Sword and Shield feature a good chunk of the previous games’ roster, mixed together with the brand new Pokemon introduced this generation; there’s plenty of Pokemon for you to capture, but some may prove to be more of a hassle than others. In this guide, we will talk about these elusive Pokemon Sword and Shield Rare Pokemon and their locations with tips on how to capture them.
Pokemon Sword and Shield Rare Pokemon Locations
Before listing the various locations where you can find these rare Pokemon, let’s quickly go over a few salient points.
Firstly, you are limited on which Pokemon you can actually capture – if a Pokemon is above the level threshold then you cannot capture them. You can overcome the threshold f you earn badges; attain all 8 badges and you can capture whatever Pokemon you want, irrespective of their level.
Secondly, some Pokemon can only be found in the wild when certain conditions are met. For example, some Pokemon are only available when it’s raining, whereas other Pokemon only come out at night.
Furthermore, most of the Pokemon you’ll be looking for can be hunted down in the Wild Area, however, it’s possible to capture many rare and unique Pokemon in Max Raid Battles.
Both can prove to be quite a hassle, as some Pokemon have a 1% chance of appearing in the wild; some Pokemon have a low chance of appearing in the Max Raid Battles as well.
When in the wild, you’ll come across Pokemon in the Tall Grass; there will be an exclamation point and if you go to that specific location, you’ll encounter a wild Pokemon. Be sure to have a hefty amount of Pokeballs!
Before getting to some of the rare Pokemon out there, we’ll quickly give you the rundown on some of the Pokemon you’ll want to capture early on.
- Pikachu: Outside Turffield – Route 4
- Sizzlipede: Route 3
- Eevee: Outside Turffield – Route 4
- Milcery: Outside Turffield – Route 4
- Imdidimp: Glimwood Tangle
- Gastly: Watchtower Ruins – Wild Area
- Galaraian Farfetch’d: (Only in Pokemon Sword) Bridge Field – Wild Area
- Galarian Ponyta: (Only in Pokemon Shield) Glimwood Tangle
A Pokemon’s habitat isn’t always shown on the Pokedex; more often than not, you have to chance upon a rare or fully evolved Pokemon in the wild.
It’s not completely impossible but it’s quite sporadic. If you do come across a rare Pokemon and knock it out, you won’t necessarily lose you chance of ever encountering again, but it’ll be some time before the next possible encounter.
Lucky for you, we have a list of some of the rarest Pokemon in Sword and Shield, and where they can be located. Mind you, they’re rare for a reason; they all have set percentages that determine how often they’ll actually appear in those specific locations.
In other words, you’ll have to explore the Tall Grass and Wild Areas in those locations for quite a while before getting the opportunity to capture one of them.
Before heading into one of these areas, we recommend you create a manual save – in case the rare Pokemon ends up fainting, you’ll want the second chance to capture it.
The following is a list of the rare species in Sword and Shield, and where exactly you can find them:
- Tyranitar: (Only in Pokemon Shield) Dusty Bowl
- Gengar: Dusty Bowl
- Machamp: Giant’s Mirror
- Lucario: North Lake Miloch
- Gyarados: East Lake Axewell
- Ludicolo: (Only in Pokemon Shield) Dappled Grove
- Vileplume: Dappled Grove
- Dusknoir: Stony Wilderness
- Gallade: Bridge Field
- Conkledurr: Motostoke River Bank
- Snorlax: Motostoke River Bank
- Pangoro: Rolling Fields
- Haxorus: Axew’s Eye
- Lapras: North Lake Miloch – Lake of Outrage
- Ditto: Lake of Outrage
- Rotom: Lake of Outrage
- Eevee Evolutions: Lake of Outrage – Weather determines which Evolution you’ll encounter
- Milcery: Route 4 – Hidden Grass
- Applin: Route 5 – Hidden Grass
- Sinistea (Unchipped): Glimwood Tangle
- Dhelmise: Route 9 – Outside of Motostoke
- Corviknight: Route 7 – Hidden Grass
- Duraludon: Route 10 – Overworld Encounter
- Cramorant: Route 9 – Small patch of Hidden Grass
- Pincurchin: Route 9 – Small patch of Hidden Grass
- Doublade: Lake of Ourage
- Toxel: Route 7 (Grass Area)
- Hatenna: Motostoke Outskirts
- Dreepy: Lake of Outrage (Grass Encounter)
- Axew: Route 6
Remember, each Pokemon has a different appearance percentage; some are likely to appear more than others – some of these have a 1% chance of appearing in the places we’ve listed, so you’ll potentially have to make multiple trips just to get your hands on these Pokemon
