A recently discovered Pokemon Legends: Z-A trick allows players to clone shiny Pokemon, effectively giving them a way to offer some great trades to friends. Shiny Pokemon continue to be a rarity in Pokemon Legends: Z-A, but this trick makes filling up rosters with colorful variants a little easier.
While Mega Evolutions in Pokemon Legends: Z-A play a crucial role, hunting shiny Pokemon is still a popular activity among fans. With a base encounter rate of one in 4,096, shiny Pokemon are far from common in the new action-RPG, but the game does give players a helping hand in shiny hunting, as a shiny Pokemon will not normally despawn if the player leaves the area, passes out, or fails to catch it without knocking it out.
Pokemon Legends: Z-A Shakes Up How Shiny Pokemon Spawns Work
Pokemon Legends: Z-A makes a significant change to how Shiny Pokemon spawns work, but players are mixed on whether it's a pro or con.
How To Duplicate Shiny Pokemon in Pokemon Legends: Z-A
- Locate a shiny Pokemon
- Draw aggression and run away until it stops following
- Save, quit, and restart
- Repeat steps 2 and 3, making sure the shiny Pokemon ends up at least 70 meters from its original spawn point
- Catch the shiny Pokemon
- Return to the original spawn point
In order for Pokemon Legends: Z-A shiny hunters to take advantage of this duplication trick, which was shared by Austin John Plays' YouTube channel, players will first need to encounter a shiny Pokemon at its spawn location, then draw its aggression and run away. If no other wild Pokemon are acting aggressively towards the player once the shiny Pokemon drops aggro and begins to return to its spawn point, players should immediately save and quit the game. After restarting the game, the shiny Pokemon should be where it was when players left off, but it will no longer be returning to its spawn point. Players will then need to draw its aggression again, lead it a bare minimum of 70 meters from its spawn point, and repeat the save, quit, and restart process.
After repeating these steps, players should be safe to throw any of Pokemon Legends: Z-A's Poke Balls at the shiny Pokemon and catch it. Upon returning to the spawn point, players should find an exact clone of the shiny Pokemon they just caught waiting there, meaning it will have the same stats, nature, moves, and IV values.
Players should theoretically be able to use this rinse-and-repeat exploit to make as many shiny clones as they want, but they should probably only keep one of each, trading the rest away. That's because the Pokemon Home service is able to detect cloned Pokemon in a user's inventory and usually deletes them, which could lead to problems down the line. While Pokemon Home was not compatible with Pokemon Legends: Z-A at launch, its support is expected to be added by 2026.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 79 /100 Critics Rec: 66%
- Released
- October 16, 2025
- ESRB
- Everyone 10+ / Fantasy Violence, In-Game Purchases
- Developer(s)
- Game Freak, Creatures Inc.
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo, The Pokemon Company
WHERE TO PLAY
LIVE THE LIFE OF A POKÉMON TRAINER IN THE STREETS OF LUMIOSE CITY
Whether you’re a die-hard Pokémon fan or about to toss your first Poké Ball, the Pokémon Legends: Z-A game has plenty to offer for Trainers of all types. Experience classic gameplay with modern twists that are sure to revolutionize your Pokémon RPG experience.
CATCH, BATTLE, AND MEGA-EVOLVE—ALL IN REAL TIME!
Step onto the battlefield and command your Pokémon directly—there are no turns! For the first time in the Pokémon RPG series, Trainers and their Pokémon can both move around in real-time battles, and your Pokémon will unleash their moves when you tell them to. Strategically swapping out your Pokémon and accounting for each move’s timing and area of effect will greatly help you in this new style of battle.
HARNESS THE POWER OF MEGA EVOLUTION
When Trainers have a strong bond with their Pokémon, a Key Stone worn by the Trainer resonates with a Mega Stone held by their Pokémon, allowing Mega Evolution to take place.
ROGUE MEGA EVOLUTION
Rampaging Rogue Mega-Evolved Pokémon are threatening Lumiose City. These Pokémon are extra tough to beat, but if you do manage to defeat them, you'll receive valuable Mega Stones as a reward.
RISE THROUGH THE RANKS OF THE Z-A ROYALE
You’re invited to join the Z-A Royale, a competition for Pokémon Trainers to test their skills and determine who’s strongest.
Each night, a battle zone for the competition will appear. Prepare yourself by spending the day in wild zones, catching and training Pokémon, then venture into the battle zone and take on other Trainers.
Be strategic and complete bonus card challenges as you battle to speed up your climb from Rank Z to Rank A. Can you climb the ranks and reach the top?
WELCOME TO LUMIOSE CITY
Visit shops, restaurants, and more, all centered around Prism Tower. An urban redevelopment plan is underway to shape the city into a place that belongs to both people and Pokémon.
BATTLE WITH TRAINERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
With a Nintendo Switch Online membership*, you can battle up to three other Trainers at once, locally or online, in frenetic real-time battles!
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
- Franchise
- Pokemon
- Number of Players
- 1-4 players (online)
- Nintendo Switch Release Date
- October 16, 2025
- Nintendo Switch 2 Release Date
- October 16, 2025
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
