@lil
TBH it's not good to feel bad about losing an adoptable. I've lost so many, it doesn't phase me anymore. If we were given an extra ten Viscet slots, and I won every Viscet I tried out for, I would of ran out of a lot of slots a very long time ago. I too tried out for #255, and lost, but you need to remember that's there's always another Viscet waiting to be made that you'll love again.
My best advice is to only try out for Viscets you truly connect to, who you have huge plans for and can spend time developing. I'm not quite fond of my Viscet, Asche, in terms of looks ( he's not my style) but I love him so much that he's plastered all over my profile, and was the first of my Viscets to have a baby.
What I'm saying is, it doesn't matter if they look nice or shiny or whatever. Viscets have high demand and so you need to worry more about what you'll do with the Viscet rather than let him sit with twelve other Viscets because you don't know what to do with them
Even if you follow this, you won't always win. That's a given for free Adoptables.
In my eyes, the Viscets that need you are the ones you win.
You don't always get what you want
You get what you need.