For many Pokémon Legends ZA players, shiny hunting remains one of the most rewarding yet time-consuming activities in the game. Recently, a method shared by Austin Johnplays has made acquiring shiny fossil Pokémon significantly easier, even for players who are just looking to grind efficiently. In this guide, I’ll break down his approach and provide practical tips to maximize your shiny hunting success.

Step 1: Prepare Your Resources

Before starting, it’s essential to have a stable source of in-game currency. By the time you’re aiming for the shiny charm, most players will have already purchased all the mega stones and other expensive items, which often leaves you with millions of dollars in-game. In Austin’s example, he had $1.67 million and over 500 experience candies, which provided ample flexibility for fossil purchases.

With these resources, your main expenditure will be buying fossils from the Stone Emporium. There are three types available: the jaw fossil, the sail fossil, and the old amber. Depending on your budget, you can purchase as few as one fossil or stock up with dozens for more efficient shiny hunting.

Step 2: Organize and Save

Once you’ve acquired your fossils, organize them in your Pokémon boxes. Austin suggests using box three for a clean workflow. Additionally, performing a hard save at this stage is crucial. This allows you to reset the game and retry the fossil restoration without losing progress, effectively enabling a form of soft farming for shiny Pokémon.

Step 3: Fossil Restoration Method

Take your fossils to the Pokémon research lab and speak with Reg. If you only have one fossil in your inventory, Reg will immediately restore it, giving you the corresponding Pokémon. Using a turbo controller or simply holding the A button allows you to speed up the process for multiple fossils.

Timing your restoration is key for efficiency. Austin notes that restoring 20 fossils takes roughly 4.4 minutes, 30 fossils take about 6.63 minutes, and 45 fossils take 9.9 minutes. Setting a timer helps maintain a consistent rotation of restoration and game reset cycles, ensuring maximum efficiency.

Step 4: Checking for Shiny Pokémon

After restoring fossils, check your boxes for shiny variants. The default shiny rate remains 1 in 496, even with the shiny charm equipped. This means patience is required, but the streamlined process allows players to cycle through many fossils quickly. If a shiny does not appear, simply restart the game and restore the fossils again—the absence of autosave makes this method particularly effective.

Austin reported successfully obtaining a shiny Aora on his 10th attempt, showcasing how the combination of bulk fossil restoration and game resetting can yield quick results.

Step 5: Additional Tips

  • Stat Considerations: Fossil Pokémon stats are random, so you may need to repeat the process to get optimal IVs or preferred abilities.

  • Alpha Variants: While rare (1 in 100 chance), keep an eye out for alpha Pokémon when restoring fossils—they add extra value to your shiny hunt.

  • Selling Excess Fossils: If you end up with extra fossils, you can sell them back for 25% of their purchase price, which allows some recovery of in-game currency.

For players who want to buy shiny Pokémon directly or compare efficiency strategies, knowing where to buy shiny Pokémon online is valuable. Austin’s approach complements the broader market, but for those seeking convenience, researching the best website for ZA shiny options can save time and effort.

Shiny hunting fossil Pokémon in Pokémon Legends ZA has become more accessible than ever thanks to the ability to purchase fossils in bulk and efficiently restore them. By organizing your inventory, timing restoration cycles, and understanding the shiny mechanics, players can dramatically increase their chances of adding rare shiny fossils to their collection. Whether you prefer grinding in-game or exploring online sources to buy shiny Pokémon, this method provides a practical and enjoyable approach to shiny hunting.