All the differences between Pokemon Sword and Shield

Steven Rondina Published 05/07/2021

Since Pokemon Red and Green launched in Japan in 1996, a staple of the Pokemon video game series has been to release mainline games in pairs. Sword and Shield are no different but the most recent games took things a step further. 

Instead of just having different exclusive Pokemon, Sword and Shield have exclusive gym leaders, NPCs, and Dynamax versions of Pokemon. There’s a lot to go over when it comes to the different Pokemon Sword and Shield exclusives, but here’s everything you need to know.

Pokemon Sword and Shield exclusives

In the base versions of Pokemon Sword and Shield, there were 68 exclusive Pokemon with both versions having 34 exclusives that could only be obtained from the other game by connecting with another player to trade or Max Raid Battle. That number grew even further with both DLCs for Pokemon Sword and Shield, the Isle of Armor and Crown Tundra.

Here is the list of exclusive Pokemon, condensed into the highest form of their evolutionary lines:

There are a handful of notes when it comes to these exclusives.

With the Isle of Armor DLC, players can activate and deactivate Gigantamax forms of any applicable Pokemon in Mustard’s Dojo, making it so Sword players can catch and upgrade Gengar and Lapras and Shield players can do the same with Machamp and Coalossal. Players that don’t have the DLC will need to trade or join a raid hosted by a player of the opposite game.

In terms of hard exclusivity, Indeedee can be caught in either game but the genders are game-exclusive, with males appearing in Sword and females appearing in Shield. Players in both Pokemon Sword and Shield can catch Applin but evolves into Flapple with the Sword-exclusive Tart Apple or Appletun with the Shield-exclusive Sweet Apple, with the Gigantamax versions of those Pokemon appearing in their respective games. Finally, Basculin’s Pokedex entry can be filled in either game without trading but the red version is in Sword while the blue version is in Shield.

For the most part, Pokemon Sword and Shield’s exclusive Pokemon are evenly distributed based on their relative strength and archetype. For example, both have an exclusive one-stage dragon Pokemon, with Sword getting Turtonator and Shield getting Drampa. Both have two exclusive pseudo-legendaries with Kommo-o and Hydreigon going to Sword while Goodra and Tyranitar go to Shield. The list goes on like that, ensuring neither game has a serious advantage over the other.

Pokemon Sword and Shield have exclusive gym leaders, rivals

The differences between games within the same Pokemon generation can vary wildly. Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire had different enemy teams, Sun and Moon swapped the day and night cycles, and so on. Alongside having a particularly long list of version-exclusive Pokemon, Sword and Shield also introduce a number of version-exclusive NPCs. 

Pokemon Sword’s fourth gym leader is fighting-type trainer Bea and the sixth gym leader is rock-type Gordie. In Shield, Bea is replaced with ghost user Allister, and Gordie is replaced with ice-type Melony. 

This is expanded out further in the Isle of Armor DLC. Isle of Armor adds another rival to the player, with Sword players getting poison gym leader-in-training Klara while Shield players face psychic specialist Avery. Both have lineups built around Galarian Slowbro.

Different curry ingredients available in Pokemon Sword and Shield

The last big difference between Pokemon Sword and Shield revolves around the curry-making mini-game.

Pokemon Shield players can find Bach’s Food Tin, making Rich Curry. Pokemon Sword players can create Juicy Curry with Bob’s Food Tin. These items can be purchased from the ingredient sellers in the Wild Area passageway to Hammerlocke and in Rolling Fields.

Steven Rondina

About Steven Rondina

Steven Rondina is a true lifelong gamer. His earliest memories are of playing video games, and he has continued playing them throughout his life with no plans to stop any time soon. Steven’s favorite franchises in gaming include Pokemon, Dark Souls, and Counter-Strike. He has previously published with Bleacher Report and other gaming outlets.

View full profile

Read Also

GTA

Stake Launches GTA VI Betting Markets Ahead of Release Khizar Mundia Popular crypto casino Stake has launched new betting markets for GTA 6, including which Kick streamer will finish the game's story mode first! GTA 6 launches on November 19, and several top streamers have already announced plans to marathon, livestream, or otherwise create content around the game. With anticipation building ahead of launch, Stake has tapped into the excitement with some unusual betting options, covering everything from which streamer will finish ...

Esports Betting

Golden Joystick Awards 2026: Meccha Cameleon and Resident Evil sweep the ballots Michael Hassall The video game award season kicked off this past week with the Golden Joystick Awards 2026, and some of the best games of the year were honoured for their contributions. While we’re still waiting for the blockbuster (or flop) of the year with the release of GTA VI, the Golden Joysticks offered some games from all the way back at the start of 2026 (so long ago…) a chance to ...

GTA

Kai Cenat completes GTA marathon in 130 hours: Viewership stats and highlights Khizar Mundia Twitch star Kai Cenat has completed his GTA marathon ahead of GTA 6's November 19 release, finishing five Grand Theft Auto campaigns in approximately 130 hours of streaming. The event attracted millions of hours watched, several memorable moments, and even a prediction market on Polymarket. The marathon began on November 5 and featured GTA III, GTA: Vice City, GTA: San Andreas, GTA IV, and GTA V, played in release order. ...

GTA

Kalshi is offering $100,000+ for a GTA 6 researcher role Khizar Mundia Kalshi is offering a GTA 6 researcher contract position with $100,000-$120,000 in base-pay-equivalent compensation. The prediction market site is looking for an experienced gaming streamer to play and analyze Rockstar Games’ highly anticipated title starting November 19. Kalshi isn't new to unconventional promotional campaigns and recruitment-style announcements. In October 2025, the company advertised a position called "Marketing & Stunt Man (or Woman, or Whatever)." The listing offered a salary ranging ...

Pokemon

You can now get special foil Pokémon cards from McDonald’s Zachary Roberts Finding good Pokémon cards is a difficult task these days. The hit rates aren't guaranteed, and in some sets, they're pretty low. That is, if you can get your hands on an Elite Trainer Box or an Ultra Premium Collection at all. Finding those beautiful foil cards is a challenge thanks to scalpers. Now, though, there's another way to hunt down good foil cards, and it'll be a lot harder ...

Movies & TV

Hollywood subtly banning prediction markets on movies Zachary Roberts Up until now, it had been pretty easy and accessible to trade on movie news and information with prediction markets, no matter who you were. Hollywood is slowly changing that. Prediction markets like Kalshi have markets for movie release dates, casting news, Rotten Tomatoes scores, box office returns, and more. Hollywood has been concerned that insiders could profit from the prediction market version of insider trading. Say you're a casting ...

GTA

GTA 6 pre-orders are reaching nearly unprecedented levels Zachary Roberts If you had any doubts as to GTA 6's popularity, look no further. Hype can be an unreliable predictor, but sales are not. We can talk about how big and awesome a game might be all day long. But unless everyone is putting their money where their mouth is, it means nothing. But as it pertains to GTA 6, the money is there. It's there in the form of pre-orders, ...