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A Secret ID (SID) is a normally hidden Trainer identifier used alongside your visible Trainer ID in Pokémon games. From Generation III onward, it is part of the calculation that determines whether a Pokémon is shiny, and it helps distinguish Trainers who share visible details. Most players do not need to find or change their SID during ordinary play.
What does a Secret ID do?
From Generation III onward, a Trainer has a visible Trainer ID and a second identifier called the Secret ID. The SID is generally hidden from the player. Along with details such as a Trainer’s name, gender and visible ID, it helps the game identify which Trainer a Pokémon belongs to. Bulbapedia’s Trainer ID reference describes these identifiers and their use.
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The SID also participates in shiny determination in the generations covered by the cited formula. It is one part of a calculation that combines Trainer information with a Pokémon’s personality value.
How does the Secret ID affect shiny status?
For the formula described by Bulbapedia’s shiny mechanics reference, the game XORs the visible Trainer ID, Secret ID and the two 16-bit halves of the Pokémon’s personality value:
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TrainerID XOR SecretID XOR PersonalityValue[31..16] XOR PersonalityValue[15..0]
The result is between 0 and 65,535. A result below the relevant threshold counts as shiny: Bulbapedia describes a threshold below 8 in Generations III–V, and below 16 beginning in Generation VI. Expressed as shares of the 65,536 possible results, those thresholds are 8/65,536 and 16/65,536 respectively.
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These are thresholds for this formula, not the overall odds of encountering a shiny in every game. Encounter methods and other modifiers can affect the odds, so the thresholds should not be read as a universal shiny-rate claim.
How do Trainer IDs and Secret IDs vary by generation?
The displayed format changes beginning in Generation VII. The following summary reflects the generation-specific descriptions in Bulbapedia’s Trainer ID reference:
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| Pokémon’s origin | Visible Trainer ID | Secret ID |
|---|---|---|
| Before Generation VII | Five digits | Five digits |
| Generation VII onward | Six digits, taken from the last six decimal digits of a generated 32-bit number | Four digits, derived from the preceding portion; the stated range is 0000–4294 |
| Transferred from Generation VI or earlier into later games | Retains the earlier five-digit ID format | Retains the earlier five-digit format |
Because these rules depend on a Pokémon’s generation and origin, an ID displayed in a later game does not necessarily mean it was generated using that game’s ID format.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Can you see or find your Secret ID?
It is not normally shown alongside the visible Trainer ID. Community references describe third-party tools that can calculate it, as well as methods involving save data or cheat codes. A Smogon University RNG guide discusses save-data and cheat-code approaches in its specific context.
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Those approaches are not a single safe procedure for every Pokémon game. The cited references do not establish a current, game-by-game retrieval method, so use instructions tailored to your exact game and platform rather than assuming one tool or technique works universally. For ordinary gameplay, knowing the SID is not established as necessary.
Is the Secret ID an official Pokémon term?
The mechanical details here come from community-maintained references, not an official Pokémon explanation. They describe the SID’s role in Trainer identification and shiny calculations, but should not be presented as an official statement from The Pokémon Company or Game Freak.
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