derp, crossposted
Okay, since the guides available online already are in various states of fail, I wrote up a much more close-to-foolproof guide for getting shiny Pokemon with the PokeRadar, since I think some of you are interested. If you don't own Diamond/Pearl/Platinum, skip this post.
HOW TO CHAIN FOR SHINY POKEMON IN DIAMOND/PEARL/PLATINUM
How should I prepare?
Buy HUNDREDS of Max Repels, lots of balls, and a few PP-restoring items. Your party should contain whatever pokemon you need for captures (like something knowing false swipe). If you're hunting steel or electric types, bring something with the magnet-pull or static ability at the top of your party to increase odds of encountering those types. If you want the shinies to be a certain nature, bring something with the synchronize ability and that nature (50% odds of matching) at the top of your party. You can similarly influence gender by bringing something of the opposite gender with the cute charm ability. Whatever Pokemon that is at the top of your party, make sure it's at a higher level than the wild ones. If you have extra spots... you can fill those with Pokemon that have the pick up ability so you can score some free items along the way.
Use the "Pokeradar app" (#20), it's a thing on the lower screen of your DS that will keep count of your chain for you.
How does it work?
The PokeRadar is a device in the key items pocket. Whenever you use the PokeRadar in a normal grassy area, you'll get four individual reactions in separate clumps of grass. There are three types of reactions: shaking with no shine, a briefer shaking with a shine, and A GLIMMER LIKE WHITE DIAMONDS. Entering one of those patches and defeating/catching the pokemon in it will start a chain. The third type means there's a SHINY POKEMON in it. The second the battle ends, four more patches will shake. If you meet the same species of Pokemon and defeat/catch it, the chain continues.
If you don't like the arrangement of the shaking bushes, you just need to walk 50 steps to be able to use the radar again. This does not reset the chain, so reset it whenever you don't like your options.
Fleeing from a battle, encountering a different Pokemon, leaving the grassy area, quitting your game, or getting on your bicycle will end the chain. Closing your DS for sleep-mode is fine.
The grid below is the important part. 0 represents where you are when you use the radar. There will be one shaking patch of grass on each of the other numbers. 4 is the number that you want to get onto to continue the chain, while avoiding the other numbers.
4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4
4 3 2 2 2 2 2 3 4
4 3 2 1 1 1 2 3 4
4 3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4
4 3 2 1 1 1 2 3 4
4 3 2 2 2 2 2 3 4
4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4
4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
(Or:)
This is not limited by the boundaries of your grassy area. So, a "shaking spot" may occur invisibly off to the side in the dirt, inaccessible.
Chaining raises odds of shinies. It caps at 40, so that's why you want to make a chain of 40. The formula is...
(odds of seeing a glimmering patch) = (14747-(40*A))/(2621440(41-A))
where A is the number of your current chain. What that means is, after 40, you have a 0.5% (1 in 200) chance of seeing shiny-grass (0.25% at 39, and so on).
Rules for getting to a chain of 40:
1. Use repels, and make sure your lead Pokemon is of a higher level than the wild ones. It keeps away wild Pokemon who aren't involved in the radar. They'll break your chain. So keep the repels going constantly!
2. Don't get on your bike.
3. Don't flee from a battle or let the other Pokemon flee.
4. Don't leave the grassy area.
5. Don't turn the game off.
6. Only go for the same type of grass as the one you started with (long shaking or shine shaking), unless it's glimmering (like white diamonds!) in which case GO FOR IT IT'S A SHINY.
7. Only go for #4 (as seen on the above grid) shaking spots.
8. If you don't see four spots shaking, DO NOT step straight upward. There may be one hiding behind your fat head.
9. AVOID shaking spots that are against corners or edges. That's because the radar might position all of the next ones "outside" of the grassy area, and if there's none in the grass, the chain is over. Just take 50 steps and reset the radar. Feel free to take the risk if it's a glimmery shiny patch. Here's an example with yellow dots representing the only possible spots of shaking bushes you should be going for if using the radar from that spot:
10. If the shaking patches don't fit with my advice, or if you don't see 4 shaking patches, then for god's sake take the time to reset the damn thing or you'll probably screw it up. You're going to be resetting it a lot!
What to do after you chain 40:
Stop entering shaking spots. Just keep moving around the middle and resetting your radar without touching them. Now you're just keeping your eyes out for the diamond glimmer. It lasts about as long as a non-shine patch. If you see it, enter it and you'll go into battle against a shiny. The patch looks like this:
Advice:
1. REGISTER the PokeRadar. It'll save a hell of a lot of time being able to access it just by pressing Y (and not accidentally getting on your bike).
2. Use big grass-patches, and send your radar-pings out from around the middle of it. You want all four "shaking spots" to occur IN the grass. If you only see three, that means one is either behind your character's head or outside of the grassy area.
3. Spend most of your fortune on repel. 300 Max Repels MINIMUM I'd say. You don't want to run out while you're on a roll.
4. If you're hunting a steel-type, use a lead Pokemon with the magnet-pull ability. If you're hunting an electric-type, use a lead Pokemon with the static ability. They increase the odds of the Pokemon you see being those types.
5. Take breaks. If you try to do this all in one sitting your eyes will go crazy. Do NOT save and quit, that breaks your chain. Just close your DS and plug it in. It can go on for days if it needs to.
6. Have your DS at full-brightness so you can see better.
...And that's about all I can think of at the moment. It really works, I've caught lots of shinies this way.
EDIT: Yes you can be following all these rules and still have a slight chance of your chain being broken anyway..... but hey, it's only slight.
HOW TO CHAIN FOR SHINY POKEMON IN DIAMOND/PEARL/PLATINUM
How should I prepare?
Buy HUNDREDS of Max Repels, lots of balls, and a few PP-restoring items. Your party should contain whatever pokemon you need for captures (like something knowing false swipe). If you're hunting steel or electric types, bring something with the magnet-pull or static ability at the top of your party to increase odds of encountering those types. If you want the shinies to be a certain nature, bring something with the synchronize ability and that nature (50% odds of matching) at the top of your party. You can similarly influence gender by bringing something of the opposite gender with the cute charm ability. Whatever Pokemon that is at the top of your party, make sure it's at a higher level than the wild ones. If you have extra spots... you can fill those with Pokemon that have the pick up ability so you can score some free items along the way.
Use the "Pokeradar app" (#20), it's a thing on the lower screen of your DS that will keep count of your chain for you.
How does it work?
The PokeRadar is a device in the key items pocket. Whenever you use the PokeRadar in a normal grassy area, you'll get four individual reactions in separate clumps of grass. There are three types of reactions: shaking with no shine, a briefer shaking with a shine, and A GLIMMER LIKE WHITE DIAMONDS. Entering one of those patches and defeating/catching the pokemon in it will start a chain. The third type means there's a SHINY POKEMON in it. The second the battle ends, four more patches will shake. If you meet the same species of Pokemon and defeat/catch it, the chain continues.
If you don't like the arrangement of the shaking bushes, you just need to walk 50 steps to be able to use the radar again. This does not reset the chain, so reset it whenever you don't like your options.
Fleeing from a battle, encountering a different Pokemon, leaving the grassy area, quitting your game, or getting on your bicycle will end the chain. Closing your DS for sleep-mode is fine.
The grid below is the important part. 0 represents where you are when you use the radar. There will be one shaking patch of grass on each of the other numbers. 4 is the number that you want to get onto to continue the chain, while avoiding the other numbers.
4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4
4 3 2 2 2 2 2 3 4
4 3 2 1 1 1 2 3 4
4 3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4
4 3 2 1 1 1 2 3 4
4 3 2 2 2 2 2 3 4
4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4
4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
(Or:)
This is not limited by the boundaries of your grassy area. So, a "shaking spot" may occur invisibly off to the side in the dirt, inaccessible.
Chaining raises odds of shinies. It caps at 40, so that's why you want to make a chain of 40. The formula is...
(odds of seeing a glimmering patch) = (14747-(40*A))/(2621440(41-A))
where A is the number of your current chain. What that means is, after 40, you have a 0.5% (1 in 200) chance of seeing shiny-grass (0.25% at 39, and so on).
Rules for getting to a chain of 40:
1. Use repels, and make sure your lead Pokemon is of a higher level than the wild ones. It keeps away wild Pokemon who aren't involved in the radar. They'll break your chain. So keep the repels going constantly!
2. Don't get on your bike.
3. Don't flee from a battle or let the other Pokemon flee.
4. Don't leave the grassy area.
5. Don't turn the game off.
6. Only go for the same type of grass as the one you started with (long shaking or shine shaking), unless it's glimmering (like white diamonds!) in which case GO FOR IT IT'S A SHINY.
7. Only go for #4 (as seen on the above grid) shaking spots.
8. If you don't see four spots shaking, DO NOT step straight upward. There may be one hiding behind your fat head.
9. AVOID shaking spots that are against corners or edges. That's because the radar might position all of the next ones "outside" of the grassy area, and if there's none in the grass, the chain is over. Just take 50 steps and reset the radar. Feel free to take the risk if it's a glimmery shiny patch. Here's an example with yellow dots representing the only possible spots of shaking bushes you should be going for if using the radar from that spot:
10. If the shaking patches don't fit with my advice, or if you don't see 4 shaking patches, then for god's sake take the time to reset the damn thing or you'll probably screw it up. You're going to be resetting it a lot!
What to do after you chain 40:
Stop entering shaking spots. Just keep moving around the middle and resetting your radar without touching them. Now you're just keeping your eyes out for the diamond glimmer. It lasts about as long as a non-shine patch. If you see it, enter it and you'll go into battle against a shiny. The patch looks like this:
Advice:
1. REGISTER the PokeRadar. It'll save a hell of a lot of time being able to access it just by pressing Y (and not accidentally getting on your bike).
2. Use big grass-patches, and send your radar-pings out from around the middle of it. You want all four "shaking spots" to occur IN the grass. If you only see three, that means one is either behind your character's head or outside of the grassy area.
3. Spend most of your fortune on repel. 300 Max Repels MINIMUM I'd say. You don't want to run out while you're on a roll.
4. If you're hunting a steel-type, use a lead Pokemon with the magnet-pull ability. If you're hunting an electric-type, use a lead Pokemon with the static ability. They increase the odds of the Pokemon you see being those types.
5. Take breaks. If you try to do this all in one sitting your eyes will go crazy. Do NOT save and quit, that breaks your chain. Just close your DS and plug it in. It can go on for days if it needs to.
6. Have your DS at full-brightness so you can see better.
...And that's about all I can think of at the moment. It really works, I've caught lots of shinies this way.
EDIT: Yes you can be following all these rules and still have a slight chance of your chain being broken anyway..... but hey, it's only slight.