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ShinyDex
Progression

Level Up. Your Way.

Our XP system rewards meaningful progress - not luck, not speed, not money. Here's exactly how it works.

31,718
Trainers levelling
10,130
Average XP
448,550
Highest XP
10,832
Failed captures
Philosophy

Designed for collectors, not grinders

XP does not reward
  • Luck - finding a shiny in 12 encounters earns the same XP as 30,000
  • Speed - running four consoles doesn't mean 4x the XP
  • Encounter count - your hunt length is irrelevant to XP
XP does reward
  • Collecting - submitting captures to ShinyDex
  • Diversity - hunting across games, methods, types
  • Consistency - checking in daily, building streaks
Earning XP

How you earn

Captures

Every accepted submission earns XP based on the game's base shiny odds. Harder odds = more XP.

1/8192 games100 XP
1/4096 games50 XP
~1/500 games25 XP
We're also exploring tweaking these numbers for specific methods.
One-Time Bonuses

Your first shiny in a new category earns a bonus. Encourages diversity.

  • ›Each game
  • ›Each method
  • ›Each type
  • ›Each generation
  • ›Each attribute
Varying XP amounts. Dozens of categories.
Milestones

The big long-term goals worth chasing.

  • ›Living Dex completion
  • ›Regional dex completion
  • ›Type completion
  • ›Total shinies caught
500 XP+ per milestone - the harder the milestone, the more XP.
Daily Check-In

Press the check-in button once per day. Build streaks for bonus XP. No shiny required.

50 XP + up to 70 streak bonus
Badges

Nearly every badge you earn comes with XP. Hunt milestones, referrals, events, and more.

250-8,000 XP per badge
Mastery Badges

Catch with a method again and again to climb its five mastery tiers - Novice through Grandmaster.

500-8,000 XP per tier
Weekly Challenges

Community challenges set by ambassadors. Catch the target for bonus XP during the challenge window.

Bonus XP varies per challenge
Show It Off

Titles & tags

Personalise your profile with a title and up to five tags. They appear on your trainer card and the leaderboards, and you arrange them however you like.

Earn with badges

Badges - including the method mastery tiers - unlock matching titles & tags.

Reach levels

Hit certain XP levels and new titles & tags unlock automatically.

Pro perks

Supporter, Backer and Champion members get exclusive Pro titles & tags.

Free for everyone

A big set of starter, region and game tags is available to every trainer.

Fair Play

Daily limits

To keep things fair, capture submission XP has diminishing returns after a daily cap. Your submissions are always accepted and your stats always update - only the repeatable XP reduces.

One-time bonuses, milestones, badges, check-ins, and challenge XP always bypass the daily limit.

Free 10 full-XP / day
Supporter 15 full-XP / day
Backer 20 full-XP / day
Champion 25 full-XP / day
Up to your daily cap
Every submission earns full XP
100%
Next 10 after cap
Repeatable XP starts tapering
50%
Next 10 after that
Further diminished returns
25%
Beyond that
No more XP - but stats still count
0%
Pro Membership

A gentle tailwind

Pro members get a small XP multiplier on repeatable actions as a thank-you for supporting ShinyDex. It's a perk, not an advantage - you can't buy your way to the top.

Supporters, Backers and Champions also unlock exclusive Pro titles & tags for their profile - a small badge of honour for keeping the lights on.

Free
1.00x
Supporter
1.10x
Backer
1.15x
Champion
1.20x
The multiplier applies to repeatable XP only - capture submissions, check-ins, and streaks. One-time rewards like explorer bonuses, milestones, badges, and admin-granted XP are the same for everyone. Completing your Kanto dex is the same achievement whether you're Free or Champion.
Progression

The level curve

Early levels fly by. Later levels take real commitment. Level 50 is the current cap - a genuine long-term achievement for dedicated collectors.

5
Wood Week 1
4,051
Total XP
10
Bronze Week 3-4
19,952
Total XP
20
Silver Month 2-3
98,258
Total XP
35
Platinum Month 5-7
355,923
Total XP
50
Diamond Month 9-12
808,408
Total XP

Time estimates assume ~1,000-2,000 XP per day from all sources combined.

Transparency

No hidden mechanics

Can I buy XP?
No. Pro membership gives a small multiplier on repeatable XP, but you cannot directly purchase XP or levels.
Does encounter count affect XP?
No. A shiny found in 10 encounters earns the same XP as one found in 50,000. Hunt length is irrelevant.
What happens if I delete a capture?
The capture is removed but your XP stays. XP represents "you contributed this" - the action happened.
Can I lose XP or levels?
No. XP is permanent and levels never decrease.
Is there a level cap?
Level 50 is the current cap at launch. Higher tiers will open up over time as the community grows.
How are daily limits determined?
Free users get 10 full-XP submissions per day. Supporter: 15, Backer: 20, Champion: 25. After the cap, XP diminishes gradually - your submissions are always accepted.
Are one-time bonuses really one-time?
Yes. Each explorer bonus can only be earned once, enforced at the database level. No exploits possible.
Who sets the weekly challenges?
Challenges are set by ShinyDex staff and ambassadors. Each challenge shows who created it.
How do I unlock titles and tags?
By earning badges (including method mastery tiers), reaching certain XP levels, or subscribing to Pro. Plenty of starter, region and game tags are also free for everyone. Equip them from your dex settings.
What are mastery badges?
Each catching method has five mastery tiers - Novice (5), Adept (25), Expert (50), Master (100) and Grandmaster (200) - awarded for catching that many shinies with that method. Each tier grants XP and unlocks titles or tags.
Ready to start?
View Your XP History