Pokemon Mystery Dungeon DX Shiny Pokemon: where to find and how to catch shinies

by George Foster on 10 March, 2020

A new introduction to Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX is Shiny Pokemon. Although this has been a staple feature of Pokemon games for a while now, they weren’t present in the original Mystery Dungeon Rescue Team games. The new Nintendo Switch DX version fixes that though!

For the uninitiated, Shiny Pokemon are basically the same as regular Pokemon except - just like getting a shiny in a packet of trading cards - they have a slightly unique coloring. This can be relatively subtle like a slightly different shade, or particularly striking, like the infamous Red Gyarados. Most of the shinies in Pokemon Mystery Dungeon DX are on the more outlandish side - which is a good thing.

Shiny Pokemon can randomly appear as Strong Foes in the dungeons, which means that when you see a yellow triangle on the map or above a Pokemon’s head, you should really go for it. Remember, to recruit any Pokemon you need to make sure your leader deals the last hit.

Not every Pokemon in the game has a Shiny variation though. There are a total of 27 Shiny Pokemon in the game. Here are the Shiny Pokemon and where you can expect to find them, followed by our tips for how to best catch a shiny.

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon DX Shiny Pokemon List

Butterfree: Howling Forest
Ninetales: Northern Range
Rapidash: Mt. Steel
Electrode: Mt. Faraway
Exeggcute: Wyvern Hill
Exeggutor: Pitfall Valley, or evolve from Exeggute
Starmie: Grand Sea
Magikarp: Marvelous Sea
Gyarados: Waterfall Pond, or evolve from Gyarados
Ditto: Buried Relic
Dragonite: Mt. Thunder
Hoothoot: Murky Cave
Noctowl: Lapis Cave
Ampharos: Sinister Woods
Azumarill: Mt. Blaze
Sudowoodo: Desert Region
Aipom: Solar Cave
Espeon: Remains Island
Wobbuffet: Darknight Relic
Shuckle: Southern Cavern
Corsola: Far-Off Sea
Spinda: Frosty Forest
Altaria: Fantasy Strait
Zangoose: Western Cave
Metagross: Silent Chasm
Ambipom: Great Canyon
Lickilicky: Mt. Freeze

How to recruit Shiny Pokemon

There are a few things you can do to give yourself as high a chance as possible to catch Shiny Pokemon. The first two come from Rare Qualities. The qualities Friendly and Squad Up both give you a higher chance of recruiting Pokemon. Friendly always applies, but Squad Up increases the chances depending on how many Pokemon you have with you in the Dungeon. We’ve got a full list of Rare Qualities in Mystery Dungeon DX should you need it.

The Friend Bow is a very important item to have when trying to get Shiny Pokemon. It’ll increase the chance of recruiting both normal and Shiny Pokemon and all you need to do is make sure your leader has it equipped. We also have a page on where to find the Friend Bow which you'll defintiely find helpful.

The TM False Swipe will also be helpful in recruiting Pokemon. This move will increase the chances of recruiting Pokemon if this is the move used to knock them out. Giving this to your leader will be a big help. Sadly this isn't one of the TMs you can get for free through the use of a Wonder Mail Code, but several other useful TMs can be gained that way.

Basically, if you’re a Pokemon wearing a Friend Bow, with the Rare Quality Friendly, whilst also making sure to use the False Swipe TM, you’re going to have the absolute best chance at recruiting any Shiny Pokemon you come across.