no img no img

Write what you are looking for and press enter to begin your search!

live-news-icon

Live News

Apple TV+ Is Offering Free Episodes Of Selected Shows To Celebrate Lunar New Year 2025: In an intense match, the Lone Wolves came out victorious. Read all about the big night here // Palworld's First Birthday: Big Updates, Bigger Controversy: In an intense match, the Lone Wolves came out victorious. Read all about the big night here // GBVS Rising Adds Super Angel Sandalphon To The Roster Next Month: In an intense match, the Lone Wolves came out victorious. Read all about the big night here

Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield Tips & Tricks

This guide is still under development; the game just came out after all.

Controversy and “Dexit” aside, there’s a lot to like about Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield for the Switch. It’s an accommodating entry for newbies, the new Pokémon are cool and nifty (more on that on a future article), and there are some welcome tweaks to the tried-and-true RPG gameplay where your customizable trainer fights 8 gym leaders to be the best.

That isn’t going to stop us from helping you out though. The Galar forests and wildlands can be a treacherous Pokémon-filled trek; here are some tips to get you going.

Beginner Tips

Sneak up on Pokémon when traversing the tall grass.

Pokémon live in the tall grass—this much we already know. In Sword and Shield, you can see Pokémon on Routes and in the Wild Area with your own two eyes and walk into them to battle them, instead of having to trudge back and forth through the grass. If you tap your joystick gently, you can tiptoe through the grass without alerting the Pokémon in the area.

It’s worth it to just run full speed in the grass, though. There will be other Pokémon hiding in there that you can’t see in the overworld. If you run through the grass and see an exclamation point appear, run toward it. There are Pokémon you can catch this way that do not appear in the same area of the overworld.

Look out for sparkles.

If you see a glimmer on the ground, try to check it out. Those are items that you can pick up, and sometimes they’re worth big bucks. The collector character that will buy certain items for a higher price day to day returns as well, in Stow-on-Side. The items will also replenish over time, so don’t be afraid of exhausting them.

Turn on Casual Controls if you’re inside public transportation.

Pokémon has always been a mobile/portable game, so it makes sense for the next mothership title to be on the Switch. To make your experience more commute-friendly, turn on Casual Controls.  This disables the right analogue stick, so instead of manually controlling the camera, it’ll shift and move toward whatever you’re running towards. Pretty handy if you rather play the game with one hand while on the go.

Start the game with Sobble.

If you have trouble picking one of the three starter Pokémon, and believe us when we say it’s pretty tough since all of them are cute and have decent stats and attacks,  just go with Sobble. Since you’ll be tackling the first three gyms in this respective order -Grass, Water, Fire- you might as well pick the starter that will make your life easier in the long run. Your first major gym battle isn’t going to be that tough anyway.

Sort the differences between  TMs and TRs.

TMs can be reused, so you can  use this on as many Pokémon as you like.  TRs break after us, so you’ll have to pick carefully which Pokémon gets this special skill(s).

Get your team up to speed.

Using the Rotomi in PokéCenters, you can send Pokémon out on Poké Jobs. These listings ask for a Pokémon of a specific type, and if you send multiples of the appropriate type, you’ll earn more experience when they come back. Pokémon can be sent on a job for up to an entire day, and they earn tens of thousands of experience in some of the more advanced jobs. Pokémon will also sometimes bring back a treat for you—usually either an item or cash.

Max Raids can also help you level up a Pokémon quickly. After completing a Raid, you earn Experience Candies, ranging in size from Small to Extra Large. The more difficult the Raid, the more likely you are to get Large or Extra Large candies.

Store a specialized Pokéball or two.

If you have trouble catching Pokémon even after whittling their health and using a regular Pokéball on them, you may want to buy a  few specialized balls like Quick Balls (higher capture rate at the start of a  fight) or Dusk Balls (higher rate in dark areas).

You can either buy them at Pokémon centres or get them for free from this one guy dressed as a Pokéball who hangs out at Gyms. If you want the more expensive balls, you can get the via  Watt merchants in the Wild Area.

If you’ve played Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee, claim your free Pokémon.

You’ll be able to get the corresponding Pokémon in Sword and Shield. If you’ve got save data for either game on your machine, you can talk to an NPC in the train station at the Meet Up Spot right outside the Wild Area.

The woman standing in the Nursery on Route 5 will give you a Toxel, an adorable Poison/Electric-type that looks like a grumpy baby.

Sword or Shield?

Which version of the game should you get? Well, it depends on which exclusive  Pokémon do you want. Here’s the breakdown:

Pokémon Sword

PokemonSwordShieldSirfetchd1.jpeg

  • Seedot
  • Nuzleaf
  • Shiftry
  • Mawile
  • Solrock
  • Scraggy
  • Scrafty
  • Sawk
  • Gothita
  • Gothorita
  • Gothitelle
  • Rufflet
  • Braviary
  • Deino
  • Zweilous
  • Hydreigon
  • Swirlix
  • Slurpuff
  • Passimian
  • Turtonator
  • Jangmo-o
  • Hakamo-o
  • Kommo-o
  • Galarian Farfetch’d
  • Sirfetch’d
  • Galarian Darumaka
  • Galarian Darmanitan

Pokémon Shield

ponyta_galar.jpg

  • Larvitar
  • Pupitar
  • Tyranitar
  • Lotad
  • Lombre
  • Ludicolo
  • Sableye
  • Lunatone
  • Croagunk
  • Toxicroak
  • Throh
  • Vullaby
  • Mandibuzz
  • Solosis
  • Duosion
  • Reuniclus
  • Spritzee
  • Aromatisse
  • Goomy
  • Sliggoo
  • Goodra
  • Oranguru
  • Drampa
  • Galarian Ponyta
  • Galarian Rapidash
  • Galarian Corsola
  • Cursola

Screw this beginner nonsense. What can I  do once I defeat all eight gym leaders?

Related News

Marvel's Echo Season 1 Breakdown & Easter Eggs

The entire first season of Marvel's ECHO is now streaming on Disney+ Hotstar Malaysia. I’ll be discussing heavy spoilers so if you haven’t seen it...

Secret Invasion Episode 5 Breakdown & Easter Eggs

The fifth episode of Secret Invasion is now streaming on Disney+ Hotstar Malaysia. I’ll be discussing heavy spoilers so if you haven’t seen it or ...

Metal Slug Tactics Developers On The Series' Future

Metal Slug Tactics is what happens when you take a long-running 2D run-and-gun shooter from SNK and then turn it into a turn-based aggression-focused ...

Write a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Tournament Tool Kit

Latest Video

Follow Us

Recent Posts

SNK Did Mai Shiranui’s Definitive Theme Justice In Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
Daredevil Born Again Trailer Breakdown: Kingpin, Muse, White Tiger & More
Honkai Star Rail 3.0 The Herta Guide
Our Most Anticipated Games Of 2025
Kakuchopurei’s Southeast Asia Game Awards & Appreciation 2024
The Best 40 Games Of 2024
Must-Watch Animes This Winter: 2025 Season
Heroes We Need To Come To Marvel Rivals
[Updated] Comic Fiesta 2024: What You Need To Know
Marvel Rivals: The Best Heroes To Counter Iron Fist
Marvel Rivals: The Best Heroes To Counter Jeff The Land Shark
Path Of Exile 2 Early Access: All Uniques In The Game So Far
Infinity Nikki: All Dungeons & Boss Guides & Walkthroughs
Path of Exile 2 Early Access: All Ascendancy Nodes Revealed
Indiana Jones And The Great Circle: PC Specs & Southeast Asia Launch Times Revealed
Infinity Nikki Gacha & Monetization Explained
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl – How To Increase Carry Weight?
These Are The Finalist Games For Apple’s App Store Awards
The Best Black Friday & Cyber Monday Deals To Get: Gaming & Hardware Edition
Apple TV+ Is Offering Free Episodes Of Selected Shows To Celebrate Lunar New Year 2025
Palworld’s First Birthday: Big Updates, Bigger Controversy
Should Video Games Cost More Than US$70? These Guys Seem To Think So…
Blade Chimera Review: Phantom Blade
GBVS Rising Adds Super Angel Sandalphon To The Roster Next Month
Marvel Snap Down In The US, Affected By TikTok Ban
Esports Biggest Rivalry Is Now Possible Again With The Revival of Team Envy
Asia Gaming Beat: 18 January 2025
Toge Productions Anniversary Direct 2025: All The Game Reveals & Announcements
Logo