It took twenty years, but Pokémon Sword & Shield threw a bone (or a leek) to the Farfetch’d fans around the world by giving it a powerful new evolution in the Galar region. Farfetch’d can evolve into Sirfetch’d in Pokémon Sword, but there is a specific method for doing so that is only hinted at within the game. There is a method for quickly evolving a Farfetch’d a Sirfetch’d by following specific steps.
The player can only catch a Galarian Farfetch’d in Pokémon Sword, as Pokémon Shield received Galarian Ponyta and Rapidash as their version exclusives. In order for Galarian Farfetch’d to evolve into Sirfetch’d, it needs to land three critical hits in the same battle, which can be tricky when you consider how easy most of the trainer battles are and how they generally have less than three Pokémon.
It’s possible to catch a Galarian Farfetch’d in the Wild Area, but the players who want to evolve one into Sirfetch’d should hold out until they defeat the first Gym Leader. Once the player has access to Route 5, they can catch a Galarian Farfetch’d in the tall grass. One of the version differences in Pokémon Sword & Shield is that Galarian Farfetch’d & Sirfetch’d are version exclusives to Pokémon Sword, but they can be traded over from other players. A wild Galarian Farfetch’d has a chance of having a held-item called a Leek when it’s caught, which drastically increases its chance of scoring a critical hit, so keep catching them until one of them is holding a Leek.
There is a trainer hanging out by the nearby Pokémon Nursery that can help the player speed up the evolution process. The player should disable autosave and manually save their game first. Once their Galarian Farfetch’d is healed up and ready for battle, they should approach a nearby trainer named Breeder Adrian, who uses a Stufful, a Ralts, and a Cutiefly in battle. The fact that Adrian has three Pokémon makes him ideal for the battle to come. Simply use Galarian Farfetch’d in the battle against the three Pokémon and heal it if it’s running low on health. If Adrian’s Pokémon keep getting knocked out, then reset the game and try again. If Galarian Farefecth’d is having trouble, then use other Pokémon with moves that can inflict status effects to weaken the enemy team first, before sending it back out. Keep repeating the battle until Galarian Farfetch’d lands its three critical hits and it will evolve into Sirfetch’d.
The Farfetch’d fans of the world have waited a long time for the leek-wielding bird to have its time in the spotlight. It might not be possible for DUX to travel to Pokémon Sword from Pokémon Red & Blue in order to wreak havoc on the Galar region, but there are plenty of mighty ducks in the Galar region who are willing to help the player become the Champion.
Next: All The Pokemon Sword & Shield Controversies Explained
Pokémon Sword & Shield are available now for Nintendo Switch.