A ROM mod that adds a full Shiny Pokémon system to Pokémon Rumble Blast (3DS), a feature that never existed in the original game.
The flag currently used to indicate shininess has an unintended side effect. During team battles, Pokémon assigned using this flag may incorrectly appear as shiny.
This issue primarily affects the story playthrough and should not cause problems later in the game. As a temporary workaround, any incorrectly marked (“fake”) shiny Pokémon can simply be discarded after team battles.
Unfortunately, alternative flags either introduce major glitches or make the game unplayable, so this limitation remains for now.
Disclaimer: this seems to be fixed by saving and quitting after the battle has concluded. Thanks to @thecrafter1024 on discord :)
- Shiny Pokémon spawns - Random chance for any wild Pokémon to spawn as shiny
- Configurable shiny rate - Default 1/512, adjustable via command line (1/256, 1/1024, 1/4096, etc.)
- Shiny 3D models - Alternate color variants load automatically for shiny Pokémon
- Shiny face icons - Collection and UI screens display shiny-specific icons
- Shiny star indicator - Shiny Pokémon are marked with a colored star in the collection grid
- Shiny name color - Shiny Pokémon names appear in a distinct color on the field
- Guaranteed catch - Shiny Pokémon have a 100% befriend rate
- Shiny death drops - Defeating a shiny Pokémon drops a shiny toy via the existing drop system
- Save persistence - Shiny status is preserved across save/load cycles
Because of the sparkling effect all shinies will have a trait past eastern town. Thanks to @thecrafter1024 as well for this info.
- Python 3.12+
- HackingToolkit9DS - For extracting and repacking the ROM
- Download & tutorial: https://www.gamebrew.org/wiki/HackingToolkit9DS_3DS
- A US encrypted copy of Pokémon Rumble Blast (.3ds / .cia)
- Dump from your own 3DS, or obtain a US encrypted copy
- Batch CIA 3DS Decryptor - For decrypting the repacked ROM
- Citra or Azahar emulator to play the patched ROM
Video Guide:
Open HackingToolkit9DS and extract your US encrypted Pokémon Rumble Blast ROM. This will produce a folder structure containing ExtractedExeFS/ and ExtractedRomFS/.
Run the patcher, pointing it at the extracted code.bin:
python patch.py path/to/ExtractedExeFS/code.bin
To set a custom shiny rate (default is 1/512):
python patch.py path/to/ExtractedExeFS/code.bin --rate 1/4096
Copy the shiny model, icon, and UI assets into the extracted RomFS:
python copy_assets.py path/to/ExtractedRomFS
Use HackingToolkit9DS to repack the modified files back into a .3ds or .cia file.
Run Batch CIA 3DS Decryptor on the repacked ROM to produce a decrypted file that can be loaded in an emulator.
Open the decrypted ROM in Citra or Azahar and enjoy shiny hunting!
Instead of decrypting for an emulator, you can use HackingToolkit9DS to build a .cia file and install it directly on a modded 3DS via FBI. This method is untested - use at your own risk.
- Shiny model not loaded on initial spawn - When entering a level with a shiny Pokémon as your active character, the normal model loads initially. Switching to another Pokémon and back resolves it.
- Collection 3D model - Shiny Pokémon in the collection detail screen (top screen) may display the normal model instead of the shiny variant. The shiny star indicator still appears correctly.
- Limited shiny models - Only Pokémon with manually created shiny texture variants will display alternate colors. Others will appear normal even if flagged as shiny.
- Azahar emulator: use OpenGL - Azahar's Vulkan renderer causes visual artifacts (oversized particles on attacks and shiny sparkles). Switch to OpenGL in Azahar's graphics settings to avoid this.
This mod is in its current release state. Development may be revisited at a later point.
| Rate | Odds |
|---|---|
1/2 |
50% |
1/16 |
6.25% |
1/256 |
0.39% |
1/512 |
0.20% (default) |
1/1024 |
0.10% |
1/4096 |
0.024% |
Non-power-of-2 values are rounded to the nearest power of 2.