How to evolve Farfetch’d into Sirfetch’d in Pokemon Sword

Pokemon fans were stunned to see Sirfetch’d confirmed to be in Sword, but if you’re wondering what level Galarian Farfetch’d evolves at you might be disappointed. It doesn’t work like that.

For the vast majority of species included in the Pokedex, no matter what region they can be found in, there has always been a very simple way of getting them to move up their evolution chain.

Defeating other Pokemon and trainers in battles to receive XP has been the key, jumping up levels each time they defeat others – or, if you’re crafty, using an EXP Share also does the trick. From there, once a Pokemon reaches a certain level the famous music will start playing, the flashing lights begin and you find yourself with an evolved form.

Well, the Galarian Farfetch’d doesn’t really play by them rules.

The bird-type Pokemon was one of the original 151 entrants to the Pokedex, which is now known as Gen 1. It has waited 27 years for its moment, and now it actually can evolve, it’s not going to make things easy for you.

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Battling others is a way of showing your Pokemon is ready to make the step up, whether it be jumping up levels, learning new moves naturally, or turning into a stronger version of itself.

With Farfetch’d in the Galar Region, though, you’re going to have to prove it’s strong enough to evolve into Sirfetch’d with more than one critical in a single battle.

As seasoned veterans of the video game series will know already, you will often come up against random trainers on the fly, challenging you to duels and pitting their catches against yours.

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When using Farfetch’d, you’re going to have to land a critical hit on three enemy Pokemon in one battle in order to evolve – according to serebii.net – and there’s no specific level you can do this at!

This change might leave some players bewildered for a little while. Imagine leveling up your Farfetch’d to 99 without seeing it evolve, only to find out that it doesn’t work like that. Thankfully, you’ve saved all that time because you now know the trick!

Where to find Farfetch’d in Pokemon Sword

All of this information isn’t going to be very useful unless you actually have a Farfetch’d of your own to fight with. So, let’s talk about how to get one.

The Galarian form, which looks very different to the original that fans know and love, can be found on Route 5 in Sword and Shield. According to Reddit user Skormes, the encounter rate is slim for the species – sitting at 5% – although it’s a decent level once you do eventually find it, between 19-21.

Once you have caught one, remember to not waste too much time thinking about the levels if you want a Sirfetch’d. Have a crack at getting critical hits three times in a single fight!