How to shiny hunt using Surfing in Pokémon SoulSilver.

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 SoulSilver 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 SoulSilver

31 species, sorted by best encounter rate.

PokémonBest rateLevelsLocations
Psyduck60%5–407
Poliwag60%5–4014
Poliwhirl60%10–4810
Tentacool60%10–3522
Slowpoke60%5–253
Seel60%10–402
Grimer60%15–202
Horsea60%10–403
Goldeen60%5–4017
Seaking60%10–5017
Magikarp60%2–5013
Wooper60%10–307
Wingull60%352
Clamperl60%351
Luvdisc60%201
Tentacruel30%15–3622
Quagsire30%10–4310
Golduck10%10–457
Muk10%15–482
Lapras10%15–471
Marill10%16–171
Skiploom10%471
Jumpluff10%471
Murkrow10%471
Masquerain10%42–461
Duskull10%481
Slowbro5%15–502
Seadra5%15–301
Staryu5%15–251
Gyarados5%10–201
Dratini5%5–151