You’re standing on the edge of a cliff in North Province, staring at a flock of Rufflet. You want that white-feathered shiny, but the odds are trash. Standard rates are 1 in 4,096. Nobody has time for that. This is where the flying type shiny sandwich comes in, or more specifically, the Sparkling Power Level 3 meal. If you mess up the ingredients, you waste Herba Mystica. And since those salty or spicy herbs are a pain to farm in 5 and 6-star raids, you really don't want to throw them away on a sandwich that only gives you "Humungo Power" by mistake.
Honestly, the sandwich mechanic in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is kind of a mess. The physics engine alone is a nightmare. You drop one piece of prosciutto and suddenly your Sparkling Power disappears because the game thinks you made a "Great" sandwich instead of an "Ultra" or "Master" one. It’s frustrating. But if you want to see those sparkles, you’ve gotta play the deli game.
The Recipe That Actually Works
Forget those overly complicated recipes you see on some wikis. You don't need six different types of meat piled high like a Scooby-Doo snack. The most reliable way to get a flying type shiny sandwich is surprisingly simple. You need Prosciutto. Just one serving. That’s the base for Flying.
Then comes the expensive stuff. You need two Herba Mystica. Most people prefer using two Salty Herba Mystica because it’s the "universal" recipe, but let’s be real, Salty herbs are the hardest to find. If you’re low on those, you can mix and match. A Salty and a Spicy usually works. Or a Salty and a Sour. Just don't use two Sweets or two Sours together unless you’re following a very specific advanced chart, or you'll end up with Title Power but no Sparkling Power. It’s a delicate balance.
Once you enter the picnic mode, you’ve got to be careful. The bread. Oh, the bread. Here is a pro-tip: you don't actually need to put the top bun on. When you're finished stacking your prosciutto, just grab the top bun and toss it off to the side of the plate. The game still counts the sandwich as complete, and you avoid the risk of the bun sliding off and knocking your ingredients onto the table. If an ingredient hits the table, the recipe resets. It’s gone. You just wasted a Spicy Herba Mystica for a sandwich that gives you nothing.
Why Sparkling Power Level 3 Is the Goal
We aren't just making a snack here. We’re manipulating the game's spawn table. A flying type shiny sandwich provides three specific buffs: Sparkling Power (Flying), Title Power (Flying), and Encounter Power (Flying). All at Level 3.
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Sparkling Power is the big one. It drops your shiny odds from that abysmal 1 in 4,000 range down to 1 in 1,024. If you have the Shiny Charm—which you get for completing the Paldea Pokédex—those odds plummet even further to 1 in 683. That’s huge. You’ll go from hunting for weeks to finding a shiny in about twenty minutes.
Encounter Power is the unsung hero, though. It forces the game to prioritize Flying-type spawns. If you're in an area where Rookidee, Pawmi, and Lechonk all live, normally you'd see a mix. With Encounter Power Level 3 active, the game will ignore the others and just flood the screen with birds. More spawns means more chances for the game to roll that 1-in-683 shiny check.
Common Mistakes Everyone Makes
I’ve seen so many people complain that their flying type shiny sandwich didn’t work. Usually, it's because they used the wrong ingredient. "I used ham!" they say. Well, ham is for Normal types. You need Prosciutto. It’s a tiny distinction in the menu, but it makes all the difference.
Another mistake? Not saving.
Always disable auto-save. Before you even open your picnic basket, save your game manually. If you spend 30 minutes running around and no shiny Flamigo appears, just close the game and restart. You’ll get your Herba Mystica back. These herbs are the rarest items in the game, rewarded only by high-level Tera Raids against "bulky" Pokémon like Blissey, Amoonguss, or Cetitan. Don't let them go to waste.
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There’s also the issue of location. A sandwich doesn't just "spawn" a shiny; it increases the odds of the Pokémon already in that area. If you’re looking for a shiny Iron Jugulis in Area Zero, make sure you're in the right cave. If you're out in the desert looking for a flying type, you might be better off targeting something like Sigilyph or Bombirdier.
The Ingredients Breakdown
- Main Ingredient: Prosciutto (1x)
- The "Any" Ingredients: Sometimes people add Onions or Green Bell Peppers to "fix" the recipe, but with two Salty Herbas, you really don't need to.
- The Herbs: 2x Herba Mystica (Preferably Salty + anything else).
The Area Zero Strategy
If you're hunting Paradox Pokémon, the flying type shiny sandwich is basically mandatory. Take Iron Jugulis in Pokémon Violet or Roaring Moon in Pokémon Scarlet. Roaring Moon is a Dark/Dragon type, but Iron Jugulis is Dark/Flying. If you use a Flying-type sandwich in the hidden cave of Area Zero, you can isolate it fairly well.
The density of spawns in that cave is wild. You can do the "Picnic Reset" trick where you open and close the picnic to instantly refresh the 15 Pokémon on screen. Or, if you're in Area Zero where picnics aren't allowed, you just have to run in and out of the spawn radius. It’s a bit more tedious, but with Level 3 Encounter Power, the birds will keep coming.
Is It Worth the Grind?
Some people prefer the Masuda Method—breeding Pokémon with a foreign Ditto. It’s consistent, sure. But it’s slow. You have to click through boxes of eggs. It’s mind-numbing. The sandwich method is active. You’re out in the world, you’re seeing the Pokémon in their habitats, and there’s that sudden rush of adrenaline when you see a color palette that doesn't belong.
The flying type is particularly rewarding because so many of them have great shinies. Shiny Corviknight looks like a silver knight. Shiny Hawlucha is legendary with those dark feathers. Even the simple ones, like Wattrel turning into a brighter yellow, are satisfying to find when you know you manipulated the odds to get there.
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One thing to keep in mind is the "Town Reset" method. If you’re hunting near a town border—like just outside Artazon or Cascarrafa—you can walk into the town and immediately walk back out. This despawns everything instantly and spawns a new batch. It is significantly faster than the picnic animation. If you have your flying type shiny sandwich active, you can see hundreds of Pokémon in that 30-minute window.
Steps to Maximize Your Hunt
First, go to your settings and turn off "Auto-save." This is your safety net. Next, head to the location where your target Pokémon spawns. Make sure you actually see them appearing naturally before you start the picnic.
Open your picnic and select "Creative Mode." Don't just pick a pre-set recipe from the list. Choose one Prosciutto and your two Herba Mysticas. Assemble it carefully. If the Prosciutto slides off, start over. Once the "Sparkling Power: Flying Level 3" text appears on the right side of the screen, your 30-minute timer starts.
Now, move. Don't stand still. Ride Koraidon or Miraidon around the area. If you don't see a shiny in 15-20 spawns, move far enough away that they despawn, or do a town/picnic reset. Keep your eyes peeled for subtle color changes. Some shinies, like Murkrow, are obvious (bright pink), but others, like Zapdos (if you're in the DLC) or certain small birds, are much harder to spot in the harsh sunlight of Paldea.
When the timer runs out, if you haven't found your shiny, just quit to the Home screen and close the game. Reload your save from before the picnic. You're back at square one, but your precious herbs are safe. If you did find the shiny, save immediately! You don't want a random game crash to take away your new trophy.
This system isn't perfect, and the ingredient physics are a bit of a joke, but it's the most effective way to fill a shiny living dex. It turns a near-impossible task into a strategic mini-game. Just watch the bread, keep the Prosciutto flat, and hope the RNG is in your favor.