Here’s how to get all 3 starters from Pokemon Sword and Shield

There are a few different ways to get all the starters of Pokemon Sword and Shield, but it’s not particularly obvious how to do so.

Starters are always cherished in Pokemon, but they’re actually underwhelming in a lot of cases. That’s not the case in generation eight, however. Rillaboom and Cinderace are both among the most powerful Pokemon in all of Sword and Shield from both a casual and competitive perspective while Intelleon is completely viable in the single-player experience.

The trouble is that Sword and Shield go back to the series’ roots by only letting players have one starter under normal circumstances. There are some ways around this, however. Here’s how to get all three starters from Pokemon Sword and Shield.

How to get all the starters in Pokemon Sword and Shield

The fastest and easiest way for players to get all three starters in Pokemon Sword and Shield is to get them as a mystery gift in Pokemon HOME. 

Players who create a Pokemon HOME account on mobile devices automatically receive Sobble, Grookey, and Scorbunny as mystery gifts. All three of these starters can then be transferred to Pokemon Sword and Shield. The only caveat is that players need to use the same Nintendo account on both their mobile device and their Nintendo Switch. Here’s the step-by-step process:

1. Download Pokemon HOME on a mobile device and on Nintendo Switch
2. Sign in to the mobile version using the same Nintendo account as the Nintendo Switch
3. On the mobile version, go to the main screen and hit the button to open the menus
4. Go to “Mystery Gift” and select “Gift Box”
5. Open the gifts
6. Open the Nintendo Switch version of Pokemon HOME
7. Select Pokemon Sword or Shield
8. Drag and drop Grookey, Sobble, and Scorbunny into the Pokemon Sword or Shield boxes

This might look like a hassle, but it’s not actually difficult. Pokemon HOME is a valuable tool for anyone that plays multiple Pokemon games. Though it’s a subscription service, players can receive gifts and transfer Pokemon between games without a subscription. Players can even use it to transfer Pokemon from Pokemon GO to Sword, Shield, Brilliant Diamond, Shining Pearl, or Legends: Arceus.

Past that, players can look to several less-reliable means. First and foremost is just trading with another player. Grookeys and Scorbunnies are relatively easy to find by simply surprise trading on the Y-Comm, since they are a staple Pokemon in competitive play that players breed for regularly. There are also message boards like PokemonTrades on Reddit where players can easily find someone to help.

The last method is holding out for an event. There are sometimes Max Raid events related to the starters and one may come in the future. Maybe.