A growing slice of the Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen community is refusing to start their adventure on Nintendo Switch 2 until they roll a shiny starter—even if it takes thousands of soft resets. The renewed attention comes as more players discover just how punishing the classic 1 in 8,192 shiny odds are in Generation 3, especially compared to modern Pokémon games.
With FireRed/LeafGreen now available as standalone releases on Switch 2 with Pokémon HOME compatibility and at least one notorious bug removed, the games are pulling in newcomers and veterans alike—some of whom are turning Professor Oak’s lab into a marathon reset grind before they ever reach Route 1.
What’s happening: “Don’t start the game until it’s shiny”
According to reporting highlighted by TheGamer, players across the LeafGreen subreddit are documenting long shiny starter hunts that begin immediately in Professor Oak’s lab, where you choose Charmander, Bulbasaur, or Squirtle. The method is simple in concept: save at the right point, check the starter, and soft reset if it isn’t shiny—repeating until luck finally hits.
The key detail driving the trend is the old-school math. FireRed and LeafGreen use “traditional” shiny odds: 1 in 8,192 (about 0.012 percent), which makes shiny starters a patience test by design. Unlike later entries that “practically hand out shiny Pokémon,” as TheGamer frames it, these remakes don’t offer modern conveniences that meaningfully reduce the grind at the very start of the game.
The result is a self-imposed rule some players are sticking to: they won’t actually begin playing until their starter is shiny. TheGamer notes there are players “stuck in the thousands of resets” who still haven’t found one—and they’re still going.
The soft reset method (Switch 2 and GBA) — and why it’s so popular
GameRant’s guide breaks down the soft reset inputs for both the modern re-release and the original Game Boy Advance version, and it explains why the technique has become the go-to approach for shiny hunting “static encounters” (like starters and legendaries).
Nintendo Switch / Switch 2 soft reset inputs
On the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 versions of Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, players can soft reset by pressing:
- A + B + X + Y simultaneously
GameRant emphasizes an important caution: FireRed and LeafGreen do not have an auto-save function like later Pokémon games. That means if you trigger a reset without making a “hard save” first, you can lose significant progress.
Game Boy Advance soft reset inputs
On the Game Boy Advance version, the soft reset input is different:
- A + B + Start + Select simultaneously
Why players soft reset in FireRed/LeafGreen
GameRant lists two main reasons players repeatedly reload saves in these games:
- Rerolling Pokémon natures for desired outcomes in static encounters
- Rerolling shiny odds when shiny hunting static encounters
For shiny hunting specifically, GameRant calls out the same early-game target that’s dominating community chatter: the three starters in Professor Oak’s lab. It also notes that soft resetting is commonly used for legendary Pokémon encounters such as Zapdos, Articuno, Moltres, Mewtwo, and others—again because you’re repeatedly rolling against the 1 in 8,192 odds.
The appeal is efficiency. Soft resetting returns you to the title screen without manually closing the game and relaunching it, making it the fastest loop for repeated checks.
The community split: “Too committed to quit” vs “I’d rather just play”
TheGamer’s snapshot of subreddit discussion captures a familiar shiny-hunting divide: the players who treat the grind as the point, and the players who decide the time cost isn’t worth delaying the actual game.
On the extreme end, TheGamer points to one player who reportedly went through 12,108 resets before finally getting a shiny Bulbasaur—and only then felt they could “finally play the game.” Others are still mid-hunt, posting their current counts and hoping they don’t reach that kind of number.
But not everyone is convinced. TheGamer also highlights comments from players who hit a breaking point early, with one saying that after a couple of hours they realized they’d rather just start playing normally. Meanwhile, others argue the opposite: once you’ve sunk enough time into resets, quitting feels impossible—so they push forward to see it through.
There’s also a particularly painful anecdote TheGamer mentions: a player who did get a shiny Squirtle—then soft reset anyway out of muscle memory from repeated disappointment. TheGamer notes it’s unclear whether to “laugh or cry” for that user, but the story underlines how repetitive the loop can become when you’re deep into a shiny starter hunt.
Why this is flaring up now: Switch 2 availability, Pokémon HOME support, and a removed bug
Part of what’s fueling the renewed wave of shiny starter resets is simply that more people are playing FireRed and LeafGreen again—especially those who never experienced the originals on Game Boy Advance.
TheGamer reports that Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen are available on Nintendo Switch 2 as standalone releases, and that these versions include Pokémon HOME compatibility. TheGamer also notes the removal of “the infamous glitch” that previously caused legendary Pokémon to disappear if they used the move Roar.
That combination—fresh accessibility, modern connectivity via HOME, and at least one major bug fix—appears to be drawing in players who are now encountering Generation 3’s difficulty and design quirks firsthand. TheGamer specifically calls out newcomers learning “how ruthless the Elite Four are,” “how mean your rival can be,” and how difficult shiny hunting is under the older odds.
In other words, the shiny starter grind isn’t just a niche challenge run anymore. With the games newly prominent again on Switch 2, it’s becoming a shared community ritual—one that’s easy to understand, easy to attempt, and brutally hard to finish.
A related reminder: some of FireRed/LeafGreen’s best tools are still locked behind the post-game
While the shiny starter conversation is dominating attention, GameRant’s separate guide coverage also serves as a reminder of how FireRed and LeafGreen gate certain powerful options until after the main story.
For example, GameRant reports that TM36 Sludge Bomb is found in the Team Rocket Warehouse on Five Island (Sevii Islands) during the post-game, and that there’s no way to obtain it before becoming Champion and registering Pokémon in the Hall of Fame. Access requires progression into the extended Sevii Islands content.
That detail matters in the context of today’s shiny starter reset trend because it highlights a broader truth about these games: FireRed and LeafGreen are structured around long-term progression and delayed rewards. Whether you’re chasing a shiny in Oak’s lab or planning out late-game movesets, the games often demand patience—sometimes a lot of it.
What Remains Unknown
- Exact release date and pricing for the standalone Nintendo Switch 2 versions are not provided .
- It’s not specified whether the Switch 2 releases include additional quality-of-life changes beyond Pokémon HOME compatibility and the removal of the Roar-related legendary disappearance glitch.
- The available reporting doesn’t confirm how widespread the shiny-starter “won’t start until it’s shiny” approach is beyond the examples cited from subreddit discussion.
- No official statement from Nintendo, The Pokémon Company, or Game Freak about the shiny reset trend is included in the provided information.
Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen (originally released September 7, 2004) were developed by Game Freak and published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo. As the games find a new audience on Switch 2, the early-game shiny starter hunt is quickly becoming one of the most visible ways players are choosing to re-enter Kanto—one reset at a time.
