Square shiny Pokemon is one of the newer features introduced in Pokemon Sword and Shield, adding a whole new dimension to the already daunting task that is shiny hunting. What do square shinies mean, and how can you add one to your collection?
Also, apparently, there's different types of Shiny Pokemon in Sword and Shield: a Normal Shiny, and a Square Shiny
The Cherubi I found was a Normal Shiny, but the Zigzagoon I chained for is a Square Shiny
Neato!
— AceStar ?️?? (@AceStarThe3rd) November 20, 2019
Square Shiny Pokemon in Sword and Shield
When encountering a shiny Pokemon in any previous generation, they would show a brief sparkle before emitting their cry to start the battle. Along with the slight color change in the Pokemon, this is how trainers know it is a shiny. Barring any special manipulations of the game, catching a shiny like this is usually a 1 in 4,096 chance.
The square shiny poses an additional challenge for even the most experienced shiny hunters. In terms of color scheme, there is no difference between a regular shiny Pokemon and a square shiny Pokemon. The only difference is that the "sparkles" they emit at the beginning of a battle will be square instead of star-shaped. Square shinies will occur approximately once out of every 16 shiny encounters, which means that they will occur once every 65,536 times. For anyone looking for a square shiny, the best skill to have is patience.
Image Courtesy Game Freak
