One of the Pokémon franchise’s most coveted items is the Shiny Charm – a trinket that increases the already slim odds of finding Shiny Pokémon in the wild. Obtaining the item in Pokémon Legends: Z-A requires completing several research tasks, one of which involves winning 1,000 Pokémon battles. While you would normally need to use your flesh-and-blood hands to complete this assignment, YouTube channel Professor Rex repurposed a 3D printer and turbo controller to do most of the work for them.
By creating a makeshift controller holder out of a plastic container and foam, they were able to keep a turbo controller in place while continuously holding down its “A” (confirm) button. They then placed the controller under a reprogrammed Prusa Mk 4 3D printer, the hotend of which routinely presses the controller’s left “L” trigger.
This controller setup locks onto an enemy Pokémon with the L trigger as soon as a battle starts. Continuously holding the “A” button spams the “attack” and “confirm” commands, thereby automating the battle process.
While this method is still possible without a 3D printer, it will be much slower. Regardless of whether you decide to use your hands or the printer, you still need a strong Pokémon equipped with a Rocky Helmet (which damages any attacker that comes into contact with it) and a turbo controller’s hold function.
The Professor Rex YouTube channel is dedicated to all things Pokémon. It even includes a behind-the-scenes look at how the team speedruns hunting Shiny Pokémon. You won’t need several Switch consoles to hunt for your own rare Pokémon, but having that Shiny Charm definitely helps.
Pokémon Legends: Z-A is out now for the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2.
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