Fossil Pokémon are back in Pokémon Sword and Shield! However, unlike the previous games, in Pokémon Sword and Shield, you have to combine two different fossils to obtain one of the Pokémon; in this guide, you’ll learn how to catch them.
Fossil Hunt
There are 4 different types of fossils to obtain in Pokémon Sword and Shield: Fossilized Bird, Fossilized Dino, Fossilized Drake, and Fossilized Fish.
If you haven’t already, there is an NPC in the Pokémon Center in Stow-on-Side that will give you 2 Fossilized Bird if you’re playing Pokémon Sword or 2 Fossilized Drake if you’re playing Pokémon Shield.
Another way of obtaining fossils is by finding them in the Dusty Bowl in the Wild Area but they can be rare and a little hard to find. Look out for the sparkling items in the Dusty Bowl as they can sometimes be fossils.
The last, and best, way of obtaining fossils is through the hiker brothers, the Digging Duo, in the Wild Area near the Pokémon Nursery in the Bridge Field area. Pay 500 W to one of them and he will start digging for treasure.
Each digging session will end when the Hiker gets tired from digging. The duration of each session depends on which brother you pay to dig. The Digging Duo is composed of the Stamina Brother, who has a higher chance of a longer digging streak but can only find less rare items, and the Skill Brother, who gets tired faster but can find rare items. There is no guarantee on what item they’ll dig up for you but you have a higher chance of digging up fossils with the Skill Brother.
The chance of obtaining certain types of fossils also depends on which version of the game you’re playing: Fossilized Dino and Fossilized Bird are more common in Pokémon Sword while Fossilized Fish and Fossilized Drake are more common in Pokémon Shield.
It’s Alive!
You have two different fossils – now what? It’s time to bring your fossil Pokémon to life! Go to Route 6 (between Hammerlocke and Stow-on-Side) and talk to Cara Liss. She is standing with some sort of machine near a camp you can conveniently take a Flying Taxi to.
Talk to Cara Liss and she will let you choose which fossils you would like to combine and restore. After confirming, she will give you your fossil Pokémon!
I Choose You!
There are 4 different fossil Pokémon that you can catch in Pokémon Sword and Shield. As mentioned above, these Pokémon each require two different fossils to be restored. These fossil Pokémon are:
- Arctozolt
- Combination of Fossilized Dino and Fossilized Bird
- Electric/Ice type Pokémon
- Arctovish
- Combination of Fossilized Dino and Fossilized Fish
- Water/Ice type Pokémon
- Dracozolt
- Combination of Fossilized Drake and Fossilized Bird
- Electric/Dragon type Pokémon
- Dracovish
- Combination of Fossilized Drake and Fossilized Fish
- Water/Dragon type Pokémon
Each fossil Pokémon will be Level 10 when you receive them. Additionally, it is worth noting that these Pokémon cannot evolve, do not have a gender, and, therefore, cannot be bred, not even with a Ditto. So, to catch more of these Pokémon, keep on digging for those fossils!
Which Fossil Pokémon is your favorite? Sound off in the comment section below!