The first thing you’ll want to do is know which Pokemon are Shiny. There are 27 Shiny Pokemon in Mystery Dungeon DX, and they also happen to be the same species as the Strong Foes you might encounter in certain dungeons.
In other words, Shiny Pokemon are only Strong Foes, but naturally, every Strong Foe you encounter won’t be Shiny. If you don’t see the Strong Foe icon (a yellow caution sign with a crown in it) listed next to a dungeon when you’re heading out, then just do something else that day and try again next time.
Before you do venture in to find Shiny Pokemon, though, make sure you have the right camp or you can’t recruit them. It’s a good idea to have at least one Wigglytuff Orb on hand in case you accidentally forget to get a camp, as these let you buy a camp after recruiting a Pokemon. If you don’t have any, use Wonder Mail codes to get some for free.
All Shiny Pokemon in Mystery Dungeon DX
Here’s every Shiny Pokemon/Strong Foe and their location, Because there’s no telling what ‘mon goes with what camp unless you’ve already encountered them, we’ve also included what camp you’ll need.
While these Pokemon do appear in other dungeons, the ones we’ve listed are the only ones where they might appear as Strong Foes or full Shiny Pokemon.
How to Increase Your Chances of Recruiting Shiny Pokemon
Unfortunately, there’s no way to increase your chances of finding a Shiny Pokemon, but there are some ways to make it more likely they’ll join you once you do find a Shiny Pokemon.
Rare Quality Squad Up
The Rare Quality called Squad Up is a must for any recruitment efforts. If it’s on your leader, it increases the chance that enemy Pokemon want to join your team after you defeat them. The bigger your team, the better the chance, so make sure to max out your team for a dungeon before venturing in.
You can get Rare Qualities by giving your Pokemon the Rainbow Gummi or DX Gummi item while in a camp. These can be found as rare drops in dungeons and are sometimes rewarded for quests, but you also get a handful through Wonder Mail codes.
With the Rainbow Gummi, it’s random whether your ‘mon acquires a Rare Quality, though the DX Gummi guarantees it. It’s best — and fastest — to use your Wonder Code Gummis on your starter Pokemon until you get the Rare Quality you want.
Whether Squad Up is automatically the first Rare Quality your starter learns, I don’t know for sure; it was for me, and it seems like it’s the same for others as well.
There’s a Friendly Rare Quality as well, but it seems harder to find.
Inviting Orb
Another way to increase the chance you’ll recruit a Pokemon in Mystery Dungeon DX is by using an Inviting Orb.
You can buy Inviting Orbs from the Kecleon shop in Pokemon Square, find them, or earn them, and you get three for free through Wonder Mail. These raise the chance that a Pokemon will want to join you on that floor, so don’t use it unless you know the Shiny Pokemon is there.
Friend Bow
The Friend Bow raises the chance Pokemon will join you by 10%, but it’s not available until the post-game.
During the fourth quest of the early mission chains in the post-game, you’ll be asked to explore Mt. Faraway (sometimes incorrectly called Mt. Faraday). On 30F, there’s a locked door. Get through it with a key, and you’ll find the Friend Bow.
Mystery Dungeon DX False Swipe
In Mystery Dungeon DX, the move False Swipe actually increases the chance an enemy will turn friendly after the fight. You can buy the TM from the Kecleon shop, or you might get it as a reward.
Like with camps, you can’t actually tell what Pokemon can learn it unless you’ve already got it on your team, so we’ve put together a list of which Pokemon can learn False Swipe and how.
Do Your Own Fighting
Make sure your leader defeats the enemy. This doesn’t increase the chance of obtaining a Shiny Pokemon, but you won’t have any chance to recruit an enemy if your partners deal the final blow. If need be, adjust your partner behavior settings in the Tactics sub-menu.
Manipulate the RNG
There’s a way of getting around the game’s RNG process for determining whether you’ll recruit a Shiny Pokemon, courtesy of NeonSystemx on Reddit. You’ll need Nintendo Switch Online so you can back up your save data, too.
Once you’ve encountered a Shiny Pokemon by whatever means and are all set to engage it, don’t engage it.
Instead, close the game, and manually back up your save data to the cloud.
Then, continue playing. If you don’t recruit the Shiny, close the game again, and load the backed-up data. Before engaging with the Shiny Pokemon, though, find a different ‘mon and battle it.
This changes up the RNG process so your encounter isn’t necessarily doomed to failure.
So there you have it. Shiny Pokemon in Mystery Dungeon DX are pretty rare, but there are steps you can take to make finding and recruiting them easier.
Stay tuned to GameSkinny for more Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX guides and our review coming soon.
