Massive hordes of Pokemon violently surging across Paldea may seem like cause for alarm, but these mysterious phenomena know as mass outbreaks offer no shortage of opportunity for Scarlet and Violet trainers. As the singular new encounter method debuting in Gen 9, mastering mass outbreaks is absolutely vital for shiny hunting, filling your Pokedex, acquiring rare Tera Types, gathering crafting materials, power levelling teams, and much more.
This definitive mass outbreak guide will cover everything players need to know about manipulating outbreaks for their maximum benefit. I‘ll explain what they are, where to locate them, how to reset and chain them for optimal efficiency, the best Pokemon and strategies to battle them, and when leveraging certain tactics like Let‘s Go becomes advantageous.
Whether you‘re a casual trainer looking to amp up your shiny luck, or a hardcore hunter determined to build an Alpha Living Shiny Dex of the entire Paldean Pokedex with perfect Natures – outbreaks are the key. Let‘s get started.
What Are Mass Outbreaks and How Do They Work?
Unlike random grass encounters, mass outbreaks concentrate hordes of the same species into small areas. Up to 150-200 individual Pokemon can gather in one small zone during an outbreak, increasing base shiny odds by 25 times from 1/4096 to an incredible 1/158!
These events trigger randomly each day with the type and location shifting with each new outbreak. Identifying them is straightforward though – simply check your map for clusters of Pokemon icons tinted an ominous red/purple hue rather than the standard blue.
Interacting with mass outbreaks provides the following unique benefits not found anywhere else in Pokemon Scarlet/Violet:
Guaranteed Species Encounters – Only that particular outbreak species will spawn. Perfect for targeting specific desired Pokemon.
Major Shiny Rate Elevation – At a potential maximum of 1/158 odds after 25 KOs/catches, outbreaks offer insane shader chances compared to standard 1/4096 base odds.
Effort Values (EV) Boost Opportunity – Pokemon defeated during outbreaks grant more EVs than normal spawns. Useful for optimizing the stats you‘re training.
Increased Brilliant Pokemon Rates – The radiant variant Pokemon have ~5% outbreak spawn chances, compared to 1% normally.
More Alpha Spawns – similarly, the gargantuan Alpha size emerges more commonly at around a 10% outbreak rate rather than the standard 5%.
Advanced Species Statistics – exact species spawn percentages, alpha rates, brilliant rates etc per Pokemon are still being researched, but will no doubt provide greater insight into optimal hunting strategies as datasets grow.
Utilizing mass outbreaks does come with a few caveats trainers should consider however:
Time Limit – outbreaks are temporary, lasting between 60 and 90 minutes before dispersing if not manually reset. You must battle efficiently to capitalize on their benefits.
Spawn Cap – only 150-200 Pokemon total per species can emerge during any single outbreak. Once hit, you must reset the outbreak or wait for another random spawn the following day.
RNG Dependency – unlike static overworld spawns, outbreaks feature random type generation every morning. What emerges and where is unpredictable, so daily map checks are mandatory.
Now that you understand the outbreak concept and rules, let‘s get into locating them efficiently.
How to Find, Trigger and Reset Mass Outbreaks
With hundreds of potential Pokemon species that could erupt into an outbreak at any given moment, actually pinpointing spawn locations might seem daunting. Fortunately, Game Freak implemented clear map indicators allowing easy identification.
Here are tips for spotting and manipulating mass outbreaks:
Check Your Map Consistently
Open your map with the Y button routinely as you traverse Paldea. Scan for the telltale circular clustering of multiple Pokemon icons/silhouettes with reddish-purple haze backgrounds. These represent active outbreaks.
Teleport to Question Marks for Uncaught Species
If you spot an cluster of question marks rather than registered icons, this signals a rare outbreak featuring a Pokemon species you haven‘t Caught yet. Set these as top priority destinations.
Rest at Camps to Respawn New Outbreaks
If no outbreaks are present, travel to a rest point and establish a campsite. Sleep or craft for 1-2 hours then exit camp and recheck your map. This often triggers new outbreak spawns as the day rolls over.
Change Maps to Force Respawn Rolls
An alternative outbreak respawn method involves loading into a different zone entirely using Fast Travel or Flying. Push your RNG luck via additional map reload rolls to potentially generate different outbreak Pokemon locations.
Reset Single Outbreaks Indefinitely
Once arriving at an outbreak, catch/battle until you reach the 150-200 cap maximum causing dispersal. Then immediately rest 1+ hours at a campsite and return. That specific outbreak should have respawned in the same place, allowing endless reset farming.
As long as you force a respawn quickly before midnight local time hits, you can chain a single desirable outbreak for as long as you wish.
Now let‘s analyze how to build a specialized outbreak hunting squad for maximizing captures.
Assembling the Perfect Outbreak Hunting Team
Mass outbreaks congest very large volumes of often high level Pokemon into small spaces. As such, battling them effectively requires robust preparations including well trained Pokemon, tactical movesets, and plenty of recovery items.
I recommend structuring your ideal 12 Pokemon outbreak team with the following concepts in mind:
Cover All 18 Types with Super Effective STAB Moves
Breeding a squad with Strong Against (resisted) and Strong Type Advantage (super effective) moves of all 18 types will enable you to easily counter any possible outbreak for 2x damage.
Prioritize Same Type Attack Bonus (STAB) abilities your Pokemon‘s types naturally learn for a further 1.5x STAB damage multiplier.
For example, have a Grass type like Roserade with Grass STAB moves (ie Leaf Storm) to crush Water, Rock or Ground outbreaks it resisting. Combine with non-STAB coverage moves like Sludge Bomb (Poison) or Dazzling Gleam (Fairy) for added flexibility.
False Swipe + Stat Counter Move Combo
Teaching select Pokemon False Swipe combined with stat lowering attacks like Charm or Tail Whip is perfect for outpacing outbreaks. False Swipe reduces any Pokemon to 1 HP without KOing, while Charm/Tail Whip progressively weakens outbreak Pokemon over time.
Slap a Wide Lens on your False Swiper to nullify accuracy loss from evasive moves like Sand Attack. This guarantees endless 1HP hits to quickly defeat endless spawns without stopping to heal.
Utilize Area of Effect Abilities
Attacks capable of damaging multiple targets simultaneously help outbreak farmers defeat Pokemon rapidly. Prioritize Pokemon with spread moves like Discharge, Heat Wave, and Earthquake to shred entire hordes at once.
Likewise, integrate catching support moves such as Thunder Wave to paralyze outbreaks groups, or Sleep Powder/Spore to sedate swaths of Pokemon. This ceases endless fleeing and allows easier captures via status locking.
Pack Solutions for Outlier Scenarios
Random factors can occasionally disrupt even the most prepared outbreak battalion. A couple ways to counter:
- Have both Smoochum AND Jynx to bypass Ice/Water absorptions
- Teach a scrappy Pokemon like Pancham to hit Ghost types
- Use a cute charm lead like Togekiss to manipulate gender spawns
- Bring a Compoundeyes Butterfree to induce sleep status explosions
With your elite outbreak hunting squad fully trained, bred and battle ready, let‘s assess optimized catching strategies.
Outbreak Battling and Catching – Advanced Manipulation Tactics
Beyond merely locating and countering outbreaks with type advantages, players can implement certain advanced tactics to further elevate spawn rates, shiny odds, and capture efficiency. This includes chaining outbreaks, leveraging glitches, and defeating outbreaks in precise patterns.
Regularly KO and Catch to Boost Shiny Odds
As you defeat more and more of the same outbreak, shiny probability increases dramatically. But WHAT exactly are those thresholds? Check this breakdown:
0 KOs: 1/4096 Base Odds
15 KOs: 1/2048 Odds
30 KOs: 1/1365 Odds
50 KOs: 1/819 Odds
100 KOs: 1/682 Odds
125+ KOs: 1/512 Maximum Odds
So aim to defeat outbreaks in controlled increments, periodically catching as well until you hit 100+ KOs to max out rates.
Chain Identical Outbreaks to Spawn More
Upon an outbreak‘s dispersal either manually or via hitting the spawn ceiling, immediately rest 1+ hours and return to the SAME location to force a respawn.
If done fast enough, resetting the same outbreak seems to generate additional secondary outbreaks nearby, vastly expanding catch opportunities. This works best chained 2-5 times.
Exploit Glitches to Override Despawns
A couple known bugs can "freeze" outbreaks indefinitely past dispersion points. First method is entering/exiting a building as the outbreak expires. You may return outside with the horde still present a while longer.
Second technique involves hitting Home button and reopening game application fast enough upon the outbreak ending. This can trick the game into retaining the expired spawn.
Exploit these with caution though, as they could increase crashing or freezing odds. Game Freak may eventually patch them out.
Only Battle/Catch Center Area to Sustain Outbreak
Initially clear out the edges of any outbreak, defeating and catching only outliers separate from the core horde. Leave central packs untouched.
Gradually whittle down the main central cluster from the outside inwards destroying only 1-2 adjacent Pokemon at a time, periodically catching as well to uphold sustainability.
This method prevents hitting the ceiling maximum prematurely by maintaining just enough Pokemon to fuel ongoing respawns until shinies emerge.
Now let‘s analyze whether leveraging real-time auto catching and battling is ideal over manual inputs.
To Let‘s Go or Not Let‘s Go? – Evaluating Auto-Battle/Catch Pros and Cons
Among Scarlet and Violet‘s most convenient new features for progression is Let‘s Go mode. By whistling, you summon your lead party Pokemon to autonomously initiate battles, inputs and even catches hands-free! This automation offers obvious outbreak efficiency improvements, but also some distinct disadvantages players should weigh carefully depending decision.
Let‘s Go Auto-Catching Pros
- Faster battling through removing need for manual input
- Conserves player fatigue avoiding repetitive button presses
- Automatically initiates catches without slowing to select Poke Balls
- Won‘t miss shakes or attack shinies since AI handles catching
Let‘s Go Auto-Catching Cons
- Drains resources quickly due to attempting catches at full health
- Increased likelihood of wiping since AI doesn‘t dynamically heal party
- Prevents swapping Pokemon if lead faints
- Can‘t manually target priority shiny/alpha spawns
Based on the above factors, manually catching allows greater precision accuracy and resource conservation. I recommend utilizing Let‘s Go primarily for easier EXP grinding/material farming and disabling it when actively hunting shaders or rare Alphas to enable pinpoint focus.
The choice depends largely on your specific outbreak goal at that time. Both options provide unique advantages worthy of consideration!
Why Prioritize Hunting Mass Outbreaks? – Benefits Recap
Before wrapping up, let‘s reiterate the myriad benefits engaging with mass outbreaks provides:
Exponentially Boosted Shiny Odds
The greatest incentive by far is increasing shiny odds up to 25 times the normal 1/4096 base rate! Outbreak manipulating is objectively the easiest and most efficient shader hunting method in Pokemon history.
Guaranteed Species Targeting
Seeking a specific Pokemon? Repeatedly resetting outbreaks of that particular species offers expected encounter control rather than randomized luck.
Effort Value (EV) Training Optimizer
With EV yields from defeated outbreak Pokemon amplified above standard spawns, outbreaks create an easy source of EV points for stat grinding sessions.
Dex Entry Unlocks
Question mark outbreaks highlight uncaught species. Use them to rapidly register new Pokemon datapoints needed for Pokedex milestone rewards.
Abundant Crafting Components and Money
Battling unlimited outbreak Pokemon provides a fountain of supplies, pearls, shards, and HP restoration berries. Get rich fast!
When examined collectively, the diverse range of benefits unique to mass outbreaks make them indispensable for efficient Scarlet/Violet playthroughs. They are quite literally game changing.
I hope this definitive outbreak guide gives you all the tools needed to fully harness their incredible advantages. Now get out there and start shambling some shinies!
