Pokemon Sword and Shield Is Out (Pokemon Sword and Shield Cheats)
The latest generation of Pokemon games has been released for the Nintendo Switch. Much of their content should be familiar for Pokemon fans. However, there have been plenty of changes as well, meaning that some reading-up can prove to be very useful.
Keep These Tips in Mind for Pokemon Sword and Shield
Here are some suggestions that can prove useful in Pokemon Sword and Shield:
Memorize Strengths and Weaknesses (Pokemon Sword and Shield Cheats and Tips)
Elements are one of the most important considerations in the Pokemon series. As such, interested individuals should memorize which elements are strong against which elements as well as which elements are weak against which elements as soon as possible. Certainly, they can learn this information by just playing through Pokemon Sword and Shield, but their chances of making an element mistake will be minimized if they do so on a conscious basis. Something that is particularly true if they might be working off of outdated assumptions because they haven’t played Pokemon games in a while.
The First Three Gyms Are Grass, Water, and Fire (Pokemon Sword and Shield Cheats)
Some people might have heard about how Sword and Shield have different gym leaders for some of the gyms. This is true, but the first three gym leaders are the same in both versions. First, there is the Grass-type specialist Milo, who has a Gossifleur and a Eldegoss. Second, there is the Water-type specialist Nessa, who has a Goldeen, an Arrokuda, and a Drednaw. Third, there is the Fire-type specialist Kabu, who has a Ninetails, an Arcanine, and a Centiskorch.
For people, this might influence their starter choice. For instance, some might choose the Water starter Sobble for an easier time with the second and third gym leaders. Yes, Sobble will struggle against Milo’s Grass-type Pokemon, but the fact that Milo is the first gym leader means that this should be a trivial obstacle at most. Something that is particularly true because interested individuals can catch a number of Pokemon that are advantageous against Grass-type Pokemon beforehand.
One example would be the Rookidees that can be found on Routes 1, 2, and 3, while another example would be the Woobats that can be found in the Galar Mine. On top of that, if players want a Ninetails for their eventual team, they can catch a Vulpix on Route 3 as well as in the Wild Area during sunny weather.
Get Some Specialist Poke Balls (Pokemon Sword and Shield Cheats and Tips)
Catching Pokemon tends to be pretty simple and straightforward in the later parts of Pokemon games. After all, most players will have plenty of Ultra Balls by that point in time as well as a wide range of Pokemon that can inflict various status effects. In contrast, a lack of these options means that catching Pokemon in the early game can sometimes be more of a pain, particularly if interested individuals are going after rarer Pokemon with lower catch rates.
To compensate for this, consider buying some specialist Poke Balls from the Ball Guy that can be found at gyms for a conditional boost. In particular, Quick Balls and Dusk Balls can be very useful because their conditions are so common.
Prepare for the Dynamax (Pokemon Sword and Shield Cheats and Tips)
Dynamax and its cousin Gigantamax are one of the most notable new mechanics in Sword and Shield. Due to this, interested individuals should be careful about when they choose to Dynamax their Pokemon, which will provide them with a boost for just three turns. Be warned that gym leaders will always Dynamax their last Pokemon, meaning that there will always be a big finale.
One popular option would be Dynamaxing a powerful Pokemon with a type-advantage as soon as possible. Since earlier gym leaders have a limited number of Pokemon, it is possible for a Dynamaxed Pokemon of sufficient strength to sweep their entire team under the right circumstances. However, even if that doesn’t happen, the Dynamaxed Pokemon might still be able to inflict enough damage so that their team-mates can pile in on the opponent’s own Dynamaxed Pokemon at the end. Meanwhile, another popular option would be saving the Dynamax for the very end for some kaiju on kaiju violence.
There is a risk in that the Pokemon to be Dynamaxed will have already taken some hits, but this is something that interested individuals can mitigate by having multiple Pokemon that can contribute on their team.
Get a Mix of Elements (Pokemon Sword and Shield Cheats and Tips)
Unless players are deliberately building a theme team for the sake of providing themselves with some extra challenge, they should always have a team that can handle a wide range of elements. This doesn’t necessarily mean that they need to have a Pokemon of every single type out there, just that they have the right Pokemon with the right moves needed to handle them. Sure, off-element moves are weaker than their on-element counterparts, but when there are sufficient stats backing up those on-elemental counterparts, that won’t really matter.
Build Your Team with the Long Run in Mind
Some Pokemon players will build their teams using whatever Pokemon catches their eye. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this particular approach to team-building, but there are plenty of Pokemon players out there who put more of an emphasis on stats. As such, interested individuals might want to choose their Pokemon for their teams while keeping the end-game in mind, which is something that can save them a lot of grinding if they find that one of their early game favorites just can’t keep up towards the end.
Of course, there are some Pokemon that are pretty much guaranteed to be good, with an excellent example being each generation’s pseudo-legendary. For Sword and Shield, that would be Dragapult, meaning that interested individuals might want to go searching in the Lake of Outrage when the weather is bad.
Getting all three starters (Pokemon Shield and Sword)
Have three people, each with a different starter, all breed for two eggs of their own starter. Hatch them, then give one newborn to each other player for all three players to have all three starters in just three trades. You can then use those traded ones to breed as many more as desired.
Getting Appletun (Pokemon Shield)
Travel to Hammerlocke. Near the Vault, on the west side of town near the exit, there is a young boy standing near the gate. He will ask you for an Applin to give to a girl he likes. This is not a trade. Select to help the young boy and he will take your Applin. The young girl will not take the Applin — so you will get it back after a short cutscene. The boy will then give you the Applin back and the Sweet Apple special item. This is the item you need to evolve Applin to Appletun. Note: Appletun is exclusive to the Pokemon Shield version.
Getting Charmander (Pokemon Shield and Sword)
Successfully complete the game. After the credits, you will be sent back home and into your room. Go outside and follow the road to the right, and go into Hop’s home. Go upstairs and into the room on the right to find a Pokeball on the floor. Collect it to find Charmander inside. You can breed Charmander with a Ditto if you want to make more.
Getting Eevee and Pikachu early (Pokemon Shield and Sword)
First, transfer your Pokemon: Let’s Go, Eevee! and/or Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! data to your device. If you do not have the data or are playing on a different device, you will not be able to trade for Eevee and Pikachu. Then, speak with the children at the train station, at the following location. It is called the Meetup Spot and is right before you enter the wild zone.
Getting Pikachu (Pokemon Shield and Sword cheats)
Pikachu can be found on Route 4 during the day and night, at the following location. It is a rarer Pokemon and hard to see in the yellow grass. Try to keep an eye out for the brighter yellow ears of Pikachu while you are in the area. If you do not see one, go to town and return. Pikachu is very fast and an Electric type. It is recommended to use a Ground Pokemon.
Ground is strong against Electric so a Ground Pokemon should be able to take plenty of hits without being incapacitated. However, you need to be careful not to kill Pikachu. Avoid using Ground moves if possible, sticking to normal moves to lower Pikachu’s HP so you can catch it more efficiently.
Evolving Eevee into Espeon (Pokemon Shield and Sword)
Note: You cannot evolve the Eevee from the Pokemon: Let’s Go, Eevee! data. Thus, you need to catch an Eevee in the wild to evolve it. Once you have caught a wild Eevee, raise your friendship with it. You can do this by camping and playing with it, feeding it at camp, fighting battles with it, and giving it certain items.
You can view how friendly your Pokemon is towards you by talking to the kid in the house in Hammerlocke, which is to the right of the first Pokecenter. When you get to pretty friendly with your Eevee, it will evolve at its next level. To get Espeon, you have to evolve Eevee during the day. It should evolve around Level 19.
Evolving Eevee into Umbreon (Pokemon Shield and Sword)
Note: You cannot evolve the Eevee from the Pokemon: Let’s Go, Eevee! data. Thus, you need to catch an Eevee in the wild to evolve it. Once you have caught a wild Eevee, raise your friendship with it. There are a few ways to do this. You can camp, play, and cook with it. You can fight with it in battle to raise it up. Do not let it faint, as that hurts your relationship. There is an item you can give it called the Soothe Bell which makes it more friendly as well.
The most important thing is you need to level up Eevee at night. When your Eevee is friendly with you, and you level it up at night, it will change into Umbreon. It should evolve around Level 23. You can view how friendly your Pokemon is towards you by talking to the kid in the house in Hammerlocke, which is to the right of the first Pokecenter. If he says you are pretty good friends, then Eevee will evolve next level.
Evolving Pikachu (Pokemon Shield and Sword)
Note: You cannot evolve the Pikachu from the Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! data. Thus, you need to catch a Pikachu in the wild to evolve it. Once you catch a wild Pikachu, get it to at least Level 15. Then, use a Thunderstone to evolve it into a Raichu. The Thunderstone is rare, but the duo digger brothers can sometimes dig them up in the Wild Zone, near the Nursery.
Getting the Master Ball (Pokemon Shield and Sword)
Successfully complete the game. After the credits, you will be sent back home and into your room. Leave your room, and a woman will enter your home and talk to you. When she is done, she will give you a Master Ball as a reward for becoming champion. There is only one in the game — so make sure to use it wisely. It is recommended to use it on the legendary Pokemon so it does not take a long time to catch.
Finding Evolution stones (Pokemon Shield and Sword)
Stones are special evolution items used on certain Pokemon. Go to the Nursery (place where you breed Pokemon) in the Wild area. Nearby, at the following location, you will see two brothers offering to dig up some treasure for you, if you pay them Watts. There are two types of digging, Skill and Stamina, each of which provides different rewards. Speak with the left (skill) brother, and he will charge you 500 Watts to dig up treasure.
The amount he can dig up varies and is random. Usually you will get at least 2-3 items, but you can get nearly double or triple that. The following are some of the items you can receive from the Skill digger: Shiny Stone, Dawn Stone, Sun Stone, Comet Fragment, and Rare Bone. Speak with the right (stamina) brother, and he will charge you 500 Watts to dig up treasure. The following are some of the items you can receive from the Stamina digger: Smooth Rock, Bag Of Stardust, and Dawn Stone. This is a great place to find lots of treasures and Evolution stones.
IV Checker (Pokemon Shield and Sword)
Reach Battle Tower Rank 4 and enter Pokeball Tier to check your Pokemon IV’s using the portable PC.
Easy money (Pokemon Shield and Sword)
You need a Gigantamax Meowth (not the special Galarian version, the original Meowth) for this trick to work. You can trade one for a Galarian Meowth in the Grass Gym near the start of the game. Meowth has PayDay, which is a decent ability for earning a few extra coins, but it is not much. However, his Dynamax ability is really good. Use Meowth in a Gym Battle and Dynamax him. Then, use his Gold Rush abilities three times, over three rounds to cause the opponent to drop money on the floor, which can end up being a lot of money.
For example, the Gym Leader at the Grass Gym will drop 3,200. However, you will get an additional 11,400 because of Meowth’s Dynamax ability. This only works well in Gym battles, and especially at the end of the game, but it is also a great way of earning a lot of money throughout the game. Additionally, you can use an Amulet Coin near the cave entrance on Motostoke Outskirts, or buy Lucky Incense in Hulbury market, both of which double prize money from trainer and gym fights.
Breeding Pokemon (Pokemon Shield and Sword)
To breed two Pokemon, put them both in the Nursery. You need a male and female of the same species. For example, a male Eevee and female Eevee. Check back after approximately 30 minutes to probably find an egg. Once you have an egg, simply carry it with you and it will hatch as you walk. Breeding has many benefits. It gives you a Level 1 version of a Pokemon. Pokemon that gain levels with a trainer are stronger than those that level in the wild, making breeding the best option to make a single Pokemon live to its maximum potential.
You can also learn moves certain Pokemon would have missed. For example, catching a Level 30+ Gastly will miss out on Hypnosis as a move, but you can breed a Level 1 Gastly and learn it that way. There are also a lot of other benefits to breeding. There are other possibilities with more advanced breeding, such as using Ditto as a male or female version of anything.
Changing weather (Pokemon Shield and Sword)
Change the system time on your Switch to change the weather. This will not harm your save. Go to your Switch system settings and scroll down to the “System” tab at the bottom. Then, select “Date and Time” and change the time zone. You do not have to close your game to do this. Try to adjust it at least 2-3 hours to change the weather. However, be careful not to move it too far or you will make it day night/night day.
