Guy Makes Automatic Hands-Free Shiny Pokemon Finder!
The title says it all, doesn't it?
This article first appeared on USgamer, a partner publication of VG247. Some content, such as this article, has been migrated to VG247 for posterity after USgamer's closure - but it has not been edited or further vetted by the VG247 team.
Look, we're all just mammals. Wanting something that can put you heads and shoulders above your friends is a common desire. No one's judging. When it comes to Pokemon, pride isn't so much a sin as it is a fixture - the opening of the theme song says it best, really. I want to be the very best? Like no one ever was? Yeah. You get what I'm saying.
With Pokemon X/Y, there are a number of ways to distinguish yourself from the plebians: great style, a knock-out team or a squad of shiny Pokemon. The last, of course, is probably the most visually impressive and arguably the hardest to acquire. In order to get a shiny Pokemon, you either need a dizzying amount of luck (it's a 1/8192 chance) or a great command of chaining techniques. The second method is the more reliable solution. Done correctly, chaining Pokemon will raise the probability of success from 1/8192 to 1/200. Unfortunately, accomplishing this is really bloody hard. Gnashing your teeth is a mandatory part of the experience, folks.
Up till now, that is.
As is often the case with a lot of great things, some guy on the Internet decided that enough was enough. He was tired of sinking hours into the pursuit of shiny Pokemon. He wanted out. But he also wanted shinies. (At least, that's how I imagine the invention process might have been like.) Regardless of what actually catalyzed this decision, dekuNukem eventually came up with a hands-free way to fish for Shiny Pokemon.
No, really. It's actually as awesome as it sounds. Using an Arduino micro connected to the 3DS button logic, dukuNukem has his device set up to press Y and then right in order to cast the fishing rod and then hit A when the audio signal demonstrates a high peak. A light sensor then comes on to measure the bottom screen blackout duration. Non-shiny encounters apparently have a blackout period of 11383ms while shiny-induced blackout periods stretch to 12623ms.
If the Pokemon in question is not a shiny, the Pokemon Finder will run away and repeat the process until a shiny is found. After that, a loud alarm will play to signal its presence.
Cool, eh? The best part about all of this? The source code for the project is available for public usage. Enjoy the video, folks.