How to shiny hunt using Surfing in Pokémon HeartGold.
Surfing in circles on water to trigger wild battles.
Odds with charm
1 / 8,192
Odds no charm
1 / 8,192
Per encounter
~12s
Expected hunt
27.3 hours
How the hunt works
Surf out onto the water route with the best rate for your target and move in a continuous circle. Water tables are usually short, so the target percentage is often much higher than in grass.
The base rate in Pokémon HeartGold is 1 in 8,192. There is no Shiny Charm in this game, so the base rate is the best you can get.
Tips
- •Sea routes often have one dominant species — check the table before committing.
Pokémon you can find with Surfing in HeartGold
32 species, sorted by best encounter rate.
| Pokémon | Best rate | Levels | Locations |
|---|---|---|---|
 Psyduck | 60% | 5–40 | 7 |
 Poliwag | 60% | 5–40 | 14 |
 Poliwhirl | 60% | 10–48 | 10 |
 Tentacool | 60% | 10–35 | 22 |
 Slowpoke | 60% | 5–25 | 3 |
 Seel | 60% | 10–40 | 2 |
 Grimer | 60% | 15–20 | 2 |
 Horsea | 60% | 10–40 | 3 |
 Goldeen | 60% | 5–40 | 17 |
 Seaking | 60% | 10–50 | 17 |
 Magikarp | 60% | 2–50 | 13 |
 Wooper | 60% | 10–30 | 7 |
 Wingull | 60% | 35 | 2 |
 Clamperl | 60% | 35 | 1 |
 Luvdisc | 60% | 20 | 1 |
 Tentacruel | 30% | 15–36 | 22 |
 Quagsire | 30% | 10–43 | 10 |
 Golduck | 10% | 10–45 | 7 |
 Muk | 10% | 15–48 | 2 |
 Lapras | 10% | 15–47 | 1 |
 Marill | 10% | 16–17 | 1 |
 Skiploom | 10% | 47 | 1 |
 Jumpluff | 10% | 47 | 1 |
 Murkrow | 10% | 47 | 1 |
 Masquerain | 10% | 42–46 | 1 |
 Duskull | 10% | 48 | 1 |
 Slowbro | 5% | 15–50 | 2 |
 Seadra | 5% | 15–30 | 1 |
 Staryu | 5% | 15–25 | 1 |
 Gyarados | 5% | 10–20 | 1 |
 Dratini | 5% | 5–15 | 1 |
 Mantine | 5% | 15–25 | 1 |