the current spawn HP. Since version 0.7.7 your attacks can’t kill a catchable target; once it’s weakened, a throw window of about 10 seconds opens.
4. Throw within 9 m
You must be closer than 9 metres to throw. The catch value is:
n = 0.55 + (catch rate ÷ 255) × 0.35 + 0.2 × failed throws (+0.15 if the target is paralysed, asleep or frozen)
The throw succeeds if a random number is below min(0.97, n), and always if n reaches 1. After a miss you get a new 6-second window; three misses and the Pokémon flees.
| Target | 1st ball | 2nd ball | 3rd ball |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catch rate 255 | 90% | certain | – |
| Catch rate 45 | 61.2% | 81.2% | certain |
| Catch rate 45, asleep | 76.2% | 96.2% | certain |
| Catch rate 3 | 55.4% | 75.4% | 95.4% |
| Catch rate 3, paralysed | 70.4% | 90.4% | certain |
For anything with a catch rate of 37 or higher, the third ball is guaranteed as long as you re-weaken it and throw in range each time. (The Master Ball bag item makes your first Alpha or League-member catch of the run certain; the rules don’t list shinies.)
5. Finish the run
A catch only lands in your collection when the run ends normally and the save syncs. If you close the game or lose connection mid-run, that shiny isn’t saved.
Other ways to get shinies
| Source | How it works |
|---|---|
| Classic shiny | Separate roll each zone: 2.5% + Luck ÷ 3000 (max 5%), ×1.5 with the Charm. Unlocks a classic shiny look, not a collection entry. |
| Legendary shiny | 3% (4.5% with the Charm) for legendary encounters, bosses and the Shrine. Luck doesn’t affect it. |
| Eclipse | During an eclipse event the game rolls with its own pool: 20% + Luck ÷ 1000 (max +8 points), ×1.5 with the Charm, capped at 90%. |
| Co-op | Natural shinies roll for each player separately. When a teammate weakens one, you get a mirror copy at 1% HP to catch within 20 seconds. No classic shinies in co-op. |
What you get
- New shiny: 120 Stardust; repeat: 50. New classic shiny: 200; repeat: 0.
- The shiny look for that Pokémon’s line in the League (usable once the member has joined).
- Progress towards the collection milestones – the Shiny Charm at 6.
Related guides
- PokéBonk co-op guide
- PokéBonk status effects
- PokéBonk Save and quit
- PokéBonk shiny hunting guide
- PokéBonk shiny odds explained
- PokéBonk classic shiny: the second roll
- Best PokéBonk auto farm setup
Let ShinyDesk do the farming
Plays PokéBonk at normal speed and catches shinies while you’re away.