Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: How to Shiny Hunt Poltchageist in The Teal Mask DLC

One of the most exciting new additions to Pokémon Scarlet and Violet with the arrival of The Teal Mask DLC is Poltchageist. This divergent form of Sinistea has quickly become a fan favorite, and that means shiny Pokémon lovers will be looking to snag the rarest of the rare.

Poltchageist randomly appears as either Counterfeit Form or Artisan Form depending on whether it bears a stamp of authenticity. Catching a shiny Artisan Form Poltchageist in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet might be one of the most daunting tasks possible, but we've got the hunting strategy you'll need.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: Where to catch Poltchageist in The Teal Mask DLC

If you're starting The Teal Mask DLC after finishing the main story in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, you'll likely be able to head right to Poltchageist the moment you free up from the early cutscenes. However, for players on a new save or heading to Kitakami before being farther along in the game, you may hit a snag. You'll need to have at least progressed far enough for Koraidon or Miraidon to have the ability to cross water, and potentially may also need the ability to climb cliffs.

In order to find Poltchageist in The Teal Mask DLC, you'll need to head to the far western rim of Kitakami just across the river from Kitakami Hall. The circled area in the image above is where you'll locate a batch of bamboo, and Poltchageist usually isn't too difficult to find there. While their full habitat shown in the Pokédex is a bit larger, this was the quickest and most reliable spot for us.

How to Shiny Hunt Poltchageist in The Teal Mask

Once you've found the right spot, the next step is increasing your shiny odds. Before doing this, it's very important to go into your settings and turn off autosave. You'll need to use rare Herba Mystica, and it's best to turn off autosave and save before starting a hunt. This allows you to reset and try again without losing the item if the shiny hunting attempt doesn't succeed.

When you're ready, set up a picnic and go into Creative Mode for your sandwich artistry. For ingredients, add 1x Pickle, 1x Cucumber, 3x Red Onion, and then 2x Herba Mystica. You can use almost any Herba Mystica combination (2x Spicy, 1x Sour & 1x Spicy, 2x Salty), but do not use 2x Sour Herba Mystica as this is the one variant that will net you the wrong sandwich effects.

Once you've made the sandwich, the timer begins and you'll have exactly 30 minutes of boosts to go hunting for a shiny Poltchageist. Don't forget you can press R to send your lead Pokémon out for quick battles, and this will be a big help as they'll refuse to faint any potential shiny Pokémon. When the odds work in your favor and a shiny Poltchageist appears, you'll want to be extremely careful in that battle.

Due to the difficulty of this capture and the rarity, some players may want to even use a Master Ball if they have one to spare. The semi-reliable Quick Ball on the first turn is also an option, but there are some hiccups when it comes to weakening Poltchageist if the immediate capture options don't work out for you.

As a Ghost-type and Grass-type Pokémon, catching methods using Breloom are going to be completely destroyed as neither Spore nor False Swipe will work. You also have to tango with Poltchageist being a Pokémon that knows the move Memento, which sharply lowers your Attack and Special Attack but will make Poltchageist faint. One use will end the encounter and lose your shiny, so catching as quickly as possible is crucial.

The best options to block this are using a Chandelure or Polteageist that knows both Memento and Imprison, as the latter move will at least prevent the wild Poltchageist from using Memento and fainting itself. Imprison's effects end if that Pokémon is switched out, so be careful if you intend to use a different Pokémon that knows Hypnosis to try and put Poltchageist to sleep.

One risky option but potentially effective option is trying Will-O-Wisp from Chandelure or Polteageist to inflict a status effect that will chip away at its HP. The combination will make Poltchageist progressively easier to capture, and you may be able to use a Timer Ball, but if catching attempts keep failing the incremental burn could faint your potential shiny.

Ultimately, it's going to take having a little bit of luck on your side in order to catch a shiny Poltchageist. It'll take even more luck if you're hoping to snag a shiny version of the even rarer Artisan Form of Poltchageist, but with the method outlined here you now have the tools to hunt one of the most difficult to capture shiny forms in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet and turn the odds in your favor.