How to get all three Pokemon Sword & Shield starters without trading

Starter Pokemon are reliable partners in each game, and the ones in Pokemon Sword & Shield are no exception. While players can only pick one starter at the beginning of their adventure, you can get all of them without trading.

Pokemon Sword & Shield offers trainers the choice between three different starter Pokemon: Grookey, Scorbunny, and Sobble. Fans can only pick one of these starters at the beginning of their journey, so you’ll have to seek out the others to finish the Pokedex

Our handy guide will provide a rundown of how to get all three starters in Pokemon Sword and Shield without trading with other people.

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Grookey, Scorbunny, and Sobble in their shiny forms.

How to get all three Pokemon Sword and Shield starters

To get all three starters, you’ll need a single copy of Pokemon Sword or Shield, the Pokemon Home app, and an internet connection.

To start collecting your three starters, follow these steps:

1. Load up a fresh save of either Pokemon Sword or Pokemon Shield and choose your starter.
2. Rush through the game as fast as possible until you battle against Hop outside Professor Magnolia‘s house. This is just before you reach the Wild Area.
3. From here, the Y-comm icon should show at the bottom left-hand corner of the screen. With this icon visible, you’re now able to trade.
4. Send over your chosen starter Pokemon to the Pokemon Home app.
5. Delete the game file from your Nintendo Switch.
6. Repeat this process again for the second starter.

Once you have two starters stored safely in Pokemon Home, your third playthrough will be your final one.

This time, though, when trading becomes available, you’ll transfer the other two starters back into the game from Pokemon Home.

Can you catch the starters in Pokemon Sword & Shield?

No, the three starter Pokemon in Sword and Shield cannot be caught out in the wild – meaning you’ll need to use the above method or trade them with other Trainers if you want to add them to your Pokedex.

If you own Pokemon Scarlet & Violet’s Indigo Disk DLC, then you can catch the Gen 8 starters in the Blueberry Academy. These are all encountered in different Biomes, and you can trade them from Pokemon Home back into Pokemon Sword & Shield.

That’s everything you need to know about getting all three starters in Pokemon Sword and Shield. Make sure to check out our guides for more info about the Galar region:

Full list of trade codes | How to claim mystery gifts | List of all missing Pokemon | Sword & Shield ‘mon location guide | Type chart: strengths and weaknesses