Pokemon that evolve through trading could never be obtained through any other means beforePokemon SwordandShield. If players wanted to grab them, they had to trade the Pokemon’s prior evolution over to a friend, and then trade back once the Pokemon evolved. It was either that or trade for the Pokemon itself.
ThroughThe Isle of ArmorDLC, however, a few of these trade-only Pokemon can be obtained through wild encounters, giving people a less convoluted way of collecting them. Of course, players still have to purchase theIsle of ArmorDLC if they want to take advantage of this newfound accessibility.
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The trade-only Pokemon that the DLC does this for are Alakazam, Kingdra, Politoed, Scizor, and Rhyperior. ConsideringThe Isle of Armoradded over 100+ Pokemonwith its release, these five may not seem like many, but it’s important to note that most Pokemon already appear in the wild. But with these five now included, completing the Pokedex becomes much easier.
All of these Pokemon are found inIsle of Armorlocations. If players want to find Kingdra, they can do so in the waters of the Honeycomb Sea. If they want to grab Politoed, they can do so at the Soothing Wetlands with Rainy or Thunderstorm weather. To find Scizor, they need to go to Training Lowlands. For Rhyperior, they should look in the Potbottom Desert. And Alakazam appears in Loop Lagoon.
Again, previousPokemongames, such asPokemon DiamondandPearl, the only way a player could obtain any of these Pokemon was through trading. Alakazam simply required trading Kadabra, but to get Kingdra, Politoed, Scizor, and Rhyperior, players had to trade Seadra, Poliwhirl, Scyther, and Rhydon while they held a Dragon Scale, King’s Rock, Metal Coat, and Protector item respectively.
In all fairness, theIsle of Armorisn’t the first timeSwordandShieldhave allowed trade-only Pokemon to appear as wild encounters. Players were given the same opportunity with Machamp and Gengar, earlier in the game’s life. And while it may not be the same as a random wild encounter, all of these Pokemon can also be caught in Max Raid Battles.
Sadly, not all of the trade-only Pokemon ended up roaming the wild for trainers to find them. Both Porygon2 and Porygon-Z still require people to trade them around. And players still only obtain Slowking through trading Slowbro, even though theIsle of Armorheavily usedGalarian Slowbroas a selling point.
Pokemon Sword and Shieldare available now exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.
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