How to Clone Shinies in Pokémon Legends: Z-A While Completing and Solving

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Finding shiny Pokémon in the wild areas makes it much easier to hunt, especially once you have the shiny charm to boost your chances. But if hunting for specific shiny Pokémon is becoming frustrating—particularly if you’re trying to complete a shiny living dex—there’s a straightforward way to make the process simpler.

The shiny Pokémon duplication glitch in Pokémon Legends: Z-A lets you clone a shiny Pokémon you’ve legitimately encountered. This means you can take an honest shiny spawn and create a duplicate, giving you two copies instead of just one.

It’s important to note that the second cloned Pokémon might show a “clone” indicator when you check with Pokémon Home, so these duplicates could be considered unofficial for competitive play. This glitch is a bug—a version of the game’s code behaving in an unintended way—and it might be fixed in future updates.

What Is the Shiny Duplication Glitch?

This glitch exploits a flaw in Pokémon Legends: Z-A that lets you duplicate a shiny Pokémon by manipulating the game’s spawn mechanics. The game typically remembers up to ten shiny spawns on a map at once, preventing you from losing a shiny if too many appear. The glitch tricks a spawn point into re-spawning a shiny that’s already been saved, effectively cloning it.

Here’s a simple way to understand it: you move the shiny Pokémon far enough away from its spawn point so that the game thinks it needs to spawn a new shiny, creating a duplicate.

What You Need Before Starting

Before attempting the glitch, ensure:

You’re in a large, open area with plenty of space.
You choose a Pokémon that can attract the shiny without fainting it.
You’ve legitimately encountered and noted the shiny Pokémon’s spawn point.

Once you meet these conditions, you’re ready to clone shiny Pokémon.

How to Clone a Shiny Pokémon

Mark the spawn point: Attach a pin to the location where the shiny appeared, so you can find it again.
Get attention: Attack the shiny Pokémon with a weak Pokémon that won’t deal enough damage to faint it.
Lure it away: Continue attacking it to lead it at least 60 meters away until it stops attacking and runs. At that moment, save your game.
Reset the game: Close and reload your save. When the game loads, the shiny should be nearby.
Move the shiny farther: Attack the shiny again to re-establish its aggression. Get it at least 70 meters away from the original spawn point, ideally more.
Save again: Once it becomes aggressive again, save your game.
Reload: Close and reopen the game. The shiny should be waiting near you.
Catch both: Catch the original shiny and then go back to the marked spawn point to find a second copy—the clone.

You can repeat these steps to make multiple duplicates, giving you an endless supply of shiny Pokémon, if you want. Keep in mind, however, that these cloned Pokémon might be flagged as illegal or illegitimate in competitive settings, so they’re best for personal collection and fun.

Catching the Original and the Clone

When you find the shiny Pokémon waiting after reloading, catch the one closest to you first. Then, return to the original spawn point marked by your pin—there, you should find the cloned shiny. Catch it too, and you now have two identical shiny Pokémon. You can repeat this process as many times as you like to produce more clones, though they may be flagged as unofficial if checked.

Is Duplicating Shiny Pokémon Allowed?

Using this glitch to duplicate shiny Pokémon is not officially supported and may violate game integrity. These clones are generally considered unofficial, which could affect their legality in competitive play. For personal use and fun—especially if shared with friends—it’s usually fine, but don’t rely on these duplicates for serious battles or transferring to Pokémon Home if you want a clean collection.