You're out in the fields of Paldea, circling a pack of Tandemaus for the third hour. Your eyes are starting to strain. You want that subtle color change, but the odds are just garbage. Honestly, if you aren't using a normal type shiny sandwich, you're basically just wasting your time and your Herba Mystica. Shiny hunting in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet changed everything with the picnic mechanic. It’s not just about luck anymore; it’s about math, ingredients, and making sure you don't accidentally drop a piece of chorizo off the bread.
The community calls them "Sparkling Power" sandwiches.
Most people mess this up. They go to a random infographic they found on Reddit from 2022 and wonder why they're seeing Flying types instead of that Eevee they’ve been dreaming of. The game’s internal logic for sandwich crafting is weirdly specific. If you don't hit the right "points" for a specific type, the game defaults to whatever ingredient has the highest value.
Why the Normal Type Shiny Sandwich is Different
Normal types are everywhere. That’s the problem. Because they inhabit almost every biome in Paldea, Kitakami, and the Indigo Disk’s Terarium, your sandwich has to be precise to filter out the noise. If you’re hunting for a Shiny Dunsparce or trying to find a jumbo-sized Blissey for EXP farming, you need Sparkling Power: Normal Level 3.
Let's talk about the Fried Fillet.
Most recipes use Chorizo for Normal types, but the Fried Fillet is the heavy hitter here. To get that Level 3 boost—which includes Sparkling Power, Title Power, and Encounter Power—you usually need two Herba Mysticas. But here’s the kicker: not all Herba combinations work. If you mix a Sweet and a Sour, you might end up with Catching Power instead of Encounter Power. That is a total disaster when you’re trying to force-spawn a specific Pokémon.
The Recipe That Never Fails
If you want the "standard" most efficient build, you’re looking at one serving of Chorizo. Just one. Then you add two Herba Mysticas. Salty is the gold standard because it provides the highest "points" toward the Sparkling and Encounter buffs.
But wait.
What if you’re low on Salty Herba Mysticas? They are notoriously hard to farm from 5 and 6-star raids. You can actually use a mix of Spicy and Sour if you add more ingredients to balance the "flavor profile" the game looks for. Try adding two servings of Chorizo, a Jalapeño, and a Red Onion. It’s a mess to stack. It looks like a mountain of meat that’s destined to fall over, but it saves your precious Salty herbs for a different hunt.
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I’ve seen players lose their minds because a single slice of tomato fell off the top. If an ingredient falls off, the game recalculates the recipe. You might lose the "Normal" typing entirely. Pro tip: you don't actually need to put the top bun on. Just toss it to the side of the plate. The game doesn't care about the bun, only what’s sitting on the bottom half.
Where to Hunt Once You’ve Eaten
You’ve got 30 minutes. The clock is ticking in the top right corner of your screen. Where do you go?
For Eevee, you’re heading to the outskirts of Medali. But be warned, the spawn rate is low even with a Level 3 sandwich. You’ll want to do the "town reset" method. Stand right on the border where the town name pops up on your screen. When you see the name, the wild Pokémon despawn. Walk back out, and 15 new ones appear instantly. It’s way faster than running in circles.
If you're after the "Living Pom-Pom" that is Shiny Maushold, the area around the Pokémon League is decent, but the sheer number of Tandemaus can make your frame rate chug. It’s a nightmare.
The Herba Mystica Problem
We have to address the elephant in the room. Getting the ingredients for a normal type shiny sandwich is a grind. You’re at the mercy of the RNG gods in Tera Raids. According to data mined by researchers like Anubis on Twitter, certain Pokémon have better drop rates.
- Blissey is the queen of drops. If you see a Blissey raid, drop everything.
- Amoonguss, Cetinthan, and Dondozo are also high-tier targets.
- Avoid 5-star raids of fast, frail Pokémon; they rarely drop more than one herb, if any.
Advanced Tactics: The Multiplayer Glitch
You can actually save your herbs. This is the "infinite sandwich" trick that the hardcore shiny hunting community uses constantly.
Enter a picnic with a friend. You provide the ingredients, they provide nothing, or vice versa. Once the sandwich is made and the buff is active, the person who contributed the Herba Mysticas closes the game without saving. The buff stays on the player who remained in the game, but the herbs aren't consumed from the host’s inventory because the game never "saved" the loss. It feels a bit like cheating, but considering how low the drop rates are for Salty Herba Mysticas, most people find it a fair trade-off for their time.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Don't use the "Creative Mode" unless you know exactly what you're doing. The game has a hidden point system.
Each ingredient has a Type value and a Flavor value.
Normal type is triggered primarily by Chorizo, Tofu, and Rice.
But Rice is a pain because it’s a "ball" ingredient that rolls around. Tofu is flat and stable.
If you're hunting for a Shiny Smeargle in the DLC, the Tofu recipe is your best friend. It’s stable, stacks easily, and won't frustrate you while you're trying to prep for a long hunt in the Savanna Biome.
Also, check your town. If you’re inside a city, the sandwich buff is paused, but you also won’t see any spawns. Don't waste your 30-minute timer staring at the menu in Mesagoza.
Your Next Steps for a Successful Hunt
Before you break out the bread, make sure you have turned off Autosave. This is the single most important step. If you eat the sandwich, hunt for 30 minutes, and find nothing, you can just reset the game. You’ll get your Herba Mysticas back as if the sandwich never existed.
Once you’re ready, head to a high-density area for your target. For Lechonk or Oinkologne, the southern provinces are perfect. For something like Porygon in the Terarium, head to the Polar Biome.
- Disable Autosave in the settings menu.
- Save your game manually while standing in the hunt location.
- Set up the picnic and use the 1x Chorizo, 2x Salty Herba Mystica recipe.
- Check your "Check Buffs" menu (right D-pad) to ensure Sparkling, Title, and Encounter Power: Normal are all Level 3.
- If the timer runs out with no shiny, close the software and reload.
This method guarantees you never actually "lose" ingredients. It turns the hunt into a loop of pure probability until that pink pig or lime-green Dunsparce finally shows up on your screen. Happy hunting, and watch out for those Veluza—they don't care about your sandwich; they just want to ruin your day.