Pokemon Scarlet & Violet Riolu event is frustrating Shiny hunters but there’s a solution
The Pokemon CompanyA Pokemon Scarlet and Violet player’s upsetting incident while Shiny hunting Riolu during the ongoing Mass Outbreak event is serving as a learning experience for other trainers.
The popular Gen 4 baby Pokemon Riolu is one of the stars of a Mass Outbreak event that runs until August 22. During this time, it will be easy to find the Emanation Pokemon across Kitakami, which also means it’s the perfect time to Shiny hunt for one.
However, those looking to catch a Shiny Riolu during the Outbreak should be prepared to deal with one encounter-ruining move: Final Gambit.
Riolu has access to the move Final Gambit starting at level 52. This powerful Fighting-type move causes the user to faint while dealing damage equal to their current HP.
Of course, any wild Pokemon having access to a move that damages the user or KOs them will be a problem for Shiny hunters, such as one player who shared a video of themselves losing a Shiny Riolu to Final Gambit on Reddit.
There are some options for players having trouble finding Shiny Riolu or simply hoping to prevent this from happening to them.
First, as several commenters noted, you should always save your game right before entering a Shiny encounter. That way, should something like this happen, you can reload and try again.
The other way to avoid losing a wild Shiny to Final Gambit is to use a Ghost-type Pokemon against it, as Ghosts are immune to Fighting-type moves. This will cause Final Gambit to fail without hurting the user.
Fortunately for this player, the Shiny odds from the Outbreak were on their side. As they explain, “This was the second shiny I encountered. In 30 minutes I encountered 6 shiny Riolu and caught 4 of them.”
While the odds of finding more Shiny Riolu during this event are relatively high, it’s good to know there are easy ways to avoid losing any of these rare Pokemon.