Pokemon Sword & Shield player’s Shiny Legendary encounter ends in tragedy

Brent Koepp
Pokemon Sword & Shield screenshot of Crown Tundra DLC character Mr. Peony next to Shiny Legendary Regieleki.

A Pokemon Sword & Shield player went viral online after destroying their chance to catch a Shiny Legendary ‘mon. The fan’s tragic mistake left fellow Trainers feeling their pain. 

Pokemon Sword & Shield got its second major DLC, The Crown Tundra, in October. The expansion debuted the Dynamax Adventures mode, and brought a whole host of past generation Legendaries for players add to their team.

The update also introduced a new Electric-type to the Legendary Titans named Regieleki. One Trainer was floored when they accidentally ruined their shot at catching a Shiny version of the incredibly rare ‘mon.

Pokemon Sword & Shield screenshot of Crown Tundra DLC character Mr. Peony passed out.
The Pokemon Trainer felt defeated after ruining their chance to catch a Shiny Legendary monster.

Shiny Legendary encounter ends in disaster

First implemented in Gen II, Shiny Pokemon are extremely rare versions which feature boosted stats and an alternate color. Dedicated players that love the Game Freak RPGs are willing to spend hundreds of hours “hunting” for them. However, one person’s quest to catch a Legendary of this type was left devastated after botching their encounter.

Player ‘Stormrycon‘ posted a video of their tragic story to the r/PokemonSwordAndShield subreddit. The user was trying to catch a Shiny Regieleki, however due to not paying attention, the user simply clicked the “Run” option before realizing what they had done. The fan shared the nightmare inducing moment as a lesson for other players.

“This, people, is why you always pay attention while shiny hunting,” the user warned. Often Trainers Shiny hunting for hours on end will start to lose focus, and automatically click buttons through muscle memory. Their story is an example of how that can backfire spectacularly.

Many in the Pokemon community immediately felt the player’s pain. A Gen 8 fan wrote, “This pain is too much. I can’t handle it.” Another player replied, “I’ve been terrified of doing this.” One fan hilariously captured how many people felt watching the clip, writing, “confused screaming.”

Pokemon fans horrified by Shiny Legendary fail story.
Players related to the unfortunate story.

In the comments, the topic creator explained what led to the situation. “Yeah, I was watching a video, I look down as I press the run button and I see the white-ringed Regieleki and I realize what I’d just did” – ouch!

Pokemon trainer explains how Shiny Legendary fail happened.
Always be mindful of what you’re doing, folks!

Interestingly, this isn’t the first time a Sword & Shield player’s attempt to catch a Shiny Regieleki has backfired. In November, a fan’s Joy-Con drift left their attempt in shambles. Perhaps the Titan ‘mon is cursed…

Despite only releasing at the end of 2019, the Gen 8 RPG is already on track to becoming the second-highest selling game in the entire franchise. Proof that Pokemon has never been more popular.

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