How to Get Shiny Minior in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: The Indigo Disk

One of the hardest Pokemon you can Shiny hunt in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet is definitely Minior. Introduced in The Indigo Disk DLC, there are literally no differences in its exterior shell between its regular and shiny form, making it quite a difficult (but fun) hunt.

How to Catch Shiny Minior in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: The Indigo Disk

The main issue with Shiny Minior is that its shell is identical to its regular form, so you can’t differentiate it in the wild. It still sparkles when you engage it, but that’s it. This is somehow even worse than cases like Tandemaus, which has a very similar but still slightly different Shiny form. There’s no sound alert like in Legend Arceus either, so you’re up to your luck to find it.

First of all, I highly recommend you get the Shiny Charm if you haven’t already. You obtain it from Professor Jacq by completing the Paldea Pokedex (base game only, no DLCs required), and it increases drastically your chances of finding a Shiny in the wild. When combined with other shiny rate-boosting methods, it makes your job way easier.

There are two main methods to get yourself a Shiny Minior: breeding or hunting in the wild. Both have their disadvantages but can reach the high 1/512 chances of spawning a Shiny Pokemon. This already takes the Shiny Charm into consideration as hunting for differently-colored Pokemon is not recommended without it.

Hunting for Shiny Minior

If you decide to catch it in the wild, you’ll need the following setup:

• A Flying-type Sparkling Power Lv.3 Sandwich;
• A Minior Mass Outbreak;
• A lead Pokemon with Damp.

Head to the Chargestone Cave in the Canyon Biome as Minior is the only Flying type that spawns here. Look out for the current Mass Outbreaks here, and if Minior isn’t one of them, advance your Nintendo Switch date one day forward. This will reset Mass Outbreaks and give you a chance of getting a Minior one.

Once you get lucky with it, use Auto Battle to start knocking all Minior out. The more Pokemon you defeat in an outbreak, the more chances you get of finding a Shiny. And don’t worry about accidentally beating the Shiny. Your Pokemon will never attack a Shiny through Auto Battle. If you see your Pokemon hesitating to hit a certain spawn, chances are that you found your Shiny.

Once you do, make sure your lead Pokemon has Damp as its ability as Minior tends to explode itself. Psyduck and Wopper lines are easy-to-get options. From here on out, catching it should be easy with either a Quick Ball (first turn), a Dusk Ball (because you’re inside a cavern), or a Repeat Ball (if you already have caught Minior before).

You can still hunt it without the outbreak, but the chances will be lower (1/683), so having the outbreak is optimal. Try to boost your chances to the limit, if possible.

Breeding for Shiny Minior

If you want a less dynamic method that doesn’t rely on finding the perfect Outbreak, you can try breeding for a Shiny if you have the following:

• A foreign Ditto (any language different from yours);
• A Minior;
• A Pokemon with Magma Armor, Flame Body, or Steam Engine ability (only one);
• An Egg Power Lv. 2 Sandwich;

We’ll be using the Masuda Method for getting a shiny Pokemon from eggs. In summary, Shiny chances are drastically improved when you breed Pokemon from different regions. You can check the Pokemon’s region in the Summary portion right next to its name.

Head to Levincia (Iono’s city) and enter the Gastronomie en Famille restaurant to have a Compote du Fils. This sandwich has an Egg Power Lv.2 effect, enough to make yourself some quick breeding eggs. It’s also faster to buy it than making your own sandwich if you don’t know the correct recipe.

Start a picnic with only Ditto and Minior in your party and wait for a few minutes until your basket is filled to the brim with eggs. After you get the eggs, add the Pokemon with one of the mentioned abilities in your party as it decreases the waiting time until the eggs hatch.

The Slugma line or the Fletchling line are easy options for hatching. Hatching abilities don’t stack with each other, but they do stack with a Sandwich effect. The Egg Power Sandwich should still be available after breeding, which helps decreasing the hatching time even further.

The hardest part of this method is getting your Ditto. You need to either know someone who’s playing in a different region or negotiate with people in the community. They might also be looking for foreign Dittos themselves, so offering a Ditto from your region is a good option.

If you already have one, breeding can still take some time since you cannot tell if the egg is Shiny or not until it hatches. So unless you’re okay with playing Schrodinger’s Cat with your pocket creatures, hunting might be less tedious. Breeding is “safer”, though, as you cannot miss the Shiny once it appears.

Shiny Miniors are all black underneath their core, regardless of their form. This is quite disappointing for those expecting it to have seven different shinies, but getting one is something you should definitely brag about to your friends, morese than completing all three Pokedex.

Good luck to those embarking on this journey!